Woelk: Buffs Youngsters Have Been Big Contributors

BOULDER — While this year's Colorado football team was touted as being a more experienced, deeper team when the season began, those terms are relative.

Experienced, yes — because a number of players who had significant playing time as freshmen and sophomores were back as sophomores and juniors. Experienced for the same reason.

But when the clock hits 00:00 for the 2015 Buffaloes on Saturday in Utah (12:37 p.m. kickoff, Pac-12 Networks), the Buffs will still be one of the younger teams in the nation.

After 12 games — a normal college football schedule — CU's seniors have accounted for just 55 starts this season. That's the fewest since 2012 (47), and the second-fewest since 2000, when Gary Barnett's 3-8 team had 55 seniors starts in 11 games.

Saturday, CU will likely start five seniors against Utah and 10 freshmen and sophomores. This year, CU has played 19 freshmen, the 29th-most in the nation.

To be brutally honest, it's one of the reasons behind the Buffs' plethora of game-changing mistakes this season. Missed blocks, missed tackles, missed assignments — a handful of missed opportunities have left the Buffs bemoaning a narrow loss more than once this season, and many of those errors have been committed by underclassmen.

But along with the missed opportunities, CU's youngsters — the freshmen and sophomores — have been some of the Buffs' biggest contributors. Consider:

CU's leading rusher is sophomore Phillip Lindsay, who enters Saturday's finale with 605 yards and six touchdowns on 131 carries, the most yards by a CU soph since Rodney Stewart ran for 804 in 2009. Sitting at third in rushing is another sophomore, Donovan Lee (49-303, three touchdowns) while true freshman Patrick Carr is fifth with 59 carries for 280 yards and a touchdown.

The Buffs' second-leading receiver is sophomore Shay Fields, who has 42 catches for 598 yards and seven touchdowns, despite missing all of one game and most of another because of an ankle injury. Fields currently has the third-most receptions and yards through his sophomore season in CU history (92-1,084), trailing only Nelson Spruce and Michael Westbrook.

Of CU's top six receivers, five are sophomores. Along with Fields, the list includes Lee (26 catches, 128 yards), Devin Ross (24-320), Bryce Bobo (22-176) and Lindsay (21-162).

Linebacker Rick Gamboa is now second on the all-time CU tackles list for freshmen (85), trailing only Addison Gillam's phenomenal freshman season (119) of two years ago. Despite not starting until the third game of the year, Gamboa is the team's leading tackler this season, one ahead of defensive back Chidobe Awuzie.

Sophomore linebacker Derek McCartney is fifth on the team in tackles (61), tied for the team lead in sacks (five) and also has an interception and a team-leading 15 quarterback pressures.

Other youngsters among CU's top tacklers are sophomore safety Ryan Moeller (47 tackles in just seven games), freshman linebacker Grant Watanabe (31 tackles in five games) and sophomore defensive lineman Leo Jackson III (30 tackles and two sacks). Then there's true freshman Isaiah Oliver, who has 15 tackles, five third-down stops and five pass break-ups in what amounts to basically two games at cornerback.

On Saturday, CU will start a sophomore, Gerrad Kough, and a freshman, John Lisella, on the offensive line. Both have improved steadily as the season has progressed. Other underclassmen who have seen significant playing time include Sam Kronshage and Jonathan Huckins.

These lists, of course, don't include the junior contributors this year, all of whom will be back — players such as defensive backs Awuzie, Tedric Thompson and Ahkello Witherspoon; linebackers Jimmie Gilbert and Kenneth Olugbode; defensive tackles Jordan Carrell and Samson Kafovalul; tight end Sean Irwin; and offensive linemen Alex Kelley and Shane Callahan. Then there are linebacker Addison Gillam and left tackle Jeromy Irwin, both of whom suffered season-ending injuries early but will return next season.

(We also haven't mentioned quarterback, a position that will be in an interesting state of flux over the offseason. With regular starter Sefo Liufau out for the spring and most of the summer with a foot injury, it will mean more snaps and a healthy competition between current starter Cade Apsay and freshman Steven Montez in the spring. If Liufau returns in time for fall camp as he expects, it will be a interesting storyline to follow.)

What it all means is that this year's senior class — 14 on the roster, one of the smallest in recent years — will be replaced by a much larger class a year from now, as well as a current freshman and sophomore group that has put up a large percentage of this year's production in most of the key statistical categories.

Simply, it means more experience and more production across the board — and hopefully, fewer mistakes.

This weekend, CU's seniors will be playing to go out on a high note. They've spent four, five — or even six — years in Boulder attempting to build a foundation. While they haven't enjoyed as many wins as they'd like, their contribution for the future has been one of establishing a competitive atmosphere.

But also on prominent display Saturday for the last time this season will be the next step in that future. If the Buffs who have another year — or more — in the program can produce a win against a good Utah team, it will provide some quality momentum as they spend an offseason contemplating future possibilities.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu