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They Said It: Spring Practice Quotable Quotes – Offense
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Before we spend the next four months hearing from the naysayers and the pundits who see little positive out of CU’s 2026 season (over/under win total projections holding at 4.5 wins at VegasInsider), let’s spend a few minutes looking back at some of the positive vibes coming out of the Champions Center this spring. Yes, there is always plenty of coachspeak and “playerspeak” in the media interviews, but there were also some memorable quotes to give you a smile.
“We’re getting better… starting with me,” Coach Prime said after the Spring game. “I like what I’m seeing from the staff, from the young men that we’ve chosen, from everything all the way around. I feel really good about what’s going on.”
Below are some quotes from coaches and players, going position by position …
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Quarterbacks –
Coach Prime on Julian Lewis … “His game is developing daily and I’m proud of the strides that he’s making both as a potential leader as well as a quarterback that we can really count on from start to finish. I’m proud of the young man.”
Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion on how the team has adjusted to his “Go-Go” offense … “I think through spring now we’re probably close to a thousand reps and then you add on all the walk-throughs and player-led practices we had before that. The guys have really stacked reps. … We have a lot of our offense in and the guys have grasped it really well.”
Julian Lewis on the “Go-Go” offense … “You get on that NCAA playbook and you run it a couple times, you end up being like, ‘Oh goodness, what is it?’” Lewis said with a laugh. “But I mean, it’s going to be crazy, it’s exciting. I mean, coach Marion brought in that offense and I’m just blessed to run it.”
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Running backs … “As a running back, if you’re not excited, I don’t know what to tell you”
Running backs coach Johnnie Mack on expectations for CU’s running game … “Man, as a running back, I told my guys, if you’re not excited for this, I don’t know what else to tell you, man, because this Go-Go offense is built for running backs. You get the opportunity to have multiple guys out there. Giving these guys multiple opportunities. It’s just the excitement of utilizing them in so many different ways, from catching the ball out the backfield to running the ball. Just being used and being able to utilize all of the ability that we have. I’m definitely excited to be involved.”
Coach Prime on finding starters … “We’re going to be all right running the football, I know. It’s just who’s going to be those (top) two guys? That’s the thing. Who’s going to be those two guys?”
Coach Marion on his backfield … “All those guys can hit the home run, they’ve proven that. And I think our running backs, really, when it gets physical, when it gets violent and it gets loud, that’s when they’re at their best – when they really can get their pads downhill, run through people, put their shoulder down.”
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Wide receivers … “Everybody that is in this room is a dawg”
Coach Prime on CU’s wide receivers … “It’s a much better room. It’s a room that has accomplished a lot more. It’s a room that’s very unselfish. I love these young men, they blend together, but they got that thing about them, man, that they got it — like they got that thing.
“They’re not jealous of one another, they love to practice, they love to work. … That room to me is tremendously explosive. When we talk about what we lost, make sure you talk about what we gained because we gained a heck of a lot more, I think three times more, than what we may have lost in the process.”
Wide receiver Danny Scudero on the CU wide receiver room … “I would say, one, there’s a lot of talent in this room, from the top to the bottom. I mean, everybody that is in this room is a dawg. … When you have the mindset of you’re striving to get better every practice and really just holding each other accountable, that really makes for a dangerous room because you have to put your best foot forward, otherwise the guys are going to get on you. And we really just hold each other to a high standard in this room.”
Danny Scudero on depth of CU’s wide receiver roster … “(Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion) definitely knows how to get playmakers in space. I know he’s said a lot where it’s like don’t count your reps, make your reps count. And that has kind of stuck with me because I mean, he puts us in a lot of positions to succeed; that’s all you can ask as a playmaker. You just want to be in the position to succeed and Coach Marion does a great job with that.”
Wide receiver Kam Perry … “You can just expect a lot of big plays, lot of great catches. I don’t plan on dropping the ball at all, so you all can quote me on that. If I do drop a ball, you all can run back to this interview. But yeah, we’re gonna expect a lot of big plays from not just myself, but everybody in the receiver room.”
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Tight ends … “The ‘Go-Go’ offense is a pass-catching tight end’s dream”
Tight ends coach Josh Niblett on CU’s tight ends … “From the tight end position in this offense, you’ve got to have a pretty good skill set. I mean, you’ve got to be able to split out, be able to run routes, win some one-on-one matchups, and then you’ve got to be able to play within the core, whether you’re in a hand-down in the dirt or whether you’re in a hybrid position. So, your football IQ’s got to be higher, but also your skill level’s got to be higher and that’s exciting for our room.”
Senior tight end Zach Atkins on the “Go-Go” offense … “It’s every pass-catching tight end’s dream. I can do both (block and catch) and I’m working on doing both, but this offense has been unbelievable to learn and play in. … I can line up at number one, in the slot, or in the core. So just having that availability is awesome.”
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Offensive line … “We know who our top eight or nine are going to be”
Offensive line coach Gunnar White on finding a starting five … “We’re moving guys around, left and right, making sure that they’re versatile. We’re switching them around so that way they stay hungry. And we gotta have two of them that come out and dominate at the end of the day. ’Cause without that, they’re gonna keep fighting and fighting and fighting until we do name them.”
Assistant offensive line coach George Hegamin on not having a spring Transfer Portal … “This is who we got. I heard one coach say it the best, like we all signed a one-year contract, let’s be honest about it. And that one year contract basically states you love me, I love you, you’re going to be hard on me, I’m going to be hard on you. So it gives us an opportunity to really coach for a year and it gives the player an opportunity to develop.”
“You would love to (figure out a top five), but at the same time it’s a long season, so at some point, you’re going to get somebody nicked up,” Hegamin said. “You might have some issues, might have a guy that you gotta rotate him for whatever reason.
“So you would obviously like to finish spring ball knowing who your top five are going to be. The greatest thing right now is we know who our top eight or nine are going to be. … Everybody’s really striving for those top five spots.”
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While the play-calling for the Spring Game was vanilla, there was still enough good play to give the players, coaches and Buff Nation some clarity as the Buffs transition into summer workouts.
“We know what we have,” Coach Prime said. “We know what we need to work on. Guys understand where they stand.
“We are going to make it better. I like where we are.”
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Next weekend … Quotable Quotes from CU’s defense and special teams …
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One Reply to “They Said It: Spring Practice Quotable Quotes”
I simply ignore the pundolts in the off season. After Barnett got fired and Prior to Prime getting hired, the pundolts basically ignored CU, and for good reason. Now with Prime here, it seems that the vast majority of national media choose to bash and give the most superficial of analyses rather than provide balanced analysis. They tap into the Prime hate out there. Therefore, there is no credibility and without that, it is easy to ignore. It even extends to the locals. Keeler and Pissla are the leading culprits.
I don’t expect glowing reports that all is well, but I also don’t expect constant doom and gloom either.