For Colorado redshirt sophomore tailback Jarek Broussard, in looking back on last September, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury after already dealing with knee troubles that also sidelined him in 2018, he viewed his second round of recovery throughout this past fall in a somewhat anecdotal light.
After all, the way he saw things, it wasn't his first rodeo in having to go through rehab and keep his eyes upon eventually returning to action.
“There wasn’t really much to it, besides grinding, staying focused, not getting discouraged and counting on my teammates’ support," he said.
Now, with junior Alex Fontenot out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury, Broussard is Colorado's next man up within the tailbacks room.
A few days ago, he was named the team's starting running back ahead of this Saturday night's matchup at Folsom Field against UCLA.
By all indications, Broussard was the running back that most wowed Karl Dorrell, Darrin Chiaverini and Darian Hagan throughout fall camp. Specifically, Broussard was singled out for his consistency and performance during a number of scrimmages that saw him find the end zone a few times.
As with recovering from injury, Broussard entered camp and CU's scrimmages in a somewhat nonchalant manner.
To steal one of Chiaverini's frequent lines, it might be fair to say Broussard focused on 'controlling the controllables.'
“My biggest mindset was just being consistent, following my holes and making sure I used the correct footwork," he said. "Everything else just kind of worked itself out after that.”
Ultimately, it will be hard to predict how senior quarterback Sam Noyer will fare in his first career start on Saturday.
Thus, the way Chiaverini views it, a strong ground game against the Bruins will be pivotal for Colorado.
"We’ve got to be able to run the ball better this year and run it better on our terms," he said. "If we can do that, it’s going to open up the passing game for us."
Despite Fontenot's unfortunate injury, Chiaverini is confident that the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Broussard is more than capable of stepping in and being the run game spearhead that the Buffs need to grease their wheels offensively.
Join the conversation on Jarek Broussard at Buff Nation, the premiere message board community serving countless CU fanatics.
Specifically, in a healthy Broussard, Chiaverini sees a lot of what originally attracted him to the Dallas, Texas native when looking for tailbacks to become part of Colorado's Class of 2018.
"Me and Hagan both recruited Jarek out of Bishop Lynch (High School) in Dallas," Chiaverini recalled. "When I watched Broussard live in high school, I thought he was one of the best zone runners I’d seen at the high school level (in both) inside and outside zone."
"Obviously, he’s had a couple injuries since he’s been in Boulder, but he’s healthy now and I tell him all the time: ‘(you) look like the old J-Brou from back in those Bishop Lynch days.’”
Broussard himself stressed that there's no lingering mental battles he continues to fight in terms of being concerned about his knee.
“If you play scared, you may end up getting hurt, so that’s something you really never want to do," he said. "Whenever I step on the field, it’s just like I’m normal and never had (any) knee injuries. (I just want) to play fast and physical.”
Chiaverini indicated he could back that up, given what he's seen from Broussard since Colorado put the pads on for the first time in fall camp in mid-October.
"He’s smooth, he’s really tough in protections, he’s got good ball skills and I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people when they see J-Brou running the ball," he said. "(Broussard is) a really, really good running back."
And of course, the 'next man up' mentality doesn't stop with Broussard. True sophomore Jaren Mangham, who ran for 441 yards and posted a 4.12 yards per carry average last fall, likely will be all the more hungry to show Colorado's first-year staff what he can do.
Given last year, which featured Fontenot handling about 58% of CU's tailback carries, there will be plenty of supplementary handoffs to be taken.
Chiaverini remains confident that even without Fontenot, the Buffs are in good shape in the offensive backfield.
"Jaren Mangham is a veteran guy that did a good job as a freshman last year," he said. "He’ll also be in the rotation and hopefully we can get (true freshman) Ashaad Clayton going. He was a little banged up in camp but he’s getting back to full speed. He’s got a next level gear. He really does — he’s got some special things going."
