Colorado’s offensive line completes a drill during spring practice on April 5, 2021. (Photo Courtesy of CU Athletics)
The University of Colorado Buffaloes football team fought through its third intrasquad scrimmage of the spring on Friday. As the Buffs prepare for the 2021 season, they look to get the most out of their young players and newest recruitment class.
Head coach Karl Dorrell noted how important it is for the less experienced players on the roster to gain additional repetitions during the spring. On the offensive side of the ball, Colorado has many positions loaded with young talent including tight end, quarterback and tailback. Dorrell hopes these young players will become better as they settle in and get more comfortable at the Division I level.
“The number one goal is getting our young players reps to get caught up to what we’re doing and also watching how their development goes,” Dorrell said. “Given where we started and where we are now, I think our younger players have a better feel because they’re playing faster.”
He pointed out freshman tailback Ashaad Clayton as someone who has improved greatly this spring. In 2020, Clayton rushed for 4.4 yards a carry in just three games of action.
“The more reps (Clayton) gets, the faster and faster (he becomes),” Dorrell said. “You can tell that is just one of the examples with the freshman. With more reps than he’s ever had, he feels like he has a great feel in our run game.”
Defensively, Dorrell emphasized how dominant the secondary has been all spring. Freshman cornerback Tyrin Taylor has impressed the defensive coaching staff as he recorded his first interception during a 7-on-7 drill.
“He’s a good incoming freshman who just got here and obviously he’s feeling the benefits of him getting these reps, knowing what he’s doing, and making a proper read on a throw,” Dorrell said. “We have one more week of that and the whole goal is to make sure that those young guys feel like they have had a productive spring, they’ve learned a lot and that they can carry that into the summer.”
Although junior tight end Brady Russell isn’t a new face, he leads a talented tight end group despite missing the majority of 2020 with an injury. On Friday, Dorrell discussed how Russell’s injury rehabilitation process has progressed during the offseason.
“Brady is practicing, he did everything but scrimmage today,” Dorrell said. “We want to continue to bring his rehab along by inserting him and getting him some practice time… Bringing him along in the rehabilitation process, getting him confident that he’s running routes effectively, and getting his timing back is all he really needs.”
Russell notched a receiving touchdown in CU’s opening game against UCLA last season before coming down with an injury during week two. He noted that his injury and current recovery process have shown him a new perspective on the game.
“It’s been very humbling,” Russell said. “I think it has been good for me in the long run because it is easy to get ahead of yourself. This injury brought me back down another level and made me feel human. It grounded me and showed me my identity, it made me realize that football is not forever even though it can start to feel like that every once in a while.”
The Fort Collins native also reflected on how the younger tight ends have performed this spring. He highlighted freshman tight end Caleb Fauria as one of CU’s more versatile receivers.
“I’ve seen some good things,” Russell said. “They’ve both shown flashes of greatness but both shown flashes of being young guys. I see a little bit of myself in Caleb, he can do a little bit of everything which is fun. It’s been fun working with them, trying to help them out with their stances and some of the little details of their game. They’re coming around, it’s fun seeing progress.”
Colorado will end the spring season with its ultimate intrasquad Spring Showcase on Friday.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Brett Polley at brett.polley@colorado.edu.
