BOULDER — Three winters ago, quarterback Cody Hawkins got the same recruiting pitch as other high school seniors considering an offer to play at Colorado. And when Dan Hawkins recruited his son in the living room, he never guaranteed Cody playing time.
In fact, Hawkins and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich promised they would target quarterbacks with more talent than Cody in future recruiting classes.
“I tell guys all the time, ‘Next year, we’re going to try to outrecruit you,’ ” Helfrich said. “Hopefully, Quarterback C (QB signed in the third year) is better than Quarterback B is better than Quarterback A.
“We’re going to try to do that at every position. That’s how guys improve. We thought Tyler Hansen was better than Cody out of high school. Hopefully, that makes them both better.”
Having grown up around the game and understanding that coaches must play the best players, Cody has accepted his new role, sharing time with Hansen. The dual-quarterback system debuted three weeks ago when Hansen, a true freshman, discarded his redshirt in a game against Kansas State. The most athletic of CU’s quarterbacks, Hansen came off the bench and led the Buffs to a 14-13 victory.
They have shared time since, and both are expected to play Saturday when Colorado hosts Iowa State.
“Nobody ever likes the two-quarterback thing, including me,” Dan Hawkins said this week. “Getting Tyler into the package had to do with him having tremendous athletic ability and us needing that spontaneity in his ability to make plays with his feet when nothing’s there.”
Cody Hawkins realizes the patchwork offensive line has struggled, and Hansen’s scrambling enables CU to pick up first downs even when blocking breakdowns occur.
But it’s more fun to be playing. After last weekend’s 24-17 loss at Texas A&M, Cody said it was difficult to be standing on the sideline during the fourth quarter when coaches let Hansen try to pull out a win.
“I know that had to be tough on Cody because he’s a competitor,” senior receiver Patrick Williams said. “But I saw Cody jumping up and down when we scored that touchdown. And Cody was the first guy to go over to congratulate Tyler when Tyler came off the field.”
Hawkins started all 13 games in 2007 and set every major CU freshman passing record. He finished with 3,015 yards.
Cody already ranks sixth on Colorado’s career passing yardage chart (3,939), but there is a possibility that he may never again have the quarterback job to himself. Due to arrive next year are two more athletic quarterbacks from California who have given oral commitments.
“Coaches are always trying to recruit the best players into the program, and as a player you want that,” Cody said. “It might hurt (to share time) if you’re a selfish person. But I came here to be part of a championship program. I want to win.
“But I think this competition between me and Tyler is making me push harder to try to reinstate myself (as the No. 1 QB).”
Helfrich said he would not expect a problem if Cody were relegated to a backup role for his final two seasons. Cody aspires to be a coach.
“I’ve had guys transfer in every place I’ve been, but Cody is different,” Helfrich said. “Don’t get me wrong, Cody wants to play and he wants to compete. But at the same time he’s going, ‘Hey, this guy has a different skill set than I do.’ That’s a mature viewpoint.
“What happens at quarterback in the future remains to be seen. But Cody is a great guy to have in the bullpen, that’s for sure.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
The Lowdown
By Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
IOWA STATE (2-7, 0-5 Big 12)
Player to watch: QB Austen Arnaud.
The Ames native has had his moments, throwing for 371 yards against Texas A&M and for three TDs against Kansas. The good news: Arnaud has averaged less than an interception per game during the past six weeks.
Key for Cyclones: Early defensive stops.
Iowa State ranks last among Big 12 teams in total defense, yielding 522 yards per conference game and a league-worst 29 touchdowns.
COLORADO (4-5, 1-4)
Player to watch: Freshman TB Darrell Scott.
CU running backs coach Darian Hagan said Scott is ready for a breakout game. And Scott says he’s ready. With Rodney Stewart lost to a broken leg, expect Scott to get a lot of work Saturday. A 42-yard run against Texas A&M and a long TD in practice this week could be good signs.
Key for Buffaloes: Get going offensively.
Just once has CU scored more than 17 points against a member of a BCS conference (21 against Florida State). The Buffs need to jump on an ISU defense that has yielded an average of 43.2 points in Big 12 games.
