2013 Spring Football Roster Breakdown - Safety

Let's not dwell too long on the performance of the CU secondary last year. Simply put, they weren't very good. It was partially due to injuries, but I'm not so sure a completely healthy unit would've been much better. We graduate Ray Polk from the safeties, but because he was pretty limited by injuries last year, it's basically the same group plus a little bit more experience. Hopefully some luck when it comes to health (knock on wood after the last two years), a new scheme with new coaches and some good ol' fashioned player development combine to shore up this area for the Buffs. Let's take a look-see!

Safety:

• Parker Orms, Sr - Holy cow, he's already a senior? Orms has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, so here's hoping he can get a lot of practice time in this offseason. I have no idea what to expect from him in 2013, or how much of him we'll see. I'm inclined to think that he isn't going to be featured quite as much, but instead will be more of an extra DB type of guy since he can tackle and play the run from the secondary. As long as he isn't forced to play on an island or cover a huge amount of ground, he can be effective, as he's got better short-area quickness than top-end speed. He is aggressive when it comes to contact, but has yet to force a turnover.

• Terrel Smith, Sr - Holy cow, HE'S a senior as well?!? Smith stepped up big last year as everyone else around him was in and out of the lineup, and he played well at times. He's as hard a hitter as we have on the team, but we need him to be much more than that now. He needs to have an impact when defending the pass. Forcing turnovers is a priority for us, and we have done it at an abysmal rate the last couple of seasons. Smith has one 1 TO each season for the past 3 years, and that won't cut it.

• Jered Bell, Jr - Another guy that shouldn't be an upperclassman yet. While he played last year, he never looked fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered. When he first got time as a freshman, he looked like he was going to be a pretty good cornerback. He has good enough size to play Safety, but he needs to improve in the run game. He had an Interception and he recovered a fumble last year. Recent reports seem to indicate that he knee is finally healthy, so don't be surprised if he overtakes some folks that have more experience in this group.

• Josh Moten, Jr - Hey, they finally moved him to safety! I don't know if he'll hold onto one of the starting jobs here, but I like the position change for him. He's a good athlete, but mostly he has some of the best ball skills of any of our DBs. It's been noted by coaches since he was moved to defense, and we've seen it in practices and scrimmages and in his limited playing time. I think he'll have a better shot at safety than he will at CB, so I'm glad they moved him. He's been around for a long time, after grayshirting and then redshirting, so hopefully he's hungry to see more time on the field.

• Isaac Archuleta, So - Walk on, don't know much about his game.

• Marques Mosley, So - He showed some promise last year in the secondary and I'm excited to see how he develops this offseason. My bold prediction involved this young man, as I like his game and think he'll see the field a good bit. He's listed 3rd on the Spring depth chart, but I doubt that's where he ends up. He has solid range and while he made mistakes, for the most part he did it going full speed. Let's see what a full offseason can do for the guy. Also, he provided us with one of the only highlights from 2012 with his kickoff return TD.

• Richard Yates II, So - Walk on legacy.

• Alexander Stewart, RFr - Walk on, haven't seen him before.

There are 5 guys here that could conceivably start: Orms, Smith, Bell, Moten & Mosley. There was a lot of shuffling last year and all of them played (though Moten much less than the others and at CB, not safety). Orms Smith and Mosley logged 601, 557, & 524 plays respectively, and Bell a further 201, so there is experience in this group. Now we need at least one of them to separate themselves from the rest. I'd like to see Bell and Mosley take command of the two spots, but that may just be because I think they have more room for growth than the other guys. I would also like to see Moten get his chance to contribute.

Bold prediction:

Marques Mosley takes over one of the spots, leads the unit in turnovers forced, and helps to shore up a secondary that plays much better than it did in 2012.

Next time we're going to investigate the running backs.