Woelk: Safe Bet That Tucker's First Buffs Camp Will Indeed Be Relentless
July 31, 2019 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Mel Tucker's Colorado Buffaloes open fall camp Thursday, it might be one of the most highly anticipated camps for the Buffs since Gary Barnett took the reins at CU 20 years ago.
But the difference in the two openings could not be more stark.
When Barnett — a former CU assistant — stepped in, the Buffs were still basking in the glow of the most successful 10-year stretch in program history. It was a decade that produced three straight conference titles, a national championship, a long list of All-Americans and national award winners (including a Heisman Trophy), and eight final top-20 rankings.
But Tucker, who last December became CU's fourth head coach since Barnett left the program in 2005, has no such recent successes upon which to draw. Over the last 13 years, the Buffs have had more head coaches (three) than bowl games (two) — and just one winning season. Colorado also joined a new conference in that stretch, but the Buffs have barely managed to make a dent when it comes to impact on the Pac-12 standings.
Now it is Tucker's turn.
Tucker brings with him to Boulder a sterling resume, one that boasts national championship stops as a college assistant, a lengthy NFL career, and time spent working for some of the nation's most respected head coaches.Â
But more than that, Tucker totes a no-nonsense, nose-to-the-grindstone attitude that stresses fundamentals, discipline and toughness. While he has coached with some of the great innovators of the college game, he still carries an old-school aura. There is nothing fancy about Tucker, nothing artificial or contrived.
What you see is what you get — and what the Buffaloes learned in 15 days of spring ball with Tucker is they are getting a coach who expects his players to put forth their best every minute of every practice every day. A man whose favorite word is "relentless" has made it clear that his team will play that way, and it is a safe bet he will turn the intensity dial up another notch when the Buffs hit the field Thursday.
Tucker is well-aware that he is in Boulder today because the last coach struggled, producing just one winning record in six seasons. He knows he inherited a team that finished last year with a seven-loss tailspin, and nobody has to tell him it is a team that lacks starting experience at a number of key positions, never mind depth.
But Tucker is also not a man of excuses. There will be no alibis from his corner — no matter what happens this season.
What to expect from Tucker's first team?
The preseason media poll tabbed the Buffs to finish last in the Pac-12 South — but that poll has historically been wrong nearly as often as it has been right. The media has correctly selected the Pac-8/Pac-10/Pac-12 conference champ only 31 times in the previous 58 seasons, and only four times in the last 12 years.
But the Buffs' schedule this year is certainly not one for the faint of heart. It begins with three games against traditional "rivals" — Colorado State, Nebraska and Air Force — then continues with a Pac-12 schedule that includes the annual matchups against the rest of the South as well as games against Washington, Oregon, Stanford and Washington State. Four of Colorado's opponents are included in the NCAA.com preseason top 25.
But while there is no way of predicting — at least with any degree of certainty — where Tucker's Buffs will finish the season, there are some things we do know, including this:
Tucker's Buffs will play hard. They may lose games, but they will not lose heart. They will play until the whistle on every play and they will play until the final gun sounds in the final period. Discipline and work ethic are being established as foundational cornerstones, and the non-negotiable will be physical football.
Not that anyone should expect miracles. Tucker did not promise to bring a silver bullet or magic potion. He has been enough places — and been part of enough championship teams — to know there is no quick fix.
Rather, he believes there is no substitute for hard work, no replacement for discipline, no shortcut to success — and he has steadily begun to instill that philosophy in this team since the day he arrived.
Tucker knows it will not be an overnight process. He knows it will take time. But he also knows his first Colorado team has just 25 practices to prepare for its Aug. 30 season opener against rival Colorado State in Denver.
So again, what to expect?
We don't know. We can only guess.
But we do know that over the next 29 days and 25 practices, Tucker and his staff will make use of every minute of every day to make the Buffs a better football team — and when the lights do go on for the 2019 Buffaloes in Denver, the beginning of the new era should be evident.
The Buffs will play hard. Their culture will be one of a strong work ethic, discipline and a refusal to quit.
That is Mel Tucker's guarantee.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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