Boulder – The thousands of imitation Anne Robinsons who are looking for the weakest link in the Colorado depth chart have narrowed it to the interior defensive line.
Among the listed shortcomings: too little talent, too few bodies and not enough experience.
Inevitably, this has reached sophomore linemen Brandon Nicolas and George Hypolite, as well as line coach Romeo Bandison. They report the truths, half- truths and flat-out falsities of what’s going on in the middle of the Buffaloes’ line.
First truth: Nicolas, a transfer from Notre Dame, is the real deal.
“Brandon is doing a lot better than I thought he would,” Bandison said. “He improved a bunch in the spring. He’s tougher in there holding the gaps. He’s doing good, and he’s going against one of the best centers in the league (Mark Fenton) every play, so he’s getting better.”
Nicolas was especially disruptive in CU’s scrimmage Sunday, logging 1 1/2 sacks and routinely finding himself in the backfield throughout the night.
“It’s going good,” Nicolas said. “I’m having a pretty good camp; working hard and learning a lot. Going against Mark and Brian Daniels helps me get better.”
Hypolite also is playing well inside, Bandison said, as Hypolite and Nicolas take over for James Garee and Vaka Manupuna, who graduated. Garee and Manupuna played a combined 1,277 snaps last year and logged a combined 93 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks and nine other tackles for losses.
Second truth: lack of experience.
“I look at it this way: The ends are way more experienced,” Bandison said. “Brandon hasn’t played college football. George played some last year. Taj (Kaynor) never played. Marcus (Jones) played very little. Then we have two freshmen in there. We’ll just keep working. I just want those guys to hold their gaps and do something.”
Hypolite played 203 snaps in 2005, splitting time between tackle and end. To help, Alex Ligon, who made his mark as a defensive end, has been rotated into the interior. But even with Ligon, the combined total snaps everyone in the rotation on the defensive line has taken is 603, 98 fewer than Manupuna had last season.
Bandison would love to rotate six defensive tackles.
“If we can get to that,” he said. “Everybody in the country would like to have that luxury, and some people do. It depends on how these guys progress and figure it out.”
Finally, the biggest fallacy: questioning the talent.
“We’ve heard it all,” said Nicolas, who was recruited by CU out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., before choosing Notre Dame. “We definitely think we have something to come out and prove.”
Footnotes
Senior kicker Mason Crosby was named to the Lou Groza Award preseason watch list. He was the runner-up for the award in 2005. … Offensive lineman Zach Jones has quit the team, coach Dan Hawkins said. “Football just wasn’t his thing anymore,” Hawkins said. … Safety Ryan Walters (thigh) should be ready for Friday’s scrimmage. … Former CU coach Bill McCartney spoke to the team Tuesday night.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
