The Colorado Football Team stretches before an April spring practice. April 5, 2023. (Griffin Dreifaldt/CU Independent)
On Wednesday, April 5, Colorado resumed spring football practices and picked up where it left off. After the spring break hiatus, the new Buffs team looked energized, and players came out looking to draw contact with opposing teammates.
Cornerback and receiver Travis Hunter’s athleticism was on display throughout the whole practice. Every rep Hunter took was extremely fluid, matched with impeccable footwork and outstanding balance; he is well on his way to becoming a star. Hunter will continue practicing with the wide receivers and hopes to learn the offense before switching to cornerback this fall.
Having the team’s best cornerback understand and get meaningful playing time and practice at the wide receiver position will make him and the Buffs’ defense much more potent.
Jimmy Horn remains a standout in his first spring in Boulder, being the first player on the team to earn his number. Horn showed up Wednesday morning, rocking the #5 while everyone else remains numberless. Younger players and other transfers continue to look up to Horn as he quickly becomes a leading voice in the locker room and a player who leads by example.
“I’m definitely proud of Jimmy, he deserves it, he’s been balling out in practice every day. He just tries to teach me little things because he’s been in college already,” said freshman running back Dylan Edwards.
The Sean Lewis’ Colorado offense is still a work in progress, as it is a very complex scheme to master, but the players continue to work every day trying to learn it. The system requires skill position players (wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends) to be consistently ready. The running back position must help “chip” or block unguarded defenders, the wide receivers have to be out wide, creating space and more one on one matchups, and the tight end must understand when to fill gaps and find open seams in the defense.
“The offense Coach Lewis has had is very hard and complicated but I’m getting adjusted every day, and every day I just try to come out there and practice and be the best me I can be,” said Edwards.
As the Black and Gold Spring game approaches in a few weeks, on April 22, we will continue to see many players on both sides of the ball finally earn their numbers. Colorado is one of the few NCAA teams ever that has gone into camp with zero numbers assigned to players, which is somewhat of an old-school approach. The theory of “every player is equal; you have to outwork each other for a given number” may seem tiresome and challenging, but it brings out the best in players and coaches.
“Every day you go out there trying to earn your number, try to be the best you can be, as long as you’re making plays, the number will come,” said Edwards.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Griffin Dreifaldt at griffin.dreifaldt@colorado.edu.
