2015 COLORADO FOOTBALL / SPRING GAME NOTES March 15, 2015 (Folsom Field, 2:07 p.m.) QUICKLY Today’s annual Black & Gold Game marks the fourth and final major scrimmage of the spring, as CU has had previous sessions on February 25, March 4 and March 11 prior to today; the Buffs have also scrimmaged regularly at times during most of the practices, especially dealing with the red zone and situational scrimmages … The actual game will only last about an hour; the first portion will be assorted drills that will blend into different coverage for the Pac-12 Network ... The Gold team will wear white jerseys and white pants; the Black team back jerseys and black pants; both will wear gold helmets ... This was the first time in school history that all of spring practice was held prior to spring break; thus, it had the earliest start (Feb. 16) and end (Mar. 15) dates; the reasoning was that any injured players have another month to rehab, and a post-spring weight program can be better implemented ... The team held a draft early Saturday morning (March 14) to divide the team into two for the game (details below)… Today’s format will have two 30-minute sessions with a running clock (except for the final two minutes of each half), with about an 8-minute halftime … CU coach Mike MacIntyre celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday ... In addition to the injured players below, three players won’t suit up today: Jaleel Awini, Donovan Lee and Josh Tupou ... Prior to the game, there was a breakfast with the alumni where the team’s spring awards were presented … The season opener at Hawai’i (September 3 in Honolulu) is 172 days from today. ON-THE-AIR Today’s game will be televised nationally for the third straight year by the Pac-12 Network, with Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Glenn Parker (analyst) and Jill Savage (sidelines) in town to call the action; it will also be replayed numerous times in the coming months. Locally, the Colorado Football Network is handling the radio call (KKZN am760 in Denver), with Mark Johnson, Chad Brown and Justin Adams calling the action. HOW TODAY’S TEAMS CAME TO BE No, nobody was on the clock; no Mel Kiper talking about a player’s hips; just the 12 seniors divided into two groups after coach Mike MacIntyre divvied them up on the Black and Gold squads himself. The seniors gathered at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning to split the team into two for today’s game. S Marques Mosley and S Jered Bell served as captains and the Gold team won the coin toss, with Mosley & Co. selecting quarterback Sefo Liufau with the first overall pick. The Black team countered with center Alex Kelley. Here were the first 12 selections by both teams: Gold Round Black Gold Round Black Sefo Liufau, QB 1 Alex Kelley, C Jonathan Huckins, OG 7 Ryan Moeller, S Jeromy Irwin, OT 2 Chidobe Awuzie, CB George Frazier, FB 8 John Walker, CB Tedric Thompson, S 3 Shay Fields, WR Leo Jackson, DL 9 Jase Franke, DT Devin Ross, WR 4 Samson Kafovalu, DL Afolabi Laguda, DB 10 Ryan Severson, ILB Kenneth Olugbode, ILB 5 Gerrad Kough, OG Shane Callahan, OG 11 Derek McCartney, DE Ahkello Witherspoon, CB 6 Jimmie Gilbert, DE Josh Kaiser, OT 12 Phillip Lindsay, TB THE WOUNDED No major injuries have occurred during spring as in the past few years (knock on wood, as they say), when several players tore knee ligaments or Achilles tendons. As of Saturday, 11 players were definitely out today; the injury picture for the Buffaloes as of March 14 a.m.: Pos Player Injury Notes Status/Spring Game TB Michael Adkins knee suffered a sprained MCL against Arizona (11/08); underwent arthroscopic surgery on Nov. 25, practiced on limited basis OUT S Jered Bell knee suffered a torn ACL in practice (Aug. 15); underwent surgery and has petitioned for a sixth year from the NCAA OUT WR Bryce Bobo shoulder had postseason surgery to repair a torn labrum (chronic), completing rehab OUT WR Xavier Cochrane hamstring pulled a hamstring in practice on Feb. 25 DOUBTFUL WR Elijah Dunston knee suffered a torn ACL and MCL in practice (Sept. 22); underwent surgery in late October, completing rehab OUT DE Tyler Henington knee suffered a torn ACL and MCL in practice (Aug. 22); underwent surgery in early Sept.; completing rehab OUT OT Jeromy Irwin ankle suffered a sprain in practice (March 9) QUESTIONABLE WR Colin Johnson back lumbar tightness, has limited him at time during spring drills but has participated QUESTIONABLE TE Hayden Jones shoulder had a chronic tear repaired last Sept. 9, practiced on a limited non-contact basis this spring OUT TE Dylan Keeney shoulder had his labrum repaired last Oct. 13; practiced on a limited non-contact basis this spring OUT OT Dillon Middlemiss ankle suffered a sprain in practice (March 11) QUESTIONABLE FS Marques Mosley knee suffered a torn ACL and MCL against UCLA (Oct. 25); underwent surgery on Nov. 24, completing rehab OUT DE Blake Robbins shoulder, knee practiced on a limited non-contact basis this spring OUT WR Lee Walker shoulder suffered a subluxation in practice (Sept. 17); underwent surgery on Oct. 14, practiced on a limited basis OUT ILB Grant Watanabe foot suffered a “LisFranc” sprain, which precluded him from running; undergoing rehab OUT HIPAA: The players listed above have signed waivers for their injury information to be released/discussed with the media. NOTE: Injuries are reported in conjunction with the HIPAA laws. CU releases player name, body part (but no right or left ID’s), the general nature and playing status when it comes to reporting injuries. Status is listed as either OUT, DOUBTFUL, QUESTIONABLE, DAY-TO-DAY, PROBABLE or DEFINITE. Injuries will be updated in-game, postgame and the Monday after the game. Post-Spring Surgeries As of now, just one is scheduled (TB Joey Tuggle, torn ACL). LOOKING AHEAD Here are the football reporting dates for this fall (tentative), but the listed item cannot occur prior to the date listed. The NCAA permits a maximum 29 on-field practice sessions. The tentative dates: August 4—Players report (p.m.) August 8—Practice In Full Gear August 24—First Day of Classes August 5—First practice August 9—Media Day (tentative) Sept. 3—First Game: Hawai’i (Honolulu) Fall/Thanksgiving Break is November 23-27, ahead of CU’s game at Utah (Nov. 28); classes end December 11 and finals are over December 17. 2015 COLORADO SPRING GAME NOTES / 2-2-2 AWARDS Here is the roll call of this year’ spring honors as determined by the coaching staff (presented to the team Sunday morning): Eddie Crowder Award (Outstanding Leadership) OT Stephane Nembot & ILB Kenneth Olugbode Fred Casotti Award (Most Improved Offensive Back) WR Robert Orban Joe Romig Award (Most Improved Offensive Lineman) Gerrad Kough Hale Irwin Award (Most Improved Defensive Back) John Walker Greg Biekert Award (Most Improved Linebacker) Jaleel Awini Dan Stavely Award (Most Improved Defensive Lineman) Jase Franke Daniel Graham Award (Most Improved Big Skill Player) FB George Frazier Bill McCartney Award (Most Improved Special Teams Player) PK Diego Gonzalez & FB Jordan Murphy John Wooten Award (Outstanding Work Ethic) WR Nelson Spruce Dick Anderson Award (Outstanding Toughness) TB Phillip Lindsay Jim Hansen Award (Outstanding Academics) PK Chris Graham Sal Aunese Award (Most Uncommon Player) S Jered Bell & TB Christian Powell 2015 Iron Buffaloes (Weight Room; presented by position to those who represent hard work, dedication, toughness and total lifting performance) Defensive Line Leo Jackson Tight Ends Chris Hill Linebackers Mike Mathewes Wide Receivers Jay MacIntyre & Lee Walker Defensive Backs Jaisen Sanchez Quarterbacks Jordan Gehrke Offensive Line Jonathan Huckins Specialists Diego Gonzalez Running Backs Kyle Evans Spring Football Game History For 40 years, spring practice traditionally ended with a game between the Colorado Varsity and Alumni. Back at the turn of the century, an Alumni team usually served as the season opener for the varsity (13 times all told, with the Varsity owning an 11-0-2 edge in those games). The Varsity held a 20-3 edge in the old format of the spring series, which started back in 1953 under then head coach Dal Ward. After a pair of games, the series became dormant until 1963 when it was revived by Eddie Crowder. There was no game between 1974 and 1976, and the 1978 game was cancelled due to a blizzard. A new format for the Varsity-Alumni game (implemented in 1988) had the alumni playing in the first and third quarters, with the first team of the varsity playing the second and fourth quarters. They were pitted against the second- and third-team members of the varsity, resulting in a competitive and fun game. The alumni and first-team varsity always wore black; this format was discontinued following 1992 for competitive reasons. The all-time results of the Varsity-Alumni game: Year Score Attendance Year Score Attendance Year Score Attendance Year Score Attendance 1953 — Varsity, 6-0 2,300 1968 — Alumni, 23-0 7,500 1979 — Varsity, 31-0 5,277 1986 — Varsity, 31-7 3,855 1954 — Varsity, 7-6 1,200 1969 — Varsity, 37-10 9,000 1980 — Varsity, 24-14 4,688 1987 — Varsity, 24-0 2,235 1963 — Alumni, 14-6 11,500 1970 — Varsity, 41-12 6,500 1981 — Varsity, 24-0 3,369 1988 — #Black, 23-14 2,750 1964 — Alumni, 10-7 10,000 1971 — Varsity, 13-0 4,500 1982 — Varsity, 35-15 4,144 1989 — #White, 38-35 13,642 1965 — Varsity, 13-12 6,000 1972 — Varsity, 28-0 8,500 1983 — Varsity, 42-0 3,804 1990 — #White, 27-25 11,336 1966 — Varsity, 23-6 10,500 1973 — Varsity, 14-13 6,500 1984 — Varsity, 14-6 4,023 1991 — #Black, 21-17 10,382 1967 — *Varsity, 29-16 3,500 1977 — Varsity, 43-27 9,000 1985 — Varsity, 24-0 4,211 1992 — #Black, 44-7 9,618 *–played in Denver due to stadium expansion; #–First-team varsity and alumni wore black jerseys, remainder of varsity white jerseys.