Caste article on the Buff's two starting White receivers.
Unheralded Colorado receivers eager to show they're playmakers
BOULDER — What college kid doesn't love watching sports highlights? Yeah, Colorado wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy sure knows how to get his players' attention.
Kennedy doesn't just reach for video of the upcoming opponent. He loves to find footage of receivers from yesteryear, some of whom he may have coached along the way.
Colorado sophomore Tyler McCulloch was issued jersey No. 87 when he arrived in Boulder last summer. Don't expect him to ever give it up. Kennedy has shown hours of Ed McCaffrey highlights, pointing out how the Broncos' old No. 87 was able to gain separation from a cornerback despite lacking breakaway speed. McCulloch, 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, is about McCaffrey's size.
"We've looked at a bunch of one-on-ones — how NFL guys release from the defender, how they come off the ball, things like that," Kennedy said. "I think it's a great teaching tool for our team."
The announcement this week that CU's most explosive receiver, Paul Richardson, will redshirt this season so he can fully recover from knee surgery leaves the Buffaloes with possession-receiver types as starters in McCulloch and redshirt freshman Nelson Spruce as they open the season Saturday against Colorado State at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Coming off the CU bench, sophomore Keenan Canty and true freshman Gerald Thomas add speed, with Thomas being particularly dangerous in the open field. But depth is lacking, as evidenced by former walk-ons Dustin Ebner and Justin Gorman making the rotation.
There isn't much experience. Among wideouts, the top returnees in 2011 receptions are Canty (14) and McCulloch (10).
But watching film of NFL players enables them to pick up the nuances that can help them get open.
"We'll watch tape of McCaffrey," Kennedy explained, "and I'll say: 'Tyler, you have to get off the ball better. You have to make your cuts better.' After we watched those tapes, you could see that he understood. I've seen a big change in Tyler."
Viewing old footage is not only productive. Players say it's fun.
"We've seen guys that played at Texas, USC and other places, and it's really helpful," Spruce said.
Kennedy said the unit will "desperately" miss Richardson's sprinter's speed. There are other ways to move the chains, however.
"Paul is a unique talent, but there are different ways to scheme some things," Kennedy said. "It just takes one play (for a long gain). It just takes one play for a defender to bite wrong or fall or something. What I'm most excited about is they've changed their mind-set.
Now, they want to be good. Before, it was they hoped to be good."
Colorado featured exceptional speed at both wideout positions last season, with Richardson and NFL draftee Toney Clemons. This year, not so much.
"I hope people look at us as an underrated group and that we have something to prove every game," Kennedy said. "We've got to take the old junk-yard dog approach that we're going to go out and fight and scratch and claw."
Right out of the box, Colorado State will pose a great challenge to CU's receiving corps, Kennedy said.
"Colorado State is really talented," Kennedy said of the Rams' secondary. "Everything I've heard and read, they're really pleased with those guys. Their safeties (6-3, 210-pound Trent Matthews and 6-3, 208-pound Austin Gray) and big, powerful guys that will hit you. And their corners are good cover guys."
CU's receivers say they are ready.
"I think people think with P-Rich out that we don't have any talent at wide receiver," McCulloch said. "But we still have a lot of guys that can go out and make plays."
Added redshirt freshman Spruce, "We're young guys for the most part and are anxious to show people that the passing game is going to be a huge part of this offense."
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Spruce had 65 catches for 1325 yards as a senior in high school, for an average of over 20 yards per catch, and runs a 4.5/40...hardly a "possession-receiver type".
