IRVING, Texas — In no surprise, the first question asked of Colorado coach Dan Hawkins during Big 12 Conference football media-day interviews was about his “10 wins” statement to players and boosters during the team banquet in December.
Hawkins, whose team went 5-7 in 2008, appeared ready — almost eager — for the question. Hawkins said he did not guarantee 10 victories this season. But he did want to set a high bar of expectations for his team.
“I always love good Internet rumors out there that everybody kind of jumps on as fact,” Hawkins said, with a chuckle. “Here’s the deal with that. It’s like bringing our football players to (the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium on Tuesday). I think the goal is always excellence.
“I’m never going to sell our guys short. I’m a big believer in your expectations and your vision, and what your standard is. . . . It’s not about the wins. I didn’t guarantee anything. I didn’t promise anything. I didn’t threaten anything. That was never part of it.”
“The equation was, ‘We should always expect the best,’ ” Hawkins added. “If a kid doesn’t expect to get an ‘A,’ how is he going to get an ‘A.’ It’s all that. That’s everything we do in our program.”
Senior tight end Riar Geer, who was joined by senior linebackers Jeff Smart and Marcus Burton for media days, said he was asked about the 10-win “guarantee” in just about every interview.
“Saying we should get 10 victories, that was a bold statement, coming from a bold, bold man,” Geer said. “It’s fun to see that our coach has that much confidence in us. His confidence has rubbed off on us. That definitely fired us up. It makes getting up at 6:30 in the morning for those workouts and runs a little bit easier, knowing we have something to prove, something to work for.”
Simmons expected on board.
Hawkins said the academic status of junior college transfer Andre Simmons should be resolved in the next day or two. Hawkins expects the 6-foot-3, 210-pound wide receiver to be eligible for this season after completing summer credits.
Simmons’ maturity and athleticism could soften the loss of junior Josh Smith, who transferred to UCLA. A native of South Carolina, Simmons starred at Independence (Kan.) Community College.
“We’re counting on him to do some big things,” Hawkins said. “The thing that probably impressed me most about the kid is that he wanted to be at Colorado. He could have gone to other places with less (course) work, but he wanted to be at Colorado. That fired me up.”
Who’s No. 1?
Hawkins gave no timetable for settling on a starting quarterback. Junior Cody Hawkins and sophomore Tyler Hansen are expected to battle for the job, although true freshman Clark Evans, who certainly looks the part at 6-5 and 225 pounds, could get some repetitions.
“We’ll see how it plays out,” Dan Hawkins said. “Obviously, we want to try to get something done before we get to the final stages of prep for Colorado State, our (Sept. 6) opener.”
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
