Boulder – Asked to describe a most unappealing season, Colorado coach Dan Hawkins went into full comic mode.
“It’s kind of like the Monty Python episode where the guy was laying there with no arms and no legs, going ‘Come back, you coward!”‘ Hawkins said. “That’s me. That’s me.”
There was laughter. But the season wasn’t funny.
It was, however, a start, Hawkins said, and the 2-10 record is something to build on.
“You’re never always sure what life’s adventures are going to bring you,” Hawkins said. “Some of them are glorious, and some of them are painful. I’ve always said this job is sometimes like herding squirrels and sometimes three or four get out from under you and that takes you a little bit more time. I think we clearly have a vision for what it looks like and how to get there, and I feel very strongly about that.”
Jackson’s road
Bernard Jackson’s job as the starting quarterback is up for grabs, to be sure. But the senior-to-be will have a leg up on the competition.
His experience.
“Just the whole being in the fire and understanding the heat of the game and the intensity it takes and how fast it has to happen, that’s hard to explain to a guy,” Hawkins said. “I think that’ll be big for him. And he’ll know how much all those little things mean.”
Jackson’s chief competition will be Cody Hawkins and incoming junior college quarterback Nick Nelson, who is expected to enroll for the spring semester. Junior college athletes can sign with schools Dec. 15.
Recruiting tidbits
Hawkins is on the road recruiting, as CU turns its attention to filling out a class that has 22 known commitments. Many are offensive linemen, and Hawkins played it coy about the Buffs’ positional targets for the remainder of the recruiting season.
“I think you want to make sure you fill all of those positions,” Hawkins said.
Footnotes
Hawkins said he expects his full staff to return for the 2007 season, and would wait and see on players. … He said he had 27 pages written down of ways to fix the football program. … Hawk’s prediction on Saturday’s Big 12 championship game: “If you had to make me choose, I’d probably come down on the side of Oklahoma. But thinly. You can make arguments for Nebraska.” … CU’s spring football begins the week of March 12.
