Colorado starting offensive guard Devin Head and reserve offensive tackle Ethan Adkins were suspended Monday for violating team rules, coach Dan Hawkins said.
Head, a junior, will sit out one game. Redshirt freshman Adkins is out indefinitely.
“This is disappointing to all of us, but we are going to continue to emphasize our philosophy of excellence with class, and we will uphold our standards,” Hawkins said in a release.
Wary of EWU.
In preparing for Saturday’s game in Boulder (1:30 p.m., no TV), CU coaches will remind the Buffs about what happened last weekend in Lubbock, Texas. Eastern Washington showed it isn’t your average “I-AA” football team.
The Eagles pulled within 11 points of 12th-ranked Texas Tech in the third quarter before falling 49-24. Eagles quarterback Matt Nichols passed for 335 yards — the most against a Tech defense since Texas-El Paso threw for 375 during the second week of the 2006 season.
The newbies.
Among the seven true freshmen who suited up Sunday night for Colorado, the only surprise was defensive tackle Curtis Cunningham. The 6-foot-1, 270-pound former All-Colorado defensive player of the year from Columbine had not been mentioned by CU coaches as a likely participant in the opener.
“Curtis didn’t play a ton of snaps,” Hawkins said, “but he did a nice job of holding up in there, getting in his gap. We just want to get him ready to go. He’ll rotate in there.”
Other true freshmen who saw action were place-kicker Jameson Davis, safety Patrick Mahnke, tight end Ryan Deehan, offensive guard Maxwell Tuioti-Mariner and tailbacks Darrell Scott and Rodney Stewart.
Redshirt freshmen playing in their first college game were starting guard Blake Behrens, safety Anthony Perkins, cornerback Anthony Wright, defensive end Tony Poremba, defensive tackle Eugene Goree, linebacker Josh Hartigan, defensive end Conrad Obi, defensive tackle Lagrone Shields and safety Travis Sandersfeld.
Of Scott’s one-touchdown, 54-yard rushing effort, Hawkins said: “I thought he did all right. Everybody expects these (blue-chip) guys to just jump on the scene and dominate. They’re still freshmen.
“We wanted him to be comfortable. I thought as the game wore on, he became more comfortable.”
