Colorado University Athletics
Buffs RB Bisharat Ready For Expanded Role
March 07, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado running back Beau Bisharat arrived in Boulder last summer with a hefty resume and the outside expectations to match.
Bisharat, who rushed for 4,130 yards and 43 touchdowns at Jesuit High School in Sacramento, Calif., was one of the more celebrated members of the Buffs' 2016 recruiting class.
But while folks from the outside may have expected Bisharat to burst onto the scene, Bisharat knew it would be more of a grind than a burst. It is what he expected and it is what he encountered.
Disappointment, though, was never on his radar (although he admits to a little homesickness in the beginning). Learning, growing and getter better were his priorities.
"It wasn't difficult at all," Bisharat said of his freshman season. "You have to stay humble. I knew coming in Phillip (Lindsay) was a good back. I knew we had good backs in that room and I knew the (recruiting) stars don't mean anything when you get here. Once you get here, you start from scratch. I understand that. I was taught that growing up you never come in expecting anything — you have to work for everything you get."
Bisharat never stopped working — and now, in his first spring ball session, he's becoming more comfortable with the college game in general and the CU offense in particular. It's producing more practice time, including repetitions with the No. 1 offense.
"I feel like I'm getting better every day," Bisharat said. "I'm getting more comfortable with the playbook and more comfortable with each quarterback. I was really only familiar with (Steven) Montez at first, but now I feel like I'm a lot more comfortable with Sam (Noyer) and Tyler (Lytle), too. I really feel like every day is a step in the right direction."
It's not as if Bisharat was invisible last fall. While his rushing stats were quite ordinary — 15 carries for 45 yards — he played in all 14 games, getting plenty of action on special teams.
And, as the year wore on, he began to see more and more time on offense, lining up in the backfield when CU went to a two-back set.
Now he's seeing more and more time with the ball in his hands this spring — and with junior Kyle Evans out with a dislocated hip, those opportunities will only likely increase.
Thus far, Bisharat has had an impressive spring. An offseason strength and conditioning session has added some pounds to his frame and increased his speed and he now looks the part of a college running back.
"I've been able to run with Phil and Kyle and keep up up with them," Bisharat said. "They're fast backs, so that's good. Now I need to work on getting my pad level lower, being patient and making sure I know the playbook inside and out so they can trust me."
He's definitely making an impression on his coaches.
"He's a totally different player," running backs coach Darian Hagan said. "He's bulked up, he's gotten a little bit faster and he knows what he's doing now. It's not foreign to him anymore."
Bisharat adds an element of size coming out of CU's backfield. At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, he is about 10 to 20 pounds bigger than CU's other tailbacks, and he showed some nice flashes — as well as some power going downhill— in CU's first extended scrimmage of spring ball.
"He's going to be a guy that's going to have an impact for us," Hagain said. "He gives us a dimension we haven't had. He's versatile — he can do everything in the pass game, he can do everything in the run game, he's a bigger guy who can help in protection. You can use him as a number of different ways. You can use him as a tailback, you can use him in the H-pool as a tight end — you can do a lot of stuff with him."
That would be fine with Bisharat. Asked what he liked most when running the ball, his answer was simple.
"My favorite stuff is downhill with a puller in front of me or two pullers," he said with a smiler. "There's no guessing. You can just go straight downhill and if somebody meets you in the hole — then it's on. That's what I like."
But whatever the Buffs have in store for him is fine. He'll almost certainly see his role expanded this year, and with Lindsay hitting his final year of eligibility next fall, it means a bigger opportunity for Bisharat a year from now.
"I'm ready for whatever they throw at me," Bisharat said. "I'm going to be ready to run wherever and whatever they want me to do. I want to be at my best at what role they have for me. My job is just to make sure I'm ready."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
