Karl Dorrell says CU football in 'such better shape' than what he took over

In 2020, coach Karl Dorrell had the opportunity to reassess a program that former coach Mel Tucker left behind after just one season, and from then to now, Dorrell defends that Colorado football is in much better condition.

Even after the 4-8 finish last season.

“This program is in such better shape than when I got here,” Dorrell said Wednesday, during a preseason event with reporters at Blake Street Tavern in Denver. “It's ready to be built on the way, so if it doesn't work out for me right now because I had a heart attack or whatever that is, my family and I know that it's in much better shape right now than when I had it two years ago.”

Dorrell referenced how the type of players changed through his leadership. The team now is committed, inspired and competitive, attributes that “were missing from the bulk of this team when I first got here,” he said.

Colorado has been met with low expectations this season -- picked to finish last in the Pac-12 preseason media poll -- but the growing pains from last year and the offseason were necessary for this 2022 team to reassess and rebuild, he contends.

“I think this team is much, much better than it was last year,” Dorrell said. “To be quite honest with you, I would be more concerned if everybody was back from last year. We wouldn’t be where we are right now so a lot of things happened for the right reasons.”

Right now, the coaching staff needs to name a starting quarterback, but a week and a half before kickoff, the decision is still uncertain.

Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford and Dorrell are in deep discussions about it. They’ve consulted players on the offense on who would be a better fit or all around QB, but the players also have confidence in both Brendon Lewis’ and J.T. Shrout’s skill sets.

Shrout and Lewis are neck-and-neck this camp with regard to their capabilities on the field, Dorrell indicated. Lewis made strides during the offseason intently studying his 2021 struggles. Coming off the injury, Shrout is getting back to his old self by reacclimating to the position. Their performances during practice make it difficult to come to a definitive conclusion.

One scenario is to have two quarterbacks. Dorrell said he and Sanford “haven’t talked about it at length, but that’s something that we’re going to consider because [the QB competition] is pretty close.”

The starting quarterback will be named, but when it is announced is unknown.

In fact, the QB talent on the roster is one of the reasons Dorrell is confident the future progress of Colorado football is secure both this season and in the long-term.

“We’re going to be good moving forward for a long period of time,” Dorrell said. “The reason why I think that is I have a quarterback room that has some special talent there. I always judge the greatness of your team by that room and we finally have depth in that room and we have good prospects for the future. That helps when that room is solid and that brings other people here. Recruiting is going to continue to get better and better."

Dorrell is entering a pivotal third season, and with the mixed results so far, this is a big year for him and his own future. He knows that too.

“Every coaching year since my UCLA years is going in with a mindset that I can be fired after this year,” he said.

Notes:

Wide receiver R.J. Sneed is back practicing and the staff is increasing his workload to get him game-ready for TCU. Sneed's availability for Sept 2. is not certain, but he’s trending in that direction. Dorrell is confident in the receiver depth to where there is no need to rush Sneed back for that game if he needs more time.

Dorrell also informed the media that Isaiah Lewis played with a bad shoulder the last month of the 2021 season. He had two interceptions, one against Oregon (Oct. 30) and one against Oregon State (Nov. 6). Out of the shoulder surgeries on the team, his was the worst according to Dorrell.

Dorrell is excited to see the younger players make similar freshman impacts such as Nikko Reed and Kaylin Moore this season.

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The media notes distributed Wednesday revealed that DL Janaz Jordan is no longer on the team due to a violation of team rules.