Junior center Colby Pursell went above and beyond since late in the spring, when the Buffs largely left campus after the COVID-19 pandemic forced Colorado to go online-only.
To say he got creative in working to stay in shape might be an understatement.
Without access to the Buffs' Champions Center facilities and state-of-the-art gym, Pursell got creative in how he designed a workout plan for himself to stay in shape throughout the spring and summer.
While he missed five games last year related to gallbladder removal surgery, Pursell is listed atop the Buffs' depth chart at center and has been seeing the vast majority of his practice reps there.
With Colorado now five days into fall camp — today being the first day in shoulder pads — Karl Dorrell has liked what he's seen from Pursell.
A lot of that Dorrell attributed to the offseason efforts the former put in to stay in shape and workout in creative ways.
“Colby is off to a great start," Dorrell said. "He’s kind of a steady eddy for us offensively. He’s our center, he plays some guard — he’s taking great care of himself. He’s spent a lot of time this offseason really getting himself in great shape. I know he’s had ailments in his past but he’s been really managing those things well."
So, what exactly was the 6-foot-4, 305-pound veteran up to over the last few months?
"I ended up building a little weight rack in my garage using some wood I got from Home Depot, some cement, pipe and stuff like that," he said. "I ended up making my own squat rack and bench. I got big five-gallon water jugs, I got cinderblocks to do front lateral raises on my own — it definitely has been a creative year and I just kind of had to figure stuff out. I’d do pull ups on trees or from the beams in the garage — we try to do the best we can given the circumstances."
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While his home-made creations were a far cry from what is at his finger tips on-campus at CU, Pursell said he tried to make the most of things.
Plus, it was either get innovative or get out of shape. Clearly, he chose the former.
"I was my own coach — I had to push myself, I had to be creative and I had to exercise discipline in order to be the best player I can be," he said. "I think it helped to certainly appreciate what we have here (on campus) more. I don’t have a 100-yard indoor practice facility that I can go run around in or a weight room with pretty much endless amounts of plates for anything I could ever need. I had to get smart, get creative and I had to work."
Moving forward, Dorrell indicated that he and position coach Mitch Rodrigue will be keeping a special eye on Pursell given that he has dealt with injuries — his gallbladder surgery included — in the past.
Given that he has been around the block with the Buffs before and has experience at both guard and center, Dorrell does not want to burn him out.
"We need to be smart as coaches and not overload him," Dorrell said. "...He’s one of those veteran players that gets it, understands it and doesn't need as many reps. We need to manage him so that he’s healthy and can sustain these six months."
