BOULDER — After three weeks and 19 practices, the Colorado Buffaloes' first depth chart of the fall has few surprises.

Released Thursday, head coach Mel Tucker 's depth chart for the most part followed the trends that developed in camp. Experience — especially starting experience — held serve at most of the positions where the Buffs had veteran returnees, and other spots on the two-deep are occupied by players who have had consistent, solid day-to-day performances..

But, there were some mild surprises, as well as some other noteworthy developments, especially at some positions that have featured particularly fierce position battles.

Some quick observations on the first depth chart of the fall:

— For starters, it's best to remember that Tucker has stressed that nothing is etched in stone. This is a starting point — and it could change even by the Aug. 30 season opener against Colorado State.

"We'll go into the season and it's going to be based on performance who gets the playing time and who doesn't," Tucker said earlier this week. "It's going to be based on production and it's going to be fluid. We'll have our starters who will go into the game, our backups — but it's going to be a compete-every-day situation and earn your playing time. They'll get what they deserve. You'll get the playing time you deserve to get by the way you work and the way you prepare and the way you compete every day and get better."

— Maybe the biggest "surprise" is sophomore Brady Russell atop the list at tight end, ahead of grad transfer Jalen Harris . This is not a judgment of Harris' performance — he's had a good camp — as much as it is an endorsement of Russell's performance. The former walkon has not only been consistent since camp opened, he has improved steadily, both as a receiver and a run blocker.

The bottom line is both will play. The Buffs won't be afraid to use two tight end formations, and both will be key components in the offense.

— While there are no true freshmen atop their positions, there are several in the two deep, meaning they will no doubt see some playing time right away.

One of those spots is running back, where Jaren Mangham muscled his way into the No. 2 spot behind sophomore Alex Fontenot . Mangham was no doubt impressive throughout camp, but Fontenot's consistency in all phases was likely the deciding factor. Still, it's a good bet Mangham will see his share of playing time early, and it won't be a surprise to see Deion Smith and Jarek Broussard get some time as well.

Another place where true freshmen earned their way into the two-deep comes on the defensive line, where Na'im Rodman backs up Mustafa Johnson at tackle and Austin Williams is behind redshirt freshman Jalen Sami at nose tackle. Another newcomer also earned a spot at the two deep at defensive end, where sophomore junior college transfer Janaz Jordan is listed behind fellow soph Terrance Lang .

And, there are a pair of true freshmen at No. 2 in the secondary, where K.J. Trujillo is behind junior Mekhi Blackmon at cornerback and Mark Perry is the backup at the star back behind Davion Taylor .

— On the opposite end of the age spectrum, the depth chart lists four seniors as starters on offense and four on defense.

The offensive senior starters will surprise no one: Steven Montez at quarterback, Tim Lynott at center, grad transfer Arlington Hambright at left tackle and Tony Brown at one of the wide receiver spots (Brown is actually listed as a co-starter at the spot with junior K.D. Nixon ). The only mild "shakeup" here is Lynott is staying at center after being a starter at guard for most of his CU career. CU coaches switched Lynott to center and sophomore Colby Pursell to right guard in the second week of camp, and evidently liked what they have seen from that combination.

(The other O-line starters are junior Kary Kutsch at left guard and sophomore William Sherman at right tackle.)

On defense, one of the senior starters is outside linebacker Alex Tchangam , who got his feet wet a year ago as a JC transfer. Tchangam had a solid camp from the beginning, and is listed ahead of Jacob Callier (who started a couple of games last year before being sidelined by an injury). Other senior defenders atop their positions are Delrick Abrams Jr. at corner (the most consistent corner in camp), Taylor at the star back (the hybrid linebacker/safety spot), and grad transfer Mikial Onu at free safety.

A quick note on the senior starters: even though they are seniors, that doesn't mean they are vets with loads of experience. Tchangam has never started a game, Abrams and Taylor both have just one year experience at the Division I level, and while Onu started 20 games at SMU, he is still new to this defensive scheme.

— Position battles were indeed intense. We've already talked about the competition at running back and tight end, where the battles have been truly tight (and will likely continue to be so). Three other spots that have been fiercely contested — and could see change as the season progresses — are safety, wide receiver and cornerback.

Listed at the top spot at strong safety is junior Aaron Maddox , with junior Derrion Rakestraw at No. 2. At free safety, redshirt freshman Isaiah Lewis is behind Onu. One interesting late addition here is former quarterback Sam Noyer , who has been impressive early in his conversion and is listed No. 3 at strong safety.

As for cornerback, Blackmon is currently No. 1 opposite Abrams while sophomore Chris Miller is listed behind Abrams. Miller will almost certainly see some time, and another noteworthy development is the listing of former wide receiver Tarik Luckett — another true freshman — behind Blackmon and Trujillo.

At wide receiver, maybe the biggest question will be whether CU coaches can develop some kind of rotation. With Laviska Shenault Jr. , Brown, Nixon and Stanley all listed as starters or co-starters (Nixon and Stanley are co-starters at the slot position), it will be interesting to see if the Buffs can also find time for young standouts Daniel Arias , Maurice Bell and Vontae Shenault , who all also had outstandings camps.

— At outside linebacker, sophomore Carson Wells is ahead of senior Nu'umotu Falo on the outside, while sophomore Jonathan Van Diest is listed No. 1 ahead of JC transfer Jash Allen on the inside next to Nate Landman .

— As for specialists, no surprise with kickers. James Stefanou is No. 1 for field goals and PATs, with Davis Price No. 1 for kickoffs. Senior Alex Kinney is atop the punting list and J.T. Bale is the snapper.

Nixon and Broussard are listed as the top two kick returners, while Stanley and Nixon are 1-2 on the punt return list.

— Finally, we'll remind you one more time of Tucker's statement: "You'll get the playing time you deserve to get by the way you work and the way you prepare and the way you compete every day and get better."

In other words, there is plenty on this depth chart that could very well change.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu