21cdssp1.JPG CU wide receiver Josh Smith (1) goes up in the air to catch a pass during the Buffs' annual spring game on Saturday.

While emotions and expectations may be running rampant through the Colorado Buffaloes' faithful right now, CU fans would be prudent to take a step back and realize for a moment that the team that played before a spring game record crowd of 17,800 on Saturday are far from the same football team they will see next fall.

After a spring full of changes, the one clear issue is that the name of the game on offense is speed. Fast players and faster execution, the new no-huddle offense, that would be led by quarterback Cody Hawkins if play began tomorrow, promises to keep opposing defenses on its heels and should rack up the points.

The defense, on the other hand, needs to improve on exactly that which the offense will thrive; speed.

"If we get our speed up, you know speed kills, and we just need to keep getting stronger and learn our assignments, because if you know your assignments you can play faster" said safety and senior-to-be Daniel Dykes.

During the spring, no one player has stood out as the true playmaker that CU lost with the graduations of Terrence Wheatley and Jordon Dizon. If someone on the Buffs' defense is going to step up and fill that role, they will have to do so with speed and athletic ability.

Dykes, who has taken on more of a leadership role this spring, has been part of easing the transition of the underclassmen into productive roles on the football field. According to him, it is just a bit of work on the practice field and in the classroom before somebody stands out.

"I definitely have taken on more of a leadership role, but at the same time I embrace that role," said Dykes. "I have always liked being in a position where there is a lot of pressure on me and people look to me to step up and make plays, it's something that I feel has given me more confidence."

On Saturday the one thing the Buffs did consitently on defense was change their formations and schemes to turn the tables on the offense and keep them guessing.

Last season the Buffs worked mainly out of a base 4-3 but in Saturday's scrimmage the 4-3, 3-4, and the 3-3-5 were all used at some point or another. That enabled CU coaches to bring both zone and man coverages, as well as blitzes from all angles, creating pressure with the d-line, linebackers and secondary.

The varying schemes and speed to the ball mentality resulted in six sacks and 11 tackles for loss, thought the Buffs could not come up with an interception.

Outside linebacker / rush end B.J. Beatty seemed to be in the backfield all day long harassing the CU quarterbacks and giving the linemen fits. Beatty started the game with the No. 1 defense and was often on the field in a 3-4 alignment at the same time as last year's starter at OLB, Brad Jones.

"I always did it in high school (came off the edge) so it always felt comfortable to me, it's like second nature to me," said Beatty. "Get off the ball, cause havoc in the backfield and push the quarterback up to the d-tackles. If the d-tackles don't get him, I'll get him."

Allowing Beatty to play more freely has allowed the sophomore-to-be to not overthink his position and to follow his pass rushing instincts.

The results from Saturday were the best sack numbers of any scrimmage this spring and have head coach Dan Hawkins optimistic.

"We're better, we're better. I think we have done some things schematically and coach Bandison has really been working with our guys and we are changing some things up that help us be a little bit more aggressive in terms of what we are doing out there," said Hawkins.

As far as filling the role of tackling machine that Dizon leaves behind, senior-to-be Marcus Burton has been doing his best impersonation by finishing with 10 tackles to lead the Buffs for the second scrimmage in a row.

The only problem that remains is that even with all of the exotic looks, the Buffs still need someone who can grab an interception when you need it.

During the spring, safety Anthony Perkins and cornerback Jimmy Smith have been the players who have stood out the most. The Buffs are as solid as it gets up the middle with defensive tackles George Hypolite and Brandon Nicholas. When safety Ryan Walters returns in the fall, he will pair with Dykes to make a shaky secondary more solidified.

However, that still means the Buffs are going to need improvement at the cornerbacks and defensive end positions if the defense is going to be able to keep points off the board while the offense is putting them on.

The only other thing that the entire team is going to need is a long, hot summer at "Pit's Pleasure Palace, where CU strength and conditioning coach Jeff Pitman will be able to get everybody in better shape. The upcoming season will be one where the offense will be moving quickly and the defense may have to play long minutes on Saturdays, and they will both need their speed.

NOTES: Dan Hawkins and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich both stopped short of naming a starting quarterback, but Helfich did say that if play began tomorrow, Cody Hawkins would start under center.

"The bottom line to me, as a quarterback you gotta win games and you've got to score points, some people are tall and some people are small, some people throw sidearm and however you do it, your team has got to score points and your team has to win games," said Dan Hawkins.

In the past, Dan Hawkins has used his summer to go skydiving, swim with sharks and train for a marathon. This summer, it will be an Amazon adventure for the Hawkins family.

"I actually will be paddling down the Amazon at some point, so there could be a little snake venom or spider bites or something," said Hawkins with a smile. "A big anaconda will probably take us all in one big bite."

The CU head man did say he planned to bring a GPS system with him so that getting lost in the heart of darkness is not on option.

CU's heralded recruit Darrell Scott was in attendance Saturday and spent much of the spring game practicing for his role as Big Man on Campus by signing autographs and taking pictures with fans.

Contact Eliot Dempsey about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 112 or sports@coloradodaily.com