Buffs Go 120 Plays In MacIntyre's First Scrimmage

BOULDER - The Colorado Buffaloes had their first full scrimmage under new head coach Mike MacIntyre Friday afternoon, the crisp pace matching that of the 70 degree weather here at Folsom Field.

The coaches put the team through 120 plays, 91 from scrimmage and 29 special teams, in just under 80 minutes.

"I thought the effort was good, a lot of people making plays," MacIntyre said.  "We played at a good speed.  Both sides did some good things, I think we just need a little more enthusiasm, but that will come.

 "We did a good job with the tempo.  It was a little bit harder for the defense at first, but they picked it up later.  We will play eight teams with a fast tempo offense this season, so we have to be ready."

There wasn't a lot of scoring Friday, but when the Buffs did score, they were on impressive drives.

Justin Castor opened the scoring with a 38-yard field goal, which followed a 45-yard pass from Connor Wood to Gerald Thomas before the defense stiffened; Will Oliver closed it with a 28-yard effort that came in the two-minute drill.   The two combined made all 19 field goal attempts, 17 of which came prior to the scrimmage starting, as well as all four PAT kicks.  Darragh O'Neill (46.5 average for four punts) and D.J. Wilhelm (47.5 for two) also got some work in.

Jordan Webb led the offense to two scores, the first with completions to Nelson Spruce and Tyler McCulloch that covered 15 and 14 yards, respectively; Josh Ford then took over from there, with runs of 26 and 11 yards before scoring from a yard out.  On Webb's other possession, he completed passes to tight end Austin Ray (22 yards), McCulloch (which covered 37) before hitting Thomas on a 10-yard TD throw.

The offense's other touchdown came on a lightning quick play that covered 46 yards, Nick Hirschman hitting converted tailback to receiver D.D. Goodson in stride after he snuck behind the defense.

"Our quarterbacks made some plays," MacIntyre said.  "We have a very quarterback friendly offense.  We had a couple of picks, but overall, we made a lot of plays.  They played well.  D.D. and Gerald made some big plays.  Gerald did a good job, he has a lot of talent, he just has to do it every day."

Webb completed 5-of-11 passes for 98 yards and the two touchdowns, while Hirschman was 4-of-7 for 61 and the one TD.  Wood was 3-of-6 for 59 yards, Dillon was 4-of-9 for 56 (one interception), Stevie Joe Dorman was 10-of-14 for 79 yards, running an efficient two-minute drill, and John Schrock was 7-of-9 for 54 yards and a pick.

Keenan Canty and Austin Vincent caught four passes, with Thomas snaring three for a team-best 66 yards, while McCulloch (3-62) and Ray (3-59) also piled up the yards.  There were just 30 rushing plays, with Ford leading the way (4-42) followed by Donta Abron (6-24).

Parker Orms highlighted several defensive plays with a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown; linebacker Lowell Williams led the way with eight tackles, while tackles Tyler Henington and Samson Kafovalu each recorded two quarterback sacks.  Greg Henderson also had an interception, snaring a Shane Dillon pass in the end zone to end what otherwise had been an impressive drive.

NOTES: A total of 24 different players touched the ball on offense (six quarterbacks, three of whom had rushing attempts, six others with rushes, and 12 more who just caught passes) ... The CU coaches hosted over 60 area high school coaches as MacIntyre resurrected the spring coaching clinic where their prep counterparts are invited to sit in on position meetings, watch practice with an all-access pass and then join the coaches and team for dinner ... Former CU linebacker Ron Woolfork ('93) was one of the coaches in attendance, as he is now an assistant to former CU coach, Bob Simmons, at Boulder High School.  Former safety Marcus Washington ('97) also attended, he is now the defensive coordinator at Aurora Hinkley ... The Buffs are now a third of the way through spring drills; they will practice on Tuesday and Thursday ahead of scrimmaging again next Friday afternoon before CU's spring break.