BOULDER – The first update from the Colorado Buffaloes’ quarterback competition is in, and it seems as though the competitors have been whittled from three to two.
“We’ve really put (senior) Sam (Noyer) and (junior) Tyler (Lytle) in a really good competition mode,” quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf told reporters Monday. “They’ve been splitting reps, and alternating (working with the) ones and twos every every day and every period. So it’s a real even battle that way. Until we get into some real scrimmage type of deals we’re going to continue to evaluate everything, but the game stuff will be what will weigh a little heavier.”
You may have noticed one familiar name missing from the competition: true freshman Brendon Lewis. Lewis was listed as co-starter with Noyer and Lytle on the Buffs’ pre-camp depth chart last week, so his omission from the first-team rotation is mildly surprising.
“Brandon Lewis has been playing kind of the third guy, and getting some reps here and there,” Langsdorf said. “One thing about trying to rep too many guys is we need to get a guy ready to play in a game. So we’ve really featured Sam and Tyler that way. Giving them a lot of good work. And then we’ll continue to do that for a while until we start to separate a little bit.”
It seems as though the youngster is unlikely to open his true freshman season as a starting quarterback but don’t forget that the NCAA isn’t counting this season for eligibility, so Lewis will actually be a true freshman again in 2021.
As for Noyer–who has been with the Buffs for five seasons, including last seaosn when he played safety–Langsdorf has liked what he’s seen.
“I’ve known him as a quarterback for a long time coming out of Beaverton, (Oreg.). We looked at him when I was at Nebraska,” Langsdorf said. “I think there was a need last year, probably, for that position that he played defense. It was probably a situation that he was he was just being a good teammate. They made a decision to get some help over there, but I’m glad we got him back. I think he’s competing and playing and he hasn’t missed a beat in terms of quarterback.”
Noyer said that he didn’t expect to be back with the Buffs this season. He entered the transfer portal in the spring and moved out of Boulder and into his parents’ home in Oregon. After conversations with Langsdorf, offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini and head coach Karl Dorrell, Noyer decided that competing for the starting quarterback job at Colorado was his best option.
“It was a perfect opportunity for me to come back in here to to for the job,” Noyer said. “If you would have told me that I would come back here for this last season, I would have said you’re crazy. But now, like I said, it’s a perfect opportunity.”
He says he’s found that his experience playing on the defensive side of the ball is helping him as he returns to quarterback.
“I think that it helps me see a lot better,” Noyer said. “It really just gives me some more knowledge, knowing who my key read is and just working off of that, and I think just seeing the whole entire defense really slows down the game a lot.”
But the job isn’t Noyer’s yet, and Langsdorf has been impressed by Lytle as well.
“Tyler’s been really, really sharp,” Langsdorf said. “(He has a) good, good knowledge of football and different systems and I’ve been pleased with how he’s worked. He does a great job preparing and being ready to go each day; studying the script, studying the playbook, just being ready to go each day. I’ve been pleased with that. He’s got a hunger to play. Being a backup for a little while, that’s a good thing to be. I coached a guy last year that was the same way–hadn’t played until his senior year, and kind of finally got his chance–and he performed very well. And I would expect the same from Tyler. I think he’s done a nice job, and he’s really been a great worker.”
Lytle has enjoyed the new offense that is being installed, using concepts from Langsdorf, Dorrell and mostly Chiaverini.
“I definitely think they were multiple; we’re doing a lot of different things,” Lytle said. “We’ve been we’ve been in spread (formations), we’ve been in pro (formations). And (Chiaverini) kind of throws in a little Air Raid with his background from Texas Tech. But I mean, it’s been an awesome offiense playing as a quarterback; running the ball well, throwing the ball well, we’ve been very well balanced.”
There’s no set date for the end of the quarterback competition, but Langsdorf would like to make a decision as soon as possible. He said that the Buffs have about six or seven games’ worth of plays and that those will be cut down for the first game to fit the strengths of whoever the quarterback is.
Langsdorf said that one of the tougher parts of this particular quarterback competition is that both Noyer and Lytle have limited in-game experience. He doesn’t know how either will react in crunch time, but he’s trying to learn as much as possible from during the four weeks of camp.
“I think it’s all situational football,” Langsdorf said. “We have a pressure period. We have a redzone period with third downs. We try to put them in different situations where they have to get us in the right place and the right protection. Get rid of the ball quickly. Make the right read and make a tight-window throw in the redzone. There’s a lot of different things that we’re evaluating but the experience part of it is tough to simulate but just work and reps is what really helps.”
