Buffs Camp Notes: Could Laviska Shenault return punts?

The Buffs were back in action Monday morning, following their first off day of camp on Sunday.

As usual, the practice was closed to the media but BSN Denver spoke with a pair of Colorado cornerbacks and Mel Tucker addressed the media afterward.

Here’s what we learned:

Laviska Shenault could return punts

It was a surprise to see junior Laviska Shenault fielding punts during the Buffs’ open practice on Saturday. The star wide receiver fills almost every role on offense, but given the injury risk associated with returning kicks and punts, it seemed unlikely new head coach Mel Tucker would ask him to give it a try.

Last year’s starting returner, Ronnie Blackmon, left the program during the offseason and Tucker never listed any returners on the depth chart this spring, so the race for the job is wide open.

During punt coverage drills on Saturday, Shenault caught punts, as did fellow receivers K.D. Nixon, Dimitri Stanley and Tony Brown.

“He’s eligible to do it,” Tucker said. “We’ll see if he’s going to be the guy to do it. We don’t know.”

Tucker knows the media game, so there’s a real chance this was just a ploy to force early-season opponents to gameplan for Shenault returning. Or maybe Shenault will actually be the opening-day returner. There’s no doubt he’d excel.

Tucker provided a little more context, which may give a hint as to what Shenault’s returning role could entail.

“The first thing is we want to possess the ball, and then we want to get what we can get,” Tucker said. “There are certain situations when you just want to fair catch it, then there are situations where you want to take it to the house. So we’re going to work on all of those things.”

My best guess is that Shenault will serve as Colorado’s sure-handed fair-catch specialist. When possession is all Tucker is looking for, he’ll send his superstar out with clear instructions to wave for a fair catch and avoid any contact.

Or maybe Shenault will actually contribute for the Buffs in another facet of the game.

Cornerbacks comfortable in new scheme

Junior cornerback Mekhi Blackmon showed up in a big way during Saturday’s open practice, notching the only two interceptions of the day. But Blackmon isn’t getting too hyped about himself.

“That’s my job,” Blackmon said. “I don’t feel too good about it until the season starts. If it doesn’t happen on Saturdays, it doesn’t matter.”

Blackmon is excited about the secondary this season, in part because new head coach Mel Tucker has spent so much time working with them. Tucker works with the cornerbacks during individual drills every day, refining the group’s technique and explaining the theories behind the new scheme.

“He’s like a second position coach,” Blackmon said. “When you have knowledge of the game you can play faster and be more physical on every play.”

The new scheme comes with a new playbook. Blackmon and senior Delrick Abrams both say it was difficult to learn at first, but they feel confident now. Abrams says he’s been studying at the team facilities and at the lunch table with Blackmon, freshman D.J. Oats, freshman K.J. Trujillo and others.

Learning a new playbook takes time, but for the Buffs’ cornerbacks the responsibilities are about the same.

“At corner, you just play,” Abrams said. “Mostly every defense is the same at corner, you just play fast.”

For Blackmon, there is one thing that is new: He’s not just playing cornerback, he’s also playing the star position for the first time in his career. He’s excited.

“It gives me a chance to roam around the field,” Blackmon said. “I tend to pick things up pretty fast, so it’s coming pretty easy.”

Tucker shouts out some young guys

After the first few practices of camp, Mel Tucker opened his press conference by listing a few guys who impressed him that day. On Monday, he didn’t bring any names up himself, but when asked about it, here’s who he named in the order they came to mind:

• Redshirt freshman running back Deion Smith
• Sophomore running back Alex Fontenot
• Redshirt freshman receiver Dimitri Stanley
• Sophomore wide receiver Daniel Arias
• Junior free safety Aaron Maddox
• Sophomore cornerback Chris Miller

That’s a lot of young guys who could contribute for Colorado this season. And Tucker mentioned one more name and followed it with the longest note he gave us about any of these guys:

“Carson Wells is probably our most underrated player,” Tucker said. “He does a great job consistently every day.”

Wells is a guy I’ve been high on since watching film of the first game of his true freshman season in 2018. At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, the Cherry Creek product is a freak athlete at outside linebacker. He can get to the passer quickly and he can also run down ball carriers in space, due to his incredible straight-line speed.

Overall, Tucker is happy with his crew.

“We’re not where we need to be but I see constant improvement at all positions across the board,” Tucker said.

Tucker says full pads don’t mean much

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the first full-pads practice, which is coming on Tuesday.

It’s exciting to be a step closer to real football, but Mel Tucker says Tuesday won’t be significantly different than what the Buffs have been doing. They’ve been wearing helmets and shoulder pads, so only the pants will be new.

It’s just the next step as the Buffs get ready for their 2019 campaign.

“We should get better and stronger and more physical as we go, that’s what I expect,” Tucker said.

Tucker isn’t worried about his guys wearing an extra layer of gear in the 90-plus degree weather, either.

“It’s not hot out here,” Tucker said. “This is not heat. It’s just really not. I wish it was hotter and I wish it was more humid.”

Tucker’s emphasis on conditioning has garnered rave reviews from many of his players. Senior offensive lineman Tim Lynott, for example, says there are times when you want to give up but the guys understand that ratcheting up the intensity is only going to make winning football games easier.

Mel Tucker is happy with where his team is at in that regard.

“The only thing that will hold us back is if we don’t know what to do,” Tucker said.

The Buffs have 21 practices left to figure it out.