Colorado University Athletics
Next Man Up: Buffs Prep For Loss of McCartney, Gonzalez; Liufau 'Day To Day'
September 19, 2016 | Football, Neill Woelk
CU injury list from Michigan game long one
BOULDER — This is not the way Mike MacIntyre envisioned the Colorado Buffaloes opening their Pac-12 season.
In a perfect world, MacIntyre's Buffs would have all hands on deck when they play their conference opener Saturday in Oregon (3:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
But as any coach will tell you, there's no perfect world in football. You play the cards you are dealt, and CU's hand this week won't include starting linebacker Derek McCartney and No. 1 kicker Diego Gonzalez — both out for the season — and possibly starting quarterback Sefo Liufau.
All three were injured in Saturday's 45-28 loss at Michigan. McCartney suffered a torn ACL in the first half; Liufau injured his ankle early in the third quarter (but stayed on the field after the injury and threw a 70-yard touchdown pass); and Gonzalez suffered an Achilles injury on the ensuing kickoff.
"It's really disappointing," MacIntyre allowed after Monday morning's practice. "The next guy's got to step up and go. Derek's our biggest, strongest outside linebacker, good player for us, great leader. Diego, you've seen what he's been doing."
As for Liufau, the Colorado senior did not practice Monday morning, leaving all the first-team repetitions in the hands of redshirt freshman Steven Montez, who appeared in relief of Liufau against Michigan. It was the longest amount of time this year Montez has spent with the No. 1 unit, and he appeared to grow more comfortable with each snap.
MacIntyre wouldn't rule out Liufau being ready for Saturday's game against the Ducks, but did sound as if the Buffs were at least preparing for the possibility.
"Steven had a great spring and a good fall," MacIntyre said. "He's played in all three game now, so he'lll be ready to roll. I feel good about Steven's capabilities, now he's got to go do it in a game."
The loss of McCartney means a likely move up the depth chart for one of three players: Christian Shaver, Terran Hasselbach or N.J. Falo.
Shaver, a junior started against Idaho State in McCartney's place two weeks ago when McCartney was nursing a minor injury. In three games, he's been credited with two tackles, a pass breakup and a pass knockdown. Hasselbach, a sophomore, has played in two games and has one tackle.
Falo, also a sophomore, will be suiting up for the first time this year after serving a three-game suspension for an offseason off-field incident. Falo played in seven games last year, finishing with 17 tackles, including one for loss and one third-down stop, as well as a quarterback hurry.
Falo has been practicing with the scout team up to this week, but with his suspension now over, he began working with the first and second teams on Monday.
While the Buffs technically start two outside linebackers, the reality is that they will likely only start one for much of the the rest of season, as the norm in the Pac-12 is to play the majority of snaps in a nickel defense.
That was the case a year ago, when McCartney started 10 games and fellow OLB Jimmie Gilbert started just three. It is likely that Gilbert will now be the mainstay at the position and the others will play when CU moves to its "base" 3-4 defense.
As for a replacement for Gonzalez, MacIntyre said the Buffs will hold a competition this week between junior Chris Graham and walk-on freshman Davis Price.
Graham is 0-1 on field goal tries this year and 1-1 on PATs, both coming against Idaho State. He's also kicked off four times, averaging 63.5 yards per kickoff.
Graham handled all but one of CU's kickoffs a year ago, with 17 of his 58 attempts going for touchbacks. The average starting field position for the kicks that were returned was the 25-yard line — exactly where the ball would be placed after a touchback.
Price, from Evergreen, has never kicked in a college game.
MacIntyre said the competition between the two would continue throughout the week, with a decision being made Friday.
"We've always treated every kick like a competition," Graham said. "If the guy next to you makes it, you feel pressure to make yours. It's black and white. You either make it or you miss it. Either you hit it out of the end zone or you don't. It's easy to tell who's winning in that aspect. We always treat every kick like a competition."
But, Graham admitted, his mental preparation will be a bit different this week.
"When you're a backup as a kicker, you never really expect the guy in front of you to get injured," Graham said. "I kind of figured I might get a shot at the Idaho State game (a 56-7 CU win) and I'm glad I got my first field goal out of the way. I'm just ready to get back on track. Definitely some big shoes to fill there and I want to go out and do my best."
TEAM MOOD: Despite the injuries, the Buffs hit the field with a high level of enthusiasm Monday morning.
"Every Monday, win or lose, we come back and prepare as hard as we can for the next game," MacIntyre said. "They'll be excited. It's our first Pac-12 game, We're going to go play at Oregon and they're a great team. We had an excellent practice today. I didn't see anybody moping around. They were practicing hard and fresh."
SPECIAL TEAMS WORK: After Michigan's special teams had a direct hand in at least 21 of its 45 points against the Buffs, Colorado went back to work on special teams on Monday. The Buffs made some adjustments in their punt protection and coverage, knowing full well Oregon will attempt to do exactly what Michigan did.
"We definitely need to correct some things," MacIntyre said. "We work on it every Monday. We made a couple changes and made sure we're more precise in everything. We'll correct it and be doing good on it the rest of the year."
ROSS MORE CONSISTENT: Asked the difference between junior wide receiver Devin Ross this year and a year ago, MacIntyre was quick to answer.
"Catching the ball consistently," MacIntyre said. "That's it. He's always had everything else. Everybody's going to drop one once in a while, that's just the way it is. It's being able to get over that and go make the next one and not go in the tank. He's been able to do that."
Ross leads the Buffs this year in receptions (18) and receiving touchdowns (4) and is second in receiving yards (202). With nine regular season games to go, he is just eight catches and 123 yards away from establishing career highs in both categories, and his four scores are already a career high.
He is also the only Buff to have caught at touchdown pass in all three games this year.
BROADCAST CREW: The Pac-12 Network crew for Saturday's game will see Ted Robinson on play-by-play, Yogi Roth as analyst and Cindy Brunson on the sidelines. The broadcast begins at 3:30 p.m. (Mountain).
OREGON STATE GAME TIME SET: The Pac-12 announced Monday that Colorado's home game with Oregon State on Oct. 1 will begin at 12:30 p.m. The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
