Countdown to Spring Practices – Defensive Backs

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Countdown to Spring Practices – Defensive Backs

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— Previously posted …

• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
• Offensive Line
• Defensive Line
• Linebackers

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— Cornerbacks (8) … Returning starter (bold):

• Seniors … None
• Juniors … Nigel Bethel; Jaylen Striker
• Sophomores … Kaylin Moore; Nikko Reed
• Red-shirt freshmen … None
• 2022 Signees … Jason Oliver (EE); Joshua Wiggins (EE); Simeon Harris; Keyshon Mills

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— Safeties (7) … Returning starter (bold):

• Seniors … Isaiah Lewis
• Juniors … None
• Sophomores … Toren Pittman, Tyrin Taylor; Trevor Woods; Jeremy Mack (TR)
• Red-shirt freshmen … None
• 2022 Signees … Dylan Dixon; Xavier Smith

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The Stats … 

If you count up the starts at cornerback and safety for the CU backfield for the 2021 season, you would be looking at a total of 48 starts. If the Buff roster had held together, the players who made all 48 of those starts would be back, and the CU defensive secondary would be one of the strongest units on the roster.

But …

The reality for safeties coach Brett Maxie and cornerbacks coach Rod Chance is that the 2022 roster returns players who totaled … wait for it … 16 of the possible 48 starts (17 if you count Nigel Bethel’s start as a nickel back against USC).

Of those 17 starts, senior safety Isaiah Lewis had 11, Trevor Woods had two, with Nigel Bethel, Nikko Reed, Kaylin Moore and Tyrin Taylor each posting their first career starts last fall.

CU did pick up a junior college transfer in Jeremy Mack, who comes to CU from East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Mississippi. While Mack may be a quick study, and get some early playing time as a sophomore, it’s hard to reconcile that gain with the losses of Christian Gonzalez (12 starts in 2021); Mark Perry (12 starts); and captain Mehki Blackmon (8 starts).

The 2021 stats from the remaining roster:

• Isaiah Lewis … 12 games … 635 plays … team-leading 79 tackles (55 unassisted) … two interceptions … seven third down stops …
• Trevor Woods … 10 games … 139 plays … 23 tackles (13 unassisted) … one pass broken up …
• Tyrin Taylor … 11 games … 257 plays … 10 tackles (8 unassisted) … one third down stop …
• Nigel Bethel … 6 games … 151 plays … 9 tackles (7 unassisted) … two third down stops … three passes broken up …
• Nikko Reed … 12 games … 199 plays … 8 tackles (5 unassisted) … three third down stops … two passes broken up …
• Kaylin Moore … 6 games … 134 plays … 7 tackles (5 unassisted) … one pass broken up …

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Nationally … 

• Passing defense … 242.9 yds/game … 83rd nationally
• Total defense … 436.0 yds/game … 101st nationally
• Scoring defense … 28.5 pts/game … 77th nationally
• Third down conversions, defense … .451 … 113th nationally

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Comments … New cornerbacks coach Rod Chance put a brave face on the challenges he faces reconstructing the CU lineup at cornerback. Instead of having a shutdown corner in Christian Gonzalez and team captain Mehki Blackmon to work with, Chance is starting over, with a grand total of three career starts between Nigel Bethel, Kaylin Moore, and Nikko Reed.

“I’m going to focus on the men that are in the room more so than the guys that are not,” said Chance, hired as CU’s new cornerbacks coach on December 31st. “Those are the guys who we’re gonna go to battle with. Those are the guys we’re gonna win football games with.”

Nice in theory – difficult in practice.

And that’s just the cornerbacks. At safety, Isaiah Lewis is back, but he is the only upperclassman on the roster. If Lewis is locked down as the starter at strong safety, who will be up for starting at free safety.

Brian Howell at the Daily Camera tabbed sophomore Toren Pittman as one to watch. Senior Isaiah Lewis should have a starting role locked up, but the other spot is wide open. CU doesn’t have much depth at safety, so the opportunity is there for Pittman, now in his third year, to make an impression.

Notice any stats for Toren Pittman above? No? Well, that’s because there weren’t any. Was Pittman injured? No. Pittman was actually second on the team in special teams points last fall, with four unassisted tackles, four “forced fair catches”, and a team-leading seven “First Downfield (on kickoff or punt that altered return path)”.

Not to disparage Pittman’s work on special teams, which is always overlooked and underrated. But … the fact is that, despite being healthy last season, and dressing for ten games, Pittman did not see any action on defense.

And now he is being touted as a potential starter at free safety.

Scary times.

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Burning questions for spring … 

• Are there enough bodies to even conduct full scrimmages this spring? CU only has 15 scholarship defensive backs on the roster, with four of those being true freshman who won’t be on campus until this summer. Two other potential starters – cornerbacks Nigel Bethel Jr. and Jaylen Striker  – are coming off of significant injuries (Striker missed all of the 2021 season; Bethel missed the second half of the season). If Bethel and Striker are limited, CU is down to four cornerbacks, with two of them being true freshmen early enrollees – Jason Oliver and Joshua Wiggins – and a grand total of five safeties;
• How long will the Oakie Salave’a quarterback experiment last? With the defensive backfield so limited, it would make sense to have Salave’a ready to go at safety, where he could be a starter as a true freshman. Head coach Karl Dorrell said Salave’a would be given an opportunity at quarterback, but CU may not be able to afford the luxury of having Savale’a spend his first spring as a Buff on the offensive side of the ball;
• Is there any credible argument for not finding more help from the Transfer Portal this spring? With all due plaudits to junior college transfer Jeremy Mack, CU’s defensive backfield – which wasn’t dominant as it was – has been gutted, and is in desperate need of replenishment. If more help isn’t found this spring, it’s going to be a long fall for the defense. Both Rod Chance and Brett Maxie are seen as good recruiters – let’s hope they are working the phones this spring.

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Tags: Dylan Dixson, Isaiah Lewis, Jason Oliver, Jaylen Striker, Jeremy Mack, Joshua Wiggins, Kaylin Moore, Keyshon Mills, Nigel Bethel, Nikko Reed, Simeon Harris, Toren Pittman, Trevor Woods, Tyrin Taylor, Xavier Smith
This post, about the Spring Practices game, from the 2022 Season, is filed under Article.
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