Colorado Buffaloes Pre-Signing Day Roster Breakdown: Quarterbacks

Just a heads up, if I reference things that I have yet to "write," it's because I did them out of order. I definitely didn't start with quarterback, but it makes sense as the first one to publish.

This may be the least complete of all of the offseason breakdowns. With Tyler Hansen leaving, we have a whole lot of "who knows" at quarterback. We've seen a bit of Nick Hirschman, but not enough of the other guys. I'll do my best, folks. And when I look at who we need, I'm doing so in a vacuum. I am following recruiting, so I know who we have committed or who we're fighting to get, but I'm going to revisit these post-nat'l signing day, so we'll deal with what we have coming in when we know for sure.

Quarterback:

Follow the jump to see which of the QBs on our roster is also an Olympic Qualifying Bar Mitzvah Planner!

• Brent Burnette, Sr - I only got to watch a little bit of summer practice, and I didn't get to see a ton of him. He wasn't able to crack the 3-deep at QB this year after transferring in, and he's only got one more season of eligibility left. You have to think these coaches would rather go with youth at the position after only getting one season of Tyler Hansen.
• Nick Hirschman, So - Has the advantage of getting actual playing time in 2011. He didn't get a ton, and he wasn't anything special out there, but he is the one guy on the roster who has played quarterback at the Division 1, BCS Conference level. He has solid size and arm strength, and a gets a full offseason with this coaching staff. I believe the starting position in 2012 is between him and the next guy on this list.
• Connor Wood, So - He's been sitting this season out after transferring from Texas, and he instantly is the most heralded QB we've got on the roster. A former 4* recruit even though he came from a pretty low-level of competition in high school, he never was able to crack the depth chart at UT. He's been practicing with the team all season and he's looking to take hold of the position in the spring. There's a good chance this won't be decided right away, but I could see the Buffs knowing who will be their starter before spring football is done.
• Stevie Joe Dorman, RFr - He was passed up by the walk on listed next, but he's got a lot of potential as a pro-style QB. We haven't seen much from him, and this spring is the first time he'll get a chance to bump himself up on the depth chart.
• John Schrock, RFr - He managed to make the travel team as a true freshman walk on, which isn't an easy thing to do. It could be an indication of the quality of the rest of the guys we have at QB, but the Coaches said that he was actually pretty solid. He supposedly picked up the playbook quickly and demonstrated the ability to lead our offense. He has good size and he may be a legitimate candidate to stay in the top 3 at quarterback.

Bold statement? I don't think Connor Wood steps into the starting spot right away. Everyone seems to have given him the job, but I believe that Nick Hirschman's experience this year will leave him knowing exactly what he has to do in terms of preparation this offseason to lead this team. Wood may play in 2012, but I don't think he begins the year as the starter. We need to bring in one scholarship guy at quarterback. You want to bring one in every year, and our QB depth chart is mostly balanced right now. And frankly, it wouldn't hurt to bring in a guy that could fight for a travel spot on the team right off the bat.

What do you hope to see out of the quarterback position?