Nuggets from Colorado's Open Practice - Day 14
CUSportsNation.com was live at the Buffaloes' open practice on Wednesday morning, which was the 14th practice of spring football for Colorado. Read our observations from practice below!
MORE: Colorado Football Recruiting Nuggets | Spring Football HQ
Quarterbacks: Steven Montez, Sam Noyer and Tyler Lyttle commanded most of the snaps today. Josh Goldin was involved, but not as much as the other three. Montez and Lytle looked solid in their warmup routes and in the 11-on-11 situational drill. Early in the practice, Montez was tossing dimes to receivers and tight ends such as Laviska Shenault, Chris Bounds, Juwann Winfree, Maurice Bell, and KD Nixon. In the 11 on 11, Montez had a performance similar to the Spring Showcase. He threw multiple interceptions, but also scored multiple touchdowns, both passing and rushing. Tyler Lytle might have shown enough to take over the second spot in the QB depth chart. His footwork was solid, his drop backs were crisp and concise, and his throws were powerful but not out of control. In the first hour, Lyttle threw many darts to receivers running different routes. Only two were incomplete; one overthrown and one dropped. Lyttle, a redshirt freshman, could be the next big-time quarterback for the Buffs down the road.
Running backs: There are four potential starting running backs for the Buffs, not including Travon McMillian who will arrive on campus in the Fall. Donovan Lee, Alex Fontenot, Beau Bisharat and Kyle Evans took the majority of the snaps today. Evans and Lee have similar playing styles and similar running threats. They are short but stocky and quick as all heck. Their lateral agility and ability to find the hole are their biggest assets as runners for the Buffaloes. Bisharat and Fontenot are the exact opposite. They command the run game through their physical presence. Bisharat is 220 pounds and Fontenot is 195 pounds. Both of them are over 6 feet. In the 4 corners drill, the differences in the running backs styles of play was evident. Lee and Evans cut hard and quickly around the poles. Bisharat and Fontenot bulled their way through the drill. In the 11 on 11 drill, Fontenot broke multiple tackles and cruised up the left side into the end zone. Lee, Evans and Bisharat got caught multiple times in the pack for small gains.
Receivers & Tight ends: The most impressive receiver by far was Laviska Shenault. Shenault made the entire defense look silly multiple times during the practice. He only dropped one pass in the entire three-hour practice. He had multiple touchdowns on different sides of the field. Juwann Winfree and Maurice Bell looked impressive in the slot and in short routes. KD Nixon was a deep threat as well, catching two touchdown passes on go routes. The two tight ends that stood out the most were Chris Bounds and Darrion Jones. Both were solid in their route running and blocking. Jones made the sled look like a fisher price toy.
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