For the record, Sam Noyer was happy to watch Brendon Lewis run the Texas Longhorns ragged. Couldn’t have been happier for the kid. Honest.
“Going into that (bowl) week, we actually had a couple packages for him,” Noyer, CU’s senior quarterback, told The Post late last week when asked about Lewis, the fleet-footed signal-caller whose legs jump-started a sleepy Buffs offense in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.
“So I knew that he was going to get that opportunity to get in there. And obviously, I hoped for the best, that if he had success, that meant our team had success. Me and him have a great relationship. I was definitely rooting for him.
“But at the same time, I didn’t play to my standards and I didn’t play the way I wanted to and (was) disappointed after the fact. But … I just wanted what was best for the team, and he was feeling it. And I felt that at the time, that’s what was best for the team. As a competitor, it wasn’t easy, just because of my performance.”
Flash forward four months, and the second-best quarterback in the Pac-12 in last fall — USC’s Kedon Slovis garnered first team all-league honors; Noyer got tapped for the second team — might just be the second-best quarterback on his own roster in 2021.
Despite being only the third signal-caller in the last 15 years to steer the Buffs to a bowl game, Noyer, once fully healed from offseason shoulder surgery, is probably going to have scrap like heck to stay at the top of the heap.
***While COVID-related transfer loopholes could have coach Karl Dorrell’s roster in flux until May or June, the options in CU’s quarterback room — at present — are as varied and compelling as any in recent years.
Lewis, a 6-foot-2 sophomore-to-be, turned heads and raised eyebrows after putting up 168 yards of total offense — 8.8 yards per touch — during an otherwise forgettable Buffs evening at the Alamodome.
The unit got deeper and more athletic with the addition of JT Shrout, a 6-3 Californian who’d appeared in eight games the last two autumns with the Tennessee Volunteers; and true freshman Drew Carter, a three-star dual-threat and early enrollee out of Tigard (Ore.) High School.
Noyer, a 6-4 Swiss Army Knife who’d played safety and special teams under former Buffs coach Mel Tucker, had made up his mind to transfer out in the winter of ’19-20, only to be persuaded by new quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf and Dorrell to give CU one more go.
The Beaverton, Ore., native won the job and won over Buffs hearts with a Tebowesque physicality in the run game and a passing touch that seemed to surprise defensive coordinators and television analysts alike.
But running through tackles also takes tread off the tires, and Noyer separated his shoulder in a victory/coming-out party over UCLA in the delayed season opener at Folsom Field.
“As the year went on, it just got worse and worse,” said the Buffs quarterback, who in six starts wound up throwing for six scores, running for five more and tossed seven interceptions. “It was kind of messing with me a lot, just because there were a lot of throws, things I normally could do if I was 100% healthy, (that) I wasn’t able to quite do.”
A humbling home defeat to Utah in the snow and a demolition at the hands of Texas, games in which Noyer completed just 42.7% of his throws with two touchdowns and three picks, opened the door for Lewis, who against the Longhorns ran for 73 yards on nine carries with a score and accounted for another 95 yards through the air.
“Ever since he got here, I’ve seen the potential in him,” Noyer said of Lewis.
“And I know he’s got a lot of potential and has a very bright future, and me (being) kind of in that veteran position, I’m trying to teach him as much as I can. He’s always looking to learn, does a great job with what I’m trying to (show) him and help him with. And whatever’s going to happen with this team going forward, that’s kind of my goal with these young guys who are coming in as well.”
***As CU heads into its second week of spring drills, Noyer will have to do his teaching from the sidelines this month while the shoulder heals.
Lewis and transfer Shrout are running with the first team, Dorrell said, with Carter and veteran Grant Ciccarone mixing in.
“Really, the job of the spring is to give everybody a chance to showcase what their skill set is,” the second-year CU coach noted. “And as we continue to move forward in the spring and being more competitive in these drills, you know, you start to build your depth chart that way. But the whole goal is to give everybody reps in the spring. We want to give them all a chance to feel like they get a chance to compete.”
The job won’t be won in April, Dorrell says. But once everybody’s back and able to throw, will it still be Noyer’s job to lose?
“I guess you could say so,” the coach replied. “You know, someone’s going to have to beat him out, right? If, hopefully, he’s fully healthy and ready to go.
“… And the best thing is, I know we’ve got some capable guys from what I’ve seen right now that, in case his arm isn’t completely healthy, or if there is an issue with Sam, we’ve got some people in the program that can help us win.”
As with teammate and fellow senior returnee Nate Landman, Noyer says his rehab — 90 to 120 minutes per day, every day — is progressing ahead of schedule. Even to the point where he might be able to get some light throwing in by the end of the week.
“I kind of have a chip on my shoulder,” Noyer said. “And I know what I need to do to get better and I know what I need to do to help this team get better.
“At the same time, I like the underdog mentality. That’s been my mindset here since Day 1.
“I feel there was a lot of unfinished business. I feel like I kind of (left it) with a bad taste in my mouth after those last two games, for sure. That kind of sticks with me going forward. I don’t want to feel the way I felt after those last two games. And I know our guys don’t, either.”
No comments:
Post a Comment