University of Colorado Athletics
Woelk: Ex-Buff Bloom Says Champions Center Big Boost
August 15, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — As former Colorado football players continue to visit campus and get their first look at the new Champions Center, the reaction is almost always the same:
“Wow.”
Saturday morning, ex-wide receiver and return specialist Jeremy Bloom got his first look. Bloom, who is again doing some weekend work for the Pac-12 Network, was awestruck by the new facility.
“It's not a 'like-to-have,' it's a 'must-have' to recruit in this conference,” Bloom said. “With the facilities and programs across the country, to 17- and 18-year-olds, that really matters.
“I remember when I was being recruited, I went to Colorado State and I saw their facilities. As a 17-year-old, I said, 'I don't want to play here.' Really, that was my reaction.”
Bloom, who played at CU from 2002-2003, came to the CU campus when the Dal Ward Center was about a decade old. Then, it was still relatively comparable to most other facilities in the Big 12.
But as the facilities improvement race escalated, the Buffs fell behind, especially when they joined the Pac-12.
That won't be the case anymore.
“Look around — this is the best college campus in the Pac-12,” Bloom said. “That's an advantage. With the upgrades, now the kids that are going to Oregon on their recruiting trips and going to Washington, Colorado is now in the conversation from a facilities standpoint. It's a great long-term investment, and (athletic director) Rick George has done a heck of a job in leading this and masterminding this."
Bloom calls his work with the Pac-12 Network a “hobby.” His full-time job is helping run Integrate, a marketing software company he co-founded in 2010. He said the company now has about 100 employees and continues to grow.
“Building a team, that's what I love to do,” Bloom said. “I'm using the lessons of (former CU coach) Gary Barnett. He was a leader that I looked up to. Guys like (NFL coaches) Mike Tomlin and Andy Reid. Now, being in the business world, I'm trying to build my own team.”
Bloom also still works closely with Wish of a Lifetime, a charity that grants lifelong wishes to seniors.
“That's still the thing I'm most proud about,” Bloom said. “It's fun and exciting and cool and meaningful to meet these 80- and 90-year-old people who have one thing in their life they've always wanted to do, and be able to help them.”
Last year, Bloom took a year off from the television business. But the lure proved too strong to ignore, and he's back with the Pac-12 Network this year. He'll provide color commentary for one Colorado game — the Sept. 12 home opener vs. UMass — and will spend the rest of the season's weekends in the network's studios for the halftime shows.
Saturday morning, Bloom hadn't had a chance yet to carefully scout the Buffs. But he didn't need any preparation to know that CU's receiving tandem of Nelson Spruce and Shay Fields could be in for a big year.
Bloom called Spruce, the first receiver in CU history to catch more than 100 passes in a season, “Mr. Dependable.”
“He's a really good route runner,” Bloom said. “He's quick out of his breaks and attacks the football. Most high school and even some college receivers don't attack the football. The reason you don't do it is that it's hard to catch those balls.
“But he does a good job of that and makes it hard for the defensive back to get in the way. His best intangible is how consistent he is. Throw him the football and he's going to catch it. For a quarterback, I know how much they appreciate that.”
As for Fields, who had 50 catches last year for almost 500 yards, Bloom said Fields' speed could be a difference maker. Bloom knows a little about big-play capability: he still owns the CU record for the longest reception in CU history, a 94-yard touchdown pass from Robert Hodge against Kansas State in 2002.
“You need that receiver to stretch the field so the defense respects that,” Bloom said.
But Bloom said the biggest improvement the Buffs must make offensively in the running game.
“Sefo (Liufau) threw a lot of interceptions last year, but a lot of those were not his fault,” Bloom said. “When you have a defense that is really comfortable dropping eight (players in the secondary) and you're always playing from behind so you have to throw, that's a hard task for any quarterback. Hopefully, they establish more of a running game this year so defenses respect that.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
