BOULDER — On the second play of Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage, Colorado running back Christian Powell busted through the defense, sprinted to the left side and rumbled for a 52-yard gain.
The senior tailback never touched the ball again.
“I think I’d be stupid if I ran him a bunch right now when he’s a fourth-year senior and he’s played a lot of football and we know he’s tough and we know he’s good,” CU coach Mike MacIntyre said. “Like you do in a preseason game, you kind of give them a few runs, get their feet wet, get hit a few times, don’t fumble and then get him out.”
Saturday’s scrimmage felt very much like the opening game of an NFL preseason schedule, as the roughly 600 fans who showed up to Folsom Field spent the bulk of their time watching CU’s backups.
With the season opener less than three weeks away, MacIntyre was clearly not interested in showing off too much.
The starters played just one series, with quarterback Sefo Liufau leading the offense to a 37-yard Diego Gonzalez field goal.
Liufau threw just two passes, one of which fell incomplete in the end zone. Powell had just two rushing attempts. Receiver Nelson Spruce didn’t play as he nursed a strained calf.
With the starters resting, several others got a chance to shine for the CU offense.
In particular, the battle for the backup quarterback job was on display. Junior Jordan Gehrke is still sitting at No. 2, but redshirt freshman Cade Apsay continues to impress coaches.
“I think Cade is a young quarterback that is very talented, and he has progressed a lot over the course of spring and summer and fall camp,” offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said. “We’re really excited about his development.”
Apsay led the offense on a half-dozen possessions, three of them ending with scores (two touchdowns, one field goal).
“Right now, Jordan is our second and Sefo is our first,” MacIntyre said. “But … I’ve been in a lot of games where I’ve had to put the third guy in, and I feel a lot better now than I did when I first started camp about Cade being able to go in and play.”
