Competition brewing at quarterback for the Buffaloes

Right now, As Colorado prepares to complete its first week of spring practices, the quarterbacks room is comprised of three scholarship players: true freshmen Brendon Lewis and Drew Carter plus junior Tennessee transfer JT Shrout.

Karl Dorrell has indicated that all three players have been taking snaps with the first team offense while Sam Noyer rehabs this spring following offseason surgery to his throwing shoulder.

For Carter and Shrout, the next few months will be more geared to Dorrell getting familiar with their respective strengths and abilities, while both players will certainly look to display as much of a mastery of the playbook as possible.

When all is said and done following CU's spring showcase scrimmage on April 30, some sort of pecking order will likely have been formed in terms of a depth chart at quarterback.

But as Dorrell was quick to point out, what happens at the end of spring ultimately settles nothing in terms of what the depth chart is going to look like ahead of the Sept. 3 season opener vs. Northern Colorado.

“Yes, we’re going to start a depth chart after spring to kind of see where things are, but nothing really gets ironed out until the end of (fall) training camp, when you’re getting ready to play your first game with the final rosters," Dorrell said.

Noyer appears to be doing well with his rehab and is in the neighborhood of a month away from being able to throw a football again.

Dorrell said he expects Noyer to continue progressing throughout the late spring and into the summer.

“We’re hoping he gets back to full health sometime late (in the) spring, maybe the early part of the summer, where he’s able to do some things," Dorrell said. "He told me a couple weeks ago that he’s ahead of schedule (with his rehab) and is actually going to start some light throwing. Nothing this spring with us, but I think he’s going to start throwing in May. He’s progressing well.”

Noyer deserves credit for guiding the Buffs to a 4-1 regular season record after earning the starting quarterback position in truly abnormal fashion.

It has been well-documented that Noyer had graduated from CU, moved out of Boulder and was living back home in Beaverton, Oregon, when Darrin Chiaverini initially reached out to him last spring and proposed the idea of him coming back for the 2020 season to compete for the starting quarterback position vacated by three-year starter and outgoing senior Steven Montez.

Noyer accepted and beat out Tyler Lytle, now of UMass, as well as the greenhorn Lewis for the gig.

While noting that Noyer played the tail end of the season injured and in discomfort due to his shoulder, suffice to say that his overall play experienced a regression as the year went on.Including the Alamo Bowl, Noyer threw six interceptions compared to three touchdowns in the final four weeks of the season.

Despite that falloff, Noyer is the man who saw the vast majority of the snaps last year. While there will undoubtedly be a fierce competition for the starter's gig come this fall, Noyer still finds himself in the driver's seat heading into the late summer.

“Is it his job to lose, I guess you could say so," Dorrell said. "Someone’s going to have to come and beat him out. Hopefully, he’s fully healthy and ready to go. We’re hoping he’s a full-go and ready to do some positive things this fall.”

That said, Dorrell has been borderline raving about how much Lewis' Alamo Bowl performance has shaped him for the better. Lewis was 6-of-10 for 95 yards and also rushed the ball nine times for 74 yards and a score back on Dec. 29 in relief of Noyer.

Getting his feet wet and seeing his first collegiate action against a tough Texas team in CU's 55-23 loss appears to have bolstered Lewis' abilities and confidence.

With Lewis trending up and Shrout bringing a strong arm into the mix, Colorado's quarterback competition is sure to be intriguing as the spring turns into summer and fall.

“Brendon Lewis had a really good bowl game (in 2020) and is playing really well right now," Dorrell said. "He’s very confident and looks like a completely different player prior to what we saw in that experience in the Alamo Bowl. JT Shrout is practicing right now and doing really well, too, in catching up and learning our system.”