CU Buffs: Under-appreciated work-horse expected to start again

College football fans love to talk about the fresh faces, it’s not as much ‘what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?’ as it is ‘what-might-you-do-for-me later?’

Ask any Colorado fan about their running backs and you’ll likely hear all about Phillip Lindsay, Patrick Carr, Michael Adkins, and maybe even Donald Gordon before you hear them talk about the back looking to become just the second player in Colorado history to lead the team in rushing for four consecutive seasons.

Christian Powell, while not flashy, has been a constant, solid contributor for the Buffs all three of his seasons on campus, he ranks 23rd all-time on the schools rushing list, he finished spring atop the depth chart at RB, and he is the projected starter for the 2015 season right now.

“If we played today, he’s our starting tailback,” said head coach Mike MacIntyre after the team’s scrimmage on Saturday. “He’s a fourth year senior, he’s played a lot of football, we know he’s tough, and we know he’s good.”

But Powell never gets too comfortable with that strong group of backs behind him.

“I don’t ever feel like I have it solidified,” he said of the starting role. “I feel like it’s something that I have to come out and work for every day, that’s going to continue to be my mentality throughout camp and throughout the season.”

Powell has averaged 567 yards per season at Colorado, on 4.4 yards per carry, like his running style, it’s nothing that jumps out at you, but as the Buffaloes look to try and focus more on the run this season, Powell will again be a big part of the attack.

“It has to be a mentality, we are going to go out and run the ball, we are going to go out and the line is going to block, the backs are going to hit the hole,” he said of how to make the hopes of a stronger running game come true. “It’s all a mindset, we feel like it’s a change that we need, we have to get the running game going, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

As for that group around him that sometimes gets talked about more than the converted fullback, he has nothing but nice things to say.

“I feel like it’s a good group, everybody is comfortable with the offense,” told Powell. “We have some experience back there, and we have a couple new guys back there that are learning it. I feel like as a group, as a whole, we’re really good.”

The senior tailback doesn’t care about numbers, nor recognition, he says all he wants to do is all he can to get the team to a bowl game. He’s not as vocal as Phillip Lindsay, he’s not as fast as Michael Adkins, he wasn’t recruited as heavily as Patrick Carr, but Christian Powell has been a constant work horse for the Colorado Buffaloes and he’ll continue to be just that this year, don’t let the fresh face hype fool you.