Colorado Buffaloes Complete First Week of Practice

"Our offensive line," said Miller, "is going to be gifreakinormous."

Other than Miller and Solder, who took turns practicing at both tackle positions, the only other line position which is set is that of center, where Daniel Sanders returns at starter.

The guard positions, though, are up for grabs. The good news? There are five players vying for the two spots. The bad news? Only junior Devin Head is an upperclassmen. The other position will likely fall to a redshirt freshman:  Matthew Bahr, Blake Behrens, or Shawn Daniels.

Kicking game: The position of placekicker may fall to sophomore Aric Goodman by default. Goodman, who played for Wyoming in 2006, is healthy. His competition, freshman Jameson Davis, is not.

Davis has undergone four knee surgeries, and he has been dealing with some pain in his left knee, on his plant leg. "My knee has been giving out on me a little bit every time I kick," said Davis this week.

The punting job will likely fall to the incumbent, junior Matt DiLallo. However, there has been a punter in practice who has been impressing fellow players...Darrell Scott. Really.

Scott has been showing that putting him back in punt formation is not out of the question. It would certainly give opposing teams something to think about...

The return job may fall to diminutive Rodney Stewart. The 5-foot-6 freshman from Ohio has displayed all the cutback moves and quickness teams look for in a return man—even though Stewart did not often return kicks in high school.

"He’s got quick feet, fluid hips and he never stops. He’s always going forward." said running backs coach Darian Hagen of Stewart. "He had a five-yard run (Friday) morning with probably six or seven cuts—and no one touched him."

Defensive line: As noted above, former tight end prospect Will Pericak has been moved to defensive tackle.

"Coaches thought I would work best there and help the team and that’s what I’m doing," said Pericak, who gained 25 pounds over the past five months. "It’s fun."

Pericak will back up George Hypolite and Brandon Nicholas, both senior starters.

Linebackers: Even with the loss of prized recruit Lynn Katoa for the season (though Katoa, to his credit, has been practicing with the team despite his season-long suspension), linebacker remains a position of strength for the Buffs.

Jordon Dizon, now of the Detroit Lions, "was an outstanding player," said junior linebacker Jeff Smart. "Obviously, those tackles are going to have to be made by someone else now. But I don’t think that necessarily has to be one person...I think those tackles will get distributed among the defense."

There will be numerous players vying for Dizon’s tackles. Junior Marcus Burton returns from academic ineligibility; sophomore Michael Sipili returns from a season-long suspension; junior college signee Shaun Mohler comes from Orange Coast College in California; and true freshmen signees Jon Major and Doug Rippy put on their CU uniforms for the first time this past week...and that is just the list of new players!

"The group as a whole is further along as an incoming class than probably any group I’ve ever had," said CU linebackers coach Brian Cabral.

Secondary: Both cornerback positions lack a returning starter. Senior Gardner McKay, junior Cha’pelle Brown and sophomore Jalil Brown are the most likely candidates, with redshirt freshman Lamont Smith an option.

"It’s going to be somewhat difficult with new corners," said returning starting safety Ryan Walters. "But they’re not really rookies. They have a lot of game experience. It’s just that now they have to step up to a starting role."

Overall

Not a bad first week. Great to have Geer back, though the losses of Simas, Iltis, Faatagi, and especially Hudgins will hurt. It's part of the game. That’s why there were 105 in pads for the first practice.

Perhaps the most encouraging words this week came from longtime Boulder Daily Camera columnist Neill Woelk, who noted, "there’s a palpable air of confidence—you might even call it swagger—that hasn’t been felt around the Dal Ward Center for a few years."

Sounds good to me. Much more to come in the next three weeks, as we prepare for Aug. 31. Go Buffs!  [For more, log on to http://www.cuatthegame.com]

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