The Colorado Buffaloes opened fall camp Monday with Deion Sanders' squad hosting their first team meeting on Sunday before heading to Colorado Springs, where they will spend the week in the dorms and practice at Fountain-Fort Carson High School.
Both Well Off Media, Deion Sanders Jr.'s YouTube channel, and Darius Sanders of Reach The People Media chronicled Colorado's first practice of fall camp. There were several highlight moments from both returners and transfers.
"Set the tone that you want to establish for yourself," Sanders told his players before practice began. "Day 1 is going to be just like Day 2, like Day 3, like Day 4. You set the tone that you want. You set the standard for you. There's some things in your life that you ain't proud
of. You want a do-over. And you got it. You got an opportunity. It's a restart."
Here are some of the key takeaways we gathered from the first day of camp.
Joseph Williams is back healthy; Danny Scudero is not
The practice footage started, and as players were entering the complex, Scudero was seen in a boot, using a knee scooter to get around. He has a month to get healthy, but if he is not out of the boot over the next ten days, he would seem to be in jeopardy of missing the season opener.
Joseph Williams being back in full pads participating in 11-on-11 was arguably the best news of the day. Williams flashed No. 1 wide receiver potential last season, with his breakout game coming against Iowa State when he caught eight passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. He made sure to let Coach Prime know that he is back, telling his coach "he wouldn't miss this [first practice]."
Williams made several highlight plays, including a nice release in the red zone for a touchdown and multiple middle-of-the-field crossing routes where he was able to pick up yards after the catch. A healthy Williams, no matter what place he lands on the depth chart, only makes an already deep wide receiver room better.
Quentin Gibson is an offensive X factor
Pads were on for Day 1, but the wide receivers still stole the show, which might be the case throughout the entire camp. Second to Williams' performance was true sophomore Quentin Gibson, who received a lot of run in Monday's practice with Scudero's absence and DeAndre Moore Jr. limited to individual drills as he works his way back.
Gibson's top play of the day was a pass from Julian Lewis that was floated over linebacker Tyler Martinez, where Gibson twisted in the air to haul it in before coming back down and immediately putting safety Naeten Mitchell on skates before he took it all the way to the end zone. Gibson's athleticism and agility were on full display, and those two traits make him not only a dangerous gadget-type receiver but also a lethal kick returner. He should, without a doubt, play a major role in Brennan Marion's offense.
Kam Perry the best player on the field?
Granted, we are only forming these takeaways from highlights from two rightfully biased sources, but Miami (OH) receiver Kam Perry looked the part and more. His breaks in and out of routes were clean, and the only person who could cover him was Boo Carter. In one-on-one drills, Perry consistently beat his defender aside from the few times Carter matched up on him, and he seems like the perfect fit in the slot where he can exploit the space defenses leave open either underneath or up the seam. Perry was also a factor during the 11-on-11 portion, seemingly always offering his quarterback an outlet.
Coach Prime was not entirely happy with the offseason preparation
Sanders dropped a bit of a truth bomb while giving his parting words after practice, getting on his players for showing up to camp physically unprepared.
"Lord, I don't want to say what I want to say because there are cameras around, but if I was a teacher, I would not grade it [practice] this great," Sanders admitted. "You know why? Because a lot of you guys are not in shape. You're about to die. Some of you guys messed around and got an opportunity that you did not expect to get this early in camp and you went out there and was about to die."
Whether Sanders was testing which players were ready on Day 1 or Colorado is dealing with more injuries that we don't know about, Coach Prime was not impressed with the conditioning level of his team. The good news is the Buffs have exactly one month to get in shape before the season begins against Georgia Tech.
Competition aplenty from the jump
Most training camps, both NFL and college, see a ton of different players receive snaps, especially early on. That was the case on Monday, but perhaps to an extreme extent, as Coach Prime noted in the above quote. There are ample starting spots up for grabs, including nearly all 11 on the defensive side, making fall camp a crucial period. The increased competition not only showcases the best performances but also adds energy to practice, both of which were clearly evident on Day 1.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Takeaways from Colorado football's first fall camp practice
