madeinhawaii wrote:Shortly after the completion of their spring practice, Colorado had to let go one of their top defensive tackles, Josh Tupou, due to his involvement in an on campus altercation. This summer they went to a 3-4 defense due to a lack of depth in their Dline. Warriors should be able to gain some on the ground against their first year 3-4 defense and take advantage of their somewhat porous secondary.
First and foremost, I am a Colorado fan back here in Colorado and wanted to wish you guys luck on a great season this year! I've always pulled for Hawaii in the past and will keep doing so this year. My memory of Hawaii's football team really starts when Ashley Lelie was running those seam routes at will on WAC back in the day before being drafted by the Denver Broncos.
I made a username to basically respond to this quote and give you guys a little bit of information on CU and what to expect to see. The honest truth is this quote could not be farther from the truth so I wanted to give you some better information about CU.
Yes, CU's top DT Josh Tupou will not play this season due to what the poster said, an on campus altercation. It is a blow as he was a AlL-Pac 12 talent and someone who really had a great shot of being drafted in the mid rounds of the NFL draft. He is using his redshirt this season and will be back next year from reports.
As for the defense moving to a 3-4 due to lack of depth at the DL that is nothing close to the truth. CU moved to a 3-4 because of their new defensive coordinator, Jim Leavitt. Yes, for you college football junkies, that is Jim Leavitt the coach who built the USF program into a top 25 team and even the #2 ranked team in the country at one point. He spent the past four years coaching the LBers for the 49ers. He specializes in the 3-4 and that is why CU made the move to the 3-4.
Regarding CU's secondary as "porous" is really an uninformative remark towards that unit as it is actually the strongest part of the defense. CU has two players in CB Kenneth Crawley and SS Tedric Thompson who probably be ALL-Pac 12 as well as CB Chidobe Awuzie who is back to his real position after playing last year at FS due to injuries to the team. CU has a very strong secondary, their issue last year was their inability to stop the run and get pressure on the QB. That is the real question with CU, how the front seven will look and play. They have two very good LBers in Addison Gillam and Kenneth Olugbode and a stout DT in Justin Solis.
Offensively CU honestly has the best talent they have had since the early 2000's. They finally have great depth at WR and RB, as well as a very strong returning OL. QB Sefo Liufau broke or tied 51 CU records last year and is back for this third year running the offense. The biggest question with him and something Hawaii can take advantage of is sometimes he likes to try and force a ball into a tight window resulting in a turnover. CU has three RB's who have all had success in the Pac-12 and honestly the best RB is probably a true frosh (#13 RB in the country), but no one knows if they are going to redshirt him or play him.
The biggest question mark for CU and honestly the one thing that scares us to death is our special teams. We lost a four year starter at K and P, and will be running a true frosh out there at P and a walk-on who just earned a scholarship at K. We all know how special teams can dictate a game and that is a great area where Hawaii can take advantage of CU.
Like I said, best of luck on the season and hopefully this novel I just typed is useful and answers any questions you may have. I will keep an eye on this board till after the game so if you do have any questions, shoot them my direction!
- Rough em up rough em up go CU!
