BOULDER, Colo.—The Colorado Buffaloes beat the Texas Longhorns to the punch last February, landing Darrell Scott, the top tailback recruit in the country.
But the freshman leading the Buffs in rushing isn’t Scott but Rodney “Speedy” Stewart, whom they signed as insurance while Scott was still deciding between Austin and Boulder.
Stewart is averaging 87.3 yards a game and 5.6 yards a carry, compared to Scott’s average 36 yards a game and 3.7 yards a carry.
“We know if Darrell Scott is not getting the ball every time, that Stewart must be really good, because we know how good Darrell is,” said Texas coach Mack Brown, whose fifth-ranked Longhorns visit Folsom Field Saturday night.
At just 5-foot-6, Stewart has become the big man on campus.
“That little Stewart, he can roll,” Texas defensive end Lamarr Houston said. “You can’t see him when he’s got 300-pound guys in front of him.”
The Buffs (3-1) believe Scott is ready to show off his stuff, too, just in time for the Longhorns (4-0) to get a firsthand look at the prized recruit who spurned them at the last moment.
There are several reasons for Scott’s slow start. They include groin and knee injuries and a late start in camp while he was taking an algebra course to gain eligibility. He showed up overweight and had to catch up on the play book and his footwork.
“Everybody wants the rookie or the freshman to come in and set the place on fire. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn’t happen,” Buffaloes coach Dan Hawkins said. “I’m more concerned with all the intangible things because I know at some point he’s going to be a great player.”
Scott’s position coach, Darian Hagan, said Scott had his best week of practice yet. Scott’s teammates said his dogged determination to catch up has him on the verge of a breakout performance.
The timing is perfect for Scott, who chose the Buffs in part because his uncle, sophomore receiver/returner Josh Smith, plays for Colorado, but also because the Longhorns juggled their coaching staff. Scott has said he might be playing for the Longhorns this weekend had Major Applewhite not succeeded running backs coach Ken Rucker, who moved into an administrative position at Texas.
The Buffs’ ground game could prove especially vital against the Longhorns, who have 14 sacks in their last two games and are facing a Colorado team trying to protect quarterback Cody Hawkins with an offensive line missing star tackle Ryan Miller, who broke his leg last week in a loss to Florida State.
Replacing Miller to face Texas’ sack machine is redshirt freshman Matt Bahr, who will be making his first collegiate start.
Bahr figures to see more of Henry Melton than Brian Orakpo, Texas’ best pass rusher, although the Longhorns might flip their senior defensive ends if they think Orakpo, who has six sacks already, could get after the freshman.
With a healthier Scott and Texas’ pass rush, the Buffs might turn more to their ground game.
“Both of those guys are a step away from taking it to the house on every play,” Bahr said. “Speedy’s so shifty and Darrell’s more of a power back. Both of those guys have unbelievable ability. Just got to open a couple of holes for them and they’ll go.”
However, they’ll be running behind a line that lost guards Mike Iltis (knee) and Erick Faatagi (academics) before the season and didn’t make it through September with Miller and freshman guard Max Tuioti-Mariner (knee).
The probable starters against the Longhorns are senior center Daniel Sanders and four underclassmen: junior Devin Head, redshirt freshman Blake Behrens, Bahr and sophomore Nate Solder.
“You have speed, talent and strength on one side, youth on the other,” Hawkins said.
The Longhorns have outscored their opponents 198-43 overall. After Saturday, they begin a brutal stretch against top-ranked Oklahoma, No. 4 Missouri, No. 21 Oklahoma State and seventh-ranked Texas Tech.
“We’ve beaten the teams we were supposed to, like we were supposed to, but we still haven’t been tested by a really good football team that’s going to be physical. I think Colorado will be both of those,” Brown said.
“We will absolutely get Colorado’s best shot,” Brown said. “They were not happy with the way they played last week in the second half against Florida State and they’ll be excited. It’s a great opportunity for them after their win against West Virginia to come back and show that they’re the same team against us.”
Colorado and Texas haven’t met since the Longhorns embarrassed the Buffs 70-3 in the Big 12 championship in 2005 en route to the national championship.
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AP Sports Writer Jim Vertuno contributed to this report from Austin, Texas.
