It’s just an opinion, of course, but Dan Hawkins, he of the 13-24 record at CU, has done a good job in his three years in Boulder.
What’s that? I knew it. One positive spin on a losing program and they call you a shameless homer. Sorry, but card-carrying realist is more like it.
Good is the new great at CU. Given the state of the program Hawkins inherited from Gary Barnett, any solid step forward has to be considered a great thing. And Hawkins has taken several.
“Every facet of the football program that you faced, you basically had to start from scratch three years ago,” Hawkins said. “That takes a while. There’s just no way around that. Given all the trauma they went through, it was tough just getting out of survival mode and getting into drive mode.”
Hawkins was careful in his first days on the job about setting a timetable for the program’s resurgence. Three years later, it’s obvious why he didn’t talk the talk: because he didn’t have the talent. Still doesn’t, at least not among his upperclassmen.
“People would say, ‘How long?’ ” Hawkins said. “You don’t want to say, ‘Well, let’s wait four or five years.’ You want to say, ‘Let’s go, let’s jump in and see what we’ve got.’ But it takes time.”
A lot of CU fans could use a reality check. Hawkins wasn’t about to turn things around in a matter of a few years. To think differently is to play revisionist historian. For the record, Hawkins’ most celebrated predecessor, Bill McCartney, believes Hawkins will turn a corner next season.
“There’s going to be marked improvement next year over what we saw this year,” McCartney said. “I’m not talking about a hint of improvement. I’m talking about marked improvement. Because they’ve laid a solid foundation.”
Maybe Mac is right. But sitting here a few days before national signing day, that’s not the point. The point is, considering where he started, Hawkins has done a good job. And where exactly did he start? The answer can be found in a number: zero.
That’s how many Buffs were invited to the NFL scouting combine. It also happens to be the number of CU players who played in all-star games. Number of such eligible players recruited by Hawkins? Also zero.
CU had 56 players drafted in the 1990s, many of them No. 1s recruited by McCartney. In the first nine years of this decade, the number stands at 25. And without a player going to the combine, the number will stay there.
Just a thought, but you might want to remember that the next time you’re judging Hawkins’ performance.
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
