Buffs Enter Final Week of Spring Drills

BOULDER - The University of Colorado football team went through its 12th practice of the spring Monday, as the Buffaloes work toward completing drills this Saturday with the annual spring game.

The Buffs practiced for just over two-and-a-half hours, with the session ending in dusk with the crisp, dark outline of the Flatirons and Rocky Mountain Front Range against a backlit sky, a scene not readily available on most college campuses.

"What a beautiful day, a great day for practice," CU head coach Dan Hawkins said.  "Our guys are coming on, they're starting to make strides, get a good balance going."

 "The last three practices have really been productive that way, so hopefully we can get some good work done tomorrow and Thursday and finish up with a good scrimmage on Saturday.  I really like the swagger we've developed recently."

The spring game is set for Folsom Field at 1:00 p.m. this Saturday.   Admission is free, and the day's festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. with CU's "Healthy Kids Day," a 90-minute interactive experience for kids 13-and-under on the floor of Folsom Field.  Players will sign autographs, and CU's live buffalo mascot, "Ralphie," will also be on hand.

The practice ended with a brief scrimmage between the big guys?the offensive line was on defense and the defensive front was on offense.  The big play?  Defensive end Walter Boye-Doe hit fellow end Abraham Wright with a long touchdown pass.  "His footwork was a little lousy," Hawkins said of Boye-Doe's fundamentals, "but he did go yard on that one play.  But otherwise, he kind of had a low percentage."

NOTES

?      The first "official" depth chart of the spring was issued Monday, mainly as a guide to help radio and television announcers prepare for this Saturday's spring game.  "I'll keep saying this, and some people thing the depth chart is a big thing, but when we get to the fall, we'll have a group of guys who contribute, and those guys will all be lumped in there.  I'm just one of those guys, I'm just not into (depth charts).  The quarterback and the offensive line mean something, but everybody else, basically they're broken down into the contributors and basically those who are redshirting.  So be prepared for a lot of ?ands' and ?ors.'

?      ESPN was in town Monday, miking Hawkins and conducting several player interviews for an upcoming spring football story for SportsCenter.  Earlier in the day, the Big 12 Showcase made its spring stop in Boulder and also spent 30 minutes interviewing Hawkins.  "I'm not really into being followed around, but I've made a couple of exceptions this spring because we believe we can get some good national publicity out of it."

?      PK Mason Crosby was the popular player for interview requests, being named earlier in the day to the prestigious Playboy All-America team for the second straight year (see separate story);

?      Sophomore WR Tim Lemon has left the team, with plans to eventually return to California; he had a death in the family and is in the process of returning to Boulder;

?       CB Gerett Burl has been placed on indefinite suspension by Hawkins;

?       Both QB James Cox and WR Blake Mackey have been ruled out of the spring game due to injuries.