Buff Bites: Spring Practice Marches On

So you want to be a track superstar or maybe a finalist on NBC’s The Voice? Then Colorado might just be the school for you. From Emma Coburn to Sefo Liufau, this week’s Buff Bites is full of talented individuals who attended CU.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Former Buffs distance runners Emma Coburn and Jenny Simpson took gold and silver for Team U.S.A in EPIC fashion at the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships this past week. When it comes to female distance runners, perhaps no school has produced more champions than the University of Colorado.

THESE BUFFS CAN SING AND PLAY!

CU’s all-time leading passer Sefo Liufau was the talk of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tuesday after his crowd-pleasing performance of Shai’s ‘If I ever fall in love.’ Not to be outdone, Cowboys second round pick and former Buffs cornerback Chidobe Awuzie chimed in with this rendition of T-Pain’s ‘Buy U a Drank.’

Liufau and Awuzie were also part of several Buffs rookies who saw playing time in their first NFL preseason games this past week.

BUFFS SEASON PROJECTIONS

USA Today released its predictions for all 130 FB teams for 2017 last Monday. A year after finishing 10-4 and reaching their first bowl game in nearly 10 years, the Colorado Buffaloes were projected to finish 7-5 (4-5 in Pac-12) this season. After reading our own Jack Barsch’s (@JackBarsch) game-by-game breakdown of the Buffs 2017 schedule, I’m thinking we’ll better USA Today’s 7-5 projection.

PLAY OF THE WEEK: MONTEZ AIRS ONE OUT

Led by preseason Heisman Trophy favorite Sam Darnold, it’s no surprise that Sports Illustrated has referred to the Pac-12 as this year’s ‘Conference of Quarterbacks.’ But after seeing this throw by CU’s incumbent starter Steven Montez last week,

SI might just want to reconsider its list Top Five Pac-12 gunslingers.

I don’t know too many QB’s in the Pac-12 with the arm strength to throw the rock 59-yards across their body while on the run, you?

CHIAVERINI TALKS RECRUITING PHILOSOPHY

The Rise is Real! This past February, Colorado landed one of the schools best recruiting classes in recent memory. Here’s a great read from The Ralphie Report’s Jeff Hauser (@JeffHauser) who caught up with the architect of the 2017 class, CU’s Recruiting Coordinator Darrin Chiaverini.

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Outside linebacker Derek McCartney was off to a hot start in 2016 before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in game three vs. Michigan. Now the senior co-captain and grandson of legendary CU coach Bill McCartney is back healthy and one of Yahoo Sports’ 10 comeback players to watch for 2017.

MIKE PRITCHARD JOINS 104.3 THE FAN

Speaking of comebacks, former Buffs standout and Las Vegas native Mike Pritchard has left Sin City for Denver to join sports radio 104.3 The Fan. Pritchard will co-host the “Pritchard and Cecil” program, weekdays from 9-10am MT, alongside Cecil Lammey beginning Wednesday, August 16.