Junior wide receiver Maurice Bell catches a pass during fall camp. (Courtesy CU Athletics)
If either junior Tyler Lytle or senior Sam Noyer can step up at quarterback, the University of Colorado football team has the offensive arsenal to light up the scoreboard in 2020. Colorado holds claim to a talented group of receivers and running backs, but with two weeks remaining until the season opener, the Buffs’ facilitator is still in question.
Sophomore Jaren Mangham and junior Alex Fontenot are the big names at running back and they’re both looking to expand on a successful 2019. Fontenot started all but one game last year, accumulating 874 yards and five touchdowns, and will continue to get fed the most according to head coach Karl Dorrell.
“In our situation, Alex Fontenot is obviously our veteran player,” Dorrell said. “He’s done a really nice job. If anybody has the biggest piece of the pie, he may have the biggest piece. But I think the other guys that are having really good camps as well, they’re going to get some smaller slivers of the pie, too.”
Sophomore Jarek Broussard missed all of the 2019 season with a knee injury but has returned and scored twice in CU’s intrasquad scrimmage on Oct. 17.
Jaren Mangham took the backup role last year and ran with it, rushing for 441 yards and three touchdowns. He was given CU’s team award for top freshman on offense in 2019.
“The experience helped me out tremendously,” said Mangham. “I’m picking up blitzes a lot faster (and) obviously focusing on the little details. Obviously, as a true freshman, your head is kind of just all over the place and you’re just trying to do everything right. Now I’m more like I know what I got to do; I know the job that I got to accomplish.”
Another exciting group for the Buffs is their wide receivers. K.D. Nixon had over 450 receiving yards last year in the slot and returns for his senior season. Alongside Nixon, junior’s Jaylon Jackson, Daniel Arias and Maurice Bell should see considerable playing time as well.
Offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Darrin Chiaverini said he believes Arias could be a key contributor to CU’s offense.
“I think he’s primed to have his opportunity to be a top guy now,” Chiaverini said. “He’s got to continue to work but he’s shown flashes of that in camp. He’s really really detailed in his game and he hasn’t been making the mental mistakes that he has in the past and I’ve been really pleased with Daniel.”
At tight end, junior Brady Russell will provide a 6-foot-3, 255 lb frame for either Noyer or Lytle to rely on. Russell said that CU’s tight ends have been used in a more “unique” way this year.
“We were used a lot last year but it was repeating the same thing a lot of the time,” Russell said. “We got a lot of unique things that we get to do now in terms of pulling or blocking on the edge or whatever it might be we get to do a lot more unique things. And in the passing game too we have some more concepts that we get to do some different things in.”
While they don’t know who they’ll be protecting just yet, CU’s offensive line looks to build off 2019 when they allowed 1.75 sacks per game. Junior William Sherman, who was given CU’s Offensive Trench Award last year, is expected to move from right to left tackle, and senior left guard Kary Kutsch and junior center Colby Pursell also return as starters. Sophomore’s Casey Roddick and Frank Filip have also been given an opportunity at right guard and right tackle.
It’s still a work in progress for Chiaverini’s offense, but progress has been made in getting ready for week one.
“I think the first couple of days the quarterbacks and the O-line(‘s) heads were spinning just a little bit but I feel like we settled in this last week,” Chiaverini said. “We really settled in with the calls, the protections (and) the reads for the quarterbacks.”
Contact CU Independent Head Sports Editor Jack Carlough at jack.carlough@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @Jack_Carlough.
