Frosh approach at Colorado

Handful of newcomers likely find selves in thick of things Sunday

By B.G. Brooks, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 29, 2008 at 9:18 p.m.

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Tim Hussin / The Rocky

On national signing day in February, University of Colorado fans were sure they'd see the Buffaloes' top recruit, Darrell Scott, right, in the opener, and they probably won't be disappointed. Running backs coach Darian Hagan plans on using Scott, who has lost 20 pounds since arriving at CU, as a short-yardage back, but that could change.

For all the reasons floating out there to play true freshmen, most college football coaches aren't that pressed to list just as many reasons to sit them.

Someone -- maybe it was a disgruntled alum, a harried coach -- offered a formula that predicted a loss for every true freshman played. Sounds good on a talk show or in a chat room, but too many factors are involved to give it anything resembling substance.

At the University of Colorado, where coach Dan Hawkins in 2008 assembled the best recruiting class (No. 15 nationally, per rivals.com) of his short CU tenure, a handful of the Buffaloes' 20 signees are likely to make their college debuts Sunday in the Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado State (5:30 p.m., Invesco Field at Mile High, FSN Rocky Mountain).

And for CSU, where coach Steve Fairchild is set to make his college debut, a similar number of newcomers likely will play -- three true freshmen and three junior-college transfers.

On national signing day in February, CU fans were certain they would see the Buffs' top recruit, tailback Darrell Scott, in the opener -- and they probably won't be disappointed. But they could see more of largely unheralded Rodney Stewart, a fellow tailback.

Last season, CU called on only two true freshmen in its opener -- receiver Kendrick Celestine and kicker Tyler Cope, who no longer is with the team -- although more entered the lineup as the season progressed.

Of the bulk of his celebrated 2008 signing class, Hawkins said, "I have confidence they're going to emerge (in time) and be really good players. We wouldn't attempt to play a guy if we felt there was going to be a large margin for error. We try not to do that. You want them to have confidence, have a good experience, get meaningful playing time. I'm always very sensitive about that with these guys.

"It's fun to see the whole team play, but it's not like, 'Well, I wonder how he's going to do?' I think we have a pretty good idea of how guys are going to do -- or you wouldn't expose them."

If fans and alumni are eager for glimpses of tomorrow's stars today, Hawkins offers this advice: Stick around for tomorrow. Be patient.

"I don't worry about that, I really don't," he said. "(Fans and alums are) not here at practice every day, they're not in the meetings. We can't be governed by that. We've been doing this for a lot of years; we know if a kid's ready to go.

"I know it's real popular and easy to go, 'Yeah, play 'em!' But you've got to do what's best for that kid. If he's not ready to play meaningful downs, you're doing him a disservice, and ultimately your team a disservice."

Two CU freshmen, offensive lineman Bryce Givens and defensive lineman Will Pericak, are scheduled to redshirt, but also are on their position coaches' "ready list."

Five others and the Buffs' lone junior-college signee likely will play in the opener Sunday. A capsule look:

Darrell Scott

* Position: Tailback.

* Height: 6-foot-2.

* Weight: 210 pounds.

* High school: St. Bonaventure (Ventura, Calif.).

* On the Rocky Mountain Showdown: "The guys say there's 70,000 people in the stadium, drunk, all wanting to see their team win."

* The first look: Scott, the gem of the Buffs' '08 class, has dropped almost 20 pounds since arriving on campus and, according to Hawkins, has shown well in game-week practices. For starters, running backs coach Darian Hagan plans to use Scott as a short-yardage back, but that could change.

For his part, Scott has remained humble and eager to learn. Asked what his first college camp taught him, he quickly answered, "Discipline . . . it's totally different from high school, where you could get away with a couple of things. But you actually have a coach (now) behind you, looking at your every move and talking to you about it."

Rodney Stewart

* Position: Tailback.

* Height: 5-6.

* Weight: 180.

* High school: Brookhaven (Westerville, Ohio).

* On the Rocky Mountain Showdown: "My teammates have told me it was one of the biggest games of the year, and there's no love for CU if we lose."

* The first look: Stewart, nicknamed "Speedy," arguably was the surprise of preseason camp, although he says that, early on, "I was rushing a lot of things, I was harder on myself in trying to get used to playing at a college level. Now, toward the end, I've kind of calmed down. Now, I'm just ready to play."

Don't think of him as an undersized scatback who relies only on speed; upon arriving at CU, he bench-pressed 380 pounds and has hoisted 225 pounds 22 times. Coaches figure to use him in a variety of ways, and he could get the most playing time of any newcomer on either team.

His most pertinent observation: "The game definitely speeded up. I was already kind of faster than everybody in high school, but when you get to college, you've got to take different kinds of angles if you want longer runs . . . you can't really run like you're in a video game."

Max Tuioti-Mariner

* Position: Guard.

* Height: 6-4.

* Weight: 307.

* High school: Corona (Corona, Calif.).

* On the Rocky Mountain Showdown: "It's played in an NFL stadium, on a Sunday, so it's like an NFL game . . . it's pretty big; it's a fight for who's boss of Colorado."

* The first look: After missing his senior football season because of a knee injury, Tuioti-Mariner has shown few aftereffects. "I'm surprised I came this far, at least on the depth chart," he said. "I'm pretty happy on that. . . . I guess I'm just surprised that I'm playing college football."

His biggest camp revelations: "The steps involved, making calls with each other in the line, doing things together, the teamwork. Not that we didn't have any teamwork in high school, but this is more -- and especially because of the no-huddle (offense)."

Patrick Mahnke

* Position: Safety.

* Height: 6-1.

* Weight: 205.

* High school: Mountain Vista (Parker).

* On the Rocky Mountain Showdown: "I've grown up with it. I know the history between the schools pretty well. I know about the intensity."

* The first look: Mahnke is running No. 2 behind D.J. Dykes and could get on the field to spell the senior. He'll definitely be on special teams, starting on the kickoff- and punt-return squads.

Mahnke, obviously impressive in camp, said "being more familiar with the playbook definitely would have helped me. But experience and time definitely will help that. I just need to sharpen up on technical things -- like form."

Ryan Deehan

* Position: Tight end.

* Height: 6-5.

* Weight: 240.

* High school: Poway (Poway, Calif.).

* On the Rocky Mountain Showdown: "I haven't really asked much about it, but our coaches have told us, 'These guys really want to beat you, and they'll really get geared up for this game.' "

* The first look: Riar Geer's knee surgery assured Deehan of early playing time, but he probably would have gotten it anyway. "It's exciting, but disappointing, too, because Riar is someone we really need," Deehan said. "He's a good player -- definitely the best tight end we have."

Deehan's blocking will come around, but he says receiving "kind of comes naturally. I've always been pretty confident in my ability to catch the ball."

Shaun Mohler

* Position: Inside linebacker.

* Height: 6-3.

* Weight: 225 pounds.

* Junior college: Orange Coast (Calif.) College.

* On the Rocky Mountain Showdown: "I've heard it's pretty intense and gets ugly at times. They (CSU) take it very seriously. So I'm going in taking it seriously."

* The first look: Linebackers coach Brian Cabral says Mohler "has done pretty well. We like where he's at, but he's certainly not where we need him to be. But he's working in that direction."

Mohler backs up starting inside linebacker Marcus Burton but is on the No. 1 kickoff- and punt-return teams. Guaranteed of playing Sunday, he said, "I'm excited about it and can't wait to get on the field."

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