Buffs’ receivers hungry
CU lost its top three pass catchers from 2017, so Ento, Winfree need to step up game
Juwann Winfree looks back at his 2016 season-ending knee injury as a test of faith. Kabion Ento never envisioned redshirting in 2017, which was supposed to be his senior season.
But that unexpected time away from the field means the Colorado receivers get one more go-round with the Buffaloes. And they will be needed. After losing its top three pass catchers from 2017, Winfree and Ento are among those stepping into increased roles in CU’s newlook receiving corps heading into the Buffs’ season opener Friday night in Denver against Colorado State.
“We’re a hungry group,” Winfree said, “maybe because we haven’t had the opportunities that a lot of people have had. We’re eager to show what we can do.”
That unit will be tasked with replacing the production of Shay Fields, Bryce Bobo and Devin Ross, each of whom ranks in the top 15 in school history in both career catches (480 combined) and receiving yards (5,811 combined) while also amassing 40 total touchdowns.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Winfree will be joined by either Ento, another tall body at 6-3 and 190 pounds, or versatile sophomore K.D. Nixon at the starting outside spots. Mainstay Jay MacIntyre, the son of Buffs coach Mike MacIntyre, returns in the slot. True freshmen Daniel Arias and Dylan Thomas, along with redshirt freshmen Maurice Bell and Curtis Chiaverini (the son of play-caller
Darrin Chiaverini), are also among those listed on the depth chart.
Winfree acknowledges that some receivers feel an extra dash of motivation because of the adversity they have faced.
After tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, Winfree finally felt “like my old self” when he took the bulky brace off in a Week 2 win over Texas State last season, then flashed his big-play ability with 163 yards and two touchdowns in a November loss to No. 15 USC.
Ento, meanwhile, embraced running with the scout team last fall, where he frequently matched up against future second-round NFL draft pick Isaiah Oliver.
CU starting quarterback Steven Montez said it’s been “work, work, work, work” for him and the receivers to develop timing and chemistry.
“(Montez) knows who he can lay it out there and throw it out to deep, who he can throw the back-shoulder (pass) to, all those types of things,” Coach MacIntyre said. “They’ve got those nuances figured out, which is what makes a big difference.”
That timing showed early in fall camp when Winfree boasted that the receivers hauled in a barrage of deep balls. Defensive back Nick Fisher confirmed that success, complimenting the group’s depth by acknowledging that the third-team receivers sometimes “cooked” the starting secondary.
Dominant stretches in practice ultimately mean nothing. But the CU pass catchers appear to have a prime opportunity to thrive early after a vulnerable Colorado State defense gave up 418 passing yards in its seasonopening loss to Hawaii last weekend in Fort Collins.
Friday’s game represents Ento’s first chance to discredit the outsiders who expect CU’s receiving production to suffer a steep drop-off following the departure of three reliable starters. And Ento, like Winfree, is eager for a consistent opportunity in his final season.
“We all have shown what we can do in a couple of moments,” Ento said. “Now we feel like we’re all ready to go out there and step into that bigger role.
“Everybody’s calling (Fields, Bobo and Ross) ‘the last group of guys,’ like a lot of us wasn’t here. … We feel like we can go put up numbers like them, and we feel like we can make similar plays that all of them made.
“We’re all very confident.”