Boulder
George Hypolite couldn’t help but do a double take after first spotting that pile of sand next to the Colorado football practice fields. And what are those wheelbarrows for?
Uh-oh.
“We found out it was for us,” said Hypolite, a junior defensive tackle. “But we didn’t know what they were getting at.”
Players nursing injuries, if they’re able, are ordered to shovel sand onto the wheelbarrow and move it to another pile about 120 yards away. Repeat the process until the two-hour practice ends. The next day, transport the sand back to the original pile.
Hypolite had to ask. What in the world prompted the coaching staff to come up with that one? Jeff Pitman, CU’s first-year strength-and-conditioning coach, got the idea while removing tons of rocks from his backyard. This is a way to keep injured players occupied during practice, he said.
It’s not hard work, not a punishment, Pitman explained. But at least unavailable players won’t be standing around.
“It’s that blue-collar mentality,” said Hypolite, who put in a recent shift with the wheelbarrow brigade after getting banged up in practice. “It’s funny, because moving that wheelbarrow back and forth, it’s about consistency. It’s about being patient. It’s about doing your job. Like the coaches are telling us, every little bit that you’re asked to do has to count.”
The “blue-collar” message apparently has gotten through to Hypolite. Coach Dan Hawkins isn’t so sure about the others.
“I asked our football team, ‘Guys, does anybody know what blue-collar means?”‘ Hawkins said. “Not one guy raised his hand. Not one guy, including my own son (quarterback Cody Hawkins).”
Coming off a 2-10 record and with a roster lacking experience, Colorado won’t enter many games with a talent advantage. The Buffs, Hawkins said, had better outwork the opponent, be cognizant of the details and take pride in every role on the team.
When Hawkins speaks to the team about a blue-collar mentality, it’s not rhetoric. He lived it.
The son of a logger, Hawkins grew up in rural Bieber, Calif., about 175 miles northeast of Sacramento and hours from the nearest mall.
Hawkins was the first person on either side of his family to go to college. He is believed to be the first football player from Bieber’s Big Valley High to play at a four-year school (University of California-Davis).
“All my people were ranchers and farmers,” Hawkins said. “I joke about it to my kids, but I had a job since the time when I was about 10 years old.”
Hawkins hauled hay and worked on a conveyor line in the lumber mill, often earning enough to pay for school clothes ordered from a Sears catalog. It wasn’t a matter of learning hard work. Mill workers have no choice.
“As the fresh boards come out, you’ve got to lift them and put them somewhere,” Hawkins explained. “These boards can be 16 feet long. They’re heavy. We’d work 10-hour days. There’s nothing fun about it.
“And you’ve got to keep going, because those boards keep coming. You can’t say, ‘I’m going to sit down and take a break.”‘
Convincing players to always put in a good day’s work is the way to build a football program, Hawkins believes.
“I want: ‘Show up. Be a good guy. Dependable. Work hard. Do the right things,”‘ he said. “To me, that’s being blue-collar. Everywhere I’ve been, we’ve developed that sort of mentality. We’re not all about the frills. I’m not a coach who sits up in the tower. We’re salt of the earth. We’re about what’s really important.”
On the field, the blue-collar mentality translates to preparation and toughness, Hawkins tells his team.
“It’s, ‘You’re not going defeat me. You’re not going to intimidate me. I’m going to see this thing through. You’re not going to beat me down,”‘ the coach said.
Hawkins thought his team needed to get stronger and tougher, so last spring he hired away Pitman from Boise State. Pitman had seven seasons as the strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater, including five years under Hawkins.
Like Hawkins, Pitman preaches blue-collar from the heart. Pitman grew up on a dairy farm near the Snake River in Melba, Idaho. Daily chores began well before daybreak.
“It’s one thing to say you believe in the blue-collar mentality, and it’s another thing to live it,” Pitman said. “We’re trying to impress on these young men that it’s not about the game, it’s about the process and working toward that.
“Every day is just another workday for us.”
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
ABOUT THE BUFFS
COACH DAN HAWKINS, SECOND SEASON (2-10) | 2006 RECORD: 2-10, 2-6 BIG 12
WHAT’S NEW
Mainly Cody Hawkins. The last time CU counted on a 5-foot-11 quarterback, Mike Moschetti became a third-team all-Big 12 player for two seasons (1998 and 1999). Hawkins leads an injection of youthful enthusiasm; the Aug. 19 depth chart included redshirt freshmen at three starting positions (Hawkins, WR Scotty McKnight and OG Wes Palazzi) and seven true freshmen listed as second-teamers.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Players being more comfortable with the system. It was bound to happen in the second year anyway, but the improvement has been even more dramatic than expected. As well, the Buffs can use more of the playbook. Dan Hawkins’ system revolves around a pure passer, which he lacked last season with Bernard Jackson at the controls.
PREDICTION
A 6-6 regular season (wins over Colorado State, Miami of Ohio, Baylor, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa State) that earns a lower-tier bowl invitation. That doesn’t measure up to Dan Hawkins’ norm at Boise State, but it would show encouraging progress.
FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH
QB Cody Hawkins, redshirt freshman
He never lost a game as a high school quarterback in Boise, Idaho. It will be interesting to see how the coach’s older son and the coach react when things don’t go Cody’s way.
CB Terrence Wheatley, senior
In a conference teeming with big-play wide receivers, there’s a comfort level knowing that your shut-down corner has run a 10.15-second 100 meters.
LB Jordon Dizon, senior
The tenacious Hawaiian earned second-team all-Big 12 honors with 137 tackles in 2006. The Buffs may need 150 or more from him this season.
RB Hugh Charles, senior
One of the Big 12’s fastest backs (10.34 personal best in the 100 meters), the 5-foot-8, 190-pounder improved his bench-press to more than 400 pounds as he eyes a 1,000-yard season.
OL Ryan Miller, true freshman
A 2006 Parade All-American, the 6-foot-7, 320-pounder from Columbine High School begins the season on the second team at right guard. Don’t be surprised if he moves into the starting lineup by October.
