Colorado undoubtedly has number of key to-do items this spring over the span of its 15 practices that run through April 23.

Among the most important tasks in front of players and coaches is taking the first steps towards implementing first-year coordinator Mike Sanford's new offense.

On Wednesday, the Buffs wrapped their first practice of spring.

Karl Dorrell plus sophomore quarterbacks Brendon Lewis and J.T. Shrout joined reporters after the team finished its session.

With respect to Sanford's offense, Dorrell indicated that things got off to a smooth start, with CU's quarterbacks handling themselves well from the jump.

“We put in a great system that’s going to give us answers for every defense and everything that we see," Dorrell said. "We can adjust into anything that we need to do (based off of) what we see. It starts with the quarterback.

"They see it, and they’ve been able to actually get (themselves) into correct plays and making great progress in making productive plays. I’m very pleased — really, really strong start with what we’ve done.”

Shrout won't be cleared for full contact this spring as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered last August.

While he is wearing a knee brace and is limited, Shrout is still taking reps under center for CU, participating in 7-on-7 sessions and throwing individually with receivers.

He finished day one of being introduced to Sanford's offense with a good taste in his mouth.

“I’m loving it so far — It’s very quarterback-centered," Shrout said. "There’s a lot of control and a lot of elements that we have to take ownership for and really understand in order for us to function and execute well on the field. I think we’re going to be pretty multiple and there’s a lot of elements from the different offenses (Sanford) has been in.

"There’s some stuff that I have been a part of and some new stuff that I haven’t, so just learning it and mastering it over the next few months up until fall camp is going to be huge for us and all the quarterbacks.”

Lewis also seems to be getting off to a new start in getting the hang of Sanford's scheme.

Like Shrout, he pointed out that Sanford is keen on giving his signal caller the ability to make on-the-spot adjustments when necessary, based off what a given defense is showing.

“There’s some similarities (to last year's offense)," Lewis said. "Everybody sort of runs the same stuff but with different terminology, but it’s a bit of a change. There’s more emphasis on the quarterback being able to check plays off certain looks and stuff like that, but it hasn’t been too hard. It’s been really fun.”

It's likely that by the end of spring, Sanford's offense won't be fully designed or implemented.

Certainly, the question of who will be CU's starting quarterback in 2022 will be far from answered.

But at any rate, the next 14 practices present an important chance to get the ball rolling with respect to Sanford's offensive vision.

Granted, it's early, and there's a lot of spring football still in front of the Buffs, but for now, so far so good.

“For the first day offensively, I thought there was some rhythm," Dorrell said. "The operation looked good — it wasn’t perfect — but for the first time doing it and playing against our defense, it was really positive.”