BOULDER — Colorado coaches stopped short Tuesday of saying they want to give sophomore quarterback Cody Hawkins some competition. But it appears redshirt freshman Matt Ballenger will get some playing time Saturday at No. 16 Kansas.
Ballenger could get in with the game still competitive and not just for mop-up duty, CU offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. Making his college debut, Ballenger played in CU’s final two series of Saturday’s blowout loss to Texas and threw a touchdown pass.
“That’s what we’ll have to figure out,” Helfrich said when asked when Ballenger might get some minutes against Kansas. “If there is something he can provide or do differently that makes sense, we’ll do that.
“Matt is practicing better. There are some things he can bring to the table. We’re just going to kind of do a little more experimentation this week and see where that takes us. But I think it would do everybody good to get Matt in there a little bit more.”
Ballenger, 6-feet-4 and 230 pounds, has been considered a “raw talent” by Helfrich and head coach Dan Hawkins. As a multisport high school star in Nampa, Idaho, Ballenger earned greater honors as a basketball player (two-time Gatorade player of the year) than he did in football (second-team all-conference as a senior).
Ballenger has shown athleticism and a strong arm since he arrived at CU in 2007 but had much to learn about the checks and reads required of a quarterback.
“I feel like I’m getting the offense a lot better the past couple of weeks,” Ballenger said Tuesday. “Getting that touchdown pass against Texas was big for me.”
After Tuesday’s practice, Cody Hawkins called Ballenger a “great quarterback” and said he has no problem with the freshman getting more time.
“He is just going to get better and better,” Cody Hawkins said. “He’s a guy that if he continues to progress, he’s going to be tough to keep off the field just because he makes plays.”
Coach Dan Hawkins cautioned that comparing Ballenger’s passing statistics against Texas (3-for-4 for 61 yards and a touchdown) to that of Cody Hawkins (13-of-33 for 118 yards and one TD) “is not apples to apples; it’s apples to oranges” because Cody went against the Longhorns’ first-stringers.
Of his son’s struggles the past two games, Dan Hawkins said: “I think it’s a combination of things. I don’t think we’ve been prolific on offense, to begin with. All that stuff is cumulative. Has Cody played well? No, he hasn’t. But you’ve got to run the ball well to get the play-action game going. You have to protect well, do all those kinds of things. I don’t think it’s a one-man thing; I think it’s a group thing.”
As for Ballenger drawing playing time against Kansas, Dan Hawkins said: “We want to just get him in there and see how he does — to see how he competes. You never know. You bring another guy in and things happen and people respond. We’ll see how that goes.”
Footnotes.
Senior safety Ryan Walters (sprained knee) likely will play against Kansas, Dan Hawkins said. . . . Kickoff for Colorado’s next home game, Oct. 18 against Kansas State, was set for 5 p.m., with Fox Sports Rocky Mountain televising. . . . Installation of CU’s practice bubble is scheduled to begin Oct. 20 and likely will take three or four days.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
