BuffsBlogBite: Offensive Shake-Up
Change are happening on the offensive side of the football for Colorado. This will be week #2 that Brett Bartalone will be calling plays for the Buffs after he made his play calling debut last week. More critically, however, is that two separate sources have told us that CU has materially simplified the offense this week, in part to accommodate JuJu Lewis but also to try to cut down on many of the illegal formation-related penalties that have plagued CU’s offense.
One source told me that the playbook has been cut by “more than 50%.”
This will be the first week of the JuJu Lewis offense, which we expect to look different from the Kaidon Salter offense.
BuffsBlogBite: High School Recruiting
Four-star defensive linemen Emanuel Ruffin has decommited from Colorado. The rumor mill has Ruffin, ranked the #123 player nationally by 247 and the #19 defensive linemen nationally, committing to Ohio State in the near future.
Not all is negative on the high school recruiting front, however. CU is now on the board in the class of 2027 as four-star athlete Alex Ward committed to Colorado this past week. Ward, ranked the #285 player nationally on the 247 composite, committed to CU over offers from Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Florida State. The 6’1” 175-pound athlete projects as both a wide receiver and a defensive back. He is an IMG Academy product.
Recruiting is so fickle these days that it’s hard to get excited about a prospect that won’t join the Buffs for 2 years. Still, the hope here is that CU’s coaching staff realizes that it needs to recruit the high school ranks much more than it has over the last couple of years. Ward is a good start on the class of 2027.
BuffsBlogBite: Freshmen Hoops Hype
On the hoops front, BuffsBlog has been hyping 2 true freshmen this off-season: Isiah Johnson and Alon Michaeli. For more, see:
We’ve reported that in practices this Summer, Johnson was drawing comparisons to McKinley Wright. After Monday night’s debut, it’s clear to see why. Johnson finished with 24 points, scoring all of his points in the 2nd half. His KenPom offensive rating was 133.1, which puts him among the top 40 players nationally in offensive efficiency after week 1 of the college basketball season.
It’s possible that Johnson is already CU’s best player.
Regarding Alon Michaeli, we were very surprised that he didn’t play on Monday night. We hadn’t heard that he was injured. The good news for the BuffsBlog Hype Machine ™ is that he was nicked up (ankle injury) and that he “should” make his season debut for Colorado this Saturday when the Buffs take on Eastern Washington at the Colorado Event Center. Expect Michaeli to play well – again, we’ve been told from sources that he’ll be a very good player very quickly for the men’s basketball team.
BuffsBlogBite: Soccer Team Surging
If you’re not paying attention to the CU women’s soccer team, you’re missing out. While the Buffs lost in the Big 12 Conference semifinals last night to Kansas, CU currently has the 5th highest RPI nationally and is sitting at 15-2-3. CU is ranked #12 nationally by the United Soccer Coaches and is ranked 10th nationally in the D1 Committee’s Top 16.
CU is led by the Leyba Sisters. Hope Leyba is the 3rd leading scorer in NCAA women’s soccer with 22 goals, while Faith Leyba is a towering center back that leads CU’s defense. Both were named 1st team All-Big 12. Joining them on the first team were forward Jace Holley and goalie Jordan Nytes (the only 3x Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year in Big 12 history).
The NCAA tournament starts next week and CU should be hosting at least the first quadrant of games. Fans need to get to Prentup Field and cheer on this team.
To get a preview of the CU vs. West Virginia game on Saturday — more accurately, a cheat sheet — check out BuffsBlog’s story, only at:
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One of the problems with NFL coaches in college football is that they make things too complicated. College kids don’t spend as much time as NFL players studying, so it makes sense to have a slimmer playbook in college so kids can play faster without having to think. Glad to hear that CU is cutting back its offense.
That’s a great point, MaxBuff, and speaks to the differences between coaching pros and coaching college kids. I wish I’d had the thought – I would have written about it. 🙂