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Young Guys to See More Action

With 7:43 remaining in the third quarter in last Saturday’s contest against USC, and the Buffs down 23-7, freshman inside linebacker Nate Landman made perhaps the play of the game when he burst through the Trojans punt formation for a crucial block.

He also finished the game with two tackles on defense in limited action. The freshman has a nose for the football, and always seems to end a play in the center of the action.

Being that Colorado has had a nightmarish time stopping the run all season, he could be just what the doctor ordered for the team. Especially given that the forefront of the issue seems to be the defense getting worn down and tired as games ware on.

Giving Landman and the likes of defensive lineman Chris Mulumba - who had four tackles including a TFL on Saturday - extended playing time could maximize the team's on field production, while giving the other players a breather.

“We’ve started playing Nate Landman a little bit more to help us, we felt we were maybe getting a little bit worn down at linebacker,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said. “And we’ve tried to play a few more guys up front. We need to make sure that we’re staying fresher at the end there, and we didn’t stay as fresh as we would like.”

Although Landman is set to see more playing time, it isn’t necessairly a product of the other guys such as Drew Lewis, Rick Gamboa, and Derek McCartney performing poorly. It’s about keeping them fresh.

Landman has also transitioned to the collegiate level pretty smoothly, which is another thing that’s allowed him to get more game action.

“[Drew Lewis] just gets tired,” MacIntyre said. “He plays on special teams, we blitz him all the time, he’s running fast, so he’s just getting a little bit tired - his legs are a little bit weary. If we can just get him a little more rest, he’ll be a little bit fresher in those situations.

“Nate’s now a freshman that’s played on special teams, he’s played in some games, and we have a lot more confidence in him and he has more confidence.”

RELATED: 5 questions during CU's bye week | HOOPS: Colorado 89, Denver 62

Montez Improving

Prior to throwing an interception late in the matchup against Arizona State, quarterback Steven Montez had gone five games without turning the ball over.

During his first year as the starter, Montez has done a solid job adapting to the mentality and everyday grind that come with being a starting quarterback.

“[I expect a guy] to keep competing, keep grinding, keep working at it everyday - you can’t take time off during the week,” MacIntyre said. “And I’ve seen him pick that up as far as film study and other stuff like that as the year’s gone on.

After watching studying film so intently during the week, it’s often hard to translate that knowledge to real time game action. Naturally, with a first year starter playing arguably the most difficult position on the field it’s even tougher. But over the course of the season, this is yet another area where MacIntyre’s seen instrumental growth in the signal caller.

“He’s starting to know more and more what to look for, and more and more tips,” MacIntyre said. “The thing is it’s not that he didn’t know what to do, it’s carrying that over to the game. Translating that to the game, and he’s starting to do that better.”

Tackling: Area of Emphasis

Aside from endurance related issues, the defense has missed a number of tackles on running backs. Yards after contact has been an achilles heel for this team - and one they need to correct when they face a talented Utah rushing attack in two weeks.

Since tackling is an area of the game that’s so important, the defense has spent a lot of their time in practice this week focusing on it. They’ve honed in on both technique, and having enough guys in position to make a play on the ball carrier.

“I think some of our guys have been tackling some of those guys too high in situations where you’ve got to get them low,” MacIntyre said. “Because they’ll just bounce off of you, and sometimes running backs make good moves and you’ve got to coral to it and get more guys to the ball. Definitely at the end of the Arizona State game we didn’t tackle very well. Their running backs ran harder than we tackled them, that’s basically what happened.”

MacIntyre also talked about how tackling is a technique based practice, it must be done properly to get a player to the grounds.

“[Our guys] have got to wrap up,” MacIntyre said. “You can’t butt down guys anymore. The backs are too big, too powerful, you have to wrap up, and we have to make sure we’re doing that, because we rep it every single day.”

Notes

-Even though the team has played 11 straight games, none of the normal starters are receiving less reps in practice to allow the younger guys to get more action. This team is full speed ahead for their game in SLC on Nov. 25.

-Chris Mulumba has made large improvements as the season’s gone on. He’s understanding the schematic aspect of the defense better, and has adapted well to the situation at Colorado.

-MacIntyre reiterated that he feels the coaching staff can never watch too much film. He feels the issue comes in overthinking and trying to do too much after watching it.

-Part of player improvement is a maturation process and getting them to understand that coaching advice isn’t personal or self directed, but rather trying to help a player get better, per MacIntyre