There are just a couple of short days before the Colorado Buffaloes face the North Dakota State Bison to open the season.
At Saturday's Week 1 press conference, Buffs’ head coach Deion Sanders kept it brief.
The Bison roll in with plenty of respect from the Buffs. Sanders opened by sharing the history of his opponent and its accomplishments. Colorado is focused on getting a victory and making a statement. They are not overlooking anyone this year.
“This team (NDSU) will be well prepared, they will be disciplined and they will come to play,” Sanders said.
At this point in the preseason, many questions have already been asked. Coach Prime did his best not to reveal too much. Yet, he did express plenty of confidence in his lines, saying the greatest weakness from a year ago seems to have been fixed while showing his trust in the depth and work ethic of the group.
“That's why we revamped the thing, to stop the run,” Sanders said. “The number one thing was to be able to run the ball, protect Shedeur (Sanders), as well as to stop the run defensively…we feel like we’ve done that.”
Historically, NDSU has been known for its dominance in the trenches. Using power and many traditional schemes they come downhill and play physical football. They have excelled by running the football and consistently are a top team in the FCS with 17 national championships and 37 conference championships.
The team it is visiting on Thursday, however, has been eager to play again since the season ended. With the hard grind of fall camp now in the rearview, all eyes are set on Thursday night. In the last few weeks, both players and coaches have expressed the desire to compete.
“Right now these guys are tired of hitting each other. They want to hit some other colors right now,” Sanders stated.
Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and defensive coordinator Rob Livingston, both with NFL experience, echoed that statement during Monday’s media availability.
“We’ve been executing it in practice. I’m really proud of the way our guys embraced what we’re tryna do and the pace we want to do it. We’ll just get it rolling this Thursday,” Shurmur said.
Livingston felt the same confidence as the coach he’s competed against all camp.
“Nothing is ever good enough until you get to the first game… excited to see when the lights come on Thursday night, we’ll have a bunch of packages, a bunch of guys flying around,” Livingston stated.
With the depth CU has coaches plan to have a variety of packages and formations on both sides of the ball. Getting their athletes in positions to succeed will be essential to victory. With endless amounts of scenarios in a game, you need the correct personnel.
“That don't matter who starts the game, it matters who's finishing the game, and who's making the most out of their opportunities,” Sanders said. “Some guys play better coming in late or on third down…some guys play better early…You gotta have the depth in order to be able to do that.”
Coach Prime addressed the wildcard of the tight end position as well. “Block first, receiver second,” is the motto being preached this year. Getting defenses to adjust and change the scheme based on the TE’s movement will be crucial.
Then, he spoke about his starting center. Securing the starting position at C for the Buffs is Hank Zilinskas. Standing out for his work ethic and fearlessness, Sanders trusts him to command the offensive line. Zilinskas was a member of the team even before Coach Prime arrived and has helped bridge the gap between eras.
“Hank is not only a great young man but he loves the game. He loves to compete. He loves to be that underdog that people counted out,” Sanders praised.
Zilinskas answered questions on Saturday as well. Zilinskas is heavily focused on Week 1.
“They're a very storied program with a lot of history…They’ve won a lot of games against some great schools,” Zilinskas said. “We're getting ready for a physical game. I think Coach Shurmur, Coach Phil (Loadholt) and the rest of the staff put together a great plan. We’ve got a lot of great things planned to beat them on Thursday.”
It will not be much longer until CU will have that opportunity. Thursday night they will kick off another heavily anticipated football season. Schemes, starters, uniforms and fight will all be revealed then.
Cover photo by Roberto Patrick Gerra/Sko Buffs Sports
Comments