Spring Practice
// Feb 4 -
2010 Season
A good send off
For the Buff Nation, which is about to endure four months of reading about how poorly their team will fare this fall, there were some positives to take from the 2010 Spring game.
Played before an announced Folsom Field crowd of 9,100, the Gold team, led by junior Tyler Hansen, defeated the Black team, led by senior Cody Hawkins, 37-27. Both quarterbacks did well statistically, with Hansen completing 17-of-22 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns, and Hawkins hitting on 20-of-26 for 220 yards and two scores. The longest offensive plays of the day came late, as red-shirt freshman quarterback Nick Hirschman hit senior Andre Simmons for an 83-yard Gold team score with 3:29 remaining, and backup quarterback/wide receiver Seth Lobato scored on a 65-yard scramble for the Black team as time expired.
“They finished up on a really good note, and had a pretty good spring,” Dan Hawkins said.
While the two teams posted 64 points in the forty-minute game, the point total is somewhat deceiving. After three quarters of play, the score stood at 17-7, Gold, with both teams posting 20 points apiece in the furious final ten minutes.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Black…
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Mid-term papers turned in – time for the grades
Expectations for the Colorado Buffaloes for the 2010 season are, well, minimal. Most preseason magazines, coming out in May and June, will have the Buffs pegged to finish fifth or sixth in the Big 12 North. A 6-6 finish and a minor bowl will be considered the realistic goals for a team coming off a 3-9 season, and four straight losing campaigns.
With that in mind, the below grades for each unit on the team is not with respect to similar athletes on the rosters Colorado’ Big 12 rivals, but rather with respect to what we knew about those units heading into the spring, and how well those players and their coaches did in improving their standing.
Defensive Line – Spring Grade: B+/A-
Looking for a “good news” story out of Colorado’s 2010 spring practice?
Look no further than the Buffs’ defensive line.
Just as Denver Johnson and the offensive coaches are in search of the “best five guys”, defensive line coach Romeo Bandison is faced with similar difficulties. “I’ve got some tough decisions to make,” Bandison said. Last spring, the Buffs were looking for any warm body they could find to fill up the defensive…
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Mid-term papers turned in – time for the grades
Expectations for the Colorado Buffaloes for the 2010 season are, well, minimal. Most preseason magazines, coming out in May and June, will have the Buffs pegged to finish fifth or sixth in the Big 12 North. A 6-6 finish and a minor bowl will be considered the realistic goals for a team coming off a 3-9 season, and four straight losing campaigns.
With that in mind, the below grades for each unit on the team is not with respect to similar athletes on the rosters Colorado’ Big 12 rivals, but rather with respect to what we knew about those units heading into the spring, and how well those players and their coaches did in improving their standing.
Quarterbacks – Spring Grade: D+/C-
There was one goal, and one goal only, for Colorado fans when it came to the quarterback race this spring: Name junior Tyler Hansen as the starter, and let’s move on. Instead, out of the first scrimmage, we heard terms like “dead even”, and, from head coach Dan Hawkins, there was this quote:”You could split them with a hair”. Offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau announced early during the spring that the competition would go on…
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Can the Buffs forge together a cohesive starting offensive line?
A year ago, “running downhill” was the mantra. Colorado was fully stocked with young and talented offensive linemen. The Buffs had Rodney “Speedy” Stewart back from a leg injury, Darrell Scott back from a myriad of injuries, Demetrius Sumler to gain the tough yards, and lightening quick Brian Lockridge for the reverses and trick plays. The Colorado rushing offense, ranked 86th in the nation in 2008, was to become just a bad memory. The quarterback and wide receiver positions were unsettled, but a strong rushing game, anchored by two senior tight ends and a bevy of young studs along the line, would hide the Buffs’ shortcomings.
What a difference a year makes.
In 2009, the Colorado rushing game actually went backwards. Darrell Scott disappeared; Rodney Stewart fought off injuries; and Demetrius Sumler and Brian Lockridge failed to pick up the slack. The offensive line started five different combinations, as the Buffs never forged anything remotely close to a successful running game. Instead of “running downhill”, the Buffs sputtered to an 87.9 yards/game average, 113th in the nation.
So what happened?
“Looking back on it a year ago, back then we had no seniors,”…
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Colorado offense continues to struggle
If the 106-play scrimmage conducted on April 2nd is any indication of what the 2010 campaign will look like, it is going to be a long season …
The second scrimmage of spring practice focused mostly on situational conditions, but that in and of itself was not enough to explain away the poor performance by the Colorado offense. “We definitely have to pick things up,” junior quarterback Tyler Hansen said. “We had a tough day.”
How tough was it? The offense failed to score a single point until the ball was placed at the five-yard line for goal line drills. When the offense was given the opportunity to drive the length of the field for points, it failed. There were no touchdowns, and the first five field goal attempts of the afternoon were either botched (bad snap), missed, or blocked. Senior Aric Goodman did not participate, so it was left to red-shirt freshman Zach Grossnickle and walk-on Marcus Kirkwood to split the uprights. Grossnickle ended the day one-for-four (a gimme 27-yarder), while Kirkwood went zero-for-two.
The Buffs’ running attack demonstrated what it will look like if either one of its experienced players gets hurt. With Rodney Stewart (hand) and…
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May 4th
Buffs lose one … pick up two
One down …
The Colorado athletic department has indefinitely suspended junior linebacker Brandon Gouin from the team after Gouin was cited for allegedly buying four kegs of beer for a Boulder High senior campout over the weekend. The campout was for over 200 seniors, including Gouin’s brother, a senior at Boulder High.
In a prepared statement, Dan Hawkins stated, “Brandon and our team fully understand our standard, ‘Excellence with Class’ … We vigorously educate our student athletes on a regular basis regarding the high standards we expect from our team members. Brandon will be disciplined accordingly.”
With the indefinite suspension, Gouin will not be allowed to play, practice, or work out with the team.
Gouin, a junior this fall, originally enrolled at the Air Force Academy in 2007, where he used his red-shirt season. Gouin walked on to the Colorado program, sitting out the 2008 season under NCAA rules. This past fall, as a red-shirt sophomore, Gouin saw action in six games on special teams. Gouin registered one tackle and two knockdown blocks in those six games.
But two coming on board …
The Colorado men’s basketball team has four scholarships to…
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Big 12 non-conference schedules – From Brookings to Nacogdoches …
Quick, what are the nicknames for Sam Houston State? Stephen F. Austin? North Dakota State? South Dakota State?
Yeah. Me, neither.
Welcome to the 2010 college football schedule, where the Big 12 goes from Miami (Florida International) to Seattle (Washington), and from Buffalo to San Diego (State), in search of easy opponents. Full disclosure: Colorado has played two Division 1-AA teams - in its history – but other members of the Big 12 conference have historically filled their media guides with games against teams you need an atlas to find (or, today, Google maps).
This fall will be no different.
Out of 48 non-conference games to be played in 2010 by Big 12 teams, only 12 are against opponents from BCS conferences. That’s a nice even number – an average of one per school. Of course, it would fair if each team played at least one BCS opponent, but that is not the case. Colorado, as you know, plays two teams from BCS conferences – at California, and in Boulder against Georgia. The only other Big 12 team challenging two teams from the six BCS conferences is Oklahoma. The Sooners play Florida State at home, then take to the…
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March 19th – First scrimmage – What we learned from 163 plays
Quarterback battle still undecided
“To me, it’s dead even right now”, said junior Tyler Hansen after Thursday’s scrimmage. “So we’ve got to compete and make plays. I’ve got to do better. I can’t have an okay day anymore. I’ve got to have a great day.” As far as the first scrimmage was concerned, senior Cody Hawkins put up the better numbers. Hawkins went 25-of-44 for 194 yards and four touchdowns, while Hansen connected on 16-of-29 passes for 136 yards and a score. Each quarterback was intercepted once.
Offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau said the competition “was really good – the best it’s every been … Before (the scrimmage), I thought we were progressing well. But we still have two weeks – thank goodness.” Kiesau indicated that he is keeping a close eye on the progression of his two top quarterbacks. charting every detail of every repetition this spring.
As for the Colorado head coach, Dan Hawkins, there was no indication that naming of a starter is imminent, or even a priority. “You could split them with a hair,” said Hawkins.
[Freshmen quarterbacks Seth Labato and Nick Hirschman were in…
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2010 Spring Practice – First Look: Defense
Defensive Line
Returning Players: DE Marquez Herrod (Sr.), DE Josh Hartigan (Jr.), DE Conrad Obi (Jr.), DT Curtis Cunningham (Jr.), DT Eugene Goree (Jr.), DE Nick Kasa (So.), DE Forrest West (So.), DT Nate Bonsu (So.), and DT Will Pericak (So.). Walk-ons: DE David Goldberg (Jr.), DE Josh Hartigan (Jr.), DE Tony Poremba (Jr.).
New in 2010: DE Kirk Poston (2010 recruit) and Chidera Uzo-Diribe (2010 recruit).
Flashback one year – to Spring Practice, 2009.
“We’re not going to be the weak link!”, was the rallying cry of defensive line coach Romeo Bandison, talking about his charges during last year’s spring practice. After losing three seniors, the defensive line was an assumed weakness for the upcoming season. “I don’t think it matters how talented you are,” said Bandison. “You are always concerned when you have a lack of experience.”
Spring practice in 2009 was a time of consternation for the defensive line. Sure, there was help coming in the fall, with All-Everything defensive end Nick Kasa having spurned Florida to stay home to play for the Buffs, and with three other highly rated linemen also on the way. That knowledge helped eased the pain…
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2010 Spring Practice – First Look: Offense
Quarterbacks
Returning players: Cody Hawkins (Sr.), Tyler Hansen (Jr.), and Clark Evans (R-Fr.). Walk-ons: Seth Labato (R-Fr.), Blake Stanley (R-Fr.) (Walk-on quarterback Jerry Slota left the team, transferring to DeAnza Community College in California).
New in 2010: Josh Moten (Fr. – 2009 recruit; enrolled in January); Nick Hirschman (Fr. – 2010 recruit; enrolled in January)
If Dan Hawkins wants to have a parade of angry, torch-wielding Buff fans at his doorstep, all he has to do is to name his son Cody as the presumptive starter for the 2010 season.
Okay, that’s not going to happen – at least not during spring practice.
So don’t go nuclear if you read about the quarterback race this spring being an “open competition”. Every job is supposed to be open for back-ups to do their best to oust the incumbents. There was a minor uproar on the internet when Rivals.com published a story entitled, “Quarterback battle brewing in Boulder?”, but the story contained no insights as to any such controversy. In fact, the story contained the following … “Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Eric Kiesau will likely not name their starter for 2010 anytime soon. But one has…
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I’m not yet ready for ”cautiously optimistic”
When a hospital releases information about a newsworthy patient, there are different categories of condition which are commonly utilized. When we hear a patient is “critical”, we know what that means. We understand what “stable” means. “Intensive care” is not a good place to be; the “recovery room” is.
Then there is “guarded”.
“Guarded” is what the hospital says when they are not sure which way things will go, but they are keeping a very close eye on the patient’s vitals. If a patient is in “guarded condition”, the patient could quickly recover … or matters could rapidly deteriorate.
Welcome to Colorado football, 2010.
Over the next month or so, Buff fans will hear coaches and players talk about how well things are progressing at the Dal Ward Center. We will hear about the ”new focus” of the players and coaches. There will be talk of a “new energy” / A “new sense of urgency” / A ”new commitment to winning” from the Colorado football program. The same words will be spun by coaches and players at every program across the nation.
Are you buying?
Not to be too negative, but right now (and I emphasize “right now”) it’s hard to see 2010 as…
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A tough week to be a Buff
It’s been a hard week for the Buff Nation. The men’s and women’s teams got bounced in the first round of their Big 12 basketball tournaments, while the Buffs’ #1 ranked ski team stumbled (literally) to a #2 finish in the NCAA championships.
At least we have the football team …
What made the week even harder than it otherwise might have been is the way the Buffs teased us this week.
Few have paid much attention to the Colorado men’s basketball team for the last few seasons. To be honest, when the Buffs defeated Oklahoma, 77-67, on February 17th I was pleased, but not for the encouraging signs seen in the win. No, I was being more realistic. The victory over the Sooners gave the Buffs 13 wins on the year, meaning that, even if the Buffs lost the rest of their games (and three of the next four were on the road, where the Buffs hadn’t won since the Truman administration), the most losses Colorado could accumulate was 19, meaning that the Buffs would – at least – avoid a fourth straight 20-loss season.
Small goals.
Then, the Colorado men’s team did the improbable, going…
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March 4th
How good is your memory?
Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins’ first words about the 2010 quarterback race were not unexpected. “We’ll see how it shakes out,” said Hawkins said in a controlled interview with CU’s own B.G. Brooks. “Both of those guys (Tyler Hansen and Cody Hawkins) will play with the ‘ones’ and the ‘twos’. We’ll evaluate them every day and see what happens in the scrimmages. And then we’ll see where we’re at.”
Hope you didn’t just throw your mouse across the room.
It’s okay. As you read here a few weeks ago, this was to be anticipated. “So don’t go nuclear if you read about the quarterback race being an ‘open competition’ “, were the wise words posted in the “Spring First Look: Offense” on February 20th. Nothing’s changed here. In fact, there is no guarantee that Buff fans won’t still be sweating out the naming of a starter well into the summer. When asked about naming a starter at the end of spring practice, Hawkins was non-committal. “I think after the spring game you’d like to (name a starting quarterback”, but you just have to wait and see where you’re at,” said Hawkins. “If there’s a…
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