Four freshmen from Hawaii could play and four other freshmen could start for Colorado when the rebuilding Buffaloes open the football season against the University of Hawaii on Sept. 3 at Aloha Stadium.
The Buffaloes’ post-camp depth chart released Monday lists Paulay Asiata (Saint Louis) as second-team offensive guard, Kaiwi Crabb (Punahou) as third-team center and Juda Parker (Saint Louis) and K.T. Tu‘umalo (Punahou) as third-team outside linebackers.
Meanwhile the Buffaloes have listed freshmen as starters at right cornerback (Greg Henderson), punter (Darragh O’Neill) and place-kicker (Will Oliver).
In addition, freshman Tyler McCulloch is listed as "co-starter" with senior Tony Clemons at a wide receiver position, CU said.
Overall, the three-deep includes five freshmen on offense, six on defense and three on special teams.
"I feel good about our two-deep and even some of our threes on the D-line," first-year head coach Jon Embree said in a release.
Three starting receivers practice at full speed
Three of the Warriors’ four starting receivers competed in all of the drills during Monday night’s practice at Aloha Stadium.
Wideout Darius Bright and slotbacks Miah Ostrowski and Billy Ray Stutzmann had been bothered by ailments. But they ran routes at full speed during the 2-hour practice, the Warriors’ second workout at Aloha Stadium during the preseason training.
"It was a ‘B’ on the field," quarterback Bryant Moniz said. "It was good, but we want an ‘A.’ "
Right wideout Royce Pollard, who has been the healthiest of the receivers, was held out of practice to rest his legs. Pollard’s condition is not considered to be serious, and he is expected to practice today.
Terence Bell is considered to be the No. 2 right wideout. But Bell had to take a class Monday night and did not make the excursion to Aloha Stadium.
Freshman Trevor Davis practiced as the No. 1 right wideout.
"Eventually, they’ll all get back," Moniz said of the No. 1 receivers. "I’m just waiting for that time."
With strongside linebacker Art Laurel sitting out practice, T.J. Taimatuia practiced with the first-team defense.
"It was a good experience," said Taimatuia, who missed the 2010 season because of a broken right foot. "That’s why we have practice. If you make a mistake, you can learn from it."
Practice time sets up Warriors for opener
Head coach Greg McMackin said he chose to practice Monday evening to mirror the conditions for the Sept. 3 season opener against Colorado.
"We wanted the receivers and the defensive backs to play under the lights, especially the return guys," McMackin said. "We put all of the kicking (drills) toward the end of practice so they could get used to catching with the lights on."
Mike Edwards and Scott Harding handled most of the kickoff-return duties.
Women’s football clinic scheduled for tonight
The football clinic for women, hosted by Heather McMackin, is tonight at the UH athletic complex.
UH strength coach Tommy Heffernan will be the featured speaker. Each female attendee will receive a "playbook" and instruction from coaches and players. There will be work stations set up at Ching field.
The $20 admission includes refreshments. There is no admission fee for female UH students.
The first 200 women to pay the registration will receive Under Armour shirts.
Registration begins at 6 p.m. The clinic starts at 7 p.m. For details, call 956-6508.
The Star-Advertiser’s Ferd Lewis contributed to this report.