Boulder: Karl Dorrell’s second full preseason training camp is 10 practices in and the differences from 2021 to 2022 are evident so far.

The bad practices aren’t nearly as bad, and the chemistry is miles ahead of where it was last season for just about every position group on the roster.

Dorrell knows there’s still room to grow ahead of the Sept. 2 opener against TCU, and Saturday’s first scrimmage of camp was a big help.

“I can see that the team needs this kind of work,” Dorrell said after his team’s practice inside Folsom Field. “Getting out and playing eigh to 10 plays in a row is different than playing just two or three plays in a row like a normal practice. Getting in game shape is a little more challenging than it is just normal practice shape.”

QB battle rages on

Incumbent starter Brendon Lewis and promising former Tennessee transfer J.T. Shrout split the reps with the first-team offense on Saturday as the two continue to battle for the starting job, just as they did last season until Shrout suffered a season-ending knee injury in a similar scrimmage setting.

But the Buffs made it through Saturday with both of their starting quarterback options healthy and, according to Dorrell, they’re still neck and neck as they approach the midway point of camp.

“Between the top two, this is what I thought it would be,” Dorrell said. “They’re both really good players, they’re both different, but they both have great leadership in their own ways that for the offense, when one of the other is in the game, they respond to either one of them. I think the team really likes both of them. It’s a good problem to have.”

Mainly because he’s the unknown following a dismal offensive performance last season, there have been plenty of eyes on Shrout since he started getting back into team activities in the spring. It’s now been a year since that knee injury, and he showed Saturday that his timing is right where it needs to be. “He’s had a really good camp, same thing [Lewis],” Dorrell said. “Both of those guys are battling, doing some really good things. I’m sure that [Shrout], when you ask him, was probably a little bit nervous because this was his first live scenario, and the last time he got hurt [last year] was in a similar day. I think his timing is coming back. He looks pretty good and he’s making some good decisions.”

It’s not just at the top of the quarterback depth chart where the Buffs are much better off this season, as they’ve now got multiple players behind the top two competing for the third-string job, which is a far cry from Lewis and true freshman Drew Carter as the only two healthy scholarship QBS for much of last season.

One newcomer in that third-string competition that stood out on Saturday was true freshman Owen Mccown, who looked confident leading the second-team offense despite just getting to campus in the summer. But for the son of longtime NFL quarterback Josh

Mccown, it shouldn’t be a complete surprise that Owen is already showing a comfort level with the offense.

“He comes from a quarterback family and his dad played a long time in the league, so some of that stuff he’s learned, he’s learned at home, basically,” Dorrell said. “He’s having a really good camp for a first-year player that just got here this summer, and that tells you a lot about what he can digest. He’s really competing for that third spot right now, and to do it in just a short order tells you how smart of a kid he is.”

Depth behind Russell at TE

Injuries caused the Buffs to be thin at a lot of spots on the field last season, and tight end was certainly one of them.

But Brady Russell’s steadying presence made the tight end group continue to produce throughout the season.

Now, though, Russell has got three talented players behind him, each of whom could see a decent amount of playing time this season in Caleb Fauria, Erik Olsen and Austin Smith. They’re all different players, but the potential is high for the future of the group when Russell runs out of eligibility after the season.

“There’s so much potential and I think that’s the biggest thing that they don’t even realize themselves yet,” Russell said. “With the different body types and the way they will be able to use those guys this year and in the future, I don’t think they realize how good they can be. I’m trying so hard to lift them up with me.”

There was plenty of rotation between the four tight ends Saturday, and while Russell still stole the show with his touchdown catch, there was plenty to like from the three behind him.