University of Northern Colorado head football coach Ed Lamb used a word after a spring practice last week that likely hasn’t been said around the Bears’ program for a long time.
Pressure.
What? At UNC? A program that has never won more than six games at the Division I level.
Soon starting his fourth season leading the Bears, Lamb said he feels the most pressure personally this year to help the players have a successful season — however they might define success.
UNC wrapped its spring season Saturday morning with an intrasquad scrimmage at Nottingham Field, where in a little less than four months the Bears open the 2026 season against Big Sky Conference opponent Weber State. The game is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 29. Game times have not been set.
With the university’s announcement Friday on the addition of lights at Nottingham Field this season, the game could be the first night game in stadium history. Season tickets are on sale for the six home games.
UNC won four games last year, which was considered progress. There were two wins in the powerful Big Sky Conference and there probably should’ve been a couple of more notches in the win column.
Following the final practice of the spring Thursday afternoon, Lamb said the pressure on the entire coaching staff now comes from the commitment of the players.
“No longer having to spend the same amount of time preaching at them about work ethic and commitment, because they’re showing that’s how they’re living,” Lamb said.
While it’s only spring, it appears as if there is optimism in the program with the potential for the season. Potential is another powerful word. UNC has a lot of returning players and guys who have grown up in the program in Lamb’s years here. Yes, three key players left through the NCAA transfer portal in January: Cam Chapa, Carver Cheeks and Brayden Munroe. But, compared to its Big Sky Conference opponents, UNC lost a much lower number of players to the portal.
There have been a few injuries this spring. Lamb declined to go into specifics, saying the team is in better shape to handle those injuries this year.
UNC comes out of spring in search of a starting quarterback. There are three guys in the mix as of late last week: second-year transfer Kenny Lueth, Keegan Patterson from Longmont and Gavin Lockett from Pueblo. New transfer Brayten Silbor has made a late push, Lamb said. Silbor previously dealt with a leg injury. Levi Durrell also dealt with an injury during the spring, but he’s expected back in the mix later.
“Those guys can go into summer and every day can be a new depth chart,” Lamb said.
The nearly two-hour intrasquad scrimmage Saturday went well, players and coaches said. The Bears came out healthy, which is really the No. 1 concern.
The offense had its way with the defense early in the day, but the defensive unit settled down late to come up with some big plays — tackles for loss, batted passes and a scoop and score.
“We put all the pieces together that we were building throughout the spring,” safety Franky Morales said. “It looked good today. It looked like we were ready to go. We still gotta stack the days until our game in August against Weber.”
Lamb and a couple of the players said the team can win more than four games this fall. Lamb chuckled at the inquiry, suggesting an argument could be made UNC should’ve won more than four last year.
Defensive lineman Ezra Ekuban agreed. He’s among the returning players with experience on the defensive line. Others are: Dom Butts from Johnstown and Severance High School, Blake Weslin, Brooks Maile, Brennen Acosta, Ayden Merrihew, Levi Little and Andres Rodriguez.
With help from father, UNC football’s Ezra Ekuban ‘worked his butt off’ to play for Bears
“We can sharpen those little things up, we’ll win a lot of games,” Ekuban said. “We probably have two deep of dudes (on the defensive line) who have started multiple games at this level. So, that’s really big.”
UNC also has a ton of experience back on the offensive line from guys such as Frank Thompson, Jack Ziebell, Levi Johnson, Lincoln Fa’apouli. With other guys working in, Montrey Strickland and AJ Burton played a year ago, the starters this year will have 60 starts among them, Lamb said.
Football starts with what happens on the lines. A defensive line that can disrupt the action, pressure the quarterback and get into the backfield, makes the game a lot easier for the back end.
An offensive line dictating its game — clearing space for the run and allowing time to throw — also gives the unit a significant advantage.
“Everyone has to trust the offensive line,” Johnson said. “As an offensive line, chemistry is built between the guys and that’s a huge thing.”
Offensive coordinator Justin Walterscheid said assembling an offense now without a set No. 1 quarterback isn’t an issue because of similarities among the guys in the QB room. While a team might lean into the top guy’s strengths as quarterback, there has been a deliberate effort by the UNC offensive coaches to bring in athletes with like traits.Whoever wins the job can possibly look forward to having a strong running game. Junior back Mathias Price, listed at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, has looked good through the spring.
“The fact that we have guys competing for the job means that we believe they can all play,” Walterscheid said of the quarterbacks. “Somebody’s go to really win the job at the end of the day.”
