3 of 5 OL spots set

Colorado offensive line coach Jeff Grimes hoped to emerge from spring practices with a clear idea of who his best six or seven linemen are headed toward training camp.

He can't quite answer that question today following Saturday's spring game in Folsom Field, but he does believe he knows who three of his starters will be.

Grimes said unless someone seriously improves in a big way in August, he will probably start the season with senior Daniel Sanders at center and sophomores Ryan Miller and Nate Solder at tackles.

The two guard spots remain up for grabs with six players vying for them. They are Erick Faatagi, Matt Bahr, Mike Iltis, Blake Behrens, Shawn Daniels and Ethan Adkins.

Faatagi, who has missed about half the total practice time this spring because of class conflicts and a focus on his academic performance, did not play in the spring game. Coaches believe Faatagi could be one of their best linemen if they ever get him on the field without conflicts battling for his attention.

Grimes said the final week of spring drills and the spring game were the best of five weeks worth of work for his players.

"I think it was really the first week we showed glimpses of the way we want to play the game," Grimes said.

Three true freshmen offensive linemen will join the program this summer and Grimes said he isn't willing to rule out the possibility of one of those players earning a starting job.

"I would hope that's not the case," he said. "I would hope it would be one of the guys with more knowledge of the system."

Price of fame

Colorado's prized running back recruit Darrell Scott attended the spring game, but didn't get to see much of it. Scott spent much of his time in Folsom Field on Saturday interacting with fans and signing autographs.

Scott, who is expected to challenge for a starting job, or, at least, considerable playing time, also spent the afternoon sitting with Jarrod Darden, a lanky wide receiver from Fort Worth, who came to Boulder to check out the program.

"We need him," Scott said.

Scott, who has been accepted to CU, said he will be in Boulder on June 14. He is looking forward to competing for time in the new no-huddle offense, but current players plan to make it tough on him.

Running back Demetrius Sumler had a solid spring and seems to be developing into the player coaches believed he could be when they recruited him from the San Diego area two years ago. Sumler led the Buffs in rushing in the spring game.

"When you sign a high-profile guy at a position, guys kind of either tank it or they step up and get a lot better," offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. "I think Demetrius Sumler got a lot better this spring, Kevin Moyd got a lot better this spring."

Hawkins headed

to the Amazon

Dan Hawkins is slated to begin a statewide tour in Pueblo on April 30, and he will visit numerous other communities throughout May. Later this summer, the adventuresome coach said he plans to take his family to South America where he hopes to spend time paddling the Amazon River.

In previous summers Hawkins has gone skydiving, swimming with sharks in South Africa and last year he trained for an Australian marathon he never ran. He's looking forward to the rain forest.

"There could be a little snake venom or spider bites or something," he said. "...A big anaconda will probably take us all in one big bite."

Punt problems

The Buffs blocked two punts and a field goal on Saturday, completing an impressive spring when it comes to knocking down kicks. Most of the blocked punts came against the scout team unit, including both blocks Saturday.

It is something Hawkins is happy to see, but he and special teams coach Kent Riddle are still hoping to get there more often.

"Rid and I are used to putting six, seven, eight punts and kicks on the ground every year," Hawkins said. "We've got to get after that."

Quotable

Hawkins on whether he believes senior cornerback Ben Burney will play in 2008 or redshirt to recover from five surgeries. "We'll see. He's like a '66 Rambler. He's got a lot of things that need to get worked on."

Notable

The Buffs are scheduled to report for training camp Aug. 3 with the first practice scheduled for Aug. 4 or 5. ... CU will go into the fall still unsure of who will handle the place-kicking, but at this point, the safe bet is Aric Goodman handling place-kicking and Jameson Davis kicking off. Davis missed all three of his field-goal attempts Saturday, including a 62-yard effort. ... Longsnapper Justin Drescher missed the spring game with an undisclosed illness. His backup, Austin Bisnow, performed well in his absence.