“Players make plays, players win games.”
#TheRise of the Colorado Buffaloes in the Mike MacIntyre era can attributed to this team’s ability to make outstanding plays. Plays made often by the Buffs’ junior receiving trio of Shay Fields Jr., Bryce Bobo and Devin Ross.
“The BlackOutBoyz,” “F.B.R”— whatever you like to call them —are key components to Colorado’s magical year.
The three California products arrived in Boulder two years ago at a time when Nelson Spruce, now of the L.A. Rams, was Sefo Liufau’s main target. Colorado went through hardships and faced adversity. Spruce was a player who stood out from the herd, as he made the top five in receiving yards per game in the Pac-12 his junior and senior year.
But after being under the shadow of Spruce for two years, F.B.R. not only have annihilated defenses, but all three players have gone above and beyond the bar that was set by Spruce. All three receivers individually so far have averaged more yards per catch this season than Spruce was able to average over his last two years as a Buff.
Fields, Jr., the main catalyst of the group, has made the largest impact of the three receivers. The Bellflower, Calif. native averages 18.2 yards per catch and has caught six touchdowns. His big performance this year came against Oregon State, when he had seven receptions for 169 yards with three touchdowns to his name.
Fields, Jr. averaged 14.2 yards per catch his sophomore year and averaged 9.7 yards his freshman year, showing that he’s made major strides into becoming the receiver he’s developed into today.
“I’ve been looking at NFL guys’ highlight tapes,” Fields, Jr. said. “Working in the offseason, and getting that in game experience, you kind of get a feel for the speed of college football and what you need to do in order to transform to that next level.”
A forte for Fields, Jr. as a wideout is his very swift footwork, something that he’s picked up from the heroes he’s watched every Sunday. He’s been able to replicate it on Saturdays.
“I’ve tried to replicate Tavon Austin, that’s my idol. But I’ve also watched a bit of Deandre Hopkins, a little bit of Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, and try to get their footwork down.”
However, whilst the stats show that Fields, Jr. is the top dog, the chemistry between him, Bobo and Ross has been effective both on and off the field.
“It started when I first came, they were a little bit older,” Fields, Jr. recalled. “But building that chemistry came with going out with each other, hanging out at home, in the meeting rooms like we do now. We joke around, but we still get our work done in the meeting room. We all just built that connection, especially since we’re all from California.”
Fellow California native Bobo may be well remembered by the Colorado faithful for his spectacular one-handed, game-winning touchdown catch against Oregon. But along with Fields, Bobo has made significant improvements himself. Bobo made a major leap in productivity from his sophomore year, where he averaged for 8.6 yards per catch, to averaging 13.9 yards per catch, with the addition of two touchdowns.
“My mentality is to not get tackled by the first person that hits me, or even the second if I can get past him too,” says Bobo. “So when I’m on the field, I have a mindset that no one can take me down and it helps me get more yardage after the catch.”
Bobo has also recognized that all three players have specialized roles as wide outs.
“We all have different skill sets,” he said. “I’m the big receiver that’s aggressive all the time, Shay [Fields, Jr.] has speed, a deep threat, can do the underneath stuff too. And then no one in the nation can stick to Devin [Ross]. We all understand that we have different skill sets, we utilize it, and it helps us out.”
As mentioned by Bobo, no one in the nation can cover Devin Ross. Just ask the Michigan defense in the first quarter of the mid-September showdown in Ann Arbor.
At the Big House, Ross scored two touchdowns in the first quarter to give the Buffs a 21-7 lead over Michigan, and finished with seven catches for 78 yards.
Ross would also go on to be a major impact against Oregon, as he averaged 21.9 yards per catch. He totaled 153 yards in the process.
This receiving corps hasn’t just given exceptional performances for all four quarters.
“Start Fast,” are the first two words that the Colorado players touch on the way out of the locker room before every home game, and the trio have taken those words to heart.
F.B.R. have helped to make #TheRise become a reality, but it hasn’t been fully achieved yet. The last two games of the Buffs’ season are against teams that are ranked in the first College Football Playoff rankings.
While the challenge ahead is present, the trio, along with the entire squad, are battle tested and are ready for anything that’s thrown their way. F.B.R. have statistically performed better in the first half of games. They’ve combined for nine touchdowns and have averaged for 15.4 yards per catch compared to the second half where they’ve combined for four touchdowns and averaged 12.5 yards per catch.
“We’re in the heavyweight battles,” head coach Mike MacIntyre said. “This is what we wanted to be in, and so now we gotta perform in the heavyweight fights. The kids are excited about it, I’m excited about it, so now we gotta go do it.”
The scary news for the rest of the Pac-12 Conference is that all three of the receivers are juniors, and with Steven Montez giving fans reasons to eagerly await his 2017 season, #TheRise might not have a ceiling.
Contact CU Independent Sports Staff Writer Drew Sharek at andrew.sharek@colorado.edu.
