Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Kiesau Primed For His 'Sophomore' Season
September 02, 2010 | Football, B.G. Brooks
The lone pair of vehicles belonged to Eric Kiesau and Robert Prince, and in McKnight's words, "These guys grind; they put in a ton of work to get everything right."
Kiesau and Prince aren't unlike their peers on the Colorado staff. But a big difference is that on Kiesau's resume, under job experience as CU's offensive coordinator, there's a single digit - as in one season. Prince, on the other hand, has made enough college/pro stops to qualify as a veteran, and in this case an impromptu mentor.
As Kiesau prepares for his second season coordinating what the Buffs do offensively, he's more in control, more confident, more compatible with his surroundings than he was in 2009.
One reason: There are more pieces to this puzzle than there were last season. Another reason: He's growing into his job. The approach of the 2010 season finds him with a full year - not mere months - of having both hands and mind immersed in his job. Yet another reason: Prince, who was hired by CU last spring after barely getting his family settled in Seattle. (Prince coached the Seahawks receivers for a season before coach Jim Mora and his staff were let go in early January.)
To say that Kiesau leans on Prince a little bit is a huge understatement. Kiesau calls him "my checks and balances guy" and CU's players can easily see that dynamic at work.
"He's such a great football mind that he just kind of takes some added weight off of what Kiesau does," junior quarterback Tyler Hansen said. "That guy (Prince) knows so much about football . . . . Last year with coach (Dan) Hawkins being the receivers coach, he was so busy doing his head coach stuff, too, that Kiesau had some added things put on him."
Added McKnight: "Those two (Kiesau, Prince) work very well together. When a new guy comes in, there's always a chance that maybe they have different philosophies. But I think they were on the same page from the start."
Prince, also CU's passing game coordinator, didn't land in Boulder and call for an immediate overhaul. Rather, it was noticing a need for refinement and accountability, getting a trust built between quarterbacks and receivers.
"We just had to make sure that everyone was accountable for what their job was and not to just adjust because something went wrong the last time they ran it," Prince said. "The quarterback has to trust that if the receiver is supposed to five yards he's not going eight. And the receiver has to trust if he's going five (yards), the quarterback is going to pull the trigger on the right footwork.
"The passing game starts with the quarterbacks and coach Kiesau has done a great job of getting two guys game ready. My job is to make sure that the receivers are in the spots where they're supposed to be when the quarterback pulls the trigger. Then we can succeed."
That same high degree of quarterback-to-receiver trust and accountability quickly developed between their position coaches. Kiesau and Prince first met at Portland State, where Kiesau played quarterback in the mid-'90s and Prince later coached receivers. Prince coached on Hawkins' staff at Boise State, Kiesau coached at Cal. Both later crossed paths with other assistants from the same coaching trees who spoke the same language.
But the trust part of the dialect never changes.
"If I tell the receivers they have to a certain adjustment, I can guarantee it's going to get done - and vice versa if the receivers are expecting something from the quarterbacks," Kiesau said. "I think we've worked very, very well together. He's just kind of been my right hand man - something I need."
In Kiesau's break-in year as an offensive coordinator, the Buffs were, ah, offensively challenged for a variety of reasons. Kiesau concedes his inexperience as a first-year play-caller was among them. His players could sense it, if not see it.
"He was still getting used to the hang of things," Hansen said. "Now, he has a rhythm; he's quicker at calling plays now. Last year there were some times when he'd call a play and it would work, and he was looking for the next play.
"Now he's got an idea of what's going to come - 'if this play works, we're going to that.' So he's got a rhythm going. He spent a lot of time over the summer watching film of other teams and what they do offensively. I know he watched a lot of Cincinnati film because they were real good offensively."
McKnight perceives a "raised confidence" in Kiesau: "Obviously, he was well-prepared for the job last year, but I think anytime you're doing something for the first time, whether subconsciously or not, you might be a little nervous. I think he's a lot more confident now; he knows what he wants out of everyone. And I think he's got a lot more guys to work with this year . . . a lot more what he's used to in terms of guys who can make plays and play within the offense and be successful for him."
The difference between Seasons 1 and 2 in his job is "100 percent . . . a calmness that wasn't there before," Kiesau said, attributing that to more experienced players in the offensive line, a running game that actually appears ready to run, an upgraded receiving corps, and the intense offseason preparation that hit overdrive once Prince arrived.
"You add coach Prince to the picture (and) he gives you some structure and discipline at that position and helps out in the (meeting) room," Kiesau said. "He's really been kind of my 'checks and balances guy' - 'Hey, have you thought about this? Are we good here?'
"Having him for the whole off-season here has really been great. It's just been a very productive off-season to get us to a comfortable spot today."
As Kiesau reflects on his first season as OC, he's not belaboring what went wrong but identifying what he could correct. When asked if there were things he would have done differently, he answered, "When you self-evaluate, there are always things you'd have done differently - especially when you're not winning games. But I think we're on the right track as a staff this year and I'm very fired up to be where we are."
When CU opens Saturday against Colorado State (noon, Invesco Field at Mile High, The Mtn.), there will be one offensive sideline change. Kiesau will continue to call plays from the coaches' booth, while Prince will assume Hawkins' sideline role of getting personnel in and out of the huddle.
Kiesau expects CSU to pressure Hansen as much or more than any defense the Buffs will face this season. Veteran Rams defensive coordinator Larry Kerr, said Kiesau, "will probably bring the most heat we'll see all year. And he brings it from everywhere - field, boundary, all over.
"We've had an entire off-season to prepare for this. If they leave some holes, we've got to find them. We've got some receivers that can get down the field, which will be exciting. So we'll see. And I think protection-wise we'll be good.
"We have good (offensive) balance on our team right now; it's a good feeling, a good vibe. That's making me feel better going into the first game. You're always looking forward to the first game. But this one kind of resonates more because we didn't play very well last year.
"When you have all off-season to reflect on what you did, your first game is always kind of your first acknowledgment of what improvements we've made and where are we as a football team?"
It won't be long now before the Buffs get that answer - and Kiesau gets several of his own.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
