Taylor Embree had to ‘fess up.
When asked to lead his second-grade class in the Pledge of Allegiance, he froze. He did not know it. Along with the alphabet and the golden rule, the pledge is one of the fundamental things you learn early in grade school.
“I told her I don’t know the Pledge of Allegiance, but I can sing the Colorado fight song,” Embree said.
At the expense of a little embarrassment, Embree stood up and proudly led his second-grade classmates in a rendition of “Fight CU.”
Embree has his father, Jon, to thank. Jon played tight end at Colorado in the eighties. Taylor Embree was born and raised in Colorado while Jon
Embree served as an assistant coach at Colorado from 1993-2002, which included four years coaching with current UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel. Jon also had an assistant coaching stint in Westwood from 2003-2005. He coached the receivers and tight ends while at UCLA.
This weekend, Neuheisel and the Embrees will meet again, as this year is Jon Embree’s first as the head coach at Colorado.
With the Colorado matchup being the last home game this season, Embree will be honored as part of a Senior Day celebration.
Traditionally, each senior player’s parents walk out of the tunnel with them when they are presented to the crowd. Will Jon Embree join his son even though he’ll be wearing black and gold?
“I’m putting a lot of pressure on Jon to come out there and be at the end of the receiving line and Jon says, “˜No way,'” Neuheisel said. “I said, “˜I’m coming to get you.’ So we’ll see how it turns out.”
Taylor Embree said he wouldn’t feel slighted if his dad is too busy with pre-game meetings to join him. He said he will be thinking more about this being the first time his dad will be on the opposing sideline.
“He hasn’t said (if he’s going to walk me out),” Taylor Embree said. “I know my mom is going to be nagging him to walk me out, but I told him I don’t want him to use that as an excuse in the game.”
Taylor Embree has only had the chance to see his dad’s Buffaloes play once in person this season. The pair talk on the phone nightly, but the conversations rarely turn to scouting reports on fellow Pac-12 teams.
“Every once in a while, he’ll ask me questions like what I thought about certain teams but for the most part, he is always giving me advice,” Taylor Embree said. “We don’t really talk much about what he’s doing over there because he understands how important this year is to me.”
Dye could return
Senior safety Tony Dye could return to action this week. He has missed seven weeks of play because of a pinched nerve in his neck.
It looked as though he would pursue a medical redshirt in an attempt to come back next season, but Dye is trying to return in these final two weeks of the season.
Dye practiced with contact on Tuesday.
“We had long family discussions about (redshirting), but the fact of the matter is I’m a competitor and I really want to be a part of this opportunity I have right now,” Dye said.