By: Neill Woelk, cubuffs.com contributing Editor
BOULDER — Mel Tucker got what he wanted most from his first spring game as Colorado's head football coach — effort.
No doubt, CU's first-year head coach had a long checklist of items he hoped to see Saturday at a sun-splashed Folsom Field. But more than anything, Tucker wanted to see his Buffaloes wrap up their spring session by playing hard from start to finish.
"Obviously you want execution on both sides of the ball," Tucker said of a game that saw the Gold tally a 55-27 win. "They are all my guys out there. (But) football's not a game of perfect. What I really wanted to see, I wanted to see guys compete, I wanted to see guys finish, I wanted to see guys strain, I wanted to see guys execute. We got that today."
Of course, there's also no doubt the final tally — the most points ever scored in a true CU spring game — had Tucker, a former defensive coordinator, and his defensive assistants cringing just a bit.
Still, there were enough big plays on both sides of the ball to provide optimism all around. Perhaps most importantly, it wrapped up a spring that showed steady progress from beginning to end, a major priority for the CU coaching staff that used 15 practices to install the basics of new offensive, defensive and special teams schemes.
CU coaches divided the Buffs roster into two teams that featured the No. 1 defense and No. 2 offense on the Gold team and the No. 1 offense and No. 2 defense on the Black squad.
In the end, the No. 2 offense had a field day for the Gold, racking up 536 yards en route to putting double nickels on the board (also the most points ever scored by a team in the CU spring game). The Gold's effort included a sparkling 13-for-15, 195-yard, two-touchdown day from quarterback Sam Noyer; a 12-carry, 149-yard effort from running back Jaren Mangham, including a 65-yard touchdown run; and a seven-catch, 138-yard, two-touchdown day from Daniel Arias.
"Too many points," said defensive coordinator Tyson Summers. "Everything we've done a good job with so far is having a sense of urgency and understanding that every situation we're in is a competitive situation. That's obviously the most competitive situation we've been in all spring and I expect us to go out there and be able to dominate. I really do."
But the Gold defense also came up with four interceptions in the second half that paved the way for some Gold scores, including a Mekhi Blackmon 17-yard interception return for a touchdown off an errant Josh Goldin pass. Blackmon finished with two of the Gold's four interceptions, with Carson Wells and Isaiah Lewis recording the others.
"We came in at halftime not real happy about the amount of points we gave up in the second quarter and we challenged them," Summers said. "We were fortunate enough on one side to be able to get some takeaways, something we've tried to stress throughout the spring. It's nice to see Mekhi come in back-to-back series and and we get three or four in a row. It kind of changes the pace of the game."
Of course, those turnovers were not what offensive coordinator Jay Johnson wanted — or expected — to see. Johnson has stressed taking care of the ball since his arrival, and in CU's first two scrimmages of the spring, Buffs quarterbacks did not throw an interception.
That came to an end in a hurry in the second half Saturday. After Blackmon's pick six off Goldin — who was subbing for senior Steven Montez — Blackmon struck again on the very next series, picking off Montez to set up another Gold score. Later in the game, Wells picked off an errant halfback pass from Joe Davis and Lewis plucked another Montez throw.
"In the other scrimmages I don't think we've had a turnover," Johnson said. "Then today the one started and the next one went and that's what happens and it's what happens in the game sometimes. It's a great learning deal that I hope we can learn from."
Overall, Montez did not have a bad day, finishing 23-for-44 for 287 yards and a pair of touchdown throws. His day included a beautiful five-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes of the first half against the No. 1 defense that saw him complete five straight throws, including a 35-yard toss to Tony Brown. Montez also had a 30-yard touchdown pass to Dimitri Stanley to start the scoring.
But his two interceptions in the second half put a damper on his day — the third straight year when he has had a less-than-stellar spring game.
"I just have to go watch the film and see what my decisions were," Montez said. "I know I didn't make good decisions there near the end."
For Noyer, though, the spring game was an outstanding end to what had been an up-and-down spring session before Saturday. The junior connected on nearly every pass he threw, connecting twice with sophomore receiver Arias for touchdowns (28 and 17 yards), and also heaving a 51-yard completion to sophomore Maurice Bell and a 37-yarder to Arias.
"I started out a little bit slow this spring and there was a point where I just said from here on out, I want to just try to get better every day," Noyer said. "I feel like I did that the last couple of weeks. I made progress and today I felt good out there. Obviously it was a team effort, but it felt good to be out there having fun in front of everybody."
Some other offensive highlights:
— Along with Arias' outstanding day for the Gold, Bell hauled in six catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.
— Sophomore quarterback Tyler Lytle, also playing for the Gold, finished 7-for-10 for 119 yards and a score.
— Mangham's 149-yard day included two long touchdown runs, one for 35 yards and another for 65, and he also had three receptions for 14 yards.
— For the Black, Stanley finished with seven catches for 98 yards and a score, Brown had five for 79 and a touchdown and K.D. Nixon had two for 66, including a 57-yard reception, the longest of the day.
Defensively, Blackmon's interceptions no doubt helped break open a tight game (the Gold led just 21-17 at the half). Other defensive highlights:
— Gold linebacker Nate Landman finished with 13 tackles, including a sack, and fellow inside 'backer Jonathan Van Diest had nine tackles and a sack.
— For the Black, outside linebacker Jacob Callier had six tackles, including one for loss, and a sack.
— Gold cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. had five tackles and three pass breakups.
On special teams, Alex Kinney punted four times for a 50-yard average, with a long of 57.
Overall, Tucker said, he liked what he saw in his spring debut.
"We had pretty good execution," he said. "Guys were into it. There was good enthusiasm. It was a deal where we had to play the entire game. We had to finish. Guys had to keep going out there, keep going out there. I heard guys encouraging each other, 'Hey let's get a stop or let's get a first down.' They had to push and strain. it was good to see that."
BOULDER — Mel Tucker got what he wanted most from his first spring game as Colorado's head football coach — effort.
No doubt, CU's first-year head coach had a long checklist of items he hoped to see Saturday at a sun-splashed Folsom Field. But more than anything, Tucker wanted to see his Buffaloes wrap up their spring session by playing hard from start to finish.
"Obviously you want execution on both sides of the ball," Tucker said of a game that saw the Gold tally a 55-27 win. "They are all my guys out there. (But) football's not a game of perfect. What I really wanted to see, I wanted to see guys compete, I wanted to see guys finish, I wanted to see guys strain, I wanted to see guys execute. We got that today."
Of course, there's also no doubt the final tally — the most points ever scored in a true CU spring game — had Tucker, a former defensive coordinator, and his defensive assistants cringing just a bit.
Still, there were enough big plays on both sides of the ball to provide optimism all around. Perhaps most importantly, it wrapped up a spring that showed steady progress from beginning to end, a major priority for the CU coaching staff that used 15 practices to install the basics of new offensive, defensive and special teams schemes.
CU coaches divided the Buffs roster into two teams that featured the No. 1 defense and No. 2 offense on the Gold team and the No. 1 offense and No. 2 defense on the Black squad.
In the end, the No. 2 offense had a field day for the Gold, racking up 536 yards en route to putting double nickels on the board (also the most points ever scored by a team in the CU spring game). The Gold's effort included a sparkling 13-for-15, 195-yard, two-touchdown day from quarterback Sam Noyer; a 12-carry, 149-yard effort from running back Jaren Mangham, including a 65-yard touchdown run; and a seven-catch, 138-yard, two-touchdown day from Daniel Arias.
"Too many points," said defensive coordinator Tyson Summers. "Everything we've done a good job with so far is having a sense of urgency and understanding that every situation we're in is a competitive situation. That's obviously the most competitive situation we've been in all spring and I expect us to go out there and be able to dominate. I really do."
But the Gold defense also came up with four interceptions in the second half that paved the way for some Gold scores, including a Mekhi Blackmon 17-yard interception return for a touchdown off an errant Josh Goldin pass. Blackmon finished with two of the Gold's four interceptions, with Carson Wells and Isaiah Lewis recording the others.
"We came in at halftime not real happy about the amount of points we gave up in the second quarter and we challenged them," Summers said. "We were fortunate enough on one side to be able to get some takeaways, something we've tried to stress throughout the spring. It's nice to see Mekhi come in back-to-back series and and we get three or four in a row. It kind of changes the pace of the game."
Of course, those turnovers were not what offensive coordinator Jay Johnson wanted — or expected — to see. Johnson has stressed taking care of the ball since his arrival, and in CU's first two scrimmages of the spring, Buffs quarterbacks did not throw an interception.
That came to an end in a hurry in the second half Saturday. After Blackmon's pick six off Goldin — who was subbing for senior Steven Montez — Blackmon struck again on the very next series, picking off Montez to set up another Gold score. Later in the game, Wells picked off an errant halfback pass from Joe Davis and Lewis plucked another Montez throw.
"In the other scrimmages I don't think we've had a turnover," Johnson said. "Then today the one started and the next one went and that's what happens and it's what happens in the game sometimes. It's a great learning deal that I hope we can learn from."
Overall, Montez did not have a bad day, finishing 23-for-44 for 287 yards and a pair of touchdown throws. His day included a beautiful five-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes of the first half against the No. 1 defense that saw him complete five straight throws, including a 35-yard toss to Tony Brown. Montez also had a 30-yard touchdown pass to Dimitri Stanley to start the scoring.
But his two interceptions in the second half put a damper on his day — the third straight year when he has had a less-than-stellar spring game.
"I just have to go watch the film and see what my decisions were," Montez said. "I know I didn't make good decisions there near the end."
For Noyer, though, the spring game was an outstanding end to what had been an up-and-down spring session before Saturday. The junior connected on nearly every pass he threw, connecting twice with sophomore receiver Arias for touchdowns (28 and 17 yards), and also heaving a 51-yard completion to sophomore Maurice Bell and a 37-yarder to Arias.
"I started out a little bit slow this spring and there was a point where I just said from here on out, I want to just try to get better every day," Noyer said. "I feel like I did that the last couple of weeks. I made progress and today I felt good out there. Obviously it was a team effort, but it felt good to be out there having fun in front of everybody."
Some other offensive highlights:
— Along with Arias' outstanding day for the Gold, Bell hauled in six catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.
— Sophomore quarterback Tyler Lytle, also playing for the Gold, finished 7-for-10 for 119 yards and a score.
— Mangham's 149-yard day included two long touchdown runs, one for 35 yards and another for 65, and he also had three receptions for 14 yards.
— For the Black, Stanley finished with seven catches for 98 yards and a score, Brown had five for 79 and a touchdown and K.D. Nixon had two for 66, including a 57-yard reception, the longest of the day.
Defensively, Blackmon's interceptions no doubt helped break open a tight game (the Gold led just 21-17 at the half). Other defensive highlights:
— Gold linebacker Nate Landman finished with 13 tackles, including a sack, and fellow inside 'backer Jonathan Van Diest had nine tackles and a sack.
— For the Black, outside linebacker Jacob Callier had six tackles, including one for loss, and a sack.
— Gold cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. had five tackles and three pass breakups.
On special teams, Alex Kinney punted four times for a 50-yard average, with a long of 57.
Overall, Tucker said, he liked what he saw in his spring debut.
"We had pretty good execution," he said. "Guys were into it. There was good enthusiasm. It was a deal where we had to play the entire game. We had to finish. Guys had to keep going out there, keep going out there. I heard guys encouraging each other, 'Hey let's get a stop or let's get a first down.' They had to push and strain. it was good to see that."
