It was the biggest moment of Grant Gunnell鈥檚 football career to date, and his parents were sick to their stomachs.
Chris and Julie Gunnell made the trip from Houston to 蜜柚直播 to watch their son, not knowing when they boarded the plane that the freshman would be making his first career start. That鈥檚 what happened Saturday night against UCLA, when Khalil Tate couldn鈥檛 play because of hamstring and ankle injuries.
Chris, Julie and their eldest son, Nelson, took in the action from the family section at 蜜柚直播 Stadium. Chris described the experience as 鈥渘erve-wracking.鈥
鈥淚鈥檝e felt that way every game,鈥 Chris Gunnell said by phone Tuesday 鈥 鈥渆very game鈥 also encompassing the ones Grant played in high school.
鈥淛ust stay healthy and be the best he can be. I don鈥檛 ask for anything more. I don鈥檛 pray for anything more.鈥
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Grant Gunnell performed superbly, completing 29 of 44 passes for 352 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats鈥 20-17 victory. He was easily the calmest Gunnell in the building.
Asked Tuesday to describe Gunnell鈥檚 demeanor, senior offensive lineman Cody Creason said: 鈥淐omposed, especially for his age. Really mature. 鈥 To me, he didn鈥檛 look nervous at all.鈥
鈥淗e held his own,鈥 added receiver Jamarye Joiner. 鈥淗e got hit in the backfield. He got sacked. He was getting pressured all night. And he just handled it like he鈥檚 been there before.鈥
Gunnell had some nervous-looking moments. He missed some seemingly simple throws early in the game. UA coach Kevin Sumlin said Gunnell appeared to be 鈥渞ushing some things.鈥 Sumlin expected as much from a true freshman making his starting debut. He was pleased with how Gunnell handled the 鈥済ame operation.鈥
鈥淗e鈥檚 got talent, he鈥檚 a winner and he鈥檚 gonna be just fine,鈥 said Sumlin, whose team visits Colorado on Saturday. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just a young guy. 鈥 He did a very good job during the game of communicating with the team.鈥
Receiver Brian Casteel said Gunnell is the type of player who won鈥檛 make the same mistake twice. That trait became evident as the game unfolded. Gunnell completed 58.6% of his passes in the first half, 80% in the second. He went 8 for 8 in the fourth quarter.
鈥淕rant, he has it,鈥 Casteel said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to do something special in the future.鈥
Whether that future includes another start Saturday remains to be seen. Sumlin and his staff will determine over the course of the week whether Tate is well enough to return.
In the meantime, Gunnell will continue to do what he鈥檚 been doing since he arrived on campus in January: preparing in case he鈥檚 needed.
鈥淗e knew his place coming in,鈥 Chris Gunnell said. 鈥淗e just keeps his head down. If called upon again, he鈥檒l do everything possible to help the team. If it鈥檚 on the field or the sideline, it鈥檚 going to be the same.鈥
By the time Grant emerged from the UA locker room after the UCLA game, it was too late to go out to dinner. He and his family hung out for a little while at his apartment. Chris said his son was tired 鈥 as much mentally as physically. Although he appeared to handle everything smoothly, Grant Gunnell still felt the burden of responsibility that comes with being a Division I starting quarterback.
鈥淭here was a lot on his shoulders,鈥 his dad said. 鈥淗e just wanted to perform for his teammates.鈥
Heeke on attendance, stadium
After a rare afternoon kickoff for 蜜柚直播 this week at Colorado, the Wildcats return to their usual #Pac12AfterDark time slot next week. The UA is slated for an 8 p.m. kickoff next Saturday against No. 15 Washington.
Schools throughout college football have minimal control over start times. Most of those decisions are made by TV networks, whose rights fees provide millions of dollars in revenue for each institution.
Still, one can鈥檛 help but wonder how the late start times are affecting 蜜柚直播鈥檚 attendance. The Wildcats drew fewer than 40,000 fans for the Texas Tech and UCLA games, which both kicked off a little after 7:30 p.m. 蜜柚直播 hadn鈥檛 had consecutive crowds under 40,000 since 1997.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 change kickoff times, as much as we dislike them,鈥 UA athletic director Dave Heeke said. 鈥淚 have real strong concerns about kickoff times. We have lots of conversations. Those won鈥檛 end. I鈥檓 very sympathetic to our fans. I won鈥檛 ever take my eye off that.
鈥淏ut we鈥檝e got to focus on what we can control: the product on the field; the experience at the stadium.鈥
Heeke spoke to the Star on Saturday about the athletic department鈥檚 鈥渟trategic plan,鈥 a 35-page document it released Tuesday that outlines its goals for the next several years. The plan is divided into five pillars. The second is dubbed 鈥淕rand Challenges.鈥 The first initiative within that pillar is revenue growth, and the first objective listed is to 鈥渄evelop strategies to increase ticket revenue.鈥
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got revenue streams that need to be more maximized,鈥 Heeke said. 鈥淚n football, we鈥檝e got a big gap.鈥
Heeke knew Saturday afternoon that there would be 鈥渁 lot of open seats鈥 for the UCLA game 鈥 even though 蜜柚直播 was coming off consecutive victories and facing a Pac-12 rival. He compared the empty seats to 鈥渋nventory sitting on (a) shelf.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檝e gotta figure that out,鈥 Heeke said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not just as easy as saying, 鈥榃in.鈥 That鈥檚 a big part of it. But it鈥檚 been a tough ticket here for a long time to max out.
鈥淒o we have the right mix inside the facility? What other things can we do?鈥
The UA already has refurbished the east side of the stadium and made minor upgrades to the west side. The next big step is overhauling the latter.
Heeke told the Star earlier this year that finalizing plans would take about a year; that the construction project would take about two years; and that the cost would be at least $150 million. Finishing the project in time for the start of the 2022 season would be the best-case scenario. Heeke on Saturday reiterated a timeline of 鈥渢hree-plus years.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 beyond a rough draft,鈥 Heeke said of the project鈥檚 current status. 鈥淲e definitely have some really good plans and concepts on paper that we鈥檝e reviewed with our team. We鈥檝e got to get to a point where we鈥檙e going to settle on what is most important and get a final figure, a cost figure. And that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e trying to do here over this next 鈥 8-12 months.
鈥淎nd at the same time building a funding model 鈥 a very aggressive but responsible funding model that can support that. That鈥檚 challenging when you start approaching the 150-plus mark. But we can鈥檛 stand still. We鈥檝e got to figure out a way to do that.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to put us on a timeline, but we鈥檙e going to try push it as hard as we can.鈥
Extra points
鈥 Senior聽Tony Brown聽鈥 not 2018 breakout star聽Laviska Shenault Jr.聽鈥 leads Colorado in receptions (19), receiving yards (301) and touchdowns (four). Shenault has been in and out of the lineup because of injuries. 鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 really too much chatter about Tony Brown,鈥 Buffaloes quarterback聽Steven Montez told reporters Tuesday. 鈥淏ut now there should be chatter, and rightfully so. 鈥 He鈥檚 just one of those guys that just does everything right.鈥
鈥 Colorado coach Mel Tucker聽on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 offense: 鈥淭hey get spread out, get a lot of one-on-ones, a lot of run after the catch. They also do a good job running the football 鈥 and they鈥檙e not afraid to take shots down the field. 鈥 We have to play assignment football, make sure that guys do their jobs, be disciplined.鈥
