BOULDER — A farm boy at heart, Colorado senior wide receiver Dusty Sprague always can joke that he became the black sheep of the family — make that, black-and-gold sheep — by playing football for the Buffaloes. Two older brothers attended Colorado State.
“I woke up one morning and told my dad, ‘Colorado is where I’m going.’ This is where I was supposed to be,” said Sprague, who along with 14 other CU seniors will make their final appearance at Folsom Field on Friday against Nebraska. They will exchange hugs and handshakes, perhaps some tears.
“It’s going to be emotional,” senior offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus said.
“These guys have been my football brothers, and there’s a chance I may never see some of them after this,” senior linebacker Jordon Dizon added. “We’ve been through a lot together.”
They didn’t knowingly sign up for a recruiting scandal, a change in head coaches, losses to Oklahoma and Texas by a combined score of 112-6 in Big 12 championship games and a 2-10 record in 2006 that was the program’s worst in 22 years. Controversy and confusion became as much a part of their playing days as wins and losses.
“Even if I could, I wouldn’t go back and change a thing,” said Sprague, who had his best season (43 catches) as a sophomore. “I’ve had a lot of awesome experiences. Some people may call them bad experiences, but I call them good xperiences. I’ve learned a lot about who I am. It’s stuff I can carry on through real life. I’m grateful for that.”
There have been good times, as well. Two Big 12 North titles. Shutting out Oklahoma State 34-0 in Stillwater. A two-game sweep of Texas Tech. A 4-1 record against Colorado State. Marked improvement this season, including a headline-grabbing, come-from-behind victory in September over then-No. 3 Oklahoma.
Beating Nebraska on Friday to gain bowl eligibility would be huge.
“The seniors have had a lot thrown at us,” Polumbus said. “When that happens, you can either crawl under a rock or step up like a man and show the world what you’re really about.”
Perhaps out of necessity, the senior class produced an inordinate number of strong leaders. After each practice this week, a senior has been called to stand up and address the squad.
“The thing that strikes me about this senior class,” offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said, “is how willing they’ve been to do everything we’ve asked of them. Sometimes when guys face challenging times they throw up their hands. Sometimes they give up on the coaches. To their credit, that didn’t happen with this group.”
Footnotes. Two other CU seniors — wideout Alvin Barnett and quarterback Bernard Jackson — were academically ineligible this season. Barnett could return in 2008 for a fifth year of eligibility. Jackson’s college career is finished. . . . CU coach Dan Hawkins said Tuesday he has not completely ruled out the possibility that senior cornerback Terrence Wheatley (foot) will play Friday, but called his availability doubtful.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
