No such thing as ‘less is more’ for CU’s RB room
For a Colorado Buffaloes team that averaged 125.6 rushing yards per game last year, putting up 183 yards on 49 carries in its season opener against a strong Georgia Tech team certainly made a statement.
Wednesday’s press conference reaffirmed CU’s confidence in its running back room.
After facing much criticism concerning a lack of size throughout the offseason, the Buffs spread the wealth. They were able to get quality performances out of more than a few players on their depth chart.
Instead of focusing on getting results from just the top one or two-string running backs, position coach Johnnie Mack is more than happy to rotate as many as five players over the course of a game.
“It’s not normal to rotate five guys…” Coach Mack said in Wednesday’s press conference, “Guys are competing when they’re in there as well, ‘cause they know, ‘If I don’t make this play, I may not get this opportunity again.’”
Against the Yellow Jackets, Damian Henderson II led the group with 65 yards, with Micah Welch contributing 58 yards and a crucial touchdown. Smith added on 42 of his own, all of which were impactful in CU’s nail-biting 14-13 win.
“I tell those guys, we don’t know if this is gonna happen every week. It may be a two-man rotation, depending on the game. It’s just the feel of it,” Mack said.
The Buffs have not shied away from doing things untraditionally in the past, with a fiercely outspoken head coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders at the helm. This season is no different, with Sanders also notably choosing to operate without a designated special teams coordinator.
The staff has continually prioritized a “We-fense,” though tight end coach Josh Niblett has recently stepped into a more active role.
Prioritizing fresh legs and finding who’s having an ‘on’ day, Sanders and running back coach Mack will look to continue to flip the script from a previously pass-heavy offense that resulted in a lackluster 3-9 (1-8 Big 12) record last year.
Fifteen straight run plays in a pivotal third quarter against Georgia Tech exemplified CU’s new offensive strategy.
“We wanted to show people that it’s a new year. And we took on that challenge of running the ball,” Mack said.
Smith, a 5-foot-11 Sacramento State transfer, played a key role in securing CU’s road win in Atlanta. With 42 rushing yards on 10 carries, his timing and ability to read the field will be an asset throughout the rest of the season.
“It helps a lot, not just having one guy going in and getting beat up the whole game. We’ve got five other backs coming in…” Smith said. “If you’re tired, we’ve got other fresh legs coming in. So it really helps, you know, wear down the opponent.”
Smith recorded 135 yards and two touchdowns against Weber State just last season, and Buff fans will undoubtedly look to see this domination translate, despite his new threads.
Despite recording the most rushing yards in a single game since September 20th of last year in their opening week, Mack and the Buffs are eager to prove their ability as the season continues.
“We’re never satisfied. You know, we may have other people out there satisfied, but we’re far from it. We still have a long way to go,” Mack said.
While the Buffs enter the matchup as heavy 34.5-point favorites over the Wildcats, there are many questions that need to be answered for Sanders’ personnel to win over skeptics.
CU will look to back up its impressive week one success as they return to Folsom Field to take on Weber State this Saturday. Catch the game on ESPN+ at 1:30 p.m. MT.
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