BOULDER — Colorado released a depth chart for the season opener early Thursday evening, but coach Dan Hawkins again cautioned depth charts do not hold much meaning in his football program.
Several positions listed in the depth chart include a player “grouping” rather than a set pecking order.
Those include x-wide receiver, z-wide receiver, tight end and tailback.
“It’s about groupings,” Hawkins explained. “On defense, you’re going to play four or five different personnel groups. On offense, you’re going to play a gazillion.
“My basic promise to these guys is, if they can do something well and do it consistently, we’re going to get them in the football game.”
“In modern-day football, it’s not, ‘Who is the starting tailback? Who is the starting fullback?’ Other than the quarterback and the offensive line, who are a little more traditional in that sense, for everybody else it’s, ‘hey, we’re going to put them in where they’re going to be used best.’ We’ll slide them around and move them around, depending on what their skill sets are.”
Among the positions without groupings, there were several notable developments:
“It’s going to be fun competing against Max. The O-line is tight,” Behrens said.
Redshirt freshman Anthony Wright is cornerback Gardner McKay’s top backup at right cornerback and redshirt freshman Anthony Perkins is listed as the top reserve behind senior Ryan Walters at free safety.
Sophomore receiver Josh Smith tops the punt and kickoff return lists. Scott is listed third among kickoff returners, behind Demetrius Sumler.
The two other touted freshman runners — Ray Polk and Rodney Stewart — join Scott in the tailback grouping. The tight end grouping lists seven players, including injured junior Luke Walters. Seven wide receivers made those two groupings.
“We always drive the announcers crazy,” Hawkins said. “They’d better know all the guys, because they’ll probably all be in there at some point or another.”
Captains named. Fullback Maurice Cantrell, center Daniel Sanders, free safety Ryan Walters and wide receiver Patrick Williams were named captains in a vote by the players. All four are fifth-year seniors. “To be a captain of a team I’ve wanted to play for all my life is definitely an honor,” Walters said.
