Locked in tight race, CU quarterbacks have room to improve

BOULDER – To no one’s surprise, the University of Colorado’s first full spring scrimmage didn’t come close to settling what unexpectedly became a two-man duel at quarterback.

But Saturday morning’s roughly two-hour session at Folsom Field did prove revealing for the coach whose vote will count most in settling on CU’s starter.

Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mark Helfrich said Monday that while incumbent starter Cody Hawkins and Tyler Hansen both had their moments in sharing the direction of the first and second offenses, most areas he expects improvement in shouldn’t be a mystery for either player.

For Hansen, that would be even more time spent with his mind immersed in the playbook and making every snap in practice count.

For Hawkins, it would be suppressing an instinct to gamble, instead turning to the relatively sure thing when the opportunity presents itself.

The quarterbacks, of course, were graded on more than Saturday’s passing statistics, but those were fairly even: Hawkins completed 18 of 27 passes for 328 yards and seven touchdowns, while Hansen completed 13-of-22 for 207 yards and three TDs.

Overall, said Helfrich, both “did some good things (and) graded out fairly close to one another – so that’s good. Hopefully, that’ll continue to be a tight race.’’

And it’s now down to that pair after sophomore Matt Ballenger (he plans to transfer) pulled out Friday. Hansen and Hawkins will finish out spring drills getting all the work at their position – a prospect Helfrich said should benefit both: “Reps are reps, and both of those guys need as many as they can get.’’

In assessing Hansen’s Saturday work, Helfrich said the sophomore “did a lot of things that he hasn’t done before in 11-on-11 situations – just as far as seeing second and third guys (options in the passing game), or throwing on time to the first guy, that kind of thing. I just think he can really grow in his confidence and knowledge.’’

He also said Hansen showed improvement “just in running the show. He did fairly well there, but there were a couple of times where we might have had a delay (of game) in real life.’’

The reason for the delay, Helfrich said, was “he had a couple of plays called backwards – but those are things that are very easily corrected.’’

Of Hawkins, Helfrich said the junior once again demonstrated his knowledge of the offense and his composure before the ball was snapped: “Just communication-wise, he had a couple of route signals at the line of scrimmage – one that led to one of (Jason) Espinosa’s touchdowns.’’

On the flip side, though, Helfrich said Hawkins might have guilty of being “a little too cute with a couple of things instead of being solid and taking what’s there. He had a couple of No.1s (receiver options) in the progression wide open, and he’s trying to get the ball somewhere else.

“But they’re not difficult things to correct.’’

The second spring scrimmage is scheduled for Friday (4 p.m., site to be determined).

TURN `EM LOOSE: The defense wasn’t allowed to tackle either quarterback on Saturday, with the whistle blowing each time a defender laid a hand on Hansen or Hawkins.

The defense was credited with six sacks (three on each QB), prompting this from Helfrich: “A couple of times (Hawkins) took sacks, but it would have been interesting (had they not been protected).

“It’s one of the things I don’t like about not being live. Could he (or Hansen) have escaped? There were a couple of those (sack calls) that we might have cut a little too closely.’’

DOWN PAT: Since moving from quarterback to tight end three years ago, senior Patrick Devenny has labored to become a better blocker.

“It’s been the focal point for me for a long time,’’ he said. “But I think I’m getting better. Coach `Rid’ (tight ends coach Kent Riddle) has worked with me on fundamentals, and now that I’m a senior, I’ve kind of gotten into the mindset of saying, `I should be able to block these guys.’”

Maybe that’s all it took.

In addition to Devenny making four receptions for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns Saturday, Helfrich said the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Devenny “did some good things in the running game, too.

“His blocking, which he’s always been working on, was better. That was encouraging.’’

MR. SELF-IMPROVEMENT: Asked who among his group might have made the biggest off-season improvement, running backs coach Darian Hagan quickly submitted the name of sophomore Brian Lockridge.

Then Hagan grinned and said, “No, it might have been me.’’

Huh?

“Yeah, it might have been,’’ he said. “I’ve committed myself to being a better communicator, a better coach, getting them to understand the running back position.’’

BUFF BITS: The Buffs lopped an hour off of their on-field work Monday to watch tape of last weekend’s 125-play scrimmage. . . . Coach Dan Hawkins is unsure whether Friday’s scrimmage will be open to the public, citing a weather forecast that is calling for rain on Thursday and a potentially wet playing surface at Folsom Field. If the field is wet, the school doesn’t want to risk resultant damage, so the scrimmage likely would be moved to the lower practice fields. In that case, the scrimmage likely would be closed because of a shortage of room for spectators on the sidelines. . . . Secondary coach Greg Brown got a first look Monday at safety Paul Vigo, who has missed early spring work due to a hamstring injury incurred in winter conditioning. Vigo, a grayshirt from the 2008 recruiting class, “is a big guy who can run,” Brown said. “He just needs the practice time.” . . . Hawkins said no walk-ons have been awarded scholarships yet this spring, but added, “That time’s coming.” Based on last weekend’s first full scrimmage, receiver Jason Espinosa might be among the first recipients. . . . Big 12 Conference coaches usually attend spring meetings in Colorado Springs held in conjunction with the league’s athletic directors’ and basketball coaches’ meetings. But the football coaches appear to be breaking from that schedule; they’re likely to meet in Phoenix on May 6 — a move Hawkins termed more practical. . . . Hawkins said offensive tackle Ryan Miller (sprained ankle) and tailback Demetrius Sumler (strained neck) were OK, although neither practiced Monday. Hawkins said neither would be rushed back into duty. . . . A growing TV trend (ESPN) of showing spring games doesn’t seem that popular with Hawkins. He said one of his Boise State spring games that was televised turned out to be “so generic” it bordered on not being beneficial. However, he admitted the national exposure was nice.

Contact: bbrooksrmn@aol.com or 303-748-9172