Colorado University Athletics
Spring is Upon Us
An experienced defense, blended with a new offensive philosophy and a perennially solid kicking game will make the transition easier for the new coaches, but springtime is for evaluation, and it inevitably marks the time where many future stars make a case for playing time in the fall. With limited familiarity between the coaches and players, this spring provides a wide open opportunity for players to prove themselves.
“I want us to always have the sort of mentality that we are starting new every year,” Hawkins said. “When you get to the spring, I don’t care if you have a senior quarterback coming back, that guy has got to go back out and start all over and prove himself. There are no locked positions on this team...well, maybe [returning All-American place-kicker] Mason Crosby.”
Offensively, the Buffs will be in good company with Hawkins’ staff additions. Hawkins (formerly of Boise State), Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Mark Helfrich (Arizona State) and Receivers Coach Eric Kiesau (California) will help blend three potent offensive schemes with proven success into an exciting system which should please Buffs fans for years to come. Also on the offensive staff are Assistant Head/Offensive Line Coach Chris Strausser and Tight Ends/Special Teams Coach Kent Riddle, both of whom came with Hawkins from
“We really believe in a good, solid running game,” Hawkins said. “I think the biggest fallacy with our offense is that people think we are just going to chuck it and run around and do those sorts of things, but you have to be able to run the football. Our passing game has been very much a play-action and vertical passing game. We will try to be creative and do some innovative things. We are not afraid to do reverse passes and throwbacks and double passes. Those things are viable options.”
Coming to
“We’re going for it,” Hawkins said. “It has to do with the philosophy of deserving to win, deserving to have success. If you’ve got four downs and need 10 yards, and all you need is six inches on the last down, you probably ought to get that if you deserve to win. Sometimes you need a momentum breaker; sometimes maybe you need to force a momentum breaker. That being said, you just don’t roll the dice. I think you have to have the right play on the right hash mark and you have to understand how that all fits together.”
Helping Hawkins fit everything together on offense will be 19 returning lettermen on offense, including five starters. The quarterback position is wide open, with senior James Cox expected to battle it out with juniors Brian White and Bernard Jackson.
The wide receivers should be one of the Buffs’ strengths this season, with departed senior Evan Judge the only one lost with significant game experience. Juniors Dusty Sprague, Stephone Robinson, Alvin Barnett and Reggie Joseph return along with sophomore Patrick Williams and redshirt freshman Jarrell Yates. Senior Blake Mackey also returns after missing the entire 2005 season with a knee injury.
The Buffs will lose some of their versatility in the backfield with the departure of V-back Lawrence Vickers and fullback Brendan Schaub. Redshirt freshman Jake Behrens and junior Samson Jagoras will be counted on to step into more traditional fullback roles to block for returning junior tailbacks Hugh Charles and Byron Ellis. Also in the mix at running back will be senior Brandon Caesar, who missed last season with a knee injury, and senior Mell Holliday.
Stepping in to fill the void of CU’s two-headed tight end monster (Joe Klopfenstein and Quinn Sypniewski) will be junior Tyson DeVree, a transfer from
The Buffs look solid on the offensive line, losing only two lettermen. Center Mark Fenton, a 2005 All-Big 12 selection and Rimington trophy finalist, will team up with guard Brian Daniels to give CU two elite seniors on the interior line. Junior Edwin Harrison and sophomore Daniel Sanders return with significant game experience. Senior Jack Tipton (knee) and junior Tyler Polumbus (shoulder) are expected to miss spring drills, giving a chance for a trio of redshirt freshmen to step up: Paul Backowski, Jeremy Hauck and Devin Head.
The Buffs will undergo a change defensively as well this season, although with 26 lettermen and eight starters returning, experience should not be an issue. Defensive Coordinator Ron Collins, brought to with Hawkins from
“I really believe in attacking teams and getting after them,” Hawkins said. “I think you have to make sure people don’t run the ball on you and you have to put pressure on the quarterback and make that guy make fast decisions. We won’t be a static team. I think you have to disguise (formations) and move around and change things up.”
The defensive front bears the brunt of the losses as defensive tackles James Garee and John Guydon are gone, as well as nose tackle Vaka Manupuna. Sophomore George Hypolite, who experienced a successful true freshman campaign, and sophomore Brandon Nicolas, a transfer from Notre Dame, will hold down the middle with senior Marcus Jones providing depth in the interior.
The Buffs are loaded at defensive end, returning four players with significant starting experience. Seniors Alex Ligon and Abraham Wright, junior Alonzo Barrett and sophomore Maurice Lucas will battle for playing time, with senior Walter Boye-Doe and redshirt freshmen Taj Kaynor and Sam Zimmerer waiting in the wings.
The linebacker position will once again be a strength for CU, highlighted by returning starters in senior Thaddaeus Washington and junior Jordon Dizon. Highly-touted sophomore Brad Jones will step in to replace departing senior Brian Iwuh. Several other linebackers will push for playing time, including sophomore Marcus Burton, who played in 165 plays as a true freshman with a talented corps. Senior Jason Ackermann will also return after missing the entire 2005 season with a knee injury.
The secondary returns every player from last season, sans safety Tom Hubbard, with incumbent senior starters Gerett Burl and Lorenzo Sims, Jr. on the inside track for the starting cornerback positions. Junior Terrence Wheatley missed all of last season after a wrist injury, but should be 100 percent this spring. Senior Terry Washington also returns with significant playing experience last season. Sophomores Ben Burney and Gardner McKay are also chomping at the bit after seeing playing time as true freshmen in 2005.
At safety, senior J.J. Billingsley will man the rover position with sophomore Ryan Walters. Senior Tyrone Henderson and junior Lionel Harris will hold it down at free safety. Senior Dominique Brooks will miss spring drills after surgery on his knee, and is availability for the fall is unknown.
The special teams should benefit from having a coach (Riddle) assigned to coach the unit. Gone are snapper Greg Pace and All-Big 12 punter and Ray Guy Award runner-up John Torp. There is no immediate replacement in the wings for Pace, as his backup Matt Hammond graduated as well. Battling it out for the punting job will be redshirt freshmen Matt DiLallo and Daniel Agostino.
The place-kicking game comes back unscathed, led by CU’s “Golden Boot,” Crosby, who is a dynamic threat from midfield an in. He will also benefit from returning holder (Hawkins refers to him as the “pinner”) Nick Holz. CU fans are undoubtedly ecstatic about Crosby returning for his senior season, but will they finally get to see him attempt a field goal with the number ?7’ in front of it?
“Yep. I’ll let him (try one),” Hawkins said. “I’m going to let him hit it.”
Games technically are not won and lost in the spring, but Hawkins and his staff are excited to really start to get to know the players.
“From a personality standpoint, I think we are getting a real good feel for them,” Hawkins said. “Athletically, we’ve been able to see them do a few things, but when you get out there and play football, sometimes those things change. Seeing how a guy reacts under pressure and how he competes are yet to be determined.”