Colorado University Athletics
Hawk Talk
HEAD COACH DAN HAWKINS
General
“It’s amazing what kind of monumental effort it is to put these guys down on paper. It takes an unbelievable amount of coordination from your staff and your coaches. It’s a grind. There was a period of about three days where I slept about five hours and I wore the same set of pats for two days because I didn’t have the opportunity to stop or take a shower. All of the other coaches are very much the same way. It’s a lot of time away from their families and a lot of coordination. I’m sitting here as the spokesman but there is a whole lot of coaches that shared in this and a whole lot of staff that really grinded on it as well.
“When we were down at one of our recruiting luncheons at the Lazy Dog there was a picture of an offensive huddle (several years ago) at
“One of the things that has been fun for me in this process is to really have the opportunity to recruit the best players in the country, and really to go all over the country. I think that is certainly our goal to get in there and recruit against the best and find the best players. I don’t know that the whole (recruiting) star system is always as bulletproof as some would have it, but it gives you some gauge.
“I don’t think that the formula for football is really all that complicated and all that hard. You win championships on defense; I think that all starts on the defensive line. I think we have done a good job of getting some good players and some numbers in there that we feel very good about. When you look at that formula of talent, experience and depth, there is a size component. One of the things I am very excited about is last year I think we had 11 guys pull 300 pounds off the ground and right now (strength coach Jeff) Pittman projects 48. We really hope that we will be a stronger football this season.
“We sprinkled. Some guys in at every position. I think the quarterback position is very critical, and I like the two guys we brought in here. One has some experience (Nick Nelson), and one has enormous potential (Matt Ballenger). I like the group that we have. I think we have a group that is passionate about coming to
“I was talking to (former CU quarterback) Kordell Stewart this off season and he said ?Coach Mac (Bill MacCartney) was awesome, and I loved Coach Mac, but when I came down that hill and I looked at those mountains I said “I’m coming to
"I want every one of those guys to get ready to play I want every one of them to come in here and think that they are going to start and set the world on fire. I want them to think like that and prepare like that. We’ll see how it all shakes out after they get here. It’s a good class; I think we addressed a ton of needs. I feel like we got some playmakers, our kind of guys.”
QUOTES ABOUT MEMBERS OF THE 2007 RECRUITING CLASS
OL Ethan Adkins
“He’s a big ole’ horse. He’s used to working really hard.”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“Obviously, we’re excited that Ethan is a local guy. We had him at camp and had a chance to evaluate him pretty closely. He comes from one of the top programs in the state. He’s a great athlete, he’s a physical player, he does very well in the weight room, he appears to have a pretty strong passion towards the game, he is a leader and was a captain on their team so all those things that we look for in a player he has.”
-Offensive Line/Assistant Head Coach Chris Strausser
“We had
-Linebackers Coach Brian Cabral
OL Matt Bahr
“He’s from a school in
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“Matt Bahr, in my mind is potentially the sleeper in this group of offensive lineman. He’s very athletic, moves his feet very well, he’s explosive and likes to finish his blocks. His leadership, his work ethic, his passion for the game, his drive to be successful those things are all off the charts.”
-Offensive Line/Assistant Head Coach Chris Strausser
QB Matt Ballinger
“We’re excited to get Matt in. He’s a guy who played in a little bit different high school offense. Statistically he’s not a guy whose statistics are just going to explode in your face. He’s a very good athlete overall, on the basketball court he was the player of the year in
-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Mark Helfrich
OL Blake Behrens
“He is a great kid and comes in from a winning program. He won a state championship as a junior and went deep into the playoffs as a senior. We had him in camp as well, a very athletic guy, explosive, has a desire to come in and compete from the beginning and he has the ability to come in and do that.”
-Offensive Line/Assistant Head Coach Chris Strausser
WR Kendrick Celestine
“He is one of the top receivers out of
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“Celestine is another guy who is just all speed. He’s probably a 4.4 guy. He’s another guy that has to make that transition after playing quarterback a lot. He played wide receiver his senior year, but with his speed he will help us. He can take a 5-yard curl or a 12-yard hitch and take it to the house. We haven’t seen that around here in the last couple of years.”
-Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Eric Kiesau
OL Shawn Daniels
“He expects to win, he loves
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“Shawn has a little bit of history here, with his brother Brian being a four year starter here. I think he is going to outgrow his brother’s legacy here pretty quick. I’m not saying that he is going to come in here and be a better football player, but he will be his own player here in a short period of time. He’s a very strong guy in the weight room, a smart football player and a solid, solid person. Academically he’s very strong and again in terms of knowing what it takes to be a champion he has that as well.”
-Offensive Line/Assistant Head Coach Chris Strausser
TB P.T. Gates
“I’m not trying to exceed expectations, but he’s a Reggie Bush-type of guy. When you watch him he makes those kinds of plays. He’s very, very dynamic. He can catch it, run it, throw it, return it and he is also a very football-smart guy. He’s smart enough to handle our offense and we can put him in a lot of places.”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“We haven’t had a guy like him since (Eric) Bieniemy. He’s a dynamic player, an every down player; you can line him up at wide receiver or put him out there on special teams to return punts or kicks. I can see him and Hugh (Charles) teaming up in the backfield and making us really dynamic.”
-Running Backs Coach Darian Hagan
DL Eugene Goree
“We think he was a guy that was kind of under the radar. We just couldn’t believe that nobody else was recruiting him. The guy is big, a good nose guard, uses his hands well and is a guy who I think is a steal for us.”
-Defensive Line Coach Romeo Bandison
LB Josh Hartigan
“It’s a good thing that he is coming in early because he can help us next year. It’s pretty impressive for him to have completed high school early. He comes from good stock; his dad is an NFL guy and he has physical size. He is going to be a force here in the close future.”
-Linebackers Coach Brian Cabral
OL Mike Iltis
“This guy is so fired up about being a Buff you cannot believe it. He is another big guy that can play a lot of spots. He told me the other day he can do three sets of five reps in hang clean of 255?which if you’re e weight guy it projects to a guy that can clean coming out of high school 350 or 360 pounds. Last spring we had one guy that could do over 300 pounds. He was living and dying with us during the season; he would be as mad as we were when we lost.”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“He’s a tough guy, a very smart guy on the football field. He’s definitely passionate about football and has the other things we look for in our players, he’s been a great leader throughout this whole recruiting process.”
-Offensive Line/Assistant Head Coach Chris Strausser
TE/HB Devan Johnson
“He’s a very athletic and versatile player. He could be a fullback or an H-tight end for us. He can come in here and he makes us a better football team right away.
-Running Backs Coach Darian Hagan
TB Brian Lockridge
“He’s an explosive kid and a great person. I’m really looking forward to coaching him.”
-Running Backs Coach Darian Hagan
OL Kealakai Maiava
“His dad played here. He’s a kid that played center, a kid that played guard. He runs around (well) and he’s one of those guys that can pancake you. He’s got some great versatility and I like the guy, he’s a worker. He’s a kid that we’ve always really liked.”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“He is a neat story because we came back to him late in the recruiting process. I’ve had him in a camp in
-Linebackers Coach Brian Cabral (recruited Maiava out of
OL Ryan Miller
“You have a kid from in-state that views us as a big-time marquee program that has that kind of confidence in us. He is a tremendous, tremendous athlete; he’s a great football player. I told him if he went to a Division III school he would still be an NFL player. He is totally our kind of guy. He loves
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“Miller is obviously a top national recruit and that part is great for the program, but he is also a pretty unique guy, for a guy of his size to move like he does is phenomenal and he is just a strong, strong person. He’s very grounded and ability wise there is no question on what he can do, and I think the thing that people don’t know about him is how great of a person he is.”
-Offensive Line/Assistant Head Coach Chris Strausser
QB Nick Nelson
“Nick is a kid that won a bunch of games in high school and a bunch of games in junior college. He is a tough kid, he is a smart kid, he is a leader and he’s used to winning. That’s a big deal. You want that expectation. You want guys who go ?We’re not supposed to lose; we’re supposed to win the conference championship.’ He’s tough; he played one of (Saddleback’s) playoff games with a separated shoulder and never said a word about it. I’m fired up to get the guy.”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
DL Conrad Obi
“He is very new to football and is very electric. Unfortunately, he hurt his hand about midway through the season. He is part of a very athletic crew (of defensive line recruits).”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“He’s a great guy; very athletic, the guy can run. He has a lot of talent and a lot of upside.”
-Defensive Line Coach Romeo Bandison
DB Anthony Perkins
“He’s a local talent from right down the street. We’ve known about him since the beginning of his junior year. He’s got top notch speed, change of direction and vision. The thing that is impressive about Anthony when you watch him is that he is able to see where he needs to go on the field and out run angles. He’s an impressive guy and we’re fortunate to get him.”
-Secondary Coach Greg Brown
DL Chris Perri
“He’s a junior college guy who was there for three years so we only have him for two. He’s a guy that can come in, contribute right away and help us a lot. He has good size, but I think he can get bigger. He also has a great motor and always goes fast.”
-Defensive Line Coach Romeo Bandison
DL Lagrone Shields
“He is a tweener; he could play defensive end or tackle. We’ll see where he fits. He’s tough and he plays hard. He has a good family, loves football and he is excited to come to
-Defensive Line Coach Romeo Bandison
WR Markques Simas
“He is a very polished receiver from a program that really throws the football, won a lot of games and run a college-type offense. He was a great player, an All-CIF player as a junior and he’s a big kid.”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“We’re fired up to get him, he was a big time get out of
-Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Eric Kiesau
WR Joshua Smith
“He is one of those electric personality guys. He is an outstanding defensive back and a great return guy.”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“He was kind of tagged as a sleeper guy, but he is very elusive, has very good hips, is very fast and is kind of a sleeper because no body really knew about him. He transferred from
-Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Eric Kiesau
DB Lamont Smith
“Lamont has a great deal of speed and quickness, ball skills and change of direction. It is evident when you watch the film on Lamont he has the tools that you are looking for to play corner at this level.”
-Secondary Coach Greg Brown
OL Sione Tau
“He is a big dude. I think he weighs 314. He’s playing basketball and he can get up and down the floor.”
-Head Coach Dan Hawkins
“We are very pleased to have Sione; he has the potential to be a great offensive tackle. I don’t think that we’ve had a lineman like that since Chris Naeole, being from the islands and he’s that kind of player. It will be interesting to see him come along. He’s a big guy, and he can also sing and play the ukulele.”
-Linebackers Coach Brian Cabral (recruited Tau out of
DB Nate Vaiomounga
“He is an extremely physical defender. He has proven his worth over the years to Coach Hawkins and this staff as we had known him previously from summer camps at
-Secondary Coach Greg Brown
DB Anthony Wright
“He’s a kid who has been playing football for about five years, he’s a team leader and a Moore League Defensive Player of the Year, and that’s a league with Long Beach Poly,
-Running Backs Coach Darian Hagan (recruited Wright out of Compton, Cailf.)
