I think Pelini's saving grace through all of this is going to be Tom Osborne. In his first season Pelini redshirted a ton of players. And is getting the walk-on program going again. Just like the old days with Osborne. I have a feeling that Pelini is getting alot of mentoring from him. This team is building themselves for the long haul. If they don't do it this year, they'll do it next. I think with the Huskers it's going to come down to defense and the running game. If they can get both going early then they could prove tough to beat. We'll see. They still have some work to do on both sides of the ball. And their schedule is a little tougher this year. Which makes it much more wide open. If the Huskers had last year's easy schedule this would have been a no-brainer.
Hawkins: Buffs can make Big 12 title run CU coach believes in team's potential
By Ryan Thorburn
Friday, June 26, 2009
COLORADO SPRINGS — It feels like an election year for Dan Hawkins.
After all, this is the fourth summer Colorado's head coach has traveled around the state -- Hawkins appeared at a kickoff luncheon on Thursday at the Colorado Springs Marriott along with Air Force's Troy Calhoun, Colorado State's Steve Fairchild, Northern Colorado's Scott Downing and CSU-Pueblo's John Wristen -- shaking hands, kissing babies and talking about what he's doing to improve the Buffs.
At CU's seniors awards banquet last December, Hawkins made a sort of 2009 campaign promise to his players and others close to the program when he concluded his marks with a "10 wins and no excuses" mantra for the upcoming season.
Despite a 13-24 record through his first three seasons in Boulder, Hawkins didn't cringe when a reporter asked him Thursday if the Buffs were in position to make a run at the Big 12 title this fall.
"Do we have the potential to do that? Yes, we do," Hawkins said after a long pause. "But you've got to get hot, you've got to get some confidence going, you've got to avoid injuries. And then you never know how those things will go. But I think we're definitely getting closer to knocking on the door."
Hawkins is pleased to finally have some experienced depth on the offensive line, a stable of gifted running backs, and good competition at quarterback, tight end and throughout what should be a solid defense.
There is obviously a perceived weakness at wide receiver, and Josh Smith's recent decision to leave CU only adds to those concerns. Hawkins has named himself the new wide receivers coach in an attempt to get the most out of the position.
"Twenty-five-plus years of teaching," Hawkins said when asked what he will add to the staff as the full-time receivers coach.
Hawkins seems to be as excited about the combination of experience and youth on the new-look coaching staff as he is about the Buffs' deeper roster. He promoted Eric Kiesau to offensive coordinator after Mark Helfrich left for Oregon, hired Denver Johnson as the new offensive line coach after Jeff Grimes left for Auburn, promoted Ashley Ambrose to interim assistant wide receivers coach and was also able to keep Brad Bedell in the program as an intern.
"I think the whole equation worked out really awesome in a number of ways," Hawkins said. "Whenever you put your staff together you're always looking for guys who have a general, similar philosophy about how the big picture fits together."
With a favorable schedule -- at least by CU's lofty standards -- that picture should include Hawkins' first winning season as the leader of the Buffs.
The Buffs have winnable home games against Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Texas A&M and Nebraska on the slate. There are a couple of daunting trips (at Texas, at Oklahoma State) in the Big 12, of course, but overall the road games appear to be somewhat manageable (at Toledo, West Virginia, Kansas State and Iowa State), at least on paper in June.
The whole thing officially gets started on Sept. 6 against Colorado State at Folsom Field, but Hawkins' optimism about the 2009 season grew during the final week of spring drills, and he trusts his now more veteran players will take care of business this summer.
"I was talking to (CU cross country/track and field coach) Mark Wetmore and he was saying he told his team, 'Whether I'm coach of the year or not totally depends on what happens in the summer,' " Hawkins said. "That's where it all has to happen. Then what we need to do is start fall camp and really capitalize on what, to me, was probably our best week of practice since I've been at Colorado, that last week of spring ball.
"I thought we finally practiced -- I mean play in and play out, day in and day out -- with all the things that go into it like we need to practice. So that's what we need to get back to."
By Ryan Thorburn
Friday, June 26, 2009
COLORADO SPRINGS — It feels like an election year for Dan Hawkins.
After all, this is the fourth summer Colorado's head coach has traveled around the state -- Hawkins appeared at a kickoff luncheon on Thursday at the Colorado Springs Marriott along with Air Force's Troy Calhoun, Colorado State's Steve Fairchild, Northern Colorado's Scott Downing and CSU-Pueblo's John Wristen -- shaking hands, kissing babies and talking about what he's doing to improve the Buffs.
At CU's seniors awards banquet last December, Hawkins made a sort of 2009 campaign promise to his players and others close to the program when he concluded his marks with a "10 wins and no excuses" mantra for the upcoming season.
Despite a 13-24 record through his first three seasons in Boulder, Hawkins didn't cringe when a reporter asked him Thursday if the Buffs were in position to make a run at the Big 12 title this fall.
"Do we have the potential to do that? Yes, we do," Hawkins said after a long pause. "But you've got to get hot, you've got to get some confidence going, you've got to avoid injuries. And then you never know how those things will go. But I think we're definitely getting closer to knocking on the door."
Hawkins is pleased to finally have some experienced depth on the offensive line, a stable of gifted running backs, and good competition at quarterback, tight end and throughout what should be a solid defense.
There is obviously a perceived weakness at wide receiver, and Josh Smith's recent decision to leave CU only adds to those concerns. Hawkins has named himself the new wide receivers coach in an attempt to get the most out of the position.
"Twenty-five-plus years of teaching," Hawkins said when asked what he will add to the staff as the full-time receivers coach.
Hawkins seems to be as excited about the combination of experience and youth on the new-look coaching staff as he is about the Buffs' deeper roster. He promoted Eric Kiesau to offensive coordinator after Mark Helfrich left for Oregon, hired Denver Johnson as the new offensive line coach after Jeff Grimes left for Auburn, promoted Ashley Ambrose to interim assistant wide receivers coach and was also able to keep Brad Bedell in the program as an intern.
"I think the whole equation worked out really awesome in a number of ways," Hawkins said. "Whenever you put your staff together you're always looking for guys who have a general, similar philosophy about how the big picture fits together."
With a favorable schedule -- at least by CU's lofty standards -- that picture should include Hawkins' first winning season as the leader of the Buffs.
The Buffs have winnable home games against Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Texas A&M and Nebraska on the slate. There are a couple of daunting trips (at Texas, at Oklahoma State) in the Big 12, of course, but overall the road games appear to be somewhat manageable (at Toledo, West Virginia, Kansas State and Iowa State), at least on paper in June.
The whole thing officially gets started on Sept. 6 against Colorado State at Folsom Field, but Hawkins' optimism about the 2009 season grew during the final week of spring drills, and he trusts his now more veteran players will take care of business this summer.
"I was talking to (CU cross country/track and field coach) Mark Wetmore and he was saying he told his team, 'Whether I'm coach of the year or not totally depends on what happens in the summer,' " Hawkins said. "That's where it all has to happen. Then what we need to do is start fall camp and really capitalize on what, to me, was probably our best week of practice since I've been at Colorado, that last week of spring ball.
"I thought we finally practiced -- I mean play in and play out, day in and day out -- with all the things that go into it like we need to practice. So that's what we need to get back to."
BS....It still is frustrating reading about Hawkins talk about offense and his taking over the WR coaching duties and new Offensive coaching staff and all. But I still haven't seen an article that talks about their defense. Especially the all-important defensive line and how they are progressing or what Hawkins expectations are going to be from this young group.. It's almost like he's trying to avoid the issue.
10 wins and no excuses huh? Want to put some money on that, Sooner BS, or are you going to run and hide? I've got your number. Put up or shut up. I've got 1 K that says that Nebraska finishes higher than Colorado, and another that says that Kansas finishes higher than Colorado. Like I said, put up or shut up. It's real simple.
Yeah, BD, I can see me taking a bet from a teenager who claims to live in Southern California over the internet. I don't have to prove anything around here, BD. Either you agree with me or not. I didn't make any claims on any of these teams winning 10 games. I post what I think and try to back it up by info that makes sense. That's more than I see coming from a lot of your statements.
Now, go run along and play with Russ . . . . .
Colorado Defense
GS: The Colorado defense gave up 29.5 ppg and has only four full time starters returning. In addition they are going to go from the 4-3 to the 3-4 (which they experiemented with a little LY and got burned with big plays using it). In additon their secondary is very young and unproven. There has to be something extra in the Kool Aid to forsee this team going 10-2.
Pelini has help and he learned a lot last year. He in fact apologized to his team after their loss to Missouri (who was much more than a mediocre team by the way). They won 6 of their last 7 and gave up just 17 ppg and less than 300 ypg on defense. Clemson loses a lot this year but Ly they had some players.
GS: The Colorado defense gave up 29.5 ppg and has only four full time starters returning. In addition they are going to go from the 4-3 to the 3-4 (which they experiemented with a little LY and got burned with big plays using it). In additon their secondary is very young and unproven. There has to be something extra in the Kool Aid to forsee this team going 10-2.
Pelini has help and he learned a lot last year. He in fact apologized to his team after their loss to Missouri (who was much more than a mediocre team by the way). They won 6 of their last 7 and gave up just 17 ppg and less than 300 ypg on defense. Clemson loses a lot this year but Ly they had some players.
You really are a case. I can only verify one thing for sure, you my boy have a real problem.
You are the same guy who was putting down Randizzle saying "who does this guy think he is" and never even noticed that his thread had 26,000 or so hits. Yes, you are very observant. People had to defend him simply because you had never heard of him. Oh but I forgot you are only a part time poster and too good for the others that come on later.
You may be Huckleberry Hound but you will never be anybody's Huckleberry.
Now, isn't that irony, you have been on here since January 2009 and I have been here since 2006. Russ, you don't have any right of accusing me of shit. You are not doing anything in this thread more than making yourself look even more like an ass. Give up and go somewhere else with your petty, asinine statements. I'm trying to work on some real handicapping here. Something you would know very little about.
You got called out by what you call a teenager and everyone on here can see you reeling except you. The point he was making was about the point that you were not making concerning Colorado and Nebraska. Once again, you got caught up in your own rhetoric and got Huckleberried. Now I know where that comes from, kind of like being Munsoned in the movie Kingpin. Oh and here are some numbers for you 9-4, Pelini's actual coaching record ly. 10-2 the fantasy record promised by a coach who will eat those numbers on his way out the door.
Here's the record that Dan Hawkins had previous to coming to Colorado: 51-9. He took over a program that had been run into the ground by Gary Barnett. The first season, with team personnel that sucked ass, he was lucky to eek out 2 wins. The next season with roughly the same personnel, but with 2 seasons under his coaching, he was able to go 6-7 including two stellar upset wins against Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Last season should have been a better season, but due to injuries beyond his control, his offensive line was decimated and the team struggled all season. This year is his 4th year and I expect them to go to a Bowl game this year and I give them the best chance to win the Big 12 North.
I NEVER said he would win 10 games. If he thinks he can win 10 games, then so be it. If he can get his players to buy into that then it will likely mean more money for me. Is there some reason I should be upset about that?
Once again, Russ, you end up making some kind of post that leaves me asking myself, "What the fuck did he just say and mean?" You, sir, are a moron! You have proven it all Spring and Summer in almost every thread you post in and yet you continue to make moronic statements. How the hell does BD's post challenging me to bet him on some statement that Hawkins made have to do with showing me up or discrediting anything I posted about Colorado and Nebraska? Nothing!
Pelini has been a head coach for ONE FUCKING YEAR YOU MORONS! If you guys want to say that he is better than a proven winning coach then by all means look like a couple of douches. Most anyone that knows NCAA football knows how stupid that sounds.
Russ, I don't go into your thread posting shit, so I would appreciate it if you would stay the hell out of my thread with your meaningless drivel.
Here's the record that Dan Hawkins had previous to coming to Colorado: 51-9. He took over a program that had been run into the ground by Gary Barnett. The first season, with team personnel that sucked ass, he was lucky to eek out 2 wins. The next season with roughly the same personnel, but with 2 seasons under his coaching, he was able to go 6-7 including two stellar upset wins against Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Last season should have been a better season, but due to injuries beyond his control, his offensive line was decimated and the team struggled all season. This year is his 4th year and I expect them to go to a Bowl game this year and I give them the best chance to win the Big 12 North.
I NEVER said he would win 10 games. If he thinks he can win 10 games, then so be it. If he can get his players to buy into that then it will likely mean more money for me. Is there some reason I should be upset about that?
Once again, Russ, you end up making some kind of post that leaves me asking myself, "What the fuck did he just say and mean?" You, sir, are a moron! You have proven it all Spring and Summer in almost every thread you post in and yet you continue to make moronic statements. How the hell does BD's post challenging me to bet him on some statement that Hawkins made have to do with showing me up or discrediting anything I posted about Colorado and Nebraska? Nothing!
Pelini has been a head coach for ONE FUCKING YEAR YOU MORONS! If you guys want to say that he is better than a proven winning coach then by all means look like a couple of douches. Most anyone that knows NCAA football knows how stupid that sounds.
Russ, I don't go into your thread posting shit, so I would appreciate it if you would stay the hell out of my thread with your meaningless drivel.
Then quit mentioning my name in your threads. You mention my name, you will be hearing from me. Got it dingleberry.
Well SORRY that we lost to the ACC champions. I don't get why you don't have more respect for NU, a great majority of OU fans do, they respect what Pelini can do.
Your right though, we should have beaten VT in that game.
After the Mizzou game, we made quite a few changes on both sides of the ball. Pelini knows how to coach, he made adjustments throughout the year, and the team got better as the season went on.
What did Alabama do last season to have such a great season? Ran the ball and played great defense ( especially against the run ). Those are going to be our strengths of this team. And you are right, Bo and all the coaches have been sponges to Osborne.
There are quite a few players that we did red-shirt that are making a lot of noise.
Personally I feel 10-2, losses to VT/OU, Blacksburgh will be to tough, and OU is a top 5 team.
I don't disrespect Nebraska at all and despite what some people are trying to make it look like, I don't disrespect Pelini, either. I think my job as a handicapper and gambler is to cut through the hype and bias and try to figure out what teams and what games are going to make me money. Pure and simple. As a rule, I am very cautious with teams that get a lot of preseason hype going into a season. Lines tend to get inflated on these teams as recreational gamblers hit them hard and Vegas moves them up to make money on the other side of the line.
The bottom line with me is I like the team that makes me money. If that happens to be Nebraska this year, then so be it. But, I research these teams and info out throughout the offseason in order to prepare for the upcoming season and these are my opinions on what I see.
As I mentioned in my initial post on this thread, I think it is a toss up between Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas this year. I pick Colorado for some reason listed in the initial post, but I am well aware that Nebraska or Kansas either one could win it this year.
Yes, I think Colorado has several good betting opportunities on the schedule and I list those, too.
