Boulder – It’s the first full week colleges can contact football recruits to set up official visits, and Colorado is feeling more like a player in this game.
After a year under stringent regulations, recruiting guideline changes recently approved by the CU Regents and chancellor Phil DiStefano are giving the Buffs a more optimistic outlook about their 2006 class.
The curfew for recruits was pushed back from 11 p.m. to midnight. But Buffs coaches are the happiest about the reintroduction of player-hosts. Last year, players were not allowed to serve as hosts for recruits.
“That will be what we think is the biggest impact,” CU director of football operations David Hansburg said Wednesday. “The biggest issue, we said, to be competitive in recruiting is to have that one-on-one time where they get alone time with our players. That’s critical to get the feel of a program.”
Football recruits, he estimates, will get two or three unsupervised hours with current players before the curfew.
“Generally we go as a group to a dinner and then we’ll have a midnight curfew,” Hansburg said. “You’re done with dinner around 8:30 or 9 p.m., so really it’s three hours of free time. So it’s not a whole lot of time. But it’s still a big piece of the business, because the prospects have a chance to ask questions without the coaches around.
“Your players are really your best recruiting resources.”
Also, previous recruits who visited on game days had to get special clearance by the administration. The Buffs are closing in on booking their first official visit for their Oct. 8 game against Texas A&M. Hansburg said CU could double the game-day visits from the “eight or nine” it had last year, due in part to the Nebraska game being played in Boulder on Nov. 25.
Recruiting coordinator John Wristen said CU had 40 unofficial visitors attend last Saturday’s season opener against Colorado State. Hansburg said there are no official visits scheduled for Saturday’s game against New Mexico State. Next week coaches will be on the road recruiting, mainly in-state, when CU has a week off.
Footnotes
CU safety Dominique Brooks declined to comment about his suspension. On Tuesday, CU coach Gary Barnett announced he had suspended Brooks indefinitely. Brooks, however, was optimistic about a quick return. “I just have to take care of some things,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”…
Linebacker Thaddaeus Washington (concussion) practiced Wednesday and is expected to play Saturday.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
