Brown faces double trouble with Shenault, Nixon hurt

BO U L DE R » Tony Brown knows it’s coming. Maybe this week, maybe not. But certainly soon.

So far, Colorado’s senior wide receiver has made the most of the space afforded to him by opposing defenses. Sometimes, like the highlight-reel catches he made in the end zone against Nebraska and Arizona State, that space has been almost nil.

Yet as Brown continues to pile up numbers more applicable to a unanimous No. 1 receiver than a guy perceived during the preseason as the Buffs’ third option, at best, in the passing game, he expects defenses to start clamping down on him a little more intensely. After amassing 19 receptions for 291 yards over the past two games, that added scrutiny could arrive as soon as Friday night when the Buffs tackle what likely will be their toughest challenge of the season at No. 13 Oregon (8:05 p.m., FS1).

“So far, no. But I expect it,” Brown said about the potential of facing double coverage. “The way I’ve been performing, I really expect people to have double coverage and stuff like that. But it’s all going to work out because we still have KD Nixon and Laviska (Shenault). You can’t double-coverage all of us. So we’re all weapons, and we use that to our advantage.”

Brown is quite correct in his assertion that Nixon and Shenault will make teams pay for giving him added scrutiny. The caveat is there is no guarantee either player will see the field Friday night at Autzen Stadium. Shenault missed last week due to a core muscle strain, and by the end of CU’s 35-30 home loss to Arizona, Nixon was on the sideline, too. Both players remained among the Buffs’ lengthy list of walking wounded described as day to day this week by head coach Mel Tucker.

“It makes a big difference (having Shenault),” Brown said. “When you have two people on one guy, that’s going to leaves everybody else open. Somebody’s going to come wide open. That’s an advantage with everyone.”

CB Blackmon out for season.

Depth at cornerback was a concern going into the season, and that was with everyone healthy.

Now, the Buffaloes have lost two of their most experienced corners for the season.

On Wednesday, CU confirmed to BuffZone.com that junior Mekhi Blackmon will miss the rest der of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Buffs announced sophomore Chris Miller will miss the rest of the year with a torn ACL in his knee.

Blackmon has played in only four games and can use this as a redshirt year and have two more seasons to play.