Best of 2008 #8: Buff Linebacker Shaun Mohler

irish1611 — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:31:12 -0000

25 hours of course work in six months in order to become academically eligible to play at CU.

That is what linebacker Shaun Mohler did at Orange Coast College this spring and summer to just have a chance to come to the University of Colorado. He passed all seven of those classes and still had to wait for the NCAA Clearinghouse to tell him he was eligible.

What LB Shaun Mohler did was truly amazing. One thing that hampers the Buffs especially in recruiting junior college players, is the admission standards that comes with playing in Boulder. No, its not Stanford or Notre Dame but it is close. That is why he was the only junior college transfer to become a Buff last year. Let's just say what happened at Kansas State last year with 19 JUCO's signing would never happen at the University of Colorado. That total might not happen over the next 10 years!

Mohler, a one time Nebraska commit, would have coasted easily into Nebraska but after Bill Callahan got fired, he wanted out of Lincoln and visited Colorado. The rest is history.

Shaun Mohler has always been a favorite of The Ralphie Report. Fans want players to immerse themselves into their respective universities as much they do. We want to believe that every player bleeds the colors of the university. Shaun Mohler made us feel that way. When he was taking 25 hours of course work, he still found the time and motivation to work out to be in top shape when he arrived in Boulder. Some other big time recruits had to take one class and couldn't find the time. So it is easy to make Shaun Mohler a favorite.

He wasn't just a feel good story either. The Buffs knew they were getting a player out of Orange Coast College. Rivals.com ranked Shaun as the best Junior College outside linebacker prospect in last year's recruiting class. Mohler was named Orange Coast's most valuable player both of his seasons, he was first-team All-American, All-State and All-Mission Conference, earning the league Player of the Year last year. His highlight film showed why he received all of the accolades.

Mohler saw playing time from day one with the Buffs. A reserve at first, the coaches couldn't keep him off the field. Once he was on the field, he become one of the Buffs most consistent defenders.

Opponent	Solo	Assisted	Total	Ints	TFL	Sack
Colorado St.	3	-	3	1	1	-
Eastern Wash.	5	4	9	-	-	-
West Virginia	6	1	7	-	-	-
+ Florida St.	5	2	7	-	1	-
3 Texas	7	4	11	-	1	-
@ Kansas	7	3	10	-	1	-
Kansas St.	6	3	9	-	-	-
@ 19 Missouri	5	4	9	-	2	-
@ Texas A&M	3	5	8	-	2	1
Iowa St.	1	-	1	-	-	-
14 Oklahoma St.	7	5	12	1	-	-
@ Nebraska	5	6	11	-	-	-
Totals	60	37	97	2	8	1

Against Colorado State, Mohler did not start and in the Iowa State game, he was hurt. Other than those two games, he was a very consistent defender. The best part is Mohler got better as the year went on. To his own admission, he had a tough time adjusting to the speed of the game. Looking at these stats, I think he adjusted pretty well.

Looking at the overall defensive team stats for the Buffs this year, Mohler excelled.

	Tackles			Tackles For Loss				Sacks				Int Ret.
Name	Solo	Ast	Ttl	Solo	Ast	Ttl	Yds	Solo	Ast	Ttl	Yds	No	Yds	TD
Name	Solo	Ast	Ttl	Solo	Ast	Ttl	Yds	Solo	Ast	Ttl	Yds	No	Yds	TD
Smart	57	52	109	3	0	3	7	1	0	1	4
Mohler	60	37	97	7	1	7.5	45	0	1	1	7	2	36	0
Walters	50	31	81	2	1	2.5	18	1	1	2	14	2	37	0
Brown	56	17	73	4	1	4.5	11			0		2	27	1
Jones	46	22	68	11	1	12	46	6	0	6	36
Dykes	32	15	47	3	0	3	16	1	0	1	10	1	0	0
Lucas	27	20	47	4	2	5	14	1	1	2	10
Hypolite	23	20	43	6	1	6.5	26	3	1	4	19
McKay	29	13	42	4	0	4	10			0
Brown	32	9	41	3	1	3.5	4			0		1	57	0
Nicolas	18	17	35	6	1	6.5	20	2	1	3	13
Perkins	22	13	35			0				0
Smith	26	9	35			0				0

If Shaun starts against CSU and doesn't get hurt against Iowa State, he is probably the team's leading tackler this year. Finishing second on the team in both tackles (97) and tackles for loss (7.5) right out of junior college is an amazing feat. Mohler was rewarded for his play today as he was named by the AP, Honorable Mention All Big 12. He also might be the overall best story of the year in the Big 12.

Great find by Hawkins, Cabral and the staff on this one. An offseason of aggressive training and lifting will also do wonders for Mohler. Next year, he will once again be a stud and with Jeff Smart, B.J. Beatty, Jon Major, Doug Rippy and Lynn Katoa back, linebacker is one position the Buffs don't have to worry about.

Shaun Mohler is a player that makes you feel good to root for the Buffs!

see the best of and worst of list so far after the jump...

Best of 2008 List
10) The Victory Against CSU at Mile High
9) The Iowa State Second Half
8) Buff Linebacker Shaun Mohler

Worst of 2008 List
10) The Off the Field Issues
9) The Defensive Line Scheme/Play

Poll

Going into the 2009 season, what position are you least worried about?

Linebackers: Smart, Mohler, Major, Rippy, Beatty, Katoa, Sipili, Burton and Hartigen

34 votes

Defensive Backfield: Cha'pelle Brown, Jalil Brown, Burney, Smith, Wright, Mahnke, Perkins and Sandersfeld

4 votes

Runningback: Scott, Polk, Stewart, Sumler, Lockridge, Moyd and Nabors

18 votes

Offensive Line: Miller, Tuioti-Mariner, Behrens, Head, Solder, Givens, Harris, Bahr, Tau and Iltis

4 votes

60 votes | Poll has closed

Initial Post Game Reaction - Colorado Buffaloes Beat Kansas State

irish1611 — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:52:27 -0000


Score	13	14
1st Downs	15	24
3rd down efficiency	3-15	7-17
Total Yards	349	353
Passing	237	106
Comp-Att	20-41	13-25
Yards per pass	5.8	4.2
Rushing	112	247
Rushing Attempts	23	57
Yards per rush	4.9	4.3
Penalties	9-84	6-54
Turnovers	2	2
Fumbles lost	2	1
Interceptions thrown	0	1
Possession	22:39	36:21

Well, it wasn't exactly pretty or dominant but it was a win and a good win at that on multiple levels. A more in depth review will come tomorrow but here are few key points that allowed the Buffs to come out with the victory and ultimately a season saving victory:

CU Coaching: Except for the fourth down attempt with a little over a minute to play, I thought the game plan and coaching was unbelievable. The offense isn't going to be dynamic. Flat out not going to happen with an injured offensive line and bunch of young players but the use of true freshman quarterback Tyler Hansen in the "true spread offense" produced just enough offense to win the game and provide a mismatch upfront. On defense, the score speaks for itself. This Kansas State team averages over 40 points a game on offense and well over 400 yards. The Buffs attacked and attacked all night, keeping Kansas State Wildcats off balance. Just an excellent scheme against a tough offensive match up. The Buffs blitz from multiple spots on the field.
True freshman QB Tyler Hansen gave this Buffs team a spark. Great running. Definitely had a limited playbook but that was expected. I loved the spread with a running option at quarterback. Once we get an offensive line and play makers, it could be good. Speaking of quarterbacks, I know Cody is much maligned but that throw on 3rd down to Josh Smith late in the fourth quarter was huge. And he is a leader. Loved his leadership even when Hansen was in there. Great kid.
Rodney Stewart continues to be the best running back and it isn't even close right now. He hits the hole and played wonderful getting big chunks of yards. And how about that late run where he fought for the extra yard for a first down. That is one of the players making a play that the Buffs needed. And congrats the Mr. Stewart for his first touchdown as a Buff! Darrell Scott still isn't right. He isn't hitting the hole hard yet. It is something that will come. Maybe the Buffs need to line him up in the "I" formation to get him going better but clearly the hot hand is Stewart right now. Just hold onto the ball big fella or little fella.
Defense, defense, defense. Like I said, great scheme but the up field push was great all night. There was a lot of pressure from the front four and the blitz. The defense is clearly the reason the Buffs won the game tonight. I thought Brad Jones and Cha'pelle Brown were great. Jones put constant pressure on all night. Cha'pelle, Jalil Brown, Gardner McKay and Ryan Walters all had their moments. They made Josh Freeman look somewhat normal and that is hard to do. Freeman was less than 50% through the air and obviously had one of his most unproductive days.
Crucial turnovers was key as well. I thought the Buffs answered the call all night on defense. Making big plays and forcing many turnovers. I am gitty over the way the defense played.
The Buffs reached the 50 rush total just like the Ralphie Report said they should do and it was effective, gaining 247 yards. That led to 14 more minutes of time of possession and really kept the Kansas State offense out of rhythm. Just like we said would happen.
Special teams still needs to be fixed. Bad punting, a blocked field goal, a missed field goal...that sort of stuff could get you beat.
I am glad Josh Smith is okay after what was one of the dirtiest hits I have ever seen when he was trying to field a punt and Attrail Snipes undercut him after the ball flew into the end zone. It wasn't even debatable that he was going in there with the intent to injure or he was just plain stupid...guess what, he was one of the prized JUCO commits that Kansas State was so proud of this off season. He should have been ejected and should be suspended. No room for that in football.
The Buffs made big plays tonight...plain and simple. From the Hawkins completion to Smith, forcing Kansas State to go 3 - 15 on third down to forcing timely turnovers. Just what the Buffs needed.

All in all a great win. We would love your feedback on what we missed. 4 - 3. Two wins away from bowl eligibility. Mizzou up next and they aren't exactly invincible. Go Buffs!