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Monday practice report

Posted April 8, 2008

The Buffs were back at work in the bubble on Monday afternoon and everyone showed up. That's right. The entire team was there except for suspended linebacker Lynn Katoa and suspended tight end Riar Geer.

It was the first time all spring (Monday was the eighth of 15 practice sessions) that everyone has been at practice. That's a step in the right direction.

It was good to see players such as Michael Sipili and Marcus Burton back in pads hitting people instead of missing practice to catch up in the classroom. The Buffs were getting pretty tired and thin at linebacker.

Josh Hartigan, the redshirt freshman linebacker who suffered a neck injury earlier this spring was back as well. He's doing limited work right now, but he's no longer in the neck brace.

...The offensive line is blocking pretty well. I think the group has some serious potential. Running backs Demetrius Sumler and Brian Lockridge both broke off long runs for touchdowns during full-contact work. There was a lot of hitting and tackling Monday considering the team had just scrimmaged two days earlier.

...I'm impressed with the four young defensive linemen. They all have plenty of work to do, but I'm starting to believe sophomore-to-be Marquez Herrod can be a pretty decent defensive end. Same goes for Conrad Obi and Lagrone Shields.

Eugene Goree is a beast. The guy has put on some weight and muscle in his first eight months in college. He's nearly 300 pounds and he's also working quite a bit with the first-team defense when its in the nickel package. It's interesting because in those situations, coaches are taking George Hypolite and letting him play more out on the end with Goree in the middle. Hypolite led the team in sacks last year and when you put a potential blitzing linebacker right next to him, it seems like it might be tough for teams to double-team him.

...Speaking of the pass rush. One guy who just hasn't been able to really get much done this spring is senior-to-be Drew Hudgins. Of course he is coming off a torn achilles and the athletic trainers want to protect him from injuring it again. I asked Dan Hawkins about it Monday and he said Hudgins would love to be in the middle of the action, but they won't let him take that chance. It's better to let him continue to heal and prove himself in August.

...There has been a lot of concern from fans about the slim depth at tight end this spring. I have to say, I've been impressed with the way Patrick Devenny goes about his business. Devenny made a nice touchdown catch through the middle of the defense in the first scrimmage and he seems to get into the end zone fairly regularly in practice as well. That's what counts right?

...I continue to think moving Kai Maiava from guard to fullback was a stroke of genius, but Maiava seems to be a little lost at times. Can't blame the guy. I mean, he's never played anything but offensive line, so he probably still feels out of place. It hasn't helped that he has missed about half the practice time because of academic issues. Once he figures out the position, he could be a force. He derailed a linebacker on one play Monday, springing Lockridge for a big run.

...Former CU center Mark Fenton stopped by practice on Monday. He looks like he's grown a bit bigger since leaving CU for the NFL a year ago. Fenton was chatting with his former signal-caller Bernard Jackson on the sidelines. Former cornerback Terry Washington also stopped by.

The Buffs will practice today at 4 p.m. and again Thursday afternoon. The scrimmage this Saturday has been moved up to 10 a.m.