When it came to Dan Hawkins’ turn this morning on the Big 12 football spring teleconference, the Colorado coach was asked about the ongoing quarterback battle between junior-to-be Cody Hawkins and sophomore-to-be Tyler Hansen.
“They’re both playing great, they really are,” Dan Hawkins said on the call. “Both of them have really raised their level of play and are able to do a lot of things. Both of them are playing really well.”
The coach was asked if it was difficult to pull his son in favor of Hansen as the starter for the Oct. 25 game at Missouri last fall.
“The first thing is, we have to do what’s best for the football team,” Dan Hawkins said. “(Cody) understands that. And I understand that. One of the things that determines how successful people are, is how they handle adversity.
“You can’t keep anybody in a glass bubble. And everybody has a backup quarterback. Everybody has backups and not everybody can be a starter. Everyone needs to understand that.”
Hansen also started the Nov. 8 Iowa State game, but Cody Hawkins took every snap in Nov. 15 game against Oklahoma State and played most of the way at Nebraska in the season finale.
CU coaches have said rotating quarterbacks in 2009 could be a possibility although that would not be their preference.
“Was it hard to sit your starting quarterback? Yeah, it was,” Dan Hawkins said on the teleconference. “We were so beat up, up front (along the offensive line), we really needed Tyler to come in (against Missouri) and run. I felt bad for Tyler, too. Having to pull off his redshirt year was a huge sacrifice. It was a huge sacrifice on both their parts.
“But I think they both handled it really well. They both wanted to do what’s best for the team. And they both supported each other. That made it work out. You’re trying to do what’s best for the whole program.”
Colorado’s spring game is Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. at Folsom Field. It is open to the public.
Expect the quarterback battle to continue into August drills.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
