BOULDER — The apprenticeship of sophomore Ray Polk is over.
Donald Trump would keep him. Colorado certainly will. In a secondary featuring two NFL prospects at cornerback, Polk has made the transition from a 4.4 tailback buried on the depth chart to a fire-breathing, raw meat-eating, bone-crunching free safety.
The secondary is Colorado’s strength thanks to senior cornerbacks Jalil Brown and Jimmy Smith and strong safety Anthony Perkins, who was third on the team with 78 tackles last season. Now add another sub-4.5 defensive back who has finally learned the position, and you have the best secondary Colorado has had in years.
In only his second year at the position, Polk is no longer dazed and confused.
“I’m really getting comfortable in that spot,” Polk said. “It’s all about experience. It’s been an expediential growth.”
The transition isn’t easy. He’s going from running forward to running backward. Yet think of the run support the defense gets from a safety who runs a 4.4.
In his apprenticeship year in 2009, Polk played well enough off the bench to earn the starting job by Game 7 at Kansas State. He has been entrenched ever since.
“It’s kind of similar to tailback, honestly, in the run fits,” Polk said. “You come up and you fill a hole. You get to read it from farther back. I never thought I’d enjoy that, but I never thought of it from a defensive perspective.”
With Smith, Brown and Perkins returning, Polk’s maturation into the new position was the secondary’s lone question mark. As far as new secondary coach Ashley Ambrose is concerned, the question has been answered.
“He’s doing good,” said Ambrose, an all-pro cornerback with the Bengals in 1996. “He’s made tremendous strides from last year. I’ve seen some good things from him, and he just has to keep working.”
Polk’s dad, Raymond, was a cornerback at Oklahoma State, but Ray’s move to defensive back wasn’t as obvious as it seemed. At Brophy Prep in Scottsdale, Ariz., he was a SuperPrep All-American and ranked as the No. 11 tailback in the country by .
He came to Colorado, shunning programs that suggested a switch to defense. Then he saw the depth chart at tailback. Above him in his own class were the highest-recruited tailback in the country, Darrell Scott, and Rodney Stewart, so good out of Westerville, Ohio, that he could beat out Scott, which he did.
After redshirting in 2008, Polk went to then-secondary coach Greg Brown on signing day with an idea. Move him to safety.
“I said I think this would be the best idea for me and the team,” Polk said. “We’ve got a lot of running backs as it is. Obviously, now it’s a little different.”
Yes, Scott never played to his press clippings and transferred to South Florida, and at least two true freshman tailbacks will get playing time behind Stewart and junior Brian Lockridge this season.
How much this secondary can dominate may be revealed Sept. 4 when Colorado opens against Colorado State and a true freshman quarterback, Pete Thomas.
“We’ve got a great secondary, honestly,” Polk said. “It’s pretty exciting. I think we’re really stepping up. The great thing about it is not only is our secondary really good but our receivers actually are pushing us. We have receivers to get better off of, and it’s all building on itself.”
Buffs select captains.
Quarterback Cody Hawkins, wide receiver Scotty McKnight, offensive tackle Nate Solder and cornerback Brown were selected captains by their teammates Sunday.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
