QB Montez wasn’t voted a captain, but he still leads the Buffs
BOULDER» Colorado junior quarterback Steven Montez already owns or shares 20 program records, including most consecutive passes without an interception (172) and most consecutive games with at least 300 yards passing (three). His career passing rating of 133.86 is third all-time at CU and he already ranks ninth among all Buffaloes in passing yards (3,992) and touchdown passes (27).
Montez is an important leader for the Buffs — despite the absence of being named a team captain.
Coach Mike Macintyre and his staff have the players vote on team captains, and Montez wasn’t among the six chosen — including four on offense. Senior wide receivers Kabion Ento, Juwann Winfree and Jay Macintyre (the coach’s son) and junior tackle Aaron Haigler are CU’S official leaders on offense. The other captains, all seniors, are safety Nick Fisher, linebacker Rick Gamboa and punter Alex Kinney.
Is Montez shamed by the exclusion? If he is, he didn’t show it Saturday after a three-hour fall practice.
“I’ve got a ton of love for the captains we got,” Montez said Saturday. “I think they’re going to be great captains. And they are great captains. Just because you’re not a captain doesn’t mean you can’t be a leader on the team and that’s what I plan to do. I plan to lead the offense.”
Coach Macintyre said he changed how his captains are voted upon three years ago, eliminating any input from the coaching staff. He sees Montez’s exclusion as proof the Buffs have deep leadership.
“Steven is a heck of a leader; they all look up to,” Macintyre said of his players. “I think just the way we do the voting, and the way they did it, as a team they decided that was the way to do it. I would imagine Steven would be one next year. But I’m excited about the leadership he’s shown. Steven, if you’ve been around him, he’s a guy who’s got a great sense of humor and everybody likes him. He relates to everybody.”
Montez, 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, begins his junior season having played 22 games (15 starts) the last two years. He lost three starting wide receivers — each in NFL training camps — to graduation, but says the passing game will be as good or better than 2017.
“I feel like the list just kind of goes on and on; we got dudes who can play ball on the outside, on the perimeter, and we can stretch the field. We’ve got some playmakers,” Montez said. “And my progression is going to be a lot, kind of like second nature, because I have a little bit more knowledge of what I’m seeing on the other side of the ball.”
The coach’s son/captain. Perhaps Jay Macintyre wouldn’t be a captain if the coaching staff voted. But Coach Macintrye said he believes his son is highly respected by his teammates because of the injury he played through last year as a junior.
“I think he gained their respect last year when he played a whole year on a broken foot,” the coach said of his son. “And they knew he was hurt and he’s still going to play. And he played well. And I think they said, ‘Wow, wait a minute.’ I think that made a huge impression on them.”
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers