BOULDER — Near the conclusion of spring practice in mid-April, Colorado defensive line coach Jim Jeffcoat said his position group needed to get into better shape.
Four months later, Jeffcoat is pleased with how the group is progressing in that regard.
“They’re starting to improve on it,” Jeffcoat said Friday, the fourth day of fall camp. “Obviously there’s a lot more that has to be done. We have enough time to get it done; it’s just that they have to understand that every day we’ve got to improve a little bit.”
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Facing fast-paced offenses on a regular basis in the Pac-12 Conference, the Buffs need well-conditioned linemen who can be on the field for several plays in a row.
“When you play up-tempo teams, you can’t substitute as freely because you can’t get them off and on the field,” Jeffcoat said. “They might have to be in there an extended period of time.
“They understand that you’ve got to be in probably the best shape of your life to handle this.”
Sophomore Josh Tupou was one of several players required to lose weight. He went from about 330 pounds at the start of the summer to about 315 now, he said. He’d like to lose another 10-15 pounds. He’s not the only one. The whole group took the conditioning challenge seriously.
“We’re still working at it,” Tupou said. “It’s making us a better defensive line unit. But, where we want to be condition-wise, we’re not there yet.”
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