Brooks: Poole Working His Way Into A Different Scrum

BOULDER - As a football player, Dakota Poole is as raw as a February night in his homeland. But if you're gathering guys for a scrum, or perhaps a more loosely organized brawl, you'd probably want to consider him as a teammate.

Poole is a former Canadian rugby player of note who has designs on playing defensive tackle in American college football. Right now, he's a project - although one that Colorado D-line coach Romeo Bandison believes has a sizeable upside.

"I look forward to watching him progress; in time, I think he'll be fine," Bandison said Saturday. "I don't know how it works in rugby, but I'd imagine if you're on the national junior team you've got to have some athletic ability."

Indeed, Poole has plenty of that, as well as size to match. He's just a click under 6-foot-5 and a shade over 250 pounds. He's at least two years older (20) than most of his incoming freshman classmates and he's in mint rugby condition - mentally and physically.

After we found a shady spot Saturday morning following the Buffs' early practice, I asked him the obvious - how rugby lends itself to playing college football.

"Definitely the aggression," he answered immediately. "Just being able to turn that on . . . the tackling helps as well, but there's a little different technique. In rugby you keep your head on the inside, push them out of bounds and get possession. In football it's the opposite - head across and on the outside."

Old habits die hard . . . and Poole has played a lot of rugby. A native of Kelowna, a mid-sized metropolis on Okanagan Lake in British Columbia's southern interior, he played football as a kid and loved it.

"But one day, our coach says, 'I'm sure everyone here wants to go pro,'" Poole recalled. "We're in bantamleague. I'm saying, 'I don't want to go pro; I'm just here to have fun, you know what I mean?' Then I started playing and I said, 'Hell yes, I want to go pro; I like this.'"

Problem was, he liked rugby just as much after a friend convinced him to pick it up as a method of cross-training for football.

"I went out (for rugby), did pretty well and ended up making the regional team, then I the skipped up to the senior team in junior rugby, captained that team, went from there to regionals . . . then made the provincial team, then the national squad," he said of his ascent in the Canadian junior circle.

"To a high school kid - and my mom wanted the best for me as well - I was like, 'Do I play for the high school football team in Kelowna, which isn't even on the map for football, or do I play for my country in rugby? What am I going to do? So I went and played national rugby at the age of 16 for the under-17 team and then worked my way up from under-17 to under-20."

But after playing rugby for four years without a break, Poole returned to football, playing the 2008-09 season for the Okanagan Sun in the Canadian Junior League. He did well enough as a defensive tackle that his coach advised him to contact an American college acquaintance - CU coach Dan Hawkins.

Poole sent Hawkins a Facebook message and got a reply the following day asking if he had a highlight video on line.

"I didn't have any from (the Sun) and none from high school," Poole said. "But I rounded up some film and had a buddy who worked for a TV station in Kelowna. He edited it, put an arrow in the tape (on Poole). My buddy put it on YouTube for me and we went from there."

(FYI: The Dakota Poole highlight clip is still up - arrow and all.)

Poole visited CU in June and already had purchased an airline ticket to visit Arizona State afterwards. But he was sold on Boulder and canceled the trip to Tempe. CU now; later ASU.

He believes he's a "natural" at defensive tackle, but admits "it's such a leap" coming to this level with his lack of experience. He played some offensive tackle in high school and would move there if CU coaches insisted, but there would be some reluctance.

Poole, who also is into extreme sports, basically "anything that involves a board," believes he could add weight necessary for the D-line but would have trouble adding enough to be an O-lineman. On the other hand, "If I could have the body mass like (Nate) Solder, then sure, you know what I mean?" he said.

"But I don't want to turn into a 300- or 350-pounder, get out of university and my body's wrecked. But I'll do whatever I've got to do for the team, bottom line."

Solder, CU's senior left tackle, is 6-9, weighs about 310 and has a body fat percentage in single digits. Although about five inches shorter, Poole doesn't carry much extra poundage either. He's used to rugby's constant running, calling it "a really fit sport," but he's also excited to return to a sport that will allow him to focus on getting stronger.

"It's a chance for me to put on weight because I've been running my ass off for I don't know how long," he said. "I can switch from the endurance factor to the power and strength. You can only get so big and strong and still be able to move around the field for 80 minutes straight (in rugby)."

His age and maturity - he turned 20 in February - might provide an advantage in some instances, but not in others. He's attuned to what could be plusses and minuses.

"I've been through camps like this with Rugby Canada and it doesn't bother me too much," he said. "I'm sure guys are getting hit with a lot this week and they're not getting any sleep. I'm used to that . . .

"But a (minus) is that a lot of these younger guys have a lot more experience than me in the sport. I've got a deficit there; that's no secret. I've just got to fight to make that up."

He's trying to break into a CU D-line that returns almost every player, so spending a redshirt season might be of benefit. Again, he sees the pros and cons there: "A lot of the better players on this team have done it (redshirted) and I don't think that's a coincidence.

"But I'm also 20; I'd like to get playing. Obviously, every guy's dream is to make some kind of a draft. If I do well in Division I football, the CFL is going to look at me somewhere. You get to 24-25 in the CFL and that's almost too old for the draft . . . It could go either way."

For now, he's simply trying to absorb what Bandison is heaping on him, and the teacher says the pupil has promise. He's inquisitive, competitive and willing to learn.

"When he plays you can see he's aware but not very instinctive yet," Bandison said. "Everything's new to him. A lot of things he does would be great in rugby, but not so much in football. Our keys in football are different; we look where we're going, he's looking for the next possible guy to get the ball. He's always looking around or looking back. But again, he's a smart guy and willing to learn."

Those are two factors in Poole's favor, and there a lot more.

SAME SIDELINE, DIFFERENT ROLE: Victor Rogers, who lettered four years at offensive tackle and was a senior on CU's 2001 Big 12 Conference championship team, is joining the Colorado Football Network team as its new sideline reporter. Rogers will be able to work eight games in the first season, mainly due to the late notice of the switch. He replaces Charles S. Johnson (CU's assistant AD) and joins Mark Johnson and Larry Zimmer on the broadcasts.

SIX (OR LESS) DEGREES OF BUFFS: How small of a world is it? Senior SN Joe Silipo's father, Joe Sr., was the center on the San Antonio Gunslingers of the USFL during the 1984 and '85 seasons. His quarterback was former CU head coach Rick Neuheisel.

WHAT I DID THIS SUMMER: Poole wins the award so far for the most interesting summer job ... although he is a pilot and has flown previous summers, he lists one of his previous summer jobs as an "apple picker."

GENERATION BUFF: Invited walk-on DB Jordan Marquez's father, Mike, lettered three years at halfback at CU from 1985-87 and was a key player in the switch to the wishbone that turned around the program's fortunes. He rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns in his career and le the Buffs in the '85 Freedom Bowl with 10 carries for 80 yards against Washington.

MEDIA GUIDES EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE: If you're expecting to receive or purchase a copy of CU's football media guide, it's not going to happen. CU is the latest school to throw in the towel when it comes to printing guides. After a barrage of new NCAA legislation, we are shifting the budget to enhance areas of CUBuffs.com. There will still be a PDF version of the media guide, expected to be completed by about August 15. Other sports will follow suit with the same plan, as well.

BUFF BITS: Hawkins told Saturday's media day audience that even after only three days of camp, the 2010 Buffs were playing faster and with more confidence. "We've had more guys go through this," he said . . . . The obligatory quarterback question was asked and Hawkins offered the standard answer: Naming a starter will come later. Tyler Hansen continues to do much of the work with the No. 1 offense, with Cody Hawkins rotating in. Dan Hawkins said it would be difficult for freshman Nick Hirschman to work his way into the starting role, but added, "You never say never." . . . . CU finally is able to work with four full offensive lines, a welcome departure from having to scrape enough O-linemen to go two deep. The depth and experience should pay off . . . . Receiver Travon Patterson, a transfer from Southern California, did not practice Saturday. He's still waiting for administrative clearance . . . . Hawkins said freshman receiver Paul Richardson, who began practicing Friday, "is very talented and has good hands." He also said senior Scotty McKnight has been mentoring redshirt freshman Jarrod Darden, and it's paying off. "Darden is coming on," Hawkins said . . . . If senior Aric Goodman emerges from camp as the No. 1 placekicker, he won't enter the season on a "short leash." Said Hawkins: "That wouldn't be fair to him." . . . . Redshirt freshman Zach Grossnickle is focusing exclusively on punting and doing well, Hawkins noted.