The University of Colorado released a "2019 Letter of Intent Day Notes & Bios" press release on December 20. You can check out the full release by clicking here.
Below, we pulled out some of the more interesting nuggets for you to read.
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Names & Numbers
Lettermen Returning: 68 (32 offense, 30 defense, 6 specialists)
Lettermen Lost: 22 (11 offense, 10 defense, 1 specialist)
Career/2018 starts in parenthesis; calculated by those with six-plus starts in 2018 or by who played the majority of snaps at a position.
Starters Returning (17)—Offense 9: WR Tony Brown (6/6), OG/OT Aaron Haigler (27/11), OG Tim Lynott, Jr. (33/9), QB Steven Montez (27/12), WR K.D. Nixon (8/8), C Colby Pursell (12/12), WR Laviska Shenault (8/8), LT Will Sherman (9/9), OG Brett Tonz (6/6).
Defense 7: CB Delrick Abrams (8/8), DE Israel Antwine (11/11), DE Mustafa Johnson (12/12), ILB Nate Landman (12/12), OLB Davion Taylor (10/10), OLB Carson Wells (6/6), CB Dante Wigley (15/8).
Others Returning With Significant Starting/Game Experience (19; any previous starts listed)— TB Beau Bisharat, CG Mehki Blackmon (3/3), CB/KR Ronnie Blackmon, OLB Jacob Callier (2/2), OLB Nu’umotu Falo, OT Frank Fillip (2/2), TE Darrion Jones, DE Terrance Lang (1/1), S Aaron Maddox, CB Chris Miller (2/2), OG Jake Moretti (2/2), QB Sam Noyer, TE Jared Poplawski, S Darrion Rakestraw (2/2), TE Brady Russell (3/3), WR Dimitri Stanley (2/2), OLB Alex Tchangam, DT Lyle Tuiloma (2/2), CB Trey Udoffia (11/4).
Starters Lost (9)—Offense 4: OT Josh Kaiser (15/10), WR Jay MacIntyre (27/9, TB Travon McMillian (9/9), WR Juwann Winfree (7/6). Defense 5: DT Javier Edwards (21/12), FS Nick Fisher (14/12), ILB Rick Gamboa (49/12), ILB/OLB Drew Lewis (18/6), SS Evan Worthington (23/9).
Others Lost With Significant Starting/Game Experience (8; any previous starts listed)—TE Chris Bounds (5/3), WR Kabion Ento (2/1), TB Kyle Evans (4/4), DT Jase Franke (5/0), WR Donovan Lee (5/0), DE Chris Mulumba (10/0), S Daniel Talley, S Kyle Trego.
Specialists Returning (6)— SN J.T. Bale, PK Tyler Francis, P Alex Kinney, PK/P Davis Price, PK Evan Price, PK James Stefanou. Specialists Lost (1)— P Bailey Landwehr.
Other Special Team Players Returning (10; Coverage/Return/FG PAT Units)— WR Daniel Arias, CB Luca Cooper, TB Alex Fontenot, CB Kevin George, QB/H Josh Goldin, S Hasaan Hypolite, ILB Akil Jones, OG Kary Kutsch, S Isaiah Lewis, DT Nico Magri, ILB Jonathan Van Diest, OG Hunter Vaughn.
Base Spring Roster (95 players/67 scholarship)— 19 seniors (13 fifth-year), 21 juniors, 30 sophomores, 25 freshmen (19 redshirt/5 2nd-year/1 true).
Annual history lesson
The most players a Division I school can have on scholarship is 85; when the two-platoon system returned in 1965, there were no scholarship limits; in 1973, a maximum of 105 could be awarded, which was reduced to 95 in 1978. A four-year reduction started in 1988 for Title IX purposes by the NCAA scaled it down to the current 85 over a four-year period (ending in 1992). Though with attrition, the average number of players on scholarship in the FBS has hovered around 80, according to AFCA figures.
The numbers game
At present, Colorado has 67 players that were on scholarship in 2018 that are slated to return for 2019; with 17 signing in this class (12 high school, four JUCO and one graduate transfer) that has CU at the moment three above the NCAA maximum of 85; however, the Buffs have plenty of time to be in compliance due to several factors (attrition, injury, etc.), but have also utilized the “grayshirt” rule where players delay their enrollment and thus count ahead to the next class (or the previous one in there is attrition).
NOTE from CUSportsNation.com: (Our scholarship chart has Colorado at 85 scholarship players because we include the committed Tarik Luckett. CU, of course, does not have him listed as he has not signed yet.)
Recruiting position breakdowns
Listed below are the position breakdowns of Colorado’s recruiting classes since 1982. Counts include high school and junior college signees but not four-year transfers; fullbacks counted in running back totals; outside linebackers count either under defensive ends or linebackers, depending on where they eventually played (players listed with offensive and defensive positions, and snappers, if recruited, are in athlete column):
Spring practice schedule
Tentative spring practice dates have been set: Mel Tucker’s first CU spring session is set to start the week before spring break on Monday, March 18, with the spring game set for Saturday, April 27 (time TBA, to be televised live by the Pac-12 Networks). The tentative practice dates are as follows: March 18-20- 22—(spring break)—April 1-3-5-8-10-12-15-17-19-22-24-27.
The team is allowed 15 practices; how the practice sessions will break down, per NCAA rules: three in shorts (no contact), four in pads (no tackling), four in pads (tackling allowed 50 percent or less of the time), four in pads (tackling allowed throughout). Spring break (March 25-29) does not count against the 29 days should the schedule be dramatically revised for some reason.
Seven Buffs benefit from redshirt rule
There were seven Buffaloes who benefitted from the NCAA’s new redshirt which permits players to play in up to four games and not lose a year of eligibility provided they had a redshirt year available to them (no fifth-year seniors played in four games or less who were lost for the season due to injury, as exceptions could have been made in those instances).
Those players, with the games they appeared in parenthesis, are: OLB Jacob Callier (4), PK Tyler Francis (2), P Alex Kinney (4), PK Evan Price (2), WR Dimitri Stanley (3), DB L.J. Wallace (1) and ILB Jake Yurachek (1).
