Shenault “day to day” despite online post

BOULDER» Colorado receiver Laviska Shenault delivered a message on Instagram that should have Buffaloes fans excited.

“The return of 2Live ...” he posted Sunday night.

The star sophomore — who was once a Heisman Trophy candidate — has missed three games in a row, as the Buffaloes (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) continue to slide down the South division standings.

Getting Shenault back on the field would certainly help the Buffs’ quest to end their four-game losing streak. Coach Mike MacIntyre, of course, was more cautious about the return of his best player.

“He’s still day to day,” MacIntyre said Monday. “He did a little bit (in Monday’s practice). We’ll just see. Hopefully we’ll get him back sometime before the year is over. I sure hope so.”

With No. 10 Washington State (8-1, 5-1) coming to Boulder on Saturday, MacIntyre isn’t going to reveal much about the injury status of his players, but Shenault’s Instagram post has to be somewhat encouraging.

During the first six games of the season, Shenault caught 60 passes for 780 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing for five more scores. He’s no longer played in enough games to qualify for the national leaderboard, but no player in the country has averaged more catches (10.0) per game, and only two players have topped Shenault’s 130.0 receiving yards per game.

MacIntyre also gave a “day to day” answer about receivers KD Nixon (hip) and Jay MacIntyre (concussion), who both left Saturday’s 42-34 loss to Arizona with injuries. That’s a question the Buffs have worked on with quarterback Steven Montez, but there have been a couple of times when his choice wound up costing CU.

On the opening possession against Arizona, Montez was flushed from the pocket and scrambled on third-and-4 from the 8-yard line. Needing to get to the 4, he could have lowered his shoulder and gone the first down (or more), but went into a slide at the 6 — 3 yards in front of an Arizona defender. That forced a fourth-and-2, and CU failed to convert.

“We’ve talked about it,” MacIntyre said. “We want him to protect himself, but there’s times you’ve got to get a first down and there’s times you have to get a touchdown. He’s got to know that. We (the coaches) are not out there playing. We’ve coached it, we’ve coached it, we’ve coached it; Steven’s got to go do it.”

MacIntyre said there “is a chance” that punter Alex Kinney comes back next year. The senior broke his collarbone against Nebraska and, as long as he doesn’t play in more than four games, could use this as a redshirt year. He’s only played in two games and it’s unclear whether he’ll return this year.