CU Buffs Lee: 'We didn't have the maturity or resolve that we needed'

If there’s one thing that has been evident in the Buffs this season it has been their honesty, players have kept it real all season with what their problems have been and taken responsibility across the board.

Donovan Lee is just another guy in a long line of names who have told it like it is.

“I feel like at times we played to our potential,” he said of the offenses performance against Arizona. “But we got comfortable when we got up and we didn’t have the maturity or resolve that we needed to  put a team away when we got up. That’s just something that we have to work on that we’ve been talking about all season.”

Lee is also another name in a long line who can’t figure out why the offense and defense can never click at the same time for this team.

“I can’t really say what that reason is for it, just different players at different times not making the plays that we need to,” he thought. “It’s a team effort collectively, it’s all of us, you can’t really point out any reason, as a team we haven’t made the plays like we need to but we’re going to get there.”

It’s been an odd year for Lee thus far, starting the season with a suspension, coming back on the second half of the CSU game as the starter in the slot position, before being moved to running back for the game against Nicholls. As for the position change, Lee, who played in the backfield most of his high school career, says it has gone well.

“I enjoy being a versatile player, not just being one-dimensional,” he explained. “Being able to have some plays out of the backfield while having the ability to motion out and make some plays from the perimeter.”

“We have a great running back and tight ends room,” he added. “The coaches and players have really helped me make that transition really smoothly. Just picking up the protection and making plays with the ball in my hand, it’s been a smooth transition.”

You won’t hear it from Donovan’s mouth, but he’s one of the playmakers for the Buffs that simply haven’t had the ball in their hands nearly enough this season. Lee along with Devin Ross, Bryce Bobo, even Jay MacIntyre and Dylan Keeney are players that can make big plays for this team but do not get enough opportunities week-in-week-out to do so.

The switch into the backfield for Lee looked to be a way of getting the ball in his hands more, while also replacing the dinged up stable of backs, but it hasn’t seemed that way since he eclipsed the century mark on the ground in that first game against Nicholls, going for 103 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.

“I feel like our coaches have a good game plan set up for us this week, we just have to go out an execute,” Lee said.

If the Buffs are going to get off the Pac-12 schneid this weekend, that game plan will need to utilize playmakers like Donovan Lee and take advantage of a questionable Oregon State defense that ranks 102nd in the country in scoring defense, giving up over 33 points per game.