Buffs miss Lindsay’s leadership – and hair

The Denver Post

BOULDER» Phillip Lindsay’s last four Labor Day weekends have revolved around the Rocky Mountain Showdown. This week, he’s a little busy securing a Denver Broncos roster spot to focus much energy on what his alma mater is up to.

But the former Colorado running back’s presence is still felt by the Buffs, even while he’s an hour down the road in Dove Valley.

Lindsay was a rare player who did absolutely everything, CU coach Mike MacIntyre said, and that wasn’t limited to carries, catches and returning kicks. Lindsay, CU’s career leader in all-purpose yards (5,926), drove the competition of everyone sitting behind him for years on the depth chart. Perhaps a bit cliché, but now with Lindsay gone, backs such as senior Kyle Evans, a former walk-on, and co-starter Travon McMillian, want to prove they’re just as good.

“One thing he really did was pushed a lot of us to compete, and so, when Travon came in, he brought that competition and vamped it up in the running back room because there was a lot of uncertainty of what the rotation was going to be,” Evans said.

“Bringing Travon in (continued what Lindsay taught us) pushed … all the running backs to be the best that we can be.”

Lindsay delivered competition to the Buffs, but what does CU miss most from its instant legend?

“Honestly, his hair. That’s the biggest thing,” said Evans, also noting that the Broncos’ rookie hazing of Lindsay featured the shaving of his eyebrows instead of his head, keeping a potential Head & Shoulders endorsement possible.

“He always brought a sense of humor and was able to flip a switch. When he needs to be serious, he was serious. When he needed to be fun, he was fun. I think everybody understands that and me being around him the last four years, I was able to learn a lot from him. I’m just trying to teach some of these young guys in the room how to really flip that switch and when to be a tough guy, knowing that if you’re a smaller guy, you might not be able to take a guy head on. It’s understanding the game and how to apply.”