Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Hawkins High On 2010 Class' Athleticism
February 03, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - In the opinion of the cyber gurus, the University of Colorado's 2010 football recruiting class is alarmingly top-heavy with under-the-radar (three stars or fewer) types and disturbingly light on can't-miss prospects (four stars or more).
No surprise here, but Buffaloes coach Dan Hawkins disagrees with that assessment and "star gazing" in general as it pertains to the nebulous endeavor of rating recruiting classes.
On Wednesday, the first day high school prospects were permitted to sign national letters of intent, Hawkins called CU's Class of 2010 "probably from top to bottom the most athletic class we've had" in his 41/2-year tenure in Boulder.
"Optimism abounds," he said. "I think the thing that sticks out to me is just a tremendous amount of quality there. I'm very impressed by kind of people they are."
Hawkins' fifth CU recruiting class numbers 21 and includes signees from 12 states, with California providing the most prospects (eight). Unlike the past four seasons under Hawkins, CU failed to land the top in-state prospect and wound up with only two Colorado signees (kicker Justin Castor, Arvada West, and tight end Kyle Slavin, Chatfield).
Of his in-state recruiting, Hawkins said, "Every situation is different. We're really excited about the guys we got."
Also, this class features but two prospects (linebacker Lowell Williams, Missouri City, and defensive end Kirk Poston, Houston) from Texas - a talent-rich state that CU successfully mined under previous coaches.
Of the national recruits that by-passed the Buffs, he said, "There are a ton of guys you miss on. There's always guys you don't get, that's the nature every year. We're really not a group that really throws out 300, 400, 500 scholarship offers . . . There's always guys you don't get. I think it's important you get the right guys for your program and do the right job and get the right fit."
The two major national recruiting services - Rivals.com and Scout.com - weren't as taken with CU's recruiting as Hawkins. Late Wednesday afternoon, Rivals.com put the Buffs at No. 65 nationally, while Scout.com placed them in a tie with Duke at No. 69.
Scout.com ranked CU No. 10 in the Big 12 Conference, Rivals.com put CU at No. 12.
No worries, said Hawkins, who acknowledged CU's 3-9 finish last season and his 16-33 overall record likely were used against him and his program during this recruiting cycle.
"Does it mean something? Yeah. Does it mean everything? No," he said of the recruiting rankings. "It really doesn't. The recruiting industry is very huge and you've got a lot of fingers in the pie, and I think part of that is great and it draws attention to it.
"But that stuff is a very, very inexact science. I've said this many times before, in last year's Super Bowl, there were five Cardinals and two Steelers who were ranked in the Top 150 of their positions coming out of high school . . . the Colts (one of this season's Super Bowl participants) have three walk-ons on their roster, Dallas Clark being one of them.
"So to me, that's (rankings) part of it and the intrinsic nature of it. Go ask Ryan Clady (Broncos Pro Bowl left tackle and a former player under Hawkins at Boise State) how many stars he was coming out of high school, how many scholarship offers he had. That's why I say it's important to get the guys that fit your needs, your university, your program.
"If you do that, it's about getting the right guys. That whole thing (rankings), even though it kind of drives it a little bit, I don't know that it's the end all by any means."
The gem of CU's class likely is quarterback Nick Hirschman, a Los Gatos, Calif., product who enrolled in January and will participate in spring drills, which begin Saturday, March 6 and conclude with the spring game on Saturday, April 10.
Hawkins said Hirschman "has good arm strength" and "can move around." He also compared him to incumbents Tyler Hansen and Cody Hawkins in being "a gym rat . . . he's dedicated."
Junior college offensive lineman Eric Richter, whose first look will be at left guard, also was a January enrollee and will begin practice next month.
CU entered the 2010 recruiting period with several areas in obvious need of shoring up, among them running back, tight end, placekicker and inside linebacker.
The returning running back corps, featuring three scholarship players (Rodney "Speedy" Stewart, Brian Lockridge and Corey Nabors, who previously has split time at receiver), and walk-on Quintin Hildreth. The position was thinned by the in-season departure of Darrell Scott and the post-season exit of senior-to-be Demetrius Sumler.
Four running back prospects/athletes returned their signed letters of intent on Wednesday: Tony and Trea Jones (unrelated), J.T. Torres and Cordary Clark - the last pair listed as athletes but likely to be given first looks at running back given the 2010 depth situation.
Hawkins said the Joneses, smallish scat-back types, were similar in talent, but called Clark "a big dude (who) could be 250 pounds when it's all said and done." Clark is 6-foot-2 and currently weighs between 225 and 230 pounds, while Torres is listed at 6-1 and 230.
CU's placekicking duties were handled last season by Aric Goodman, but his inconsistency (10 of 18 field goals made, 54.6 percent) sent coaches in search of another specialist to compete with Goodman and 2009 signee Zach Grossnickle.
They zeroed in on local prospect Castor, who initially committed to Kansas and, like Grossnickle, also punts. Those two will be counted on to push Goodman and give the Buffs more reliability in the placement game as well as compete to replace departed punter Matt DiLallo.
CU lost tight ends Riar Geer, Patrick Devenny and Devin Shanahan, but returns Ryan Deehan, DaVaughn Thornton, Luke Walters (sixth-year senior) and Alex Wood (walk on).
Add Wednesday signees Justin Favors, Henley Griffon, Harold Mobley and Slavin to the TE mix, with one or more of them competing for early playing time.
"Tight ends are hard to find . . . we found four of 'em," Hawkins said. "They all can run and catch."
At inside linebacker, CU lost three of last season's top eight tacklers - Jeff Smart, Marcus Burton and Shaun Mohler. The Buffs added Evan Harrington and Williams - one of the two Texans to come aboard. Returning at the inside spots are Michael Sipili, Jon Major, Josh Hartigan and Derrick Webb.
BUFF BITS: Filling his offensive vacancy is still on the drawing board, but Hawkins said he would not return to coaching a position in 2010. He said he "has some flexibility" with quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau, who also has coached the receivers - the position Hawkins coached in 2009. Translated, that means Hawkins could hire another offensive coordinator/QB coach and return Kiesau to the receivers spot . . . . Ashley Ambrose, who was scheduled to move into Hawkins' position slot, will coach the secondary - vacated when Greg Brown left for Arizona. Ambrose will have former CU safety Ryan Walters helping him . . . . Hawkins said CU could upwards of 80 players participating in spring drills - the most he's had here . . . . Of the 21 signees, Hawkins said "most" already are academically qualified, adding "some" are close . . . . Hawkins said he wasn't into "negative recruiting . . . I don't like what an adult male will tell a teenager . . . I recruit the whole situation." . . . . Three CU juniors - defensive backs Jimmy Smith and Jalil Brown, left tackle Nate Solder - could have entered the NFL draft early, said Hawkins. None of them did.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
