Tucker Says Spring Game Will Be 'Meat And Potatoes'

BOULDER — Colorado coach Mel Tucker doesn't want to see anything fancy in Saturday's spring game finale at Folsom Field.

Rather, Tucker wants to see what he has seen for most of the spring — the Buffs going to work and getting better. It was a message he delivered to his players after Wednesday's practice, and one he reiterated to the media in his post-practice briefing.

"I told them we've got the spring game coming up but really, it's just practice 15," Tucker said. "It's not going to be anything different. We're going out there and we're going to work to get better. It's going to be all meat and potatoes and no French pastry."

That has actually been the theme for the entirety of Tucker's first spring in Boulder. The Buffs' approach has been a workmanlike effort every day as they installed new schemes on both sides of the ball under the new coaching staff, as well as absorbed the foundation of a new Colorado culture.

The result, Tucker said, has been a spring in which the Buffs made consistent progress on a daily basis.

"We have, other than that one Monday when we took a step back coming off the weekend, which was unacceptable," Tucker said. "Other than that, I felt like we've made steady progress in terms of sense of urgency and how we practice, the physicality, the fundamentals, along with the scheme and execution. We've gotten better pretty much every day."

Saturday's Spring Game Presented by UC Health (noon, Folsom Field) will be as much like a game as the Buffs can manage with a roster that has had its normal share of spring football attrition. CU coaches will divide the team up into two relatively equal squads and play a game with a running clock. They will, however, stop the clock for the last four minutes of each half in order to give both sides a chance to work on their two-minute approaches.

Because the Buffs are thin at some positions, such as defensive line, some players may play for both "teams."

But one thing Tucker made clear he won't see is any extracurricular activity. The Buffs will go to work and take care of business without any unnecessary flash.

"I expect to see great focus," Tucker said. "I don't want to see guys looking up in the stands. I told them there's not going to be any dancing, we're not going to have towels and streamers and guys thinking about what color socks they're going to wear, and what they're going to write on their wristbands and all that type of stuff. We're not doing that. We're going out there to work and to practice."

Tucker said he likes the idea of a game-like atmosphere because it gives CU coaches a chance to see how players react in that environment.

"There's hardly ever opportunities where you can create a game-like situation in college," Tucker said. "In pro ball, you get four preseason games and you can get that atmosphere. In college, you normally don't get a chance to get that. A spring game is an opportunity to put them in a game-like situation, especially in our home stadium, and get some of that anxiety out. Then see if we can get better from there."

ON THE HORIZON: After the Buffs wrap up spring ball this weekend, players will concentrate on wrapping up the academic year, with finals immediately ahead. After that, they will have a short break before returning for summer school and the summer conditioning programs.

Coaches, meanwhile, will hit the recruiting trail.

"We have our recruiting staff in place, we have our targets, we've done our evaluations," Tucker said. "We know exactly where we need to go, who we need to see, when we need to see them. We're ready to hit the road."

Tucker said the reaction to CU's new coaching staff has been good — but it has also included a "show-me" philosophy.

"Recruits are waiting to see what we do," he said. "They're intrigued, they're excited, they're interested. But it's a 'show-me' situation. 'Let's see what these guys are all about.'

"So it's how we build relationships, how diligent we are in our recruiting process, staying in touch with guys, recruiting guys on a consistent basis, what we do when they come on unofficial visits and official visits, what they see. Then, obviously, how we play. The brand of football we play in the fall is going to have a lot to do with how our recruiting goes."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu

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