Colorado University Athletics
Hawkins' Signing Day Press Conference
GENERAL?“This [recruiting] thing has become a season unto itself with all of the attention paid to it. I think as we tried to put this class together it was a combination of looking at what the guys on our staff felt like we needed here?it’s a combination of guys that Colorado was in on before I got the job, a combination of guys who were interested in us before I came over here and it was a combination of new guys. Everyone always wants to rank the class. What I always say is that we wouldn’t offer these guys and give them a scholarship if we didn’t think they were our kind of player, our kind of person and our kind of student. I think the secret in recruiting is finding a good fit for your program. I like this class in a couple of areas. I totally believe a team is built up front with your D-line and your O-line. I think we made some major strides there. We have some quality guys who are going to bring some talent and depth [to that position]. I gave our staff a ton of credit to go out and dig up guys and research them. I’m pretty pleased with where we are at. I’m always asked to grade the class and I think every year I’ve been coaching I’ve always given a ?B,’ meaning we’ll find out if it’s excellent in three years. I’ve seen plenty of great football players come in with no stars and come in and do a great job. Recruiting is an exact science at any level. I think you have to get the right guys for your place, coach them up and make sure they go to school and do the right things to make you a good football team.”
ON HAWKINS’ SON CODY COMING TO CU?“We were in a staff meeting and it was kind of a surprise to me. I really didn’t know what he was going to do. One of our staff guys came in and said ?hey we just got Cody’s papers,’ and I said ?alright!’
“From my standpoint it’s not a problem because of my coaching style. I tend to coach all of my guys like they are my kids. He is a talented player, he’s a good kid and he’s a great guy to have around. I think the only drawback that happens is if we’re not playing well then he is going to catch more criticism than the normal guy would. He’s had to shoulder that, growing up with that last name [Hawkins] in
“If Cody were 6’2, he would be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He is unbelievably accurate and he has never lost a football game since he’s been in sixth grade?he’s undefeated through his whole career. He’s very smart and he’s a great chemistry guy. I like everything about his game; it’s just a question of whether a 5’11 or 6’0 guy can get it done. That’s the only knock on him.”
ON PLANTING RECRUITING SEEDS FOR NEXT YEAR?“We are already on to a bunch of juniors, getting that going right now. That’s something we wan to get out of the gates fast with. Certainly for this staff to have a year-round process where you can evaluate and develop relationships, it will help us even more. When they have a year to go out and get the best guys in the nation, I think we will do a good job of that. [The recruiting process] is never complete and it never is. It’s a work in progress that we will continue to build on.”
ON IN-STATE RECRUITING?“We’ll definitely always go after those [
ON SIGNEES WHO HAD PREVIOUS INTERESTS IN BOISE STATE?“Some of them had maybe dropped off in favor of other schools because of
ON SPEED OF INCOMING CLASS?“I think it’s good, particularly in the spots where you need speed. There are some guys that can really run. I don’t care if you play offensive line?we need guys who can move their feet. In years past [
ON RB DEMETRIUS SUMLER?“He’s an interesting cat. This guy put up a lot of numbers, and when you watch tape of him, every single game he was always productive. You can say ?yeah, he’s not the biggest guy’ or ?he’s not a 4.3 guy,’ but he’s always productive. I think that was hard for us to deny. Combined with the fact that he is a really good kid and I like his dad and his family, it was a great, great fir for us. A lot of times in recruiting, it’s about getting guys that you totally feel like are the ones that are the blue chip stock guys?the ones you know are going to pan out for you. They may not appreciate 25 percent but they are not going to be a dot.com stock and have the bottom fall out of them.”
ON OL QUINTON BORDERS?“He’s a guy that [former CU Running Backs Coach] Oliver Lucas helped us out with. We got film on him and he is very athletic. I like the kid a lot too. He got fired up about us and we got in on him. Another interesting part of this [recruiting] game is that there might be some guy that nobody really knows about and suddenly
ON DE MARQUEZ HERROD?“That kid is one of those kids in this profession that you are really excited about being around and being a part of that his development and growth. He was basically homeless with his mom and one point, living on the street and he was bounced around to a lot of different foster homes. But he is a great, focused young man. He is just a joy to be around. And his foster parents do a great job with him. When you watch him on tape he’s a playmaking Jessie. He can block kicks, he can rush the passer and he has great speed. He is grateful for everything in his life because he hasn’t had much. This is an instance where you are excited about being able to reach out and give this guy an opportunity to go play college football, get a degree and develop as a person. That’s ultimately why I’m in this [coaching] thing.”
ON 6’8 TE NATE SOLDER?“That is a kid I was really amazed with when I watched him play basketball because he moved like a guy who is 6’2. He is a big, tall kid that can run and he has great hand-eye coordination. We are going to give him a shot at tight end, and hey, if you’ve got a guy that big who can run down the middle and catch a football it’s pretty hard to cover that him unless you have a stepladder.”