At first glance, Colorado's 10 tight ends on roster currently competing in fall camp would suggest the Buffaloes are pretty deep at the position.

However, only two of the bunch, junior Brady Russell and senior Matt Lynch, boast significant playing experience.

Other than them, the Buffs have five freshmen, a pair of walk-ons in Nico Magri and C.J. Schmanski as well as junior Jared Poplawski, who has been prevented form seeing the field since 2017 due to multiple injuries.

Russell, a starter for the Buffaloes since the 2018 season, undoubtedly represents the most game-tested tight end the Buffs have on roster.

While he saw his 2020 season come to an end following an injury in week two at Stanford, Karl Dorrell recently listed him at 100% health.

Lynch also was hampered by injuries last year, going down the same game that Russell did.

By the time of Colorado's game against San Diego State, Schmanski was atop the depth chart at tight end.

“That hurt us last year when we lost our tight ends," Darrin Chiaverini said. "Not only did we lose Brady but we lost Matt. We lost both of them in two games so it got hard down the stretch trying to manufacture some 11-personnel throwing game because (opposing defenses) knew we weren't throwing to the tight ends."

Heading into this fall, the Buffs are in better shape at tight end in terms of strict numbers.

Austin Smith and Erik Olsen represent the true freshman additions the Buffs brought in at tight end, while Caleb Fauria and Louis Passarello enter their second year with the program.

As a quick note, both Smith and Lynch have been hampered by injuries thus far into camp, with Smith not participating in any full practices yet, per Dorrell.

All of that said, for position coach Bryan Cook, getting his young bucks up to speed has been significant on his fall camp to-do list.

Fauria and Olsen in particular have made strides over the summer.

“I’ve been pleased with both," Cook said. "In spring practice, they were both wide-eyed and figuring out what to do, so they didn’t play with a lot of confidence. Now you’re starting to see their ability because they’re more confident in what they’re doing."

"I think they’re starting to get a grasp of technique and the details of things, so it’s fun — you see progression every day with those young kids.”

Fauria had been recovering from a broken leg when he reported to the Buffaloes last summer and did not see any action in CU's condensed 2020 campaign.

However, with spring ball, summer workouts and the first week of fall camp under his belt, he feels as if he's making progress towards being a guy who can crack the rotation at tight end.

"I think this summer was big for me, just getting my installs, knowing what to do both at Y and F and getting more comfortable with that and knowing when, where how and what to do," he said.

“I dove into my installs with coach Cook and just went over stuff. Honestly, the older guys help a lot. 'Pop' (Jared Poplawski), Alec (Pell), CJ (Schmanski) Brady (Russell), Nico (Magri) — all those guys are a big-time help and answer my questions.”

Dorrell echoed those sentiments while Darrin Chiaverini said Thursday that Fauria "has been a guy who’s made plays for us" so far into camp.

"Caleb Fauria has made some steps of improvement since the spring," Dorrell said. "He did some work over the summer, so he looks like he’s been really working at it and looks more comfortable out there."

Pell, a Cherry Creek alum who was moved from defensive end to tight end last year, has also received his fair share of praise for his fall camp performance to date.

Last year, he was tied for second on the Buffs in special teams points with nine and now he has been demonstrated an improved ability at the tight end position.

"Even guys like Alec Pell, he’s having a really great camp so far," Dorrell said. "We moved him over from defense last year to offense. He’s growing, getting better in his receiving game and is doing better in the run game, too."

At the end of the day, having too many players at a given position is never a bad problem to have.

In regards to the tight ends depth chart, Dorrell hopes to have a clearer picture within a couple of weeks.

"There’s some depth there, but we’re trying to just figure out how that’s going to sort out in terms of the depth chart," Dorrell said. "But I’m encouraged that we have enough pieces, which is completely different from what we had a year ago.”