The Buffaloes of head coach Mike MacIntyre play their last game of the year today when they take on the University of Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. For the first time under Coach Mac2, Buff fans will get to see how the guys play when their pride is the only thing on the line.
Following the loss to USC last week, Colorado is now officially out of the bowl picture with a record of 4-7. The situation is the same for Utah, which is also 4-7. The game features a fight to determine which is the 2nd and 3rd worst team in the Pac-12 behind Cal.
Although Utah has been dubbed as Colorado's conference rivalry game by the poobahs at Pac-12 headquarters, the fact of the matter is that only time and games that matter over the next decade or so will decide whether the game ever becomes a rivalry. Having bowls or conference championships on the line in the last game of the season is the one way to create a rivalry in short order. Unfortunately, that will have to wait for years to come.
The biggest question for Buff fans is whether this will be the last time we see Paul Richardson wearing a CU uniform. He obviously is very talented and is perhaps one of the best wide receivers ever to grace Folsom Field for Colorado.
But being a great college player at any position does not automatically make one a sure-fire bet to make it big in the NFL.
Richardson is very generously listed as 6'1" tall and 170 pounds by the official CU website, but most estimates put him at around 160 pounds soaking wet. There are very few players in the NFL which play at such a light weight. Indeed, over the last 30 years, there have only been about 21 guys who played at under 165 pounds. The latest was Brandon Banks, who played at around 150. His time in the NFL was short, however, and he now plays in the Canadian Football League.
The advice here is that Richardson should take some time to talk to CU basketball player Josh Scott. Last year as a freshman, Scott had lots of talent but was frequently manhandled by stronger players. An off-season dedicated to building body mass has turned Scott into a force on the boards.
The guy behind the the increase in strength and muscle for Scott was Colorado's Director of Sports Performance Dave Forman, who is starting to be recognized as one of the best in the country. He was at Stanford for the turnaround that made the Cardinal one of the strongest teams in the FBS, and he also helped turn San Jose State into a bowl team that was ranked in the top 25 at the end of last season.
Now Forman's job is to do the same at Colorado, and Josh Scott is living proof that it can be done in fairly short order. Richardson should really evaluate whether he is strong enough for the pounding of professional football right now.
It says here that if Paul Richardson puts on 20 pounds before next season AND keeps his speed, All-American status and having his name called on the first day of the draft are highly likely, as well as a bowl trip for the Buffaloes. If he decides to declare for the draft this year, he should be ready to go undrafted or be a late round pick. The difference in money is huge between those options. Indeed, Canada might well be where he ends up.
I've heard people say that they think Richardson will be a 1st or 2nd rounder this year, but frankly, those people are living in a fantasy world. The NFL is BIG business and they do not waste draft picks. Of the 21 guys under 165 in the last 30 years, ten were undrafted free agents and only THREE were drafted in the first 100 of their draft. The highest was Stacey Bailey, who was drafted 63rd way back in 1982. Check out the list, and another thing these guys all have in common is that they do not ring any bells as stars of the NFL game. They are mostly answers to the trivia question, "who are the smallest guys in the NFL?"
I wish Paul Richardson all the luck and success in the world no matter what he decides to do. It has been a pleasure to watch him play and help make Colorado an exciting team to watch again. As for his future, does he want to be a star player in the NFL? Or does he want to be part of the answer to the trivia question above?
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