As Colorado prepares to enter its final week of spring practices, with 12 of 15 sessions now having been complete, Karl Dorrell has begun to reflect on the progress the Buffs have made thus far.
In particular, Dorrell believes Colorado's younger players have shown encouraging signs of improvement on a collective note.
While up and down the roster and across position groups there has been healthy competition, Dorrell's primary objective this spring has been bringing his younger players up to speed.
“This whole spring process, to me, the number one goal is getting our young players reps to get caught up to what we’re doing and also watching how their development goes — being able to teach fundamentals and help bring those guys along," he said.
On the defensive side of the ball, one such player that seems to be acclimating well to the college ranks has been freshman cornerback Tyrin Taylor.
A three-star 2021 signee out of Huntersville, N.C., Taylor was one of a handful of early enrollees CU was able to get integrated into the program back in January, along with tight end Erik Olsen, inside linebacker Zephaniah Maea, safety Trustin Oliver and quarterback Drew Carter.
Taylor's name has come up a few times so far this spring as someone who has stuck out to Dorrell for looking good in practice and on Friday, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound defensive back made a big play during Colorado's evening scrimmage.
“In the secondary, there are some guys that are really starting to make plays," Dorrell said. "Tyrin Taylor had his first interception today in 7-on-7."
"He’s a good incoming freshman that just got here and obviously, he’s feeling the benefits of getting these reps, knowing what he’s doing and getting a proper read on a throw and making a play.”
Looking at the offense, while the Buffs have looked to get 6-foot-10 freshman tackle Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan polished and improved from a technical standpoint, one player in particular within the backfield has notably earned a lot of praise this spring.
That of course is freshman tailback Ashaad Clayton, Colorado's prized gem within the 2020 recruiting class.
Clayton saw a pretty light workload last fall, taking just seven handoffs for 31 yards while finding the endzone twice in week four at Arizona.
Speed seems to be a key for Dorrell in how he evaluates the progress of his younger players.
In other words, when guys are handling their responsibilities more naturally and without thinking as much, it usually has a direct translation as to the speed in which they are able to do so.
Clayton has appeared to fit that bill.
This spring, standout sophomore Jarek Broussard has been limited the last few weeks with a sore ankle.
Among the beneficiaries in terms of eating up the practice reps that Broussard would normally see have been Clayton, along with fellow freshman Jayle Stacks and junior Alex Fontenot.
“I think our younger players have a better feel because they’re playing faster," Dorrell said. "For example, Ashaad Clayton — the more reps he gets, he just gets faster and faster and faster and he’s so much more confident."
"You can tell...With more reps than he’s ever had, he feels like he has a great feel of our run game.”
It's not just freshmen that have taken this spring as an opportunity to show coaches that they are better than they were last fall.
Sophomore defensive linemen Austin Williams and Na'im Rodman have been complimented by coaches for their improvement as sophomore safety Ray Robinson.
With three practices left this spring, Dorrell already is feeling like his goals for CU's younger players in terms of development have been met pretty well.
“I would say that the body of work this spring was pretty good for our young players to kind of get some reps and get caught up with what we’re doing offensively, defensively and on special teams,” Dorrell said.
