BOULDER — Before he took the field for Colorado in place of injured starting quarterback Sefo Liufau last week, backup Cade Apsay told the offensive linemen he would make it worth their while to keep him upright.
“I told them that I would get them a gift if they didn’t have any sacks,” said Apsay, a redshirt freshman from Canyon Country, Calif.
“We’ll take anything we can get from the quarterback,” left tackle Stephane Nembot said.
Unfortunately, the added incentive didn’t work. Apsay, who played the last three quarters in a 27-24 loss to Southern California , was sacked five times. It wasn’t always the linemen’s fault, though.
“There were some mistakes he made where he needed to get rid of the football or just needed to understand our protection better,” said offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren. “As a young guy, those are things you learn from. He’s got a whole week getting the starter’s reps now, and that will help.”
Apsay, who will get his first start since high school Saturday night at Washington State, had a “feeling of exhilaration” when he got to play.
“I definitely missed it,” Apsay said. “Obviously the speed and competition is much faster, much bigger and stronger. I missed the heart beating in my chest, the nerves and excitement, the crowd.”
Apsay was accurate, completing 18-of-23 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover. That was one of the traits CU coaches liked when they recruited him.
“He’s a very accurate passer,” Lindgren said. “That was one of the main things we saw, (and) his ability to be efficient, get the ball out, a nice catchable throw.”
Apsay had two schools in mind when he was being recruited: CU and Arizona. In CU head coach Mike Mac- Intyre he noticed a genuine friendliness that reminded him of his high school head coach, and he fell in love with Boulder on a recruiting trip when he crested the U.S. 36 overlook.
“You come over that highway, the Flatirons behind Boulder, it just fit me as a person,” Apsay said. “I just fell in love with it immediately.”
Now Apsay has two games to show what he can do before Liufau returns to the team in the spring for his senior year. Standing on the sideline with crutches and ice on his left foot after getting hurt, Liufau was a big help to Apsay last week.
“Protections, coverages, the reads, the things he noticed that could help me,” Apsay said. “He was by my side whenever I was on the sideline.”
MacIntyre said it took a while for the game to “slow down” for Apsay.
“All of a sudden you take off your headgear, you’re right in the middle of the game against USC and it’s the heat of battle for your first time,” MacIntyre said. “I tried to calm him down as much as I could, but you get out there and those big boys are running at you, it’s a little bit tougher. It’s easier said than done.”
CU coaches say the game plan won’t be much different with Apsay under center, except that there won’t be as many designed runs for him as there were for Liufau. At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, Liufau could run with power. Apsay is 6-1 and 190, and if he went down, CU would have only one quarterback, junior Jordan Gehrke, to back him up.
Apsay approached practices and meetings this week with a different mindset, knowing he’s the starter as Liufau faces foot surgery.
“The level of intensity at which I prepare and watch film and ask questions in meetings, it’s definitely increased,” Apsay said. “In practice, I’m watching every play. That focus and intensity is a mile high right now.”
John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or @johnmeyer
