Boulder – Saw the answer to what’s wrong with the Buffaloes. During a 21-3 loss to Arizona State, he stood on the sideline, wearing a cap backwards. Handsome kid. Looks like his father.
Cody Hawkins is 18 years old and is as thin as rumor. But the skinny freshman is better than anything Colorado has on the roster at quarterback. How can we be so sure? If Bernard Jackson can run an offense more efficiently than the new kid on the block, his father isn’t much of a recruiter.
Put in the kid, Dad.
“No,” Dan Hawkins said firmly, shooting down the idea, almost before the words exited my mouth. “No.”
Any father who has ever squashed some cockamamie idea for adolescent mischief knows exactly the tone of Hawk’s voice.
Cody Hawkins might strap on his shoulder pads, lace up his cleats and pull on a CU uniform. But Dad will steadfastly refuse to let his boy come out and play for the Buffaloes this year.
“He’s a true freshman,” the coach said. “You put Cody in there and he goes through the true freshman mistakes that Bernard goes through.”
The difference? Jackson is a fourth-year junior. When the Buffs get to where fans hope this program is going, he will be long gone.
Hawkins certainly has compiled a more detailed scouting report on his son than anybody in Colorado.
But what do the Buffaloes, winless in three games, have to lose by letting Cody learn on the job?
Through 12 quarters and 164 snaps, CU has scored 23 points. Total. Entering this game, the Buffaloes ranked 105th nationally in scoring offense.
But forget Arizona State. Colorado could not consistently move the football against a stiff breeze. And, as the sun dipped toward the Rocky Mountains, the wind howled at Folsom Field.
Ho. Hum. Another day, another field goal.
Fade to black. The Buffaloes are setting back offensive strategy 60 years.
And that is no exaggeration.
The last time a Colorado team failed to average 10 points per game was 1946.
If Joel Klatt were still under center as the CU quarterback, this team would be undefeated and receiving votes for consideration in the national rankings right now.
The mantra repeated by the Buffs with admirable faith: Losing is the best teacher.
If that’s true, Colorado might be the smartest team in the Big 12 Conference by the time midterm exams roll around.
There’s no joy in criticizing an amateur athlete who loves the Buffs as much as Jackson does. But no CU player touched the ball against the Sun Devils as much as Jackson did. He committed two costly turnovers. Between 17 runs and 18 passes, Jackson gained 91 yards. That’s 2.6 yards per touch. That’s not cutting it.
“That’s the nature of being the quarterback, and that’s the nature of being the new guy,” Hawkins said of Jackson. “But we believe in him and our team believes in him. He’s dying right now. It would be easier to work some place and watch the game on TV and be the critic.”
There’s no denying this season could be so brutal for CU that it might be safer to keep Cody Hawkins on the bench, where his ego or various body parts could not get bruised.
So perhaps father knows best.
But, with all due respect, might being a father get in the way of what’s best for Colorado?
If Cody were the quarterback for the Buffaloes, the Hawkins family would risk twice the blame for every CU loss.
Hey, maybe it’s easy to deal with a QB’s errors of youth when he is not related to the coach.
Freshman Mitch Mustain has already won for Arkansas. The Georgia Bulldogs, next on CU’s schedule, have entrusted their top 25 ranking to an 18-year-old QB still learning his way around campus.
If a teenage quarterback needs a learner’s permit to drive a college team, Cody Hawkins would have paternal supervision to grab the steering wheel whenever necessary.
The Hawkins kid needs to play quarterback for the Buffs.
Not next year. Soon. Real soon.
Of course, that’s easy for me to say. I don’t have to sit across the dinner table from his mother and ask her to pass the sugar.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
