Day 13 Practice Report
Fall camp feels like it just started yesterday for the Colorado Buffaloes, but they finished practice No. 13 on Thursday afternoon. CU head coach Mike MacIntyre raved about Wednesday's practice, and he liked what he saw from the team on Thursday as well.
"We had a good practice today," he said. "We were just in [shoulder pads]. A lot of special teams, a lot of move the field type situational practice. We got a lot accomplished, and we covered a ton of stuff in special teams -- kickoffs after penalty, after a safety.
"All of those types of things that don't happen often but you better cover them a lot. This was our second time to do that, and I thought they were a lot sharper today than the last time we did it."
Believe it or not, the Buffs' season opener against Colorado State is just fifteen days away. The Colorado coaching staff has been preparing for the matchup for a couple of months.
"We started working for CSU this summer, just like CSU worked on us this summer," explained MacIntyre. "It's just what you do. We'll have a game plan set, and we'll look at their first game. They have a new defensive coordinator and different things they do. We'll get a feel for that."
On August 25, CSU will face Hawaii, similarly to how they opened the season against Oregon State last season in "week zero." Colorado still was able to beat the Rams 17-3 last season, even though CSU had the advantage of already have a game under its belt.
"It's definitely an advantage that they play a game before us," MacIntyre said. "You always improve a bit from your first game to your second game -- the speed of the game, anxiety, all of the different things that happen. Some of those things don't show up in the second game."
CU does have an advantage in that they get to see a full game of the 2018 Rams' squad, whereas CSU doesn't have the same luxury with the Buffaloes.
"I guess it's a little advantage for us that we get to see their defense," admitted MacIntyre. "Offensively, they'll be similar. Of course, they'll have new weapons and they'll use those weapons differently, but it'll be a similar scheme."
Not only has CU prepped for the CSU game, but they've also done their studies on New Hampshire and Nebraska.
"We prepared for our first three games in the summer hard, and then we have an open date. We have ideas," said MacIntyre.
Quick hitters
-- MacIntyre raved about kicker James Stefanou after practice. MacIntyre said that Stefanou made a nice field goal from "50-something" this week and noted how high Stefanou gets the ball up in the air, which makes it tough on the opposing team to block his kicks. The field goal unit is also a lot quicker from snap to hold to kick.
-- MacIntyre stated that defensive end Terrance Lang, who stands at 6-foot-5, 280-pounds, has improved in his consistency.
"I've seen a change in him -- just a maturity level, which is really good," said MacIntyre. "He flashes quite often. Hopefully he'll be able to do that on Saturdays."
-- Lang and Israel Antwine, who are both freshmen, make CU's defensive line future very bright.
"Our youth one the D-line is going to be excellent," MacIntyre said. "They're big, powerful guys who are athletic and can run."
Fall camp feels like it just started yesterday for the Colorado Buffaloes, but they finished practice No. 13 on Thursday afternoon. CU head coach Mike MacIntyre raved about Wednesday's practice, and he liked what he saw from the team on Thursday as well.
"We had a good practice today," he said. "We were just in [shoulder pads]. A lot of special teams, a lot of move the field type situational practice. We got a lot accomplished, and we covered a ton of stuff in special teams -- kickoffs after penalty, after a safety.
"All of those types of things that don't happen often but you better cover them a lot. This was our second time to do that, and I thought they were a lot sharper today than the last time we did it."
Believe it or not, the Buffs' season opener against Colorado State is just fifteen days away. The Colorado coaching staff has been preparing for the matchup for a couple of months.
"We started working for CSU this summer, just like CSU worked on us this summer," explained MacIntyre. "It's just what you do. We'll have a game plan set, and we'll look at their first game. They have a new defensive coordinator and different things they do. We'll get a feel for that."
On August 25, CSU will face Hawaii, similarly to how they opened the season against Oregon State last season in "week zero." Colorado still was able to beat the Rams 17-3 last season, even though CSU had the advantage of already have a game under its belt.
"It's definitely an advantage that they play a game before us," MacIntyre said. "You always improve a bit from your first game to your second game -- the speed of the game, anxiety, all of the different things that happen. Some of those things don't show up in the second game."
CU does have an advantage in that they get to see a full game of the 2018 Rams' squad, whereas CSU doesn't have the same luxury with the Buffaloes.
"I guess it's a little advantage for us that we get to see their defense," admitted MacIntyre. "Offensively, they'll be similar. Of course, they'll have new weapons and they'll use those weapons differently, but it'll be a similar scheme."
Not only has CU prepped for the CSU game, but they've also done their studies on New Hampshire and Nebraska.
"We prepared for our first three games in the summer hard, and then we have an open date. We have ideas," said MacIntyre.
Quick hitters
-- MacIntyre raved about kicker James Stefanou after practice. MacIntyre said that Stefanou made a nice field goal from "50-something" this week and noted how high Stefanou gets the ball up in the air, which makes it tough on the opposing team to block his kicks. The field goal unit is also a lot quicker from snap to hold to kick.
-- MacIntyre stated that defensive end Terrance Lang, who stands at 6-foot-5, 280-pounds, has improved in his consistency.
"I've seen a change in him -- just a maturity level, which is really good," said MacIntyre. "He flashes quite often. Hopefully he'll be able to do that on Saturdays."
-- Lang and Israel Antwine, who are both freshmen, make CU's defensive line future very bright.
"Our youth one the D-line is going to be excellent," MacIntyre said. "They're big, powerful guys who are athletic and can run."
