CU's Tucker Reaffirms Buffs' Foundational Principles At Pac-12 Media Day
July 24, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
LOS ANGELES — More than anything else, Colorado coach Mel Tucker's first meeting with the Pac-12 media was a reaffirmation of the foundational principles he has tried to set forth since taking the CU job last December.
Tucker, who made his first appearance at the annual Pac-12 Media Day on Wednesday, did provide some news when he announced that he had promoted wide receivers coach Darrin Chiaverini to assistant head coach.
But the prevailing theme from Tucker was one that he has hammered home since he took the program reins: the Buffs will play tough, physical football, the coaching staff will recruit relentlessly, and there will be no "break-in" period when it comes to expectations.
"We have high expectations right now," Tucker said. "Our goal is to be the best football team we can be, and we started that process from day one. My first day was December 5th, and we laid out to the players what type of program that we need to have to compete for championships. And it's a daily process, and we're working on it every single day."
But those high expectations don't appear to be traveling much outside the state of Colorado. The annual media poll placed the Buffs at the bottom of the Pac-12 South, as CU finished with just 46 points in the poll — ahead of only Oregon State (38), picked to finish last in the North.
"The conference is very strong," Tucker allowed. "We have a tough schedule week in and week out. It's going to be a challenge for us. But at the end of the day, it's going to be about what we do and how we compete and how we prepare, our attention to detail, our physicality, our discipline."
Much of the media's interest focused on Tucker's previous coaching stops, in particular his time as an assistant at SEC powerhouses Alabama and Georgia. Some questioned whether he could produce a turnaround at Colorado, which has seen just one winning season since 2005.
"It's been done before (at CU) and I've been in championship programs," Tucker said. "I know what it takes, the process, the steps that it takes to build a championship football team. I did it at Wisconsin as a player … We won a (national) championship my second year at Ohio State with Jim Tressel and we did it in 2015 at Alabama. There's certain things you have to do in order to be in position to win a championship and those things are in place in Boulder."
Those things, he stressed, include tradition, outstanding facilities and the full support of the CU administration — from the office of Chancellor Phil DiStefano on down.
"You have to have tradition and facilities to have a chance," Tucker said. "I can remember when Colorado was one of the premier programs in America. … I played in Boulder and got destroyed. I remember that atmosphere."
As for facilities, he added, "Our facilities are second to none. Rick George, our AD, has done a great job with the commitment to excellence in our facilities. And then when you look at the roster — typically when you go into a new situation, everything's not all bad. There's good players and good coaches in the program. it was no different with this opportunity. I just thought it was a great situation for me. I'm ready to get going."
With fall camp now just a week away, Tucker talked about some of the priorities the Buffs will address when they open practice. One, he stressed, is depth, particularly up front. Tucker and his staff did his best to add to that depth in their first recruiting class, and he hopes to see the fruits of those labors show immediate production. Much of that production, he believes, could come from the junior college players he signed.
"We needed to build some depth on our defensive front and our front seven," he said. "We needed to get more big guys on the offensive and defensive lines. I believe those guys can come in and help us right away. That's why we signed them. They're going to get an opportunity to show us what we can do. The more the merrier. We have to have depth, we have to have guys that go in there and have significant roles for us and contribute to winning football."
But more than anything, Tucker stressed to the media what he has been emphasizing to his players on a daily basis. Tucker wants a culture of tough, physical football and everything he and his staff have done since their arrival — from strength and conditioning to their practice regimen — has been geared toward setting that tone.
"We want to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball," Tucker said. "We want to play a physical style of football, we plan to play relentless defense and we want to be able to run the ball on offense on our terms. That's the culture of our program right now."
Some other topics Tucker touched upon:
On how he sees the battle at running back playing out: "What I saw in the spring is that we're going to have three, four, five guys that we can rotate in and have a role for us, guys who are going to run hard, take care of the football, be good in pass protection. (Alex) Fontenot had a good spring. (Jaren) Mangham showed some things in the spring game as a freshman. I feel good about that position. I'm looking forward to having a stable of guys where we can keep fresh backs and guys can have roles and contribute."
On possibly playing early morning games after the Pac-12 announced it is studying the possibility of 9 a.m. (Pacific time) kickoffs: "For me as a coach, I just want to play ball. Put the ball down and let's go play. So whatever the schedule is, the timing, the kickoff time, the opponent, it's really not an issue for me. I just need to know when we're going to kick off, and then I've got to get my guys ready to go."
On his recruiting philosophy: "Obviously good players make you a good coach. … I feel good about where we are in recruiting. Our coaches are relentless. They understand that you have to recruit every day and you have to recruit at a high level. You've got to be willing to fight and compete for the best players, so that's what we're willing to do."
On preparing players for the next level: "Well, like I told those guys, I went through 10 drafts (as an NFL assistant), so I know what it takes to get there and what it takes to stay there. I'm willing to help my players get there if that's what their goal is. And for those players, if that's a goal to get to the NFL, I've been there. I know at every position what they're looking for, what are the requirements. And our program will develop our players, and they'll have an opportunity to do that. They'll be prepared, they'll be exposed so it will be a smooth transition for them when it's time to go to the next level. We know what it takes."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu