Colorado’s Pat Shurmur talks about play calling

The assistant coach was a guest on Colorado’s Football Coaches Show

Deion Sanders was absent for his weekly program on Thursday afternoon. It was announced by Buffs play by play and show host, Mark Johnson, that Coach Prime had a scheduling conflict. Filling in was none other than Pat Shurmur.

Change has been a big part of the CU football program over the past season. It's the reason why athletic director Rick George brought in Deion Sanders. He steamrolled a new coaching staff and brought in a whole bunch of new players through the transfer portal to the point we are at today.

The man that was set to lead the offense was former Kent State head coach Sean Lewis. For the first three games, Lewis’s high-tempo air the ball out did not disappoint. But for Lewis, his inability to establish a run game and protect Sanders has called for the newest change and the promotion of former NFL coach Pat Shurmur to be the offensive play caller for the CU Buffs.

This could be the change that CU needs to win two more games and become bowl eligible. Lewis' scheme has the Buffs ranked 128th out of 130 FBS teams in running the ball, averaging just 78.6 yards per contest. They have yet to see a running back eclipse 100 yards in a game. But running the ball has not been the only issue for the Buffs and Lewis as CU has allowed 41 sacks on the season. The second-worst team for protecting the QB in the nation.

“When you’re call a game, you obviously go into the game and you know basically what they do. As a play caller you’re trying to get the ball, number one, to the people who matter. You’re trying to run the ball and throw the ball. You’re trying to protect your quarterback. You’re trying to do all these things and you’re trying to do it in a way where you can be efficient and explosive. That may sound simple or complicated but that’s what you’re doing,” said Pat Shurmur.

Colorado has been a one-dimensional team from the start of the season and a change needed to be made. Most people believed that it would not come until after the season and that Lewis would have an opportunity to adjust, but over the course of eight games and CU rushing for only 25 yards on 24 carries against UCLA, the process was sped up.

Bring in CU analyst and former NFL head coach and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur into the fold, who will now have the task of finding new ways to protect Sanders better as well as establishing a run game. Look for the biggest change to come right away with the use of the tight end in a more traditional position on the line or just off the hip of the tackle providing more protection in the passing game and allowing for another interior blocker in the running game. Shurmur could use the tight end to seal the edges, and this will help the offensive tackles get to the second level to pick up a linebacker in the run game.

 “Typically as a coordinator, I’ll go in and script out a couple series in the first half and a couple series in the second half. Then you gotta react. If you script some plays and it’s 3rd and 6, so you gotta go to the 3rd and 6 menu,” said Shurmur.

Michael Harrison could very much see his role add another dimension as a lead blocker for either Dylan Edwards or Anthony Hankerson. But CU does have bigger tight ends on the roster in Caleb Fauria and Elijah Yelverton, who both weigh 240 pounds. This should give CU an opportunity to be more physical upfront and CU fans could see more use of the guards pulling under Shurmur.

In the passing game the key will be to keep Sanders upright and again that comes in with better blocking up front but as well as having the running backs be better in blitz protection. Shurmur will need to establish a run game to open the play action game for the Buffs. If Shurmur can find a way to get the opposing linebackers to creep up and get out of position this should
allow for more space in the middle of the field for the receivers to work with. Shurmur as a coach does like a three wide receiver set as he brings the tight end inside, which makes things tougher for defenses that want to send blitzes and right now CU needs all the protection it can get.

Shurmur said of Shedeur, “He’s unique in his ability to throw accurately deep. We can all claim to be great coaches but for a quarterback it has to be natural. Things happen too fast and if you’re painting by numbers, it just doesn’t work.”

The Buffs receivers have shown they can get open and with extra protection this could give Sanders a chance to stay upright. Throughout the season, he has shown when the pocket is clean, he can pick apart defenses. The play calling will be a big change, but more protection packages will be good in the long run for CU. While this change from Lewis to Shurmur is a surprising one it might be the jolt that CU needs.

The question is now can Shurmur find the right plays to make this offense successful in both the run game and in pass protection? If he does, CU might just have a chance to win two more games to become bowl eligible. One thing is for sure Coach Prime has shown he is not afraid to make a change if he feels it will make this team more successful.