The Colorado Buffaloes are well into the second half of spring practice and some positions and reps are finally starting to get clearer. While the practice's are closed, the media has still been able to get a few tidbits here and there from the post-practice availability. Today, the Buffs will particpate in their third scrimmage of the season at 3:45. After that only three practices remain before the spring game next Saturday.
Here are a few updates on what's happened over the last week.
Offensive tackle Stephane Nembot, tight end Nick Kasa and offensive lineman Alex Kelley have all returned to practice and are now fully participating with the team. Nate Bonsu isn't fully released to practice yet, but has begun participating in select drills. Nembot, Kasa and Bonsu will all be extremely important to the team's success so their continued health is a good sign for now.
Parker Orms is out for the rest of the spring with a pulled right hamstring and has to be an injury worry going forward (if he wasn't already). It sucks to see Orms keep getting dinged up like this, but he can be a big-time contributor to this team if he can stay on the field. O-linemen Ryan Dannewitz and Kaiwi Crabb are also out for the rest of the spring.
Sophomore Alex Lewis has moved from tight end to left guard and is practicing with the first-team offense. As David said in his spring football preview:
He's strong, has long arms, gets good leverage and has a nasty temperament. He still needs to pack on a few pounds, but he could be a very good left tackle for us.
While he's not back to manning a tackle spot yet, it's good to see him get continued reps with the starters. The rest of the first team offensive line includes Daniel Munyer at right guard, Gus Handler at center, and David Bakhtiari and Jack Harris at the tackle positions.
At the wide receiver position, the starters have been a combination of Paul Richardson, Tyler McCulloch and Nelson Spruce. Keenan Canty has also received significant time with the first-team.
Here's the rest of the Buffaloes practice schedule leading up to the spring game on Saturday, April 14th.
APRIL 5 - Practice #11 (2:30 p.m. meetings, 3:45-5:45 p.m. scrimmage) CLOSED pads
APRIL 9 - Practice #12 (2:30 p.m. meetings, 3:45-5:45 p.m. practice) CLOSED pads
APRIL 10 - Practice #13 (2:30 p.m. meetings, 3:45-5:45 p.m. practice) CLOSED pads-NT
APRIL 12 - Practice #14 (2:30 p.m. meetings, 3:45-5:45 p.m. practice) CLOSED shorts/helmets
APRIL 14 - Practice #15 (5:00 p.m. spring game; morning meeting/breakfast with alumni) OPEN pads