This wraps up our weekly camp update. Next week we'll break down the matchup between the Mavericks and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Colorado Mesa plays the Javelinas in Kingsville, Texas, starting at 6 p.m. (MDT) on Thursday, Aug. 29.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — With a week before kickoff of the 2024 football season, the depth built over the past three seasons is evident, with coaches still sorting out the depth chart.
With a new offensive coordinator in line coach Trevor Wikre, the Mavericks have retooled their pro-style offense a bit, intent on establishing the running game behind its still-young, but talented offensive line.
"We're just focusing more on running the football and I think that's going to be our strength this year," said Leslie Richardson, who entered the final week before kickoff battling with Liu Aumavae for the starting quarterback job. "Running the football helps open up the pass game, so we're going to get behind our big dogs and they're going to lead us to victory."
Don't expect the Mavs to be a ground-and-pound offense, though — they have too many weapons to stretch the defense for that.
"You're going to see a lot more people playing, a lot of people running on and off the field with our personnel sets," wide receiver Trevin Edwards said. "We can set up that run, play-action pass, we're going to do a lot of things really well and I'm really excited. The offensive coaches have done an amazing job getting us ready, so I'm excited to show it."
The offensive skill positions have a mix of veterans and a lot of new faces.
QUARTERBACK
It's been the most-asked question of camp: Who is going to be the Mavericks' signal caller?
One week before the opening game of the season, the coaching staff hasn't made that official. CMU head coach Miles Kochevar said both Richardson and Aumavae will play against Texas A&M-Kingsville. On the preliminary depth chart, Richardson is listed first.
The two have pushed one another since spring camp, a competition that's been fierce, but friendly.
"Leslie's like, really dope. Since coming here and just seeing what he had done the previous season and what he did in spring ball, there's a lot of things that I took and kind of learned off of him, just seeing different things," said Aumavae, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound redshirt sophomore, who transferred to CMU from San Diego State. "He's a great athlete. He runs around really well, he's got a cannon for an arm, so just seeing things he could do, I was like, maybe I could just add this little bit to mine, just kind of tweak it to fit with my playing style, you know?"
Richardson, who transferred from CSU Pueblo a year ago, was equally complimentary of Aumavae, and said there haven't been any issues among the QBs, even though they all want to win that QB1 designation.
"Coach (Anthoney) Hill made it clear when we were competing that he didn't want any bad blood or any back-talking about other players in the room," Richardson said. "We all have a good bond. I think this is probably one of the best QB rooms I've been a par of as far as cohesiveness and togetherness, and I'm appreciative of it, because it can get hard when there's a lot of back-talking, downplaying other players."
The two QBs have different styles, but both complement the Mavs' offense. Aumavae is longer and leaner than Richardson, who, at 6-3, 230, is not built like a prototypical quarterback, but is big enough to take a hit on the run, and has a big arm. Aumavae can move the Mavericks downfield with a controlled passing game, and can still take a big shot when it's there.
"I would say we bring different skill sets to the table," said Richardson, who started one game last season and played in five, completing 28 of 62 passes for 401 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. "I feel like my game's a little bit different than Liu's, Liu's game is a little bit different than Cole's (Hansen, a redshirt sophomore who transferred from Minot State), but I think it's good. Coach Hill did a good job at helping us understand the offense and explaining quarterbacking to us. Coach Hill is a big factor in how competitive our QB room has been spring and fall."
"We both just kind of do what we're asked to do, and we do it to whatever our ability is," Aumavae said. "We're just playing our style of game and it works, we're productive offensively."
Aumavae, whose full first name is Liumotumotua'anaileafi, grew up in Maryland. He and his family moved to Utah just before the pandemic, and he played his junior and senior seasons at Timpview High School in Provo. He had interest from several Division I schools before signing with San Diego State. He played in two games in 2022, but none in 2023, then hit the transfer portal in January. CMU was the first school to contact him, and after a visit to Grand Junction, he signed and was on campus for the spring semester. Even as a Division I transfer, Aumavae didn't expect to be handed the starting job.
"They were like, you can come in and we're gonna give you a chance to compete but we're not going to give to you the starting spot," Aumavae said. "(They) said we want guys who want to come in an compete, because that's what they pride themselves on, make sure everyone comes in and is willing to put forward their best effort every day. That's really what I wanted to hear.
"I just wanted a fair shake, you know? I was like, as long as I could get that, I'm good."
Richardson said having a year in CMU's system has helped him know what he needed to improve on for this fall.
"Just improving in all the little areas,"he said. "Sometimes I have (plays), like I have a strong arm so sometimes I can get away with not doing my footwork right, or not making the right read just because of my arm strength. I think honing in on the little things and just being more focused and paying more attention to detail, that's what I would say I've improved from last year to this year."
Unlike running back and receiver, there can only be one quarterback on the field, so whoever isn't calling plays will not only be on standby, but will be another set of eyes on the sideline.
"Especially in our room, we've got seven guys that just want to win," Aumavae said. "Whatever that looks like, whatever our role is, all of us just want to win."
RUNNING BACK
Brandon Belgrave is slated to start at running back, but several backs will get carries to keep fresh legs on the field to establish the running game. The redshirt junior, who transferred from Northern Colorado a year ago, played in a handful of games and got action on special teams last season.
This fall, Belgrave (5-foot-11, 200 pounds), along with juniors Aiden Taylor (5-11, 215), a transfer from Idaho State, Myles Newble (5-9, 190) and Sean Kidd (5-11, 200) are expected to be the primary backs. Newble was third on the team in rushing yardage last season, averaging 22 yards a game, and scored two touchdowns. Taylor played in all 11 games for the Bengals last season, with 29 carries for 111 yards and three touchdowns. Kidd had five carries for 13 yards for CMU last fall.
"We're all pretty good," said Belgrave, who had only two carries for 14 yards last season. "I'm just trying to finish what I started, do my best every time. I'm just gonna do better, trying to support the team as much as I can, either in the running game, special teams, what they need, I'll be there for my coaches. Anything they need."
And the backs will be called upon to do just about everything on offense.
"It's just what we do. We block, we catch, much of the time we run the ball but it's a position where you get hit all the time. If you don't love it, you won't do it the best you can."
Belgrave, who grew up in Panama, moved to Denver before his senior year of high school, living with a host family. He had taken an English class in Panama, but "when I came here, obviously it was a lot easier, because you speak it every single day. It's getting to be part of my language now, but it was a challenge, for sure."
The backs know it's going to be a position by committee, taking advantage of their different skill sets.
"We've got a lot of weapons on the field," Belgrave said. "We can pass the ball, we can run the ball, too, and the defense will not know where we're coming from. It's nice to have all the weapons on the field. It's crazy, because if I'm not in, there's more running backs that can do the same job that I'm doing.
"Sometimes you know, 'Oh, he's a starter, he's pretty good.' We all are good this year, we can all be starters. It's just a matter of just keep competing and whenever the coach says, hey, you're going to start this game. It's going to be a game of who's going to be the best running back for that game."
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END
There's never any question that receivers want to see the football in the air. But, redshirt junior Trevin Edwards noted, they need to earn those shots. That means blocking, even in what could be a breakout season for Edwards.
"You've got to earn the ball," said Edwards, the Mavs' leading receiver returning from last season. The converted quarterback caught 24 passes for 378 yards and four TDs, tied for the team lead in receptions and touchdowns. "Especially in this offense, you've got to be unselfish. Those runs, if a receiver doesn't block, that's a 10-yard run. That could have been a 50-yard run. That's the difference between winning and losing games."
The Mavericks, 6-5 a year ago (5-4 RMAC), are intent on improving the running game and, in turn, time of possession, this fall. CMU had the ball an average of 25 minutes, 7 seconds last season, putting the defense on the field for nearly 35 minutes a game.
Edwards, at 6-1, 190 pounds, is the veteran of what is a young crop of receivers. Redshirt freshman Noah Greer (6-0, 190) got a bit of playing time last season, making one catch for 10 yards, but not enough to burn a season of eligibility. Look for him and another redshirt freshman, Trek Keyworth (6-2, 185), to get their share of targets, along with a couple of freshmen, Jack Burke (6-2, 190) out of Lehi Utah, and Quezon Villa (6-0, 200). Villa was the Utah Player of the Year in 2023, helping Timpview High School win the Class 5A state title. Burke led Skyridge to back-to-back Class 6A state title games, winning it in 2022. He had 1,156 receiving yards and scored a dozen TDs last season.
Juniors Jack Horsford (6-3, 200) and Logan DeArment (5-9, 185) had five catches apiece last season, with Horsford finding the end zone once.
Redshirt freshman Alex Turpin (6-5, 230) and junior Ryan Hollingsworth (6-5, 235) top the depth chart at tight end. Hollingsworth had 10 catches for 193 yards and two TDs last season.
"I like to think that we're a very well-balanced offense this year. We can run the ball if we need to, pass the ball if we need to," Edwards said. "A lot of that has to do with our play-action game, then our short game, our medium game, our big game.
"I spent a lot of time this offseason preparing for this and me, especially as a Z receiver, I'm most of the time on the strength of the call, so I am to the run. When we run, we set up the pass, you know? It's just how it works right now and I'm excited for it."
And with the quarterbacks still battling, the receivers are adjusting to both.
"It's been fun really building the chemistry with both of them," Edwards aid. "Both of them have been splitting reps throughout the entirety of camp, so all of our receivers, the ones and twos, we've seen a lot of both.
"I can speak as a group that we all feel very comfortable with both of them. We're really excited for that decision to be made, and either way, we feel very good about that position."
The Mavs' entire depth chart could change week to week depending on the game plan, one perk to the way Miles Kochevar's staff has built depth across the board. One week before kickoff, the Mavs have seen the prognostications and all of the Division II "Top 100 players" and "players to watch" lists. Not seeing any CMU names on those lists isn't a concern.
"It's definitely noted, we know what's going on, and we don't mind it," Edwards said. "We don't care about the outside noise. The end of the day, if anything, we're just gonna use it as motivation, but it's not a big deal to us at all.
"Our motivations are entirely internal. We know what we're capable of and we're excited to go out there and do it."
