Jay Norvell compares Colorado wide receiver group with Texas: 'They may be faster'

For the second time in three weeks, Colorado State is facing a power conference opponent. Jay Norvell took his squad to Austin Week 1 and now has a big-time in-state rivalry matchup against Colorado on Saturday.

If there is one area you could compare Texas to Colorado, it’s wide receiver speed on the outside. In fact, Norvell believes there is a chance the Buffaloes are faster at the position. SEC speed is talked about quite often but in Norvell’s eyes, this week’s opponent might win in a race.

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“They might have faster receivers than Texas,” Norvell said. “Those kids can all run.”

Texas saw seven different wide receivers catch passes in the season opener. True freshman Ryan Wingo led the way with 70 yards on five receptions but Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden were the ones who caught touchdowns. Those two figure to be Quinn Ewers‘ main target throughout the season at the position.

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But putting up numbers does not equate to on-field speed. Two days before Colorado State-Texas, Colorado squeaked out a win against North Dakota State. Jimmy Horn‘s first-half touchdown went for 69 yards and he was clocked at a top speed of 20.8 miles per hour, good enough for third fastest in college football that week.

One difference Norvell might see is the play-calling tendencies of the two programs. Steve Sarkisian loves to run the ball at Texas while Shedeur Sanders already has 72 pass attempts through two games, tied for the 16th most in the FBS. Colorado plans on getting those speedy receivers the ball more often.

“We’ve got to do a good job of playing good, solid pass defense,” Norvell said. “They haven’t really hurt people much with the running back. So, that’s what they want to do, and we have to do a good job of understanding how they try to attack coverages and how we can defend them. That’s going to be a big part of the game, not giving them big, explosive gains.”