Will Tyler Lytle or Sam Noyer earn the starting gig by the time UCLA comes to town on Nov. 7?
What are the details of their ongoing battle for the job?
These are questions, fans, coaches and the two QBs themselves are paying close attention to as Colorado nears the midway point of fall camp.
However, is it really going to matter if the senior QB with minimal experience vs. the junior with minimal experience starts against the Bruins if CU's offensive line is not sound?
If the Buffs' starting five on the o-line aren't primed and ready to go for the season opener and in general this season, it'll reverberate into the offensive backfield, impacting the run and pass game alike.
At that point, whoever is starting at QB's chances of actually succeeding will be negated equally.
Junior left tackle Will Sherman was Colorado's representative on Wednesday, as the Pac-12 hosted a webinar featuring one football player from each of the South Division's programs.
He seemed to understand well the responsibility resting on the shoulders of he and his fellow offensive linemen.
As a collective unit, Sherman was quick to identify the Buffs' 2020 corps of o-linemen as the best he's been a part of in college.
“Since I’ve been (at CU) this is the most size and depth we’ve had on the o-line," he said. "...The success of this team is on us. We have to make whoever is playing QB as comfortable as possible.”
In all likelihood, Sherman will start at LT, senior Kary Kutsch is a lock next to him at left guard while junior Colby Pursell will handle center responsibilities.
As has been discussed, that leaves right guard and tackle to be filled by a combination of sophomores — Kanan Ray, Casey Roddick and Frank Fillip.
Fillip indicated, perhaps unintentionally, last week that the starting five position coach Mitch Rodrigue had been rolling with were the aforementioned three veterans at LT, LG and C, while Fillip was practicing with the first-team offense at RT and Roddick doing the same at RG.
Whatever the lineup ends up looking like, Sherman is confident in the progress his comrades are making.
“So far, I think we’ve gotten better every single day," he said. "That’s something that I’m really excited about, because since I’ve been here, like I said, this is the most depth and size that I’ve seen. Whoever the starting five ends up being, it’s going to be a committed group that is consistent, extremely hard-working and loves to play hard. That’s the way we’ve been practicing and I’m excited about that.”
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Sherman, who Chris Kapilovic praised last August during fall camp as a solid helping hand to him in terms of leadership when the former was only a sophomore, has taken it upon himself to assume more of a leadership role in 2020, now that he's a upperclassman and Colorado's leader in snaps played from last year.
A primary goal for Sherman is to help Rodrigue develop depth.
“Having the young guys being on the same page as the older guys — I want the (third string) players to look just like the (first stringers) when they go out there," he said. "(I) just (like) having everybody play at the high standard that we have and competing as hard as they can.”
Offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini joined the media on Zoom for the first time this fall camp and expressed similar sentiments with respect to CU's o-line.
“Coach Rod does an unbelievable job those guys as far as (being a) technician, work, being demanding on them and I feel like our o-line has gotten better," he said. "We’ve got guys like Will Sherman playing tackle. We’ve got Frank Fillip, who’s getting better, Colby Pursell and Kary Kutsch, veteran guys — Casey Roddick and Kanan Ray fighting for spots."
"I feel like our talent has gotten better the last couple years and I’m excited to see what I can do running the football and protecting the quarterback this fall.”
