Gamboa headlines promising defensive front seven for Buffs
Projecting Colorado's Offensive Depth Chart Against CSU
Named a captain by his teammates, Colorado redshirt junior inside linebacker Rick Gamboa enters his fourth season in Boulder with 157 career tackles on his resume.
Gamboa possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the Buffs’ 3-4 defensive scheme, and first-year inside linebackers coach Ross Els freely acknowledges sometimes he acts as the student and Gamboa the teacher as he fully integrates into the Buffs program.
Together with athletic junior Drew Lewis, Gamboa is the undisputed heart and soul of the Colorado defense. First seeing action as a redshirt freshman in 2015 after Addison Gillam suffered a knee injury, Gamboa goes into the season with a streak of 25 consecutive starts intact.
“Rick has taken charge of our entire defense,” Els told Mark Johnson, Voice of the Buffs, on Monday. “Rick is a very intelligent player, not only during the play but he diagnoses things very well. He is a great coach for us on the sidelines. This is my first year in the system, so I need a guy that can help me a little bit. Rick has done a great job there.”
In the past, Lewis relied extensively on his athleticism. However, he has displayed the physicality in fall camp Els wants.
“Drew Lewis has done very well. He is a more physical linebacker than what he was in the spring,” Els said. “He’s a phenomenal athlete.”
Redshirt freshman Akil Jones is moving around between positions as the Colorado coaches try to determine his best spot. Improved conditioning has directly led to better practice performances by JOnes.
“Akil had made a jump from the spring,” Mike MacIntyre said recently. “He has gotten into better shape. He is stronger compared to this time last fall.”
Behind the aforementioned trio at inside linebacker is a pair of talented true freshmen - Jonathan Van Diest and Nate Landman. The duo is part of a celebrated linebacker class that signed with Colorado in February.
“(They have potential), but the potential has to become reality a week from Friday,” Els said. “So, they need to grow up in a hurry, which is what they have done. They have great attitudes, but they need to keep stepping it up so they’re ready to play against Colorado State.”
Van Diest played defensive end in high school, but has made a smooth transition to linebacker.
“I was concerned about Jonathan coming in because he played D-Line in high school,” MacIntyre said. ”But we loved his athletic ability when we saw him in camp. He doesn’t look like a D-Lineman playing linebacker. He looks like a linebacker playing linebacker, which is very encouraging.”
The intriguing blend of experience and youth at linebacker is fronted by a defensive line that so far has impressed Mike MacIntyre in preseason camp.
Monday, MacIntyre praised defensive end Leo Jackson for his high level of play in camp, adding Chris Mulumba, Frank Umu, and Jase Franke have stepped it up as well. Even George Frazier, listed on the roster as a tight end/defensive end has shown flashes.
“They have made good strides,” MacIntyre said. “Leo Jackson is playing really well, which I figured he would. He has always played well for us. Frank Umu has made a good jump, Chris Mulumba and Javier (Edwards) have made good jumps. Jase Franke has gotten better. He is going to have to play. Georgie Frazier has done some good things. I feel good about all those guys.
“Those dudes give us big, strong, powerful guys. They have all played a little bit, either in junior college or here for us. Some of them have played quite a bit. The experience factor there is OK. It will be a little more mix and match than it was a year ago. Honestly, the way we play, you’d like to be that way if you can because they can wear down.”
JUCO nose guard Javier Edwards reminds MacIntyre of Josh Tupou in terms of playing style. But he has yet to play a game for the Buffs, so it's wait-and-see on how he performs when the bullets are flying.
“They are very similar,” MacIntyre said. “Josh played really, really well. I have to see Javier play in a few games. But they are similar in that both can hold the point because they’re big and strong. But they also have the ability to move and do those things. Javier has a lot of talent. We just have to see if he can do it during a game like Josh did.”
