Colorado University Athletics
O-line Coach Adams Says Buffs Missing 'Nasty, Physical Mentality'
September 13, 2017 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — After two games, Colorado offensive line coach Klayton Adams says his group needs an attitude adjustment.
Safe to say Adams is not looking for a kinder, gentler bunch up front when the 2-0 Buffs take the field Saturday for their non-conference finale against Northern Colorado (noon, Pac-12 Networks).
"The position needs to be played with a certain mentality, a nasty, physical mentality," Adams said after Wednesday's practice. "We haven't been doing that the first two weeks. We have to find our urgency. We have to find our nasty. We have to find our finish. I'm willing to play whoever I have to in order to get that done."
Adams is clearly not happy with the play of the line over the first two games. The Buffs yielded five sacks in the opener against Colorado State (although not all were the line's fault) and last week against Texas State, Colorado failed to hit the 100-yard mark in rushing. Last season, only Michigan, USC, Washington and Oklahoma State held the Buffs under 100 yards on the ground.
The results have been disconcerting for Adams, to say the least, as well as the rest of CU's offensive staff. The Buffs have put together a handful of good drives thus far, but have not been able to establish any kind of consistency over long stretches.
It is something the Buffs are aiming to change in a hurry. The line will get a boost this week with the return of senior left tackle Jeromy Irwin, who was suspended for the first two games. How that will affect the rest of the lineup remains to be seen.
Colorado's starters thus far have been Josh Kaiser at left tackle, Gerrad Kough at left guard, Jonathan Huckins at center, Tim Lynott Jr. at right guard and Aaron Haigler at right tackle. Last week, however, that lineup changed early in the Texas State game when sophomore Isaac Miller replaced Kaiser and played the majority of the snaps (64 of 77).
Now, both head coach Mike MacIntyre and Adams have hinted that CU's lineup is by no means set, even with Irwin's return. Earlier this week, MacIntyre said while the Buffs have "seven or eight" players who can play up front, they have not yet decided on the best five.
Adams reiterated that point Wednesday.
"We're going to find five guys who are willing to finish the play every single snap, all the way to the whistle and try to drive somebody into the ground," Adams said. "If we find five guys who are willing to do that, I don't care who it is, I don't care what year they're in, I don't care how many games they've played. Those will be our five guys."
The fact that the Buffs' line has not yet been a cohesive unit has come as a surprise. Several times in fall camp, MacIntyre said he expected this year's group to be the best he has had in his five years in Boulder.
Adams said he expected the same — and their performance thus far has been "disappointing, to say the least."
"It falls on me," Adams said. "It's up to me make sure it happens, and playing with that physical mentality has been a real focal point for us for the last two weeks. I'm hopeful that we'll see a lot of it this weekend."
Now, Adams said, he expects to see a marked improvement from the line against the 1-0 Bears.
"We'd better (see improvement) or we're not going to win a lot of games moving forward," Adams said. "When the line plays the way they're supposed to, the whole team is better. In order for us to do what we need to do on offense, we have to play better on the offensive line — and that starts with our mentality."
DEFENSIVE LINE ROTATION: Last season, all three of Colorado's starting defensive linemen played at least 520 snaps. That likely won't be the case this year, as the Buffs are rotating players on a more regular basis.
Thus far, end Leo Jackson III is the only Buff who has been a regular in both CU's base 3-4 defense and its nickel (pass rush) alignment. Jackson has played 120 snaps in two games, 45 more than end Chris Mulumba, second among defensive linemen with 75 plays.
Other linemen working in as part of the regular rotation have been nose tackle Javier Edwards (64 plays), nose tackle/end Jase Franke (57), nose tackle Lyle Tuiloma (35) and pass rush specialist Timothy Coleman (28).
All have contributed. While Jackson is far and away the leading tackler with 16 (including four sacks), the rest of pitched in with relatively equal numbers: Mulumba, Edwards and Franke all have seven tackles, Tuiloma five and Coleman with one (a sack).
This week, the Buffs expect to add senior George Frazier, who returns after a two-game suspension, to the mix.
"We've been able to rotate a few more guys," MacIntyre said. "That helps us stay fresh and be physical up there like we want to be. Last year we had some really good players that played up there and we didn't rotate them as much. I felt like this year we could with what we have. That goes game to game, too. You have different injuries or different schemes they're doing, we feel like we're able to rotate them a little better."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
