BOULDER — As promised, the Colorado spring game was very vanilla.
The Buffaloes, however, came away from it feeling good about where they are as a team.
“The kids played hard and got after it,” coach Mike MacIntyre said. “We had good plays on both sides. As a head coach, you want to see that. I was pleased with what I saw today.”
Because they have so many players injured, especially at linebacker, the Buffs did not break into two teams. Instead, they worked on drills for an hour before doing about an hour-long scrimmage of offense vs. defense.
Backup quarterback Jordan Gehrke had a good day, completing 10-of-12 passes for 126 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Shay Fields and Jaleel Awini both caught touchdown passes, while Devin Ross continued his stellar spring with eight catches for 57 yards, turning five catches into first downs.
On the ground, the Buffs piled up 250 yards on 41 carries, with Phillip Lindsay leading the way (seven carries, 83 yards). Michael Adkins and Dino Gordon both scored on runs.
Defensively, cornerback Isaiah Oliver had an interception, three pass breakups and five tackles. Corner Lucas Cooper also had an interception,
Defensive end Frank Umu had a fumble recovery, and outside linebacker Aaron Howard had two tackles for loss, one for a safety.
Isaac Miller injures knee
Redshirt freshman Isaac Miller, who sits atop the depth chart at left offensive tackle, left Saturday’s scrimmage with a sprained MCL ligament in his right knee.
Miller is one of several young linemen the Buffs have been impressed with this spring. The Silver Creek High School graduate is expected to compete for a starting role at either tackle.
Diego Gonzalez’s field goals are perfect
Diego Gonzalez, who had a roller-coaster season last fall, hit both of his field goals, from 22 and 41 yards. The latter came from the left hash, where he struggled last season.
“Diego had a great spring and … we put him in the kick that he missed a lot last year at the end of the year, kind of under a pressure situation from a good distance,” MacIntyre said. “I don’t think he could have hit it down the middle any better.
“Diego has a phenomenal leg. I believe we’ve corrected the fundamental mistake he was making on that (left) hash, and he has confidence in that.”
Buffs sitting out
CU had several players sit out with injuries.
The wounded: receivers Bryce Bobo (hamstring), Joey Hall (knee) and Lee Walker (ankle); linebackers Rick Gamboa (concussion), Derek McCartney (illness) and Christian Shaver (concussion); defensive backs Jaisen Sanchez (knee) and Ahkello Witherspoon (foot); offensive linemen Jonathan Huckins (ankle) and John Lisella (knee); and tailback Tanner Grzesiek (hamstring).
Several others have missed all spring with injuries: quarterback Sefo Liufau; linebackers Addison Gillam, Terran Hasselbach and Travis Talianko; offensive tackle Jeromy Irwin; and defensive end Tyler Henington.
Footnotes
Sanchez will have surgery on his torn ACL on Thursday. The Buffs have one more practice this spring, on Monday.
