Buffs Set to Scrimmage Thursday

BOULDER - The familiar sight of snow was present again as the University of Colorado football team practiced through yet another bitter cold evening on Tuesday. The Buffs arctic spring session lasted nearly two and a half hours as they prepared for their first full-contact scrimmage, scheduled for Thursday.   

                "You like to see how guys handle certain situations and how they bounce back from adversary," Head Coach Dan Hawkins said. "We are not going to be able to grind like we want to grind because of some of our numbers up front, but we will try to get a look at some things and see where we are at."

                Hawkins said he would like to get most of his guys about 30 quality live snaps, but with a lack of bodies on the offensive line, he said 20 good snaps would be more realistic.

                The scrimmage will not be a typical game format. There will be several live, full-contact sessions mixed in with other individual drills. Thursday's scrimmage will start at the usual 5:00 p.m. timeslot and is open to the public.

Familiar Face      

The Buffs could benefit from their second multi-sport athlete (safety Joel Adams; skiing), as senior basketball player Martane Freeman has officially walked on to the football team as a wide receiver. The 6'7 Freeman is already the tallest wide receiver in CU history and his athleticism was apparent to coaches by the way he was able to full-court press opposing point guards in basketball. 

                "Playing football has been in the back of my head for a while," Freeman said. "I love football just as much as I love basketball. I don't want to be one of those people when I get older that wishes I would have done this or that?so I'm out here."

                Freeman, who has one year of eligibility in football, played quarterback and safety in high school.  The strength coaches said he has to add size to his frame to be able to withstand hits, but athletically he is extremely gifted and he is well-conditioned because of basketball. Hawkins told him not to worry about trying to learn everything all over again. He likened the way the coaches could adapt certain packages to his strengths to a basketball coach drawing up a last-second play for a really slow guy (Hawkins) who can only shoot.