BOULDER — Colorado coach Dan Hawkins remains bullish on freshman tailback Darrell Scott.
Scott, the nation’s top-rated high school senior running back last fall, didn’t do anything special against Missouri: 24 yards on eight carries and 12 yards on three receptions. And for the season, Scott has just 191 yards rushing.
Those aren’t the kind of stats expected of a blue-chipper voted preseason freshman of the year by Big 12 coaches. But Hawkins believes good times lie ahead.
“A lot of times those (statistics) aren’t what people want,” Hawkins said today during his weekly media luncheon. “But I have been just so impressed by his attitude about everything since coming here.
“That, to me, has been awesome. He’s going to have many days at Folsom Field where he tears it up. He’s going to be a great player. He will. But how he has handled all the issues has been awesome.”
Scott has been plagued by various nagging injuries since he arrived at CU in August. Scott acknowledged having been about 10 to 15 pounds overweight and a bit out of shape. His eight carries against Missouri were his most since getting 10 against West Virginia in the third game of the season. His three catches on Saturday night matched his season best, in Game 2 against Eastern Washington.
Look for the Buffs to use Scott more often as a receiver out of the backfield, perhaps this Saturday in the road game against Texas A&M. He ran 10.5 for 100 meters last year at St. Bonaventure High in Ventura, Calif.
“We’re trying to always get people in space,” Hawkins said. “That’s the name of the game in football, basketball. But he is a good receiver. He can catch the ball.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
