Practice Report: Jones Leads Youth Movement At ILB, Practice Notes

BOULDER — At a position at which depth was a question mark heading into camp for the Colorado Buffaloes, Akil Jones has provided a measure of reassurance for the CU coaching staff.

Jones, a redshirt freshman, has had an outstanding camp thus far for the Buffs, picking up where he left off after a solid spring. He was among the Buffs' leading tacklers in Saturday's scrimmage (six tackles, including a third-down stop) and has been getting plenty of quality snaps in practice.

It's what the Buffs needed to see at a position where CU has just one returning starter from last year and just one other player with any kind of experience.

Jones entered camp behind junior Drew Lewis on the depth chart at the "jack" inside linebacker position. Lewis, a junior who saw action at linebacker in four games last year, has been running at the No. 1 spot alongside Rick Gamboa for most of camp.

But Jones has been practicing at both inside spots, getting valuable repetitions behind both Lewis and two-year starter Gamboa, and will almost certainly see some playing time when the Buffs open the season Sept. 1 against Colorado State in Denver.

"Akil's going to play a lot for us," inside linebackers coach Ross Els said early in camp.

Jones, who came to Colorado as an outside linebacker, is a powerfully built 6-foot, 215-pounder who is quickly earning a reputation as a physical player since making the switch inside. He's proving to be an adept run stopper and is showing good sideline-to-sideline speed.

He's also adapted quickly to the "spill" mentality of an inside linebacker, whose job it is to force plays to go east-west rather than north-south.

"I'm finally getting used to it and enjoying it a lot," Jones said. "Inside is more of a process — you read, read, read and then you react — but when you react, you come hard, and I really enjoy that."

Jones is another Buff who has taken good advantage of the offseason conditioning programs under Drew Wilson. He's added some strength and speed — and equally importantly, he paid close attention in his true freshman year to CU's senior leaders.

"They left a big impression on me," said Jones, who had a standout prep career at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, Calif. "They said there's going to be people who need to step up, and I feel like I can be one of those people. I just focus on getting better, taking advice from all my teammates and all my coaches and just trying to be a coachable player so I can touch the field and contribute to the team."

So far, Jones has been accomplishing just that.

"I'm not the tallest, I'm not the biggest — but my effort and my physicality can be a contribution to the team," Jones said. "We have a lot of physical people on the team and they're starting to show. We have a lot of young freshmen that are stepping up. When you make big plays, it generates momentum. That's what I enjoy most, seeing the team get hyped and I try to be part of that."

Jones is one of a handful of youngsters who have turned coaches' heads in practice, joining true freshmen Carson Wells, Nate Landman and Jonathan Van Diest. Each came up with an impressive moment or two in Saturday's first scrimmage of camp.

"All those linebackers, the young kids, made some plays in their first time on kind of a big stage," head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "Didn't seem like a fish out of water. I thought they did well."

But the Buffs will need more from the youngsters than just "flashes" in scrimmages this year. They'll need the young linebackers to be ready to provide some quality relief for Gamboa and Lewis when the regular season rolls around.

"Akil got a ton reps in the spring and we've seen improvements from him in training camp," defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot said after Monday's practice. "The freshmen, we just threw them to the fire (in the scrimmage). But every day they learn and they're not making the same mistake twice and it's going to be critical for their progress."

It means that CU's coaches not only expect them to be ready to contribute, but will be counting on at least a couple of the younger ILBs to be contributors.

"They're going to have to be ready," Eliot said. "We're going to need them."

SCRIMMAGE REVIEW: After having a chance to review Saturday's scrimmage MacIntyre said he was pleased with the way the Buffs "flew around" on defense. He said he also liked elements of CU's running game, as well as the offense's performance in the two-minute drill. Overall, he said, he also liked the effort of the offensive line.

PRACTICE NOTES: The Buffs practiced inside on Monday, taking advantage of the Champions Center Indoor Practice Facility. Steady rain made the outside natural turf slippery, which heightens the chance of injuries. Practicing inside also reduces the intense wear-and-tear on a natural turf field that occurs when conditions are wet. …

Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Noyer continues to impress, but as MacIntyre noted, there's a difference when Noyer is throwing against the No. 2 defense as opposed to throwing against the No. 1 group. MacIntyre did say, however, that Noyer is at the same level where No. 1 quarterback Steven Montez was at this point in camp a year ago, and is actually in better condition, as Montez was coming back from a slight ankle injury suffered in the summer. …

Two players who are making big strides at outside linebacker are freshman Dante Sparaco and junior Michael Mathewes. Sparaco continues to get plenty of quality snaps while Mathewes, who MacIntyre said will be valuable against "power" teams, is seeing more and more time. Mathewes came up with an interception Monday morning when Rick Gamboa tipped a Montez pass in the air and Mathewes was on hand to grab it on the run and follow it up with a nice return. ... MacIntyre said freshman wideout Jaylon Jackson will miss the season after undergoing surgery Saturday night on a broken ankle suffered in Saturday's scrimmage.

SCHEDULE: The Buffs were back in shells on Monday after Saturday's full-contact scrimmage and a day off Sunday. MacIntyre called Monday's practice a "productive" workout and reminded the Buffs, "If you want to be champions, if you want to be successful, every little thing matters." … The Buffs will be back in full pads Tuesday, then again on Saturday for their second scrimmage of camp.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu