Buffs OC Shurmur Adapts To New College Environment

BOULDER — In his first full season as Colorado's offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur is quickly learning how to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the college game.

Shurmur spent most of last season as an offensive analyst on Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders' first staff before taking over play-calling duties late in the season.

Now, the reins of the offense are fully in his hands and he is adjusting to an environment that is impacting virtually every program in the nation: that of continually changing rosters thanks to the transfer portal.

Among the players who have left the CU program this spring were a pair of running backs, a tight end and an offensive lineman who were considered to be likely contributors when spring ball started. But the Buffs have also secured commitments from players who will fill the holes left by those departed players, and the newcomers should be on campus soon to begin the process of learning the playbook and meshing with their new teammates.

The whole situation has meant that CU coaches are figuring out how to adjust on the fly.

"I look at it as an exercise," Shurmur told the media after Thursday's practice, the last workout of the spring before Saturday's Black and Gold Game at Folsom Field. "You have to fight with the army you have … So what we try to do then is we look every morning or every evening and say, 'OK, what's available tomorrow?' Our most recent example is we had one healthy running back for yesterday's practice. So I said OK, that's fine. Let's go 10 (one running back, no tight ends) with a fifth wideout. Then you run plays."

While certainly not optimal for training purposes, Shurmur said the situation does present a practical application.

"It could happen in the game, right?" he said "We could be counting on a guy who runs down on the first kickoff and has an injury. Now we have to change gears. It's a way to train your brain to kind of move and get to the next thing."

Shurmur also said he isn't overly concerned about getting new players up to speed by the beginning of fall camp in August. 

"For the most part, we're training the dudes that are going to be here in the fall," he said. "What the new guys will have coming in is (film) cut-ups  of the things we've done. Teaching aids. Our coaches are familiar with what we're doing so they'll be able to pick it up quickly. And now in college football, there's so much being done in the month of June and the first part of July that I feel instead of getting the whole group ready, we're just getting pieces ready around the group that's continuing to develop."

Overall, Shurmur said he's been pleased with the progress of the offense through the spring as the Buffs work on emphasizing a scheme that will utilize as many as five wideouts on the field at a time. That's a luxury Shurmur could never enjoy in his two decades in the NFL and a scheme that should best utilize the talents of quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

"Rosters don't afford it at the pro level," he said. "When you have (only) five wideouts on the roster, it's hard to be in 10. I love it. It's a way to move the ball and score more points, keep the field spread with athletes."

One are Shurmur and the rest of the CU coaching staff have watched closely is the development of the offensive line. After giving up 56 sacks and being unable to establish anything resembling a consistent run game a year ago, the Buffs brought in six new players up front.

So far so good.

"They're growing and getting better," Shurmur said. "It's a whole new crew except for a couple of guys, like Hank (Zilinskas) in there playing center. But they've done well. They're coming together. They've got a very mature approach to development and they have a terrific line coach and assistant line coaches to work with. They understand the importance of running the ball and protecting the passer and we feel like their progress has been really good … I really like where we're at going forward. There's a heck of a lot left to do, a lot of work, we're not near where we need to be.  But I would say we're on the right track."

As for Saturday's spring game, Shurmur said the Buffs will try to walk a fine line of giving the fans a taste of what the offense can do while not giving away too much to next fall's opponents.

"For me, it's another practice opportunity," said Shurmur, who noted that he has spent time watching available broadcasts of other programs' spring games. "I'm sure our first couple opponents will be watching ours. We're probably not going to show anything new … We'll show things we did last year. There will be a couple of wrinkles for the fans (but) we don't want to show any of the new stuff. We'll probably show things they can find on tape from a year ago. And then let it rip."