The CU Buffs have found their leader

The Colorado Buffaloes didn’t elect the traditional four captains this season, instead they went with a 12-man leadership council of which four are selected for each game, but one man has emerged as the unquestioned vocal leader of the black and gold, a 5-foot-8, 180 sophomore out of Denver, Phillip Lindsay.

Lindsay who has always been know for his fiery personality and style of play, has moved into the leadership role nicely this season as his role on the field has increased. After last Saturday’s disappointing loss to Arizona State, Lindsay delivered an intense speech to his teammates.

“It came from the heart,” he said of what drove that vocal outburst. “You bottle up a lot of emotions when you know that you should be winning games and know that you should be on the right foot. Our team is very well off, we are athletic, we can win games and we’ve proven that, we’ve proven that we can win games and that we can hang. We need to win these games and it’s frustrating at times.”

During that speech Lindsay decided to try something new.

“Phil called a [players only] meeting on Sunday,” explained senior receiver Nelson Spruce. “After a game like that, it felt like a step back so we just came together, it was really positive, we kind of just brainstormed what its going to take to get back going in the right direction.”

As for what drives Lindsay, it’s pretty simple.

“Passion, it’s passion,” he explained without hesitation. “Nobody is playing the game to lose the game, we’re playing the game to win. We’ve been through some tough times and it’s time for us to rise above it. There’s two things you can do – you can either quit or you dig deeper and get through this adversity.”

Nothing cures adversity faster than wins, and the Buffs have a winnable game this Saturday when they take on the Wildcats of Arizona in the friendly confines of Folsom Field.

So what’s it going to take to get over the hump?

“Be more disciplined and be confident going into the game, be more confident with each other,” explained Lindsay. “Trust the person standing to your left and to your right because at the end of the day that’s all you have.”

In true Lindsay fashion, he exuded confidence that the Buffs will get over the hump this week.

“I’m very confident, I’m 100 percent sure it’s going to happen,” he said sternly. “We’re ready, we’re a team that’s mad, we’re pissed off, we have a chip on our shoulder and we need to go out there and show it.”

As the homegrown running back transitions into his leadership role, he is also working on becoming an every-down back in this offense, something that his position coach, Klayton Adams, said he was well on his way to doing last week.

“That’s been my goal since the beginning of this season, I want to keep going,” Lindsay told. “I’ve proved that I can block, but I want to continue to work on that because the best running backs can block. I want to continue to keep catching out of the backfield, and just keep running hard, and running patient and trusting my eyes.”

He’s not the biggest, the strongest or even the most talented player on the Colorado roster, but Phillip Lindsay has a different look in his eye, the game of football means something a little bit different to him and The University of Colorado means a little bit more to him. What it all adds up to is a great leader and exactly the leader the Buffaloes need.