Boulder – Terrence Wheatley hates bananas. But lately he has found himself consuming Chiquitas on a fairly regular basis.
The potassium in bananas helps prevent leg cramps. And as one of the hardest working players at Colorado, Wheatley’s legs get more of a workout than most. He is being auditioned for the unoccupied role of “slash.”
The junior is normally a cornerback. But he has been floating around the defensive backfield and taking snaps on offense, as well as running deep routes as a wide receiver to take advantage of his speed. In addition to kick returner, he has added punt-returning responsibilities as well.
And no amount of summer conditioning is adequate preparation for that workload.
“You can run all you want,” Wheatley said. “But until you actually go out there and run in the heat and cut for three hours, it takes a toll on your body. So, you’ve got to eat right, you’ve got to keep hydrated, you’ve got to get plenty of sleep.”
Wheatley has the disadvantage of having to reacquaint his body with the pounding. He missed last season with a wrist injury, which required surgery.
“It is what it is,” Wheatley said. “I’ve got a big metal plate in it. I don’t even notice it. I catch the ball fine. I didn’t drop one punt (in practice).”
Fenton gears up
Occasionally, CU center Mark Fenton will refer to himself as “little Mark Fenton,” which is interesting because he’s 6-feet-4, 295 pounds. Little he is not, but in the eyes of experts across the nation, the senior is a “growing” talent. He’s a Rimington Trophy candidate as the top center in the country, a preseason all-Big 12 selection, a Lombardi Award (top interior lineman) candidate and an Outland Trophy (best offensive or defensive lineman) candidate.
And that has him ready to get the season started.
“I had a good season last year, but for my senior year that’s not good enough,” Fenton said. “I want to elevate my game.”
Asked if he was surprised with the preseason recognition, Fenton said: “During the (2005) season I knew I was playing pretty good. Coaches let me know. But being recognized by your coaches and being recognized nationally are two different things. I wouldn’t think that little Mark Fenton at CU was going to get recognized by the Rimington Award. Getting recognized by other coaches as all-Big 12, I didn’t expect that. But I set a standard by doing that now. I know if I can do it once, I can do it again. It’s time to raise my bar a little bit.”
Footnotes
Thomas Perez is on the “goal line” of being eligible to practice, coach Dan Hawkins said Wednesday. He hopes to have the junior college running back practicing today. … Defensive lineman Taj Kaynor, who ate 7,000 to 8,000 calories per day to gain weight since the end of spring football, has more than accomplished his goal. He started at 250 pounds with a goal of 275, but now says he is 285. His new goal? 300 pounds. … Through the first three morning practices, freshman quarterback Cody Hawkins has been a workhorse, taking all of the snaps with the newcomers.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
