2021 Spring Camp Preview: Brady Russell leads a talented group of tight ends

BOULDER — Colorado got less than it hoped for from the tight end position in 2020, thanks in large part to injuries.

Brady Russell could have been one of the Buffs’ impact players in 2020 but an injury early in the second game of the season sidelined him for the rest of the year. Matt Lynch, Colorado’s No. 2, went down in the same game but came back a few weeks later.

What was supposed to be a breakout year for the position as Colorado explored new offensive systems, turned out to be another season filled with lackluster performances.

Here’s what we’re wondering heading into Year 2 of the Karl Dorrell-Darrin Chiaverini offense:

Can Brady Russell replicate his UCLA performance?

In Colorado’s 2020 season-opener, Brady Russell caught five passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. No CU tight end had put up that many receiving yards since Nick Kasa did it against Washington State in 2012.

But the next week against Stanford, Russell was injured in the first quarter and he didn’t see the field again.

Let’s take a look at every target Russell received against the Bruins.

Colorado first involved Russell in a pretty cool way. Darrin Chiaverini drew up a tight end screen, with Jarek Broussard in motion out of the backfield to draw attention away from the middle of the field. Russell didn’t use his blockers particularly well, but it was still enough for a first down. Not bad for what was probably the first screen pass he’d ever caught in a game.

When UCLA narrowed the gap late in the game, Colorado went back to the exact same screen play… but this time it didn’t go so well.

While the play actually developed even better than the first time, and Russell was behind his blockers with a chance to rip off a big gain, Noyer couldn’t make the throw.

I don’t understand why he was looking to his left when the play was developing on his right. Maybe he didn’t think he had the touch to drop the ball in behind the oncoming linemen? Because there was no receiver in the area (and it wasn’t even close) Colorado was knocked back a few yards by an intentional grounding call.

But, luckily, the Buffs had Russell on their side.

Nothing special there from Russell; he ran upfield, got behind the slot defender in zone coverage and cut to the other side of him into space.

Russell was Noyer’s favorite third-down target but the results were mixed.

On this play Russell got himself into position to catch a ball and fight for the first down, but Noyer couldn’t get him the ball.

On this one, Russell was open across the line to gain but Noyer missed him.

Russell could have had another completion here, but Noyer threw the ball to the sideline. There were defenders lurking behind Russell but it’s a throw that absolutely could have been made.

On this one, Russell made it across the sticks and Noyer put the ball in the right spot, but Russell couldn’t bring it in through the contact. For Russell to be an All-Pac-12 type of tight end, making some catches like this one is a must, and he’s absolutely capable.

That was a bunch of negative plays in a row, but sometimes its best to get those out of the way before we get into more of the fun stuff, like this beautiful double-move that sets up a huge gain. (Make sure you stick around for the replay.)

Here’s another fun one: Russell’s only touchdown of the season and third of his career.

This is another cool design from Chiaverini. It’s a play-action run with what I’m going to call a fake bootleg. Noyer takes a couple of steps into the bootleg to draw the defense to the right side of the field, before stopping, turning back to the left and hitting Russell in the end zone.

This was a forced pass from Noyer, who didn’t realize a linebacker was playing underneath Russell. Notice how many defenders are attracted to Russell on the seam route. It’s tough to tell for sure, but it seems like Russell drew all three defenders, opening up Montana Lemonious-Craig on the sideline.

Colorado tried another tricky play to Russell. Noyer fakes the handoff, drawing attention the right, while Russell sneaks through the backfield to the left. It’s reminiscent of how the Kansas City Chiefs occasionally use Travis Kelce. The safety sniffs it out though and there isn’t much room to work.

Next up is where I think Russell is going to be most useful in the passing game. While he can run a variety of different routes and be effective on all of them, letting him leak out to the sideline and serving as a check down option is where he should be getting the bulk of his touches. He doesn’t pull this ball in, but it gets the point across.

Oh, and don’t forget that he’s probably better at blocking than as a receiver.

Alright. That was every target to Russell in the UCLA game last year. There’s obviously a lot to like, and there was more out there for him too. A pass-first quarterback would likely have gotten more out of him than Noyer did.

Russell can line up all over the formation and be successful when asked to do a variety of different things. If he keeps up his performance from last season, he could be one of the best tight ends in the conference.

Will we see the same faces in 2021?

Colorado currently has 10 tight ends on its roster. That’s a massive number, but its fewer than the 12 the Buffs carried during spring ball.

Of those 10, just about any of them could be contributors this season.

Matt Lynch, who transferred to CU last year after playing some quarterback at UCLA, served as the No. 2 last season. At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Lynch was a solid blocker but he didn’t provide much as a receiver, posting just seven total yards. He’s back for a second senior year and he’ll be on scholarship this time around.

Lynch was a steady hand at the position but he fit better as a No. 2 tight end than a No. 1. With Russell on track to be fully healthy in 2021, Lynch could hold down a position that fits his skill set better; coming in during running downs as an extra blocker in heavy sets.

To be fair to Lynch, last season was only his second playing tight end, and he didn’t have much of an offseason to prepare because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s also worth noting that he was playing for a new team. Just because he wasn’t a receiving threat last year doesn’t mean he won’t be in 2021.

Still, I’d guess that he’s more similar to what we saw last year than he is different.

Another familiar face will be in the mix again this season: C.J. Schmanski.

Schmanski, a sophomore walk-on, actually saw the field slightly more than Lynch last season, though that probably wouldn’t be true if Lynch hadn’t missed two games with injuries.

In Russell’s first full game on the sideline, Schmanski seamed to slip into his role; he caught a screen pass early on, then leaked up the sideline to the end zone on a fake tunnel screen to a receiver. The results were less than stellar and he finished the season with three catches for 14 yards.

Now, though, Schmanski has some playing time under his belt and he could be ready to take a leap forward in his fourth year on campus.

Two other tight ends saw the field last year: freshman former-linebacker Alec Pell and junior walk-on Nico Magri. Neither was targeted in the passing game.

While Colorado didn’t get much out of its tight ends in the passing game once Russell went down, they did give out some reps to a handful of players, creating a healthy safety net at the position and giving themselves some proven options when they go heavy.

Will any of the young guys break out?

The future of the tight end position in Boulder is bright.

Erik Olsen was Colorado’s top recruit in the 2021 recruiting class and was one of the top in the state.

Caleb Fauria, the son of former Buff Christian Fauria, was ESPN’s No. 13 tight end in the 2020 recruiting class. He missed last season with an injury, but caught two passes for 26 yards in Colorado’s spring showcase. Alec Pell was the only other receiver to catch a ball.

Both of these prospects have NFL ceilings, and either of them could be ready to contribute this season. They both figure to be more threatening as receivers, meaning that either could earn the right to rotate with Lynch situationally.

Plus, if one of them proves he’s capable of carving out a significant role in the offense, Russell could be freed up to move around the formation more, whether at H-back or fullback.

Louis Passarello will be back for another freshman year of his own,  and junior Jared Poplawski missed last season with a torn ACL, but likely would have served an important role had he been healthy. Freshman Austin Smith was the final signing of the Buffs’ 2021 class, and will be on campus as well.