It's officially game week in Boulder.
On the horizon this Friday is the annual clash in Denver with CSU at the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Yesterday featured a look at newcomers (Freshmen, Redshirt Freshmen, and Transfers) on Offense for the 2014 Colorado Buffaloes football team.
Today features a look at the newcomers who might make an impact on Defense and Special Teams.
Mike MacIntyre's first year in Boulder was last year. He took over a squad that was lucky to win one game in 2012 that many Buff fans feel was the worst team in Colorado's long and storied history. He took that 2012 squad, and with the help of some marvellous newcomers to the program, turned it into a 4 win team.
On offense, freshmen QB Sefo Liufau and RB Michael Akins II worked their way into the starting line-ups and were major causes for hope among the Buff faithful.
On defense, Linebacker Addison Gillam had perhaps the best freshmen defensive year in the history of the program. He was a freshman All-American and set the CU record for tackles by a freshman.
Who will be the newcomers this year that will make an impact?
Among
defensive backs, these young men are looking to make a name for themselves guarding the fleet hordes of wide receivers in the Pac-12 and chasing down speedy return men.
- Ahkello Witherspoon -- 6'3'' 185 lbs (Soph.)
Ahkello transferred to CU from Sacramento City College. Witherspoon was looked at by Coach MacIntyre when he was the head coach at San Jose State. They deemed the young speedster as too small in high school when he was only 5'8'' tall. But they kept in touch and Ahkello grew 7 inches after graduation while maintaining his speed.
Witherspoon caught everyone's attention in Spring practices and has maintained it throughout fall camp. He has all the intangibles of a great cornerback at both the collegiate and professional level. He has the size, speed and physicality to be the next great cornerback at Colorado.
- Ryan Moeller -- 6'0" 205 lbs. (RS-FR)
Ryan came to CU as a preferred walk on last year from Rifle, Colorado. He was a force of nature in high school who scored
50 touchdowns his senior year. To put that in perspective, the entire Colorado team scored a total of only 38 touchdowns in 2013, and 28 in 2012.
Moeller rushed for over 3000 yards and averaged over 40 yards per catch as a receiver. As a defensive back, he had 8 interceptions, two of which were returned for TD's. He was the 3A player of the year and also on the Denver Post All-Colorado team as well as being a small school All-American.
Ryan redshirted last year and has quickly moved his way up to being 2nd on the depth chart at Free Safety. With the season ending injury to starter Jered Bell, look for Ryan to compete for playing time and to be a terror on special teams.
- Evan White -- 6'2" 195 lbs. (Freshman)
As a true freshman, Evan had drawn raves from coaches and fans alike during fall camp. White came to CU from Cherokee Trail HS in Aurora, where he was an All-State performer. He has the speed that coaches love (11.03 in the 100 meters) and the physicality and propensity for big hits that will likely make him a fan favorite.
Coach MacIntyre is a big proponent of redshirting freshmen whenever possible, but has noted that it will be very hard to keep Evan White off the field on special teams.
- Yuri Wright -- 6'1" 170 lbs. (Soph.)
Yuri is not really a newcomer, but this year will be re-introduced to CU Buff fans after a redshirt year in 2013. Wright came to Colorado in 2012 as a celebrated 4-star recruit from Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey where he was a SuperPrep All-American.
As a true freshman in 2012, Wright was tossed into the fire and fed to the wolves of NFL caliber wide receivers in the Pac-12. He started six games that season, missing four games to injury.
Due to injuries and a desire to help the young man develop physically and academically, Coach MacIntyre chose to redshirt Wright last year. Look for Wright to compete for playing time in the nickel and dime packages so often used in the pass-happy Pac-12.
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At
Linebacker, Buff fans are hoping to strike gold for a 2nd year in row.
- Deaysean Rippy -- 6'2" 220 lbs. (Soph. Transfer)
Deaysean comes to Colorado from the University of Pittsburgh. He redshirted his freshman year there and had to sit out a year after transferring to Colorado.
In high school, Rippy was a celebrated 4-star recruit and was considered one of the top prospects in the state of Pennsylvania. His cousin (Doug Rippy) was talented four year letterman at CU.
Buff fans are hoping that Rippy lives up to his promise and makes an impact sooner rather than later as a big time linebacker.
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The
Defensive Line is an area with a lot of questions. These newcomers may make the difference between 4 wins and 6 wins.
- Markeis Reed -- 6'4" 245 lbs. (RS-FR)
Markeis came to Colorado from Napa Valley, California as an outside linebacker prospect. He was moved to the line and redshirted last year to add weight and strength. Reed suffered a sports hernia early in fall camp and may miss the first several games of the season following surgery. Fans and coaches alike are looking for his return to provide speed and depth along the defensive front.
- Derek McCartney -- 6'3" 240 lbs. (RS-FR)
Derek is a Colorado legacy recruit. His grandfather is Bill McCartney, CU's all time wins leader and coach of CU's 1990 National Championship team. His father is CU great Shannon Clavelle, who went on to win a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers.
Last year during his redshirt, Derek was selected as the scout team player of the year. This spring, he was selected as the most improved defensive lineman. Buff fans and coaches are hoping that bloodlines make a difference and that Derek can grow into a top-tier defensive lineman in the Pac-12.
- Eddy Lopez -- 6'4" 300 lbs (Freshman)
With some of the other newcomers on the defensive front being counted on to be the "small but quick" type of linemen, coaches are happy to have "big guy" to anchor the group.
Eddy comes to Colorado from El Paso, Texas, where he was the co-defensive player of the year. Even though he is a true freshman, his work in camp will make it very hard for coaches to keep him off the field.
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To the casual fan,
Special Teams can be somewhat of a mystery. In reality, the work done by these performers can be as much of a determinant on the win/loss column as the Offense and the Defense.
On punts and field goals, everything starts with the guy holding the ball to begin the play. His job is to get the ball on target to the punter or the holder on field goals. The name of this position is
Long Snapper.
- Wyatt Tucker Smith -- 6'2" 230 lbs. (Junior Transfer)
Wyatt comes to Colorado from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. His work making every snap for two years helped his punter and placekicker earn All-American status last year. Wyatt was considered to by some to be the best long snapper in the country at the Junior College level.
He is currently #1 on the depth chart at his position.
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Another special teams performer that fans are anxious to see is a combination of Punter and Placekicker.
- Diego Gonzalez -- 5'11" 210 lbs. (Soph. Transfer)
Diego came to Boulder as a transfer from Monterrey Tech in Mexico. He sat out a transfer year last season. He has three years of eligibility remaining. Ahead of Diego on the depth chart at both positions are seniors who are considered among the best in the Pac-12. Barring injuries to the starters, most of his work this year will be as a back-up and probably to help out with kickoffs.
As only those who have seen Diego practice can attest to, this young man has an extraordinarily powerful leg. The ball explodes off his foot. The sound it makes coming off his foot on kickoffs is unlike anyone at Colorado since Mason Crosby, the current Green Bay Packer kicker. The only other kicker at CU that I can remember that sound coming from a kicked ball came from two-time All-American punter Barry Helton back in 1985 and 1986.
If this young man can adjust to the speed of the game at the level of the Pac-12 and learn to be highly accurate, he will have a long career ahead of him in the NFL.
