Boulder – Lorenzo Sims is a jigsaw puzzle, in mind, body and cornerback play.
The pieces are on the table. The outline is done. Sims, the jokester junior who is relentlessly positive and arguably Colorado’s top cornerback, is just filling it all in.
As for the mind, Sims wants to be a leader. He knows the coaches want to see it. He knows he wants to be one, and he has had some success.
But …
“It’s not the easiest role,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not being the leader I should be and can be.”
His play heading into a critical Big 12 game Saturday against Missouri suggests he should be. Sims was inserted into CU’s game against Kansas State last week during the second quarter after missing one game with a knee injury. At the time, secondary coach Craig Bray was looking for a spark in the defensive backfield. As soon as Sims went in, Bray noticed a difference.
“You could tell when I put him in that it was different,” Bray said afterward.
“I felt it,” safety Tyrone Henderson said.
“It’s something I tried to develop last spring,” Sims said of injecting energy into the defense. “I don’t think I did as good of a job as I could have done, but I did all right. There’s always room for improvement.”
As for his body, his calves have always been problematic.
In Pop Warner, they’d lock up on him after halftime. Same thing in high school. Same thing at CU.
“It’s kind of weird,” Sims said. “I’ve been to so many doctors and they put me on so many things. Nothing really works, no matter how good of shape I’m in. I feel I’m in the best shape of my life, I can run all day, but once the cramps set in that’s all she wrote.”
So he fights through them. Just as he did with torn cartilage in his left knee, before he had surgery this season. Just as he continues to do with tendinitis in his right knee. And troubles with his toes.
“I’ve been playing with pain for so long, I have to accept the fact that I’m going to have to play with pain,” Sims said. “Some things are fixable. Some things you just have to deal with. As long as I love the game I’ll be playing as long as I’m able to run.”
Bray wonders how long that will be. The injuries have prevented Sims from practicing at a high level. And while Bray understands the situation, the injuries could cost Sims playing time with the emergence of freshman Gardner McKay and the return of Terrence Wheatley next season, in addition to Gerett Burl and Terry Washington.
“It might get him beat out,” Bray said. “They ain’t all going to start. … If he doesn’t practice at the intensity he has to, you know, it’ll catch up to him.”
Overall, Sims has solid numbers this season. He has 25 tackles, only two of which were assisted, but here are the numbers that matter: 11 passes broken up, five stops on third down and an interception.
“He’s smarter, which is key,” Bray said. “He’s got the ability to get us interceptions because he plays the ball so well.”
Most of the time.
“He’s gone to sleep on me a couple times this year,” Bray adds. “He gave up some deep balls that he had no business giving up early (in the season). I was about to replace him, to be honest with you. And he knew it. But he’s still a guy you can rely on.”
Sims admits that at the start of his career he was a “selfish player.” He said he turned the corner after a meeting with Bray in his sophomore season.
“The first couple games, I not only made myself look bad, but I made the team look bad,” he said. “Just going through video with Bray, everything that came out of his mouth was about team. When I came here it was more about myself. Now, it’s all about the team and I’m trying to do everything possible to help my team reach the goals that we set.”
Talks on contract extension
Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn and coach Gary Barnett’s representatives have held general talks about a contract extension in recent weeks. It is the most definitive evidence to date that Barnett will receive an extension.
“We have spoken,” said Barnett’s lawyer, John Rodman. “I’m not going to use the word optimistic, but I am hopeful. I think Gary hopes so, too. I think Mike wants to go in that direction also. That’s my perception. These are good faith (talks). I think we want to go in that direction, and that wasn’t clear to me three, four, five months ago.”
Bohn would not comment on the situation except to say that he continues to be pleased with the direction the football program is headed. “All of that’s the same,” he said.
Barnett has two years remaining on his contract, which pays roughly $1.6 million per season.
MISSOURI AT COLORADO
KEY MATCHUP
Missouri (5-3, 3-2): Quarterback Brad Smith is the key. As he goes, so goes Missouri, and the Tigers’ last two games illustrate the point. In MU’s 41-24 win over Nebraska on Oct. 22, Smith tallied 480 yards of total offense, but in the Tigers’ 13-3 loss to Kansas last week, Smith was held to 179 total yards. Smith ranks 13th in the nation in total offense with 2,445 yards from scrimmage. Running back Marcus Woods (398 yards, three touchdowns) can take some of the pressure off Smith – if he’s allowed more than the five carries he logged against KU.
Colorado (6-2, 4-1): Running back Hugh Charles is looking to break the 100-yard barrier for the first time since going for 132 yards against Oklahoma State on Oct. 1. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said the key is to get Charles (667 yards, five touchdowns) more carries. He’s toted the ball 20 times in a game only twice this season. Defensive tackle James Garee and his linemates will be searching for ways to contain Missouri’s Smith. Garee (24 tackles) has one sack this season.
KEY STAT
3 – Colorado has won three consecutive games against Missouri in Boulder.
KEY FOR MISSOURI
Execution. Missouri is a team that fluctuates wildly in its performance. The Tigers need to steady the ship and play their most complete game of the season in order to pull off an upset on the road and take control of the Big 12 North.
KEY FOR COLORADO
Discipline. Defensively, the Buffs need to stay in their rushing lanes and not allow MU’s Brad Smith to break containment and scramble. If Colorado keeps Smith under wraps, as Kansas did last week, the Tigers will struggle to move the ball and score.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
