5 stars from Colorado's Spring Showcase

BOULDER — Springtime is over.

Colorado wrapped up a month of spring practices with its annual Spring Showcase on Saturday. The team will be off until its summer workouts begin in June. Then the team will reconvene in August for 25 practices as the Buffaloes build up to their season-opener on Sept. 2 against TCU.

While there aren’t any true winners or losers from the showcase, since it isn’t formatted like a traditional spring game, Colorado capped the practice off with some competitive red-zone work. Scoring for the offense worked as usual, but the defense could score 7 points for a turnover, 4 for a third-down stop and 3 for a missed field goal. The first team to 18 points wins. Colorado’s offense won after holding the lead for the duration of the drill.

Here’s who stood out on Saturday:

1. Charlie Offerdahl

The clear standout of Saturday’s scrimmage was second-year walk-on running back Charlie Offerdahl.

The Littleton, Colorado native ran for 55 yards on 9 carries and scored a touchdown. He also caught a 6-yard touchdown. Offerdahl posted 6.1 yards per carry while the rest of CU’s runners combined for less than 3.

Offerdahl’s work came primarily against CU’s second- and third-string units but he was impressive nonetheless. At 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Offerdahl is the most imposing back but he saw the field well and his quick-twitch cuts created opportunities for big gains. Offerdahl also scored a touchdown as an early-enrollee freshman during last year’s spring game.

Deion Smith got the bulk of the work with CU’s starters as Alex Fontenot was sidelined with an injury. He did his best work late in the practice, which included scoring a 20-yard touchdown. He finished with six carries for 33 yards.

2. Jordan Woolverton

Fans were able to see the Buffs play twice this fall, and quarterback-turned-safety Jordan Woolverton picked off a pass in both scrimmages.

While the walk-on has only played safety for a few months, he seems to be picking up on what’s happening quickly. Both of his interceptions came in the end zone. Potential starting safety Trevor Woods said Woolverton’s background as a quarterback shows up in his instincts in the middle of the field.

Woolverton only showed up in the stat sheet with the interception and a tackle assist, but with two interceptions in two scrimmages, Woolverton’s stock is trending up.

3. Jamar Montgomery

Jamar Montgomery made his presence felt on Saturday.

The senior edge rusher’s most notable play came when he was lined up on the left side the offense was running to the right. He blew past tight end Erik Olsen to blow up the play in the backfield and then pushed Olsen to the ground after the play.

Montgomery was credited with four tackles, which tied for the second-most on the team, but his disruptive abilities in the backfield impacted more plays than just those.

Montgomery is one of many options for the Buffs on the edge. Sophomore Alvin Williams just missed out on making this list and Guy Thomas made a massive TFL as well. Chance Main, Devin Grant and others played solid ball as well.

4. Brendon Lewis

On the first day of spring camp, head coach Karl Dorrell said that his quarterback looked like a completely different player. When we first laid eyes on the 2022 version of Brendon Lewis, the improvements seemed marginal.

But in the Spring Showcase, Lewis looked like a quarterback to be reckoned with.

Lewis completed 12 of his 18 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Some of the incompletions—like a bomb to Daniel Arias at the back pylon—should be attributed to his receivers.

Lewis engineered the game-winning drive in the final red zone work, which included a touchdown run of his own that was called back, since the defense isn’t allowed to hit the quarterback. Two plays later, he rolled out to his right and hit Jack Hestera for the winning score.

Lewis wasn’t perfect on Saturday but it looks like the Buffs have something to work with in 2022.

5. Jack Hestera

A third walk-on made the list.

As noted above, Hestera’s top play was the scrimmage-ending touchdown grab but he provided a spark throughout the scrimmage. He was Colorado’s leading receiver with three catches for 50 yards. He also caught a deep ball from Lewis up the sideline in 7-on-7s that isn’t counted in those stats.

Hestera has been one of the names to know throughout camp, as Dorrell and his assistants have brought him up often. He’s a shifty option in the slot and he has enough speed to stretch the seam as well. Hestera was the primary beneficiary of Chase Penry missing significant time with an injury and he could see some time on the field this season.