Mike MacIntyre had previously joked that Colorado would not release a depth chart until Sept. 3, the day of Buffaloes first game, but on Saturday afternoon, CU unveiled their first depth chart of the season, giving us a little more clarity as to the way the Buffs will look on the field this season.
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Observations:
– First of all, the Buffs still aren’t quite ready to admit they will be running a 3-4 defense this year, which all signs have pointed to them doing, so much of the depth chart is a bit misleading.
-If the chart was listed in the way most expect the Buffs to stack up this year, I would think guys like Jimmie Gilbert, N. J. Falo and Jase Franke would be listed higher at their respective positions.
-JUCO transfer Jordan Carrell is listed atop the chart at DT, he and Samson Kafovalu (listed second) will handle the bulk of the duties at that position this year.
-Transfers Jaleel Awini and Leo Jackson are also listed first at their positions on this depth chart, even if the Buffs don’t come out in that defense, both should get their fair share of snaps this year.
-While Chidobe Awuzie is listed first at corner, his main role for the Buffs defense this year will be in the nickel role, meaning your two corners would be Ahkello Witherspoon and Kenneth Crawley a majority of the time.
-Freshman Nick Fisher and Isaiah Oliver both made the chart at corner.
-As many who were in attendance at camp saw developing, once a walk-on, Ryan Moeller has won the starting free safety job. While some may see this as a bad sign for the guys behind him, the decision is more based off of the fact that Moeller had a really great camp. Buffs fans may have a new fan favorite with the Colorado (Rifle) native.
-On the offensive side, we see the Devin Ross hype train rolls right along, with him listed atop the chart at the slot position. That being said, Ross is capable of lining up at any of the wide receiver positions, and we will likely see him all over the field this season. Expect to see Donovan Lee, and even Jayt Macintyre, who is listed third, see significant playing time this year.
-At the right guard position, we see an “OR” in between the names of Jonathan Huckins and Shane Callahan, which falls in line with Mike MacIntyre telling the media last week that the two will rotate all season.
-The running back position is just one giant log-jam of talent. That being said there is no “OR” there, and Phillip Lindsay is listed as the second back after Christian Powell and before Michael Adkins. Patrick Carr is listed fourth, expect all four of those backs to get carries this year.
-When we turn to special teams, we see that nothing has changed since we reported earlier in the week that the kicker and punter battles have not been settled yet. We’ll probably have to wait until game time to know who the starters are there.
-At punt returner, Shay Fields, who did return a handful of punts last season, seems to have won the job there, but don’t be surprised if Colorado still goes to Nelson Spruce when a fair catch is likely.
-At kick return, Phil Lindsay keeps his starting spot, with a bit of a surprise in Donovan Lee listed second meaning he will also be back on returns.
-At the all important holder position, walk-on receiver Colin Johnson looks to have won the job over Robert Orban.
-Five freshman were listed on the depth chart, Carr, Falo, Oliver, Fisher, Kinney, expect them to be the only five who don’t use their redshirt this year, unless injuries start to pile up.
-The biggest take-away you should probably take from this chart is that the Buffs are finally putting the word “depth” back in to depth chart.
