At present, Jimmy Smith remains second on the depth chart behind senior Gardner McKay for the starting left cornerback position, with redshirt freshman Anthony Wright also in the mix.  On the left side, junior Cha’pelle Brown and sophomore Jalil Brown are competing for the starting role.

"The competition is fierce this year," said Smith.  "It’s really good competition and everybody is making plays every day, so everybody is in the mix right now."

As convoluted as the cornerback position is at CU, the safety position is seemingly equally as settled.  Seniors Ryan Walters and Daniel Dykes return, though redshirt freshman Anthony Perkins and true freshmen Vince Ewing and Patrick Mahnke cannot be completely discounted.

"It’s so important to have that experience out there," said Walters.  "Just knowing what you are doing and knowing the scheme and the concepts of the defense allows you to play a lot faster."

On the Buffs’ defense giving up 304 yards passing and four touchdowns (and no interceptions) in the first scrimmage?  "That will improve," said Walters.  "It’s early in camp and people’s legs are a little wobbly right now.  We’ll work through that and get that little half step here and there to make the play."

Did things improve in the second scrimmage?  Well, not by the numbers.  On August 11, the Buffs’ defense gave up 24 receptions for 304 yards passing and four touchdowns.  On August 17, the numbers were 421 yards on 32 receptions and four touchdowns.

The scrimmage did run about 35 plays longer on Sunday, but those were still some high numbers put up by the Colorado offense.

What say you, Greg Brown?  "We’re making progress," said the CU defensive backs coach, "but we didn’t have a lot of big plays in the scrimmage today.  We’re far from being where we need to be two weeks from now."

Sophomore cornerback Jalil Brown did have two interceptions on the afternoon, but even that positive stat came with an asterisk.  "It (the first interception) was a zone play," said Brown, "and actually a few plays before we were in the same zone and I was out of position and they hit Scotty for a catch."

Anything we can hold onto as a positive?  "...At least we’re blessed that we do have two veteran safeties back who make proper calls and get everyone lined up," said Brown.

Yippee.

Return game

On special teams, the Buffs received a bad break (no pun intended) when Jason Espinoza, a redshirt freshman who was being counted on as one of the Buffs’ return men in 2008, fractured his collarbone during the first scrimmage.  Espinoza will be out four to six weeks.

The task of handling the return chores in the first scrimmage fell to sophomore Josh Smith, who had two punt returns and two kickoff returns, and freshman Rodney Stewart, who returned one punt and three kickoffs.

Also of note in the return game in the first scrimmage was a block by freshman safety Patrick Mahnke of a Tom Suazo punt.  Mahnke, a safety by trade, was one of the first commitments of the 2008 class.  While in high school, Mahnke forced three fumbles, recovered eight fumbles, and blocked four kicks (three punts, one field goal).

"I think he’ll play," said Coach Hawkins of Mahnke.  "Some guys I think just have a little more knack than others."

There was much excitement in the return game in the second scrimmage, as sophomore Josh Smith returned a punt 44 yards for a touchdown.  Smith also had a 62-yard kickoff return.  Freshman Darrell Scott made an appearance on the kickoff return team, returning two—one for 50 yards, the other for 37.

I’ll leave head coach Dan Hawkins the last word before the season gets underway.

"I think (the team’s improvement during fall practice) is because our guys do an awesome job of doing what the coaches ask," said Hawkins.  "There is a lot of ground to cover before we tee it up, but we’ll get there.  But now it’s a case of really starting to look at the details."

So there you go.  Previews and reviews are over—it’s time to "tee it up"!  Go Buffs!

As always, for the latest news on the CU Buffs, log on to http://cuatthegame.com

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