BOULDER — In a sit-down meeting with former Colorado offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic last summer, William Sherman learned that he would be moving to right tackle for the 2019 season. Sherman, who played left tackle as a redshirt freshman in 2018, had been replaced by Oklahoma State transfer Arlington Hambright.
Now, Hambright is playing for the Chicago Bears and Sherman is moving back to the left side of the line.
“With drills going on, I’m starting to get back in the groove of playing at left tackle and it feels really good,” Sherman told reporters on Wednesday. “Right now, there definitely are some differences (between the right and left sides) – just getting in the right stance, taking a smooth pass set.”
Soon, Sherman hopes, those differences will disappear.
“My goal right now is for there to be no difference at all,” Sherman said. “Just be smooth at right, smooth at left and maybe even be able to play guard if I need to.”
Sherman, now a junior, is stepping into a leadership role on the team. When Mel Tucker left Colorado for Michigan State in February, Sherman was part of a small group of leaders — along with Nate Landman, Mustafa Johnson, K.D. Nixon and maybe others — who developed a message for the team:
“There isn’t going to be a coach that comes in here and saves this program — takes it to a Pac-12 Championship, takes it to a national championship. We have to do that. We have to set a culture.”
Sherman is well aware of where the Buffs stand. According to most sportsbooks, Colorado has the longest odds of any Pac-12 team to win the conference championship. A one-dollar wager through DraftKings Sportsbook today would pay out $500 if the Buffs win the national championship.
“We have schools in the conference that we need to catch up to like Oregon and Utah,” Sherman said. “We have a long ways to go, but since we’ve been back we’ve been making good progress. Guys are excited to be back and we’re working hard.”
When spring football was cancelled in March, the Buffs lost even more time to make up the ground. That’s putting the pressure on with fewer than 75 days until the Rocky Mountain Showdown.
“Time is of the essence right now,” Sherman said. “We’re still trying to learn a new playbook, get familiar with our coaches and their techniques and how they like stuff done. We still have to get on the field with Coach Dorrell. There’s a lot of catching up to do.”
The team’s mindset — that the players have to step up and lead — helped them this spring, when there were no structured team activities.
“When we all went home we tried to hold each other accountable, make sure everybody was working out, trying to stay in shape,” Sherman said. “Now everybody is here and everybody looks good. So I’m pretty excited to see how we look when we get on the field.”
And he feels pretty good about the guys surrounding him too.
“Since I got here in 2017, this is probably the most talented and the most depth we’ve had on the O-line,” Sherman said. “I’m excited to see who takes the right tackle spot, who takes the right guard spot, who the best five are going to be. I know it’s going to be a great five when we go out there.”
