Colorado University Athletics
Shay Fields hauls in one of last season's 42 receptions.
Photo by: Tony Harman
Buffs’ Receivers Deal With Winfree’s Loss, Move Forward
August 26, 2016 | Football, B.G. Brooks
Bobo, Fields, Ross & Co. Helping Ease Passing Game Anxiety
(Last in a series of position-by-position previews of the 2016 Buffs to be posted on CUBuffs.com during the preseason. Today: Receivers)
BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes opened August camp knowing they would have to replace record-setting receiver Nelson Spruce. What they didn't know was that little more than halfway through camp they also would be plotting the 2016 passing game minus talented newcomer Juwann Winfree.
Winfree's season-ending knee injury last week sent new receivers coach/co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini back to the drawing board.
Fortunately for "Coach Chev," his cohort Brian Lindgren, and their play-it-fast, sling-it-often offense, the board isn't blank. Far from it.
As impressive as the highly skilled Winfree had been through the first dozen days of camp, Chiaverini was seeing him pushed by a Buffs returnee whose potential often raised eyebrows but had encountered problems consistently raising his level of play.
At 6-2, 195 Bryce Bobo has a frame similar to Winfree's (6-3, 205) and a skill set that Chiaverini believes can be pretty close, too. Of course, he would love to have both players at the X spot in his receiver rotation.
But what he says wasn't widely known before Winfree's injury was that Bobo, a junior who has made 47 receptions over the past two seasons (422 yards, three TDs), was close to matching Winfree's camp productivity.
"Even when (Winfree) was healthy, Bobo had been practicing well and had shown up in scrimmages," said Chiaverini, who arrived in Boulder last winter after two seasons at Texas Tech. "(Bobo) was having a good camp; it was kind of like with him and Juwann being 1A and 1B.
"I thought they both were really good players. I felt good about having two real good players over there. Now Bobo has taken the lead on it and we've got to find that No. 2."
Chiaverini said the top contenders for the backup X spot are freshman Johnny Huntley III and junior college transfer Kabion Ento, who is playing both the X and Z spots. Both are bigger wideouts, each standing 6-3, but Ento (180) has the benefit of a spring's worth of practice while Huntley (210) is a summer arrival.
Bobo's practice work has "excited" Chiaverini: "He's got excellent ball skills and now he's been much more mentally focused and he's playing at full speed . . . his thing in the past has been not going full speed all the time. I sit on top of him and teach him a little differently and he's responded to that teaching. It's been exciting to see his progression through camp."
Chiaverini is big on his players not slipping into a lower gear during practice – and certainly not in games. His observation about Bobo occasionally downshifting also was applicable for Shay Fields, whose 42 receptions and 598 receiving yards trailed only Spruce (89-1,053) in both categories last season. They shared the team lead in TD catches with four each.
Fields is a legitimate deep threat, but Chiaverini says he "has to continue to push himself . . . he's talented, but I told him this, 'Talent gets you fired.' You've got to be able to be effective. And the only way Shay can do that is by playing fast all the time.
"He's starting to get it a little bit, but he still has some days where he doesn't trust the process. I've told him to trust the process and the results will come. He's a guy we're counting on to make big plays."
Fields made the Buffs' longest scoring reception last season – 72 yards – and his 14.2 yard per catch average was the best for any CU player with 25-plus receptions. He has made five career plays of 50-plus yards, four of which are 60-plus.
Chiaverini also has an experienced playmaker at the H (slot) position in Devin Ross, who caught 25 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns in 2015. Ross, said Chiaverini, "has had a good camp" – and he paid the same compliment to Jay MacIntyre, whose redshirt freshman season saw him play in 12 games (two starts) and catch eight passes for 84 yards and a score.
True freshmen most likely to earn a spot in the receiver rotation are Huntley and Tony Julmisse, with Derrion Rakestraw a possibility. Rakestraw, said Chiaverini, is still learning "but at least he's turning the corner as far as knowing the offense and knowing where to line up. And he's making some plays."
Overall, Chiaverini said his position had "a really good camp . . . now it's time to learn the game plan, inside and out and play at a high tempo and be efficient and make plays. I told them it's not going to be perfect, things are going to go up and down.
But when you have a chance to make plays, you need to make plays."
THE DUAL PLAN FOR JULMISSE: The Buffs have a legitimate two-way player in Julmisse, a 6-1, 190-pounder who played alongside Huntley last season at South Plantation (Fla.) High School. The team was mediocre (3-7), their talent was a cut above.
Julmisse was a corner, Huntley a safety. Both played offense too, with Huntley concentrating on receiver while Julmisse was both a running back and wideout. The Buffs want Julmisse to concentrate on catching (receiver) and defending (cornerback), and he's eager to do both.
"I've been playing both sides since I was five years old; I'm used to it," he said. "I really don't have a preference, never have."
While most incoming freshmen have concentrated on one position, Julmisse has tackled two. But he claimed not to be overwhelmed.
"Not at all actually," he said. "The coaches make sure they even it out for me, don't give me too much or too little. They're not doing anything that would hurt my confidence. They even pull me aside and talk to me and make sure that I'm understanding it all."
With the 2016 opener a week away (Sept. 2 vs. Colorado State), it would appear the Buffs might be deeper in the secondary than at receiver. On offense, Chiaverini looks for Julmisse mostly to be in the Z spot.
"Obviously he can stretch the field," Chiaverini said. "He can run, has speed down the field. We're going to try to get some packages for him so he can be dynamic and do things he does best. We'll have a handful of plays for him and game plan for him.
"But he's an excellent corner as well. Whatever helps our football team win, me and coach Mac have talked about it. He's a good player, so we'll try to fit him where we see where he benefits the football team."
Julmisse's ability to pick up two positions as a freshman has impressed his teammates. So has his work ethic. Ento said Julmisse appears "always willing to work . . . he can be coached, it doesn't matter if it's a player or by a coach. He's going to be a great player, definitely, in the long run. I expect big things out of him this year on both sides of the ball. I just think he's going to be a great player."
Julmisse drew interest from several SEC schools (Georgia, Florida among them) as well as nearby Miami, with most of the offers balanced between playing offense and defense. CU's pitch was that he could do what he's currently doing, and on his unofficial visit he concluded, "I knew this place was special. I knew I could thrive up here; it was an easy choice for me."
His first-year goals are team-oriented, his long-term goal is getting his degree in environmental studies. "I came to get a degree," he said. "I've never had a problem with athletics. I've met the requirements and excelled in athletics. I just want that degree."
Besides learning two positions at this level, his biggest challenge has been adjusting to the faster tempo. "People always says the speed of the game goes up at each level and that's definitely true," he said. "You've got to perfect your craft because it's not all about speed at this point. It's about technique and I'm trying to implement a lot of that into my game."
'KB' CATCHING ON: Ento, who enrolled at CU last January and was almost immediately nicknamed 'KB' by his teammates, benefitted from his early arrival and participation in spring drills. He's learning both the X and Z positions in the offense and will figure into Chiaverini's plans for depth.
Athleticism was evident as a strong suit last April, and now Chiaverini says Ento is "starting to refine his skill set and becoming a better route runner. He's understanding football more and the scheme we're trying to run. He's progressing the way you want him to be progressing."
Ento came out of spring practice intent on being more consistent in August camp, noting he "didn't make as many plays in the spring as I did in fall camp. I built some confidence and got comfortable with the offense. I really just began to have fun again."
More good times await if the receiving corps develops as Chiaverini hopes and fills the void left by Spruce's graduation and Winfree's injury. "We know we have to step it up," Ento said.
"Losing somebody like Juwann, that's key. He's a great player. But we still have the talent to get what we want done. We already know we have to step it up; with or without him we know what we have to do."
THE INSIDE LOOK AT . . .
Wide receivers
Coach: Darrin Chiaverini, first year on staff.
Returning starters: WR (Z) Shay Fields, Jr.; WR (H) Devin Ross, Jr.
Returnees: WR (X) Bryce Bobo, Jr.; WR (Z) Lee Walker, Soph.; WR (Z) Robert Orban, Jr.; WR (H) Jay MacIntyre, Soph.; WR (H) Joey Hall, Jr.; WR (X) Justin Jan, Fr.-RS; WR (X) Jaleel Awini, Sr.; WR (X) David Bagby, Sr.; WR (Z) Danny Galloway, Jr.; WR (Z) Kevin Dement, Soph.; WR (H) Xavier Cochrane, Soph.; WR (H) Sean Grundman, Jr.
Newcomers: WR/CB Tony Julmisse, Fr.; WR (X/Z) Johnny Huntley III, Fr.; WR Derrion Rakestraw, Fr.
Key losses: Nelson Spruce.
Stat line: Spruce caught 89 passes last season, Fields 42 and Ross 25, with Bobo next at 24. With that big a discrepancy between the top receivers' totals, someone (or several someones) will have to make up for Spruce's departed stats.
Bottom line: Winfree's season-ending camp injury was a setback for the receiving corps, but how much of one remains to be seen. The Buffs have a handful of capable receivers and all of them will have to play to their potential – maybe beyond – for the passing game to be as effective as Chiaverini & Co. want it to be. Fields, Ross and Bobo are experienced and will be counted on to step up their games. Jay MacIntyre is quickly becoming a dependable playmaker, and talented newcomers Ento, Julmisse and Huntley bear watching.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes opened August camp knowing they would have to replace record-setting receiver Nelson Spruce. What they didn't know was that little more than halfway through camp they also would be plotting the 2016 passing game minus talented newcomer Juwann Winfree.
Winfree's season-ending knee injury last week sent new receivers coach/co-offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini back to the drawing board.
Fortunately for "Coach Chev," his cohort Brian Lindgren, and their play-it-fast, sling-it-often offense, the board isn't blank. Far from it.
As impressive as the highly skilled Winfree had been through the first dozen days of camp, Chiaverini was seeing him pushed by a Buffs returnee whose potential often raised eyebrows but had encountered problems consistently raising his level of play.
At 6-2, 195 Bryce Bobo has a frame similar to Winfree's (6-3, 205) and a skill set that Chiaverini believes can be pretty close, too. Of course, he would love to have both players at the X spot in his receiver rotation.
But what he says wasn't widely known before Winfree's injury was that Bobo, a junior who has made 47 receptions over the past two seasons (422 yards, three TDs), was close to matching Winfree's camp productivity.
"Even when (Winfree) was healthy, Bobo had been practicing well and had shown up in scrimmages," said Chiaverini, who arrived in Boulder last winter after two seasons at Texas Tech. "(Bobo) was having a good camp; it was kind of like with him and Juwann being 1A and 1B.
"I thought they both were really good players. I felt good about having two real good players over there. Now Bobo has taken the lead on it and we've got to find that No. 2."
Chiaverini said the top contenders for the backup X spot are freshman Johnny Huntley III and junior college transfer Kabion Ento, who is playing both the X and Z spots. Both are bigger wideouts, each standing 6-3, but Ento (180) has the benefit of a spring's worth of practice while Huntley (210) is a summer arrival.
Bobo's practice work has "excited" Chiaverini: "He's got excellent ball skills and now he's been much more mentally focused and he's playing at full speed . . . his thing in the past has been not going full speed all the time. I sit on top of him and teach him a little differently and he's responded to that teaching. It's been exciting to see his progression through camp."
Chiaverini is big on his players not slipping into a lower gear during practice – and certainly not in games. His observation about Bobo occasionally downshifting also was applicable for Shay Fields, whose 42 receptions and 598 receiving yards trailed only Spruce (89-1,053) in both categories last season. They shared the team lead in TD catches with four each.
Fields is a legitimate deep threat, but Chiaverini says he "has to continue to push himself . . . he's talented, but I told him this, 'Talent gets you fired.' You've got to be able to be effective. And the only way Shay can do that is by playing fast all the time.
"He's starting to get it a little bit, but he still has some days where he doesn't trust the process. I've told him to trust the process and the results will come. He's a guy we're counting on to make big plays."
Fields made the Buffs' longest scoring reception last season – 72 yards – and his 14.2 yard per catch average was the best for any CU player with 25-plus receptions. He has made five career plays of 50-plus yards, four of which are 60-plus.
Chiaverini also has an experienced playmaker at the H (slot) position in Devin Ross, who caught 25 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns in 2015. Ross, said Chiaverini, "has had a good camp" – and he paid the same compliment to Jay MacIntyre, whose redshirt freshman season saw him play in 12 games (two starts) and catch eight passes for 84 yards and a score.
True freshmen most likely to earn a spot in the receiver rotation are Huntley and Tony Julmisse, with Derrion Rakestraw a possibility. Rakestraw, said Chiaverini, is still learning "but at least he's turning the corner as far as knowing the offense and knowing where to line up. And he's making some plays."
Overall, Chiaverini said his position had "a really good camp . . . now it's time to learn the game plan, inside and out and play at a high tempo and be efficient and make plays. I told them it's not going to be perfect, things are going to go up and down.
But when you have a chance to make plays, you need to make plays."
THE DUAL PLAN FOR JULMISSE: The Buffs have a legitimate two-way player in Julmisse, a 6-1, 190-pounder who played alongside Huntley last season at South Plantation (Fla.) High School. The team was mediocre (3-7), their talent was a cut above.
Julmisse was a corner, Huntley a safety. Both played offense too, with Huntley concentrating on receiver while Julmisse was both a running back and wideout. The Buffs want Julmisse to concentrate on catching (receiver) and defending (cornerback), and he's eager to do both.
"I've been playing both sides since I was five years old; I'm used to it," he said. "I really don't have a preference, never have."
While most incoming freshmen have concentrated on one position, Julmisse has tackled two. But he claimed not to be overwhelmed.
"Not at all actually," he said. "The coaches make sure they even it out for me, don't give me too much or too little. They're not doing anything that would hurt my confidence. They even pull me aside and talk to me and make sure that I'm understanding it all."
With the 2016 opener a week away (Sept. 2 vs. Colorado State), it would appear the Buffs might be deeper in the secondary than at receiver. On offense, Chiaverini looks for Julmisse mostly to be in the Z spot.
"Obviously he can stretch the field," Chiaverini said. "He can run, has speed down the field. We're going to try to get some packages for him so he can be dynamic and do things he does best. We'll have a handful of plays for him and game plan for him.
"But he's an excellent corner as well. Whatever helps our football team win, me and coach Mac have talked about it. He's a good player, so we'll try to fit him where we see where he benefits the football team."
Julmisse's ability to pick up two positions as a freshman has impressed his teammates. So has his work ethic. Ento said Julmisse appears "always willing to work . . . he can be coached, it doesn't matter if it's a player or by a coach. He's going to be a great player, definitely, in the long run. I expect big things out of him this year on both sides of the ball. I just think he's going to be a great player."
Julmisse drew interest from several SEC schools (Georgia, Florida among them) as well as nearby Miami, with most of the offers balanced between playing offense and defense. CU's pitch was that he could do what he's currently doing, and on his unofficial visit he concluded, "I knew this place was special. I knew I could thrive up here; it was an easy choice for me."
His first-year goals are team-oriented, his long-term goal is getting his degree in environmental studies. "I came to get a degree," he said. "I've never had a problem with athletics. I've met the requirements and excelled in athletics. I just want that degree."
Besides learning two positions at this level, his biggest challenge has been adjusting to the faster tempo. "People always says the speed of the game goes up at each level and that's definitely true," he said. "You've got to perfect your craft because it's not all about speed at this point. It's about technique and I'm trying to implement a lot of that into my game."
'KB' CATCHING ON: Ento, who enrolled at CU last January and was almost immediately nicknamed 'KB' by his teammates, benefitted from his early arrival and participation in spring drills. He's learning both the X and Z positions in the offense and will figure into Chiaverini's plans for depth.
Athleticism was evident as a strong suit last April, and now Chiaverini says Ento is "starting to refine his skill set and becoming a better route runner. He's understanding football more and the scheme we're trying to run. He's progressing the way you want him to be progressing."
Ento came out of spring practice intent on being more consistent in August camp, noting he "didn't make as many plays in the spring as I did in fall camp. I built some confidence and got comfortable with the offense. I really just began to have fun again."
More good times await if the receiving corps develops as Chiaverini hopes and fills the void left by Spruce's graduation and Winfree's injury. "We know we have to step it up," Ento said.
"Losing somebody like Juwann, that's key. He's a great player. But we still have the talent to get what we want done. We already know we have to step it up; with or without him we know what we have to do."
THE INSIDE LOOK AT . . .
Wide receivers
Coach: Darrin Chiaverini, first year on staff.
Returning starters: WR (Z) Shay Fields, Jr.; WR (H) Devin Ross, Jr.
Returnees: WR (X) Bryce Bobo, Jr.; WR (Z) Lee Walker, Soph.; WR (Z) Robert Orban, Jr.; WR (H) Jay MacIntyre, Soph.; WR (H) Joey Hall, Jr.; WR (X) Justin Jan, Fr.-RS; WR (X) Jaleel Awini, Sr.; WR (X) David Bagby, Sr.; WR (Z) Danny Galloway, Jr.; WR (Z) Kevin Dement, Soph.; WR (H) Xavier Cochrane, Soph.; WR (H) Sean Grundman, Jr.
Newcomers: WR/CB Tony Julmisse, Fr.; WR (X/Z) Johnny Huntley III, Fr.; WR Derrion Rakestraw, Fr.
Key losses: Nelson Spruce.
Stat line: Spruce caught 89 passes last season, Fields 42 and Ross 25, with Bobo next at 24. With that big a discrepancy between the top receivers' totals, someone (or several someones) will have to make up for Spruce's departed stats.
Bottom line: Winfree's season-ending camp injury was a setback for the receiving corps, but how much of one remains to be seen. The Buffs have a handful of capable receivers and all of them will have to play to their potential – maybe beyond – for the passing game to be as effective as Chiaverini & Co. want it to be. Fields, Ross and Bobo are experienced and will be counted on to step up their games. Jay MacIntyre is quickly becoming a dependable playmaker, and talented newcomers Ento, Julmisse and Huntley bear watching.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
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