BOULDER — Friday brought no news in the case of junior-college transfer wide receiver Andre Simmons, who continues to wait for transcripts to be sent to the University of Colorado in order to be cleared to play.
The situation has frustrated some fans to the point where they have actually called Independence (Kan.) Community College to try to speed up the process, something the CU administration is trying to curb.
Simmons could turn out to be an important member of the offense, because the Buffs are largely inexperienced at the wide receiver position and could use a player who has been through some sort of college football. He had 31 catches for 318 yards and a touchdown for Independence last season and was a first-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference selection.
Simmons is expected to be cleared to practice as soon as the paperwork arrives and is verified against information the school has been told. That could happen as soon as today.
Speedy sidelined.
Running back Rodney “Speedy” Stewart did not practice Friday, nursing a sore hamstring he injured during Thursday’s scrimmage.
Asked when Stewart would return to the field, CU coach Dan Hawkins said, “Don’t know,” and added, “He’ll be fine.”
Stewart was one of the team’s brightest stars a year ago, gaining 622 yards with two touchdowns before a broken leg caused him to miss the final quarter of the season.
Footnotes.
Hawkins praised the focus of the team in a morning walkthrough, coming off Thursday’s scrimmage. He said the natural tendency is to goof around, but his Buffs refrained. “I think it kind of tests the maturity of your team,” he said. “I thought they did a great job with that.” He also praised the team’s “tempo” during the afternoon session. . . . Hawkins, on the camp as a whole: “I do think we are way further along, just in a lot of things. Just simple special-teams drills. Just getting to and from things and a lot of those nuances. We’re just a lot further along.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
