Buffs have decision to make at quarterback

Colorado interim head coach Mike Sanford has made it clear that, when healthy, Owen Mccown is the Buffaloes’ starter at quarterback.

Mccown, however, hasn’t been healthy, and now the Buffs are contemplating shutting the true freshman down and riding with junior JT Shrout the rest of the way.

Following Saturday’s 4234 loss to Arizona State at Folsom Field, Sanford said no decisions have been made, but conversations have taken place about preserving Mccown’s redshirt season.

“Those are ongoing discussions that we’re having internally,” Sanford said. “I want to do what’s, number one, best for the student-athlete, because that’s what we’re here for is to put those guys in the best positions possible.”

Mccown, who started three consecutive games before suffering a core injury at California on Oct. 15, has played in four games — the maximum allowed by the NCAA in order to still redshirt.

With Saturday’s loss, the Buffs are now 1-7 (1- 4 Pac12) and officially out of contention for playing in a bowl game. That, alone, could make the decision easier, but Sanford said Mccown isn’t fully healthy. Mccown did suit up for Saturday’s game, though.

“When you get into this type of a stretch and you’re already a little bit banged up, we have to think about he’s the type of player that probably tradit ionally would have redshirted,” Sanford said. “I mean, he’s a developmental player.”

Coming into the season, CU had no plans to play the true freshman from Rusk, Texas, in 2022. Although he has exceptional talent, the 6-foot-2 Mccown is only about 170 pounds.

Brendon Lewis started the opener and then Shrout started the next two games. In Game 3, at Minnesota, Lewis and Shrout rotated series. The offense was abysmal in those three games, however, as the Buffs were outscored 128-30.

Mccown made his debut in the final minutes at Minnesota. Former head coach Karl Dorrell then gave McCown all the first-team reps the next week and started him against UCLA in Week 4 to try to spark the offense.

With Mccown, the Buffs did get a small jolt offensively, averaging 18.5 points in his first two starts. In his third start, against Cal, he took some hard hits and was pulled in the second half. He hasn’t played since.

“I don’t think that was something that he probably envisioned, to be starting at 167 pounds, 172 pounds depending on the day,” Sanford said. “He went out and I think did the job admirably. I was really pleased with how he did, but his body was starting to break down.”

Mccown has completed 57- of-100 passes for 600 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while rushing for two scores. His passer rating of 110.0 leads the team.

“Where he’s at in his developmental stage, what is best for him and also what’s best for our team,” Sanford said of what will go into the decision moving forward. “If we just say, ‘Hey, Owen, you have to play’ and then he gets beat up, then obviously I’m not looking out for the best interest of Owen Mccown.”

With Mccown hurt and Lewis leaving the team and putting his name in the transfer portal two weeks ago, Shrout has taken over full- time and made his fourth start of the season on Saturday.

Against ASU, Shrout threw for a career- high 222 yards and tossed a pair of touchdown passes. He was also intercepted once and continues to struggle with consistency in throwing the ball. He was 13-for34 (38.2%) against the Sun Devils, dropping his season percentage to 43.1% (56- of130).

Shrout is on pace to have the lowest percentage by a Buff (with at least 50 attempts) since option quarterback Sal Aunese in 1988 (41.5%, 44-of-106). Since CU shifted away from the option in 1992, the only Buff to finish with 50-plus attempts and below 50% for the season was Bernard Jackson in 2006 (49.3%, 108- of-219).

If the Buffs are to go with Shrout the rest of the way, they would clearly need him to be more consistent.

“When I talked with him a couple times on the sideline after series it’s just, ‘ Your fundamentals are non-negotiable,’” said Sanford, who coaches the quarterbacks. “When ( he has good fundamentals), I think he’s really good. He did do some good things, actually, outside the pocket.

“I think he started faster this game, but the consistency, obviously, to get the completion percentage numbers, it’s gotta go up. We know it’s not gonna get easier, but we’ve just got to continue to find those completions and make sure that we’re playing with the appropriate fundamentals.”