Not many FBS programs had a tight end lead their team in both receptions and receiving yards last year, but that's exactly how things played out for the Buffaloes in 2021, with then-junior Brady Russell emerging as a favorite target of quarterback Brendon Lewis'.
In a year full of offensive struggles for Colorado, Russell led the Buffs with 25 catches and 307 yards.
Russell also caught 20 passes for 5-plus yards, leading the team, while his 65-yard reception vs. Southern California on Oct. 2 was the longest pass the Buffaloes completed all season long.
Clay Patterson, whom Karl Dorrell named tight ends coach on Jan. 9, is looking forward to the veteran presence of Russell within his tight ends room.
“I’m very excited about Brady, because he’s basically a professional at this point, going into his sixth year of eligibility. When we played Colorado earlier (in the 2021) season, our defensive staff brought up Brady to me…I was excited watching him then, and then coming back and watching his film — I’m very excited about him.
"I love kids like him that come from a walk-on situation, (who) has a chip on his shoulder. He’s hungry for everything he gets and I’m excited to see him grow and teach him the offense, but really, just put him in a good situation.”
Other than Russell, a senior this year, there is not much experience at tight end behind him.
Matt Lynch, the Buffs' No. 2 tight end, completed his master's degree and has now started a new chapter in life following college.
Behind Russell, that leaves four redshirt freshmen: Caleb Fauria, Louis Passarello, Erik Olsen and Austin Smith, plus incoming true freshman Zach Courtney.
None of the aforementioned players other than Russell played a single snap last year.
However, walk-on C.J. Schmanski proved dependable when needed, as he started three games for CU in 2020, when injuries decimated the tight ends room, seeing regular special teams action this past season in addition to on offense.
Nico Magri has also managed to gain some in-game experience since switching positions to tight end preceding the 2020 season.
At any rate, the Buffs' tight ends largely will be defined by youth heading into the 2022 campaign.
“I took over a room at Minnesota that was all freshmen and sophomores," Patterson, who oversaw the Gophers' tight ends from 2018-21 said. "It’s very similar to this room. It’s a really good clay — great kids, intelligent kids — and that part of it, they have the clay that I and we need to work with. I’m excited with them and to see what they can do on the football field as we get out there.”
As he alluded to, Patterson's personnel situation at Minnesota was not wholly dissimilar to Colorado's last year.
Redshirt senior Ko Kieft was the rock of the group that featured two freshmen (Wyatt Schroeder and Jameson Geers), who collectively saw next to no action.
Patterson also had at his disposal sophomore Nick Kallerup and redshirt junior Brevyn Spann-Ford, the latter of whom did the most damage for Minnesota offensively speaking, catching 23 passes for 296 yards.
Colorado fans should recall Kieft and Spann-Ford's presence: last year, when the Buffs and Gophers met in Boulder on Sept. 18, the two of them helped Minnesota rush for 289 yards and four touchdowns in a 30-0 blowout win.
In addition to his duties coaching CU's tight ends, Patterson has also been tapped as Colorado's passing game coordinator, a role with its own set of unique challenges, given the endless struggles through the air that the Buffs had last year.
That said, Patterson's relationship with Mike Sanford, whom he coached with at Minnesota over the past two seasons, should be an advantage as the two of them strategize together about how to get CU's pass game rolling.
“Ultimately, we want to put our guys in situations to be successful and efficient," Patterson said. "It’s not so much what we’re going to do, it’s how we’re going to do it.
"I think that’s the most important part — protecting our quarterback, especially young quarterbacks, and putting them in good situations to get the ball to playmakers in space."
