What to watch for in Colorado's first spring scrimmage

BOULDER — Football is back in Folsom!

Colorado’s first scrimmage of the spring is scheduled for Saturday at 11:15 am at Folsom Field. It is open to the public with no charge to get in. The other opportunity to see the Buffs this spring will be at the Spring Game on Sat., April 9.

Here’s what to watch for in our first look at the 2022 Colorado Buffaloes:

The quarterbacks

Colorado is in the midst of its third quarterback competition in three seasons. Brendon Lewis and JT Shrout are co-favorites to win the job, while the younger players in the room could work their way into the competition by the end of the spring.

On Saturday, Lewis will be the star of the show. Head coach Karl Dorrell raved about his performance in the first practice but we haven’t heard much in the five practices since then. Still, with JT Shrout’s recovery preventing him from participating in full-contact football this spring, Lewis has a chance to build a lead for the starting job.

We know Lewis has the legs to threaten any defense, but he could help his case for the job by showing fans an efficient passing performance. Lewis lives in the middle of the field and if he can pick apart the defense like he started to late last season, he has a chance to be a very good quarterback.

Two other passers will be worth keeping an eye on during the scrimmage: sophomore Drew Carter and redshirt freshman Maddox Kopp.

Carter saw the field sporadically last year as Lewis’ backup, but he didn’t get to throw the ball all that much. He’s a dual-threat passer who also worked out with the basketball team in the past few months. Odds are he can’t win the starting job, but there’s no guarantee that he’s out of the conversation.

Kopp is a transfer from Houston who, like Carter, is playing his second collegiate season. He has a massive arm. He’s probably competing with Carter for the No. 3 job but he could also threaten Lewis and Shrout if everything breaks right over the next five months.

The receivers

Brenden Rice and Dimitri Stanley are gone, but CU has plenty of intriguing options to replace them.

The biggest name is RJ Sneed, a senior who transferred to CU from Baylor this winter. He can make acrobatic plays on the sidelines. He can rack up yards after the catch. He’s earned All-Big-12 honors. In short, he’s the favorite to be the top option in CU’s passing game this fall. Saturday will be the first time that fans and media get a chance to see him play in person.

Behind Sneed is a massive group of receivers competing for snaps. Seniors like Jaylon Jackson, Maurice Bell and Daniel Arias could be primed for a breakout. Youngsters like Montana Lemonious-Craig, Ty Robinson and Chase Penry received extensive work last year and could be due for more in 2022.

But we don’t know exactly who will be on the field on Saturday. The receivers room was hit hard by injuries early in camp and some veterans, like Bell and Jackson, are coming off of major injuries and may not be back to full strength. We don’t know exactly who is missing, but we know the numbers are slim.

My best guess is we’ll see these guys playing on Saturday: RJ Sneed, Montana Lemonious-Craig, Daniel Arias and Grant Page. Plus, walk-on Jack Hestera has made a few plays and could build on his standing with a big scrimmage.

Because of the lack of receivers, don’t be surprised if we see plenty of two-tight-end formations and plenty of fullback Jayle Stacks. This doesn’t mean the offense is going to be heavy in the fall, just that they don’t have much choice at this point.

Keep an eye on freshman tight ends Erik Olsen and Austin Smith, too. They’ve generated significant buzz over the past couple of weeks and they’ll be seeing plenty of opportunities on Saturday.

Also keep an eye on a young group of defensive backs that are fighting for position on the depth chart. Colorado has brought in big cornerback classes in back-to-back seasons and it’s anybody’s guess who will be on the field in 2022.

The trenches

You could take your pick of just about any piece of the 2021 offense and say it deserves the most blame for Colorado’s struggles, but I’d take the offensive line in a landslide.

The Buffs couldn’t get any push in the running game or protect the quarterback. The problem stemmed more from a lack of coaching than a lack of talent, in my opinion, and new offensive line coach Kyle DeVan could turn that around.

DeVan has only had six practices with his squad, so expecting them to be miles better than what we saw in 2021 is probably unreasonable. Junior guard Casey Roddick told DNVR this week that he’s seen marked improvements so far.

Two pieces of last year’s line are gone: left guard Kary Kutsch and center Colby Pursell. Kutsch will probably be replaced by Alabama transfer Tommy Brown, but the competition for the starting center job should be one of the most tightly-contested of the offseason.

Sophomores Noah Fenske and Austin Johnson are the contenders, with Fenske getting the first reps with the first team this spring. This scrimmage will be a major step in the competition.

While we don’t know what to expect from the offensive line, we do know that the defensive front should be very strong. The only piece missing from Colorado’s starting front line a year ago is Carson Wells, who is headed to the NFL Draft. But the Buffs also have Guy Thomas back from a foot injury that kept him out of the second half of the 2021 season.

On the interior, CU will return a stout line of Terrance Lang, Jalen Sami and Na’im Rodman. DeVan said the second-stringers along the defensive line have looked just as good as the starters so far in camp, so the offensive line should get a good test on Saturday.