Boulder – It sounded mean, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“He’s made more plays the last two days than he did all last year,” Colorado offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said after watching junior wide receiver Patrick Williams catch two touchdown passes during the Buffs’ first scrimmage of fall camp Sunday.
For Williams, it was affirmation of all the hard work he has put in. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from Texas might have caught more spirals during the summer from quarterbacks or the Jugs throwing machine than anyone on the team.
“Every day it was something like 40 balls high, 40 balls low, 40 to the left, 40 to the right,” Williams said Monday after nabbing everything in sight during the two-hour morning session.
A former high school quarterback, Williams has been trying to rid himself of “the dropsies” since he arrived in Boulder in 2004. Quarterbacks, by nature, have soft hands and good ball skills. But Williams couldn’t seem to hang on to the football. After he broke bones in both hands early in his freshman season, he took a medical redshirt season, no doubt delaying his development.
When Williams did catch a pass, he didn’t seem to go anywhere with it. Although a track star at DeSoto High School with a best of 14.3 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, Williams averaged just 8.6 yards on 28 catches in 2005 under Gary Barnett and 12.7 yards on 19 grabs last fall in Dan Hawkins’ system.
“He was very raw,” Hawkins said. “His body used to get out of whack (when catching the ball). I think he’s learning how to manipulate his body a little bit better.”
It’s too early to say his performance Sunday was a “coming- out party,” but signs are encouraging. On his two TD receptions from Cody Hawkins during the scrimmage, Williams shielded the defender and utilized his leaping ability. As a high jumper at DeSoto, Williams could clear his own height (6-2).
“That was just going up and attacking the ball,” Williams said of his TD catches. “I just thought the ball was mine.”
Freshman wideouts have turned heads in camp. But coaches say they haven’t forgotten about Williams.
“I’m very excited about Pat’s progress,” receivers coach Eric Kiesau said. “He’s the kind of big receiver you need in the Big 12.”
Footnotes
Dan Hawkins drew a loud cheer following the afternoon session when he canceled today’s only scheduled practice. Instead, the team will conduct a short walkthrough and then head to a paintball center for what Hawkins called a “team unity thing. They’ve been working really hard….They need to get their legs back.” … Two freshman wideouts are banged up. Josh Smith, the star of Sunday’s scrimmage, “tweaked his neck” Monday but is OK, Hawkins said. Markques Simas injured a shoulder in the scrimmage. X-rays were negative, but Simas will be examined by a doctor as a precaution, Hawkins said….A bruise on his throwing hand gave quarterback Nick Nelson no problems Monday. … One of the first of the newly invited walk-ons to contribute could be Tyler Cope as a kickoff specialist. Cope connected on 6-of-8 field goals in 2006 at Portland (Ore.) Jesuit High School. “He can bang. We were really happy to get him,” Hawkins said. … After reviewing film of Kai Maiava’s performance in the scrimmage with the first team, Hawkins said the 6-1, 295-pound freshman center from Hawaii “has a chance to be in the mix. He’s not a 6-5 guy, but he’s strong, smart.”
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
