Buffs buzzing about powerful and versatile 2022 run game

The Buffs are entering the 2022 season with a modern approach to an old-school mentality.

Colorado wants to beat its opponents playing ‘Smashmouth football’.

While CU’s offensive approach will feature elements of the rough and tough style, it won’t just be straight ahead, 3 yards and a cloud of dust, or the stereotype for the traditional mindset. Multiple members of the 2022 team have expressed that the offense intends to be versatile with their approach and will be attacking defenses with a variety of different personnel and formation combinations while running diverse zone and gap schemes.

After watching the Buffs’ final scrimmage over the weekend, that appears to be the case.

CU’s leading rusher over the last two seasons is no longer on the roster but veterans Alex Fontenot and Deion Smith lead a diverse group of backs that will also feature Jayle Stacks (sophomore) and Charlie Offerdahl (freshman).

Buffs legend and current running back coach Darian Hagan spoke highly of Fontenot when asked about the sixth-year senior last week.

“If Alex can stay healthy, the sky’s the limit for him because he is a top back in the country,” Hagan said. “I don’t think he took a second seat to anybody since he’s been here. It was just the injuries that kept him down. But now he’s healthy.”

Despite the fact that Fontenot has only totaled 96 carries for 326 yards and five touchdowns since 2020, the national media is aware of Fontenot’s talent and ability. Fontenot was named to the annual pre-season watch list for the Doak Walker Award which recognizes the best running back in college football each season. 

Hagan continued on, mentioning that Smith is also healthy and capable of performing at a high level, before speaking on the group as a whole.

“I think the approach that we’ll take is to feed them, feed them all,” Hagan said. “All of them have to eat, like the kids say. If they’re all consistent, they’ll all eat.”

While Fontenot and Smith may be expected to shoulder a heavy load, the duo saw limited work in Saturday’s scrimmage. Head Coach Karl Dorrell explained his reasoning afterwards.

“I think we did the right thing,” Dorrell said. “Keeping both Deion and Alex available next week to get ready for playing on Friday, (Sept. 2).”

With CU’s presumed top two backs taking vet days, Stacks received the bulk of the work and was able to show off his ability to break tackles and run with power.

While Saturday’s scrimmage was available for viewing for the media and provided a small glimpse into what the team will look like this fall, much of it was a simplified approach, so we did not get a great look at the varying ways the Buffs will run the ball. Fortunately, after the scrimmage, Stacks assured everyone that there is plenty more to come.

“Once the season starts, we have learned so many concepts, there are so many things that our running backs can do out of the backfield. You’ll definitely see that more,” Stacks said.

When asked about the versatility of this year’s running backs and if we will see them more involved in the passing game in 2022 than in previous seasons, Hagan told DNVR that the fans are definitely going to see it.

“It’s a totally different approach offensively, “Hagan said. “The running back is a staple of it as well. So it’ll be exciting. Those guys have really good, soft hands and run good routes, so I’m excited for them to be able to turn it loose and to put the ball in their hands in space.”

Earlier in the week, before the scrimmage, we asked junior guard Casey Roddick about the variety in this year’s run game.

“It’s more multiple,” Roddick said. “We have so many guys and so many running backs who can make those zone cuts, those gap cuts, those inside zone reads. I think that all of our running backs can do all of it and so I think that we’re going to be pretty multiple in terms of the runs.”

As things currently stand, the Buffs’ rotation of backs for the 2022 season looks fairly set with Fontenot, Smith, Stacks and Offerdahl, though Hagan went out of his way to mention that he thinks CU has something special in true freshman Anthony Hankerson.

“He’s a dog,” Hagan said. “He reminds me of — and I’m putting a lot on him and I’m raising the bar — but he reminds me of a guy I played with from ‘88 to ‘91, Eric Bienemy. Same stature, same physicality, they talk alike, they’re both alpha dogs, they’re hungry, they’re smart, and they’re not going to be denied because of their stature. He reminds me of him. When he gets the opportunity, you guys are going to see something special.”

CU’s offense struggled last season as the passing game failed to consistently compliment the run game often leaving the Buffs one-dimensional.

CU was below average with 126.2 yards per game and a dreadful 3.5 yards per rush in 2021. That seems to have motivated and driven this year’s team to ensure a more reliable and efficient run game will be the foundation of this year’s offense. We’ll see if it produces a better result.