11-1 #2

BCS National Championship January 8th, 2009

11-1 #1

Woodrow has begun drinking for the National Championship Game in the parking lot. Yes, he is there and taking it all in. Below is the twitter feed that will feature pictures and some commentary from Woodrow as he watches the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators battle it out for the BCS National Championship. Judging by the first picture, looks like it will be a picture perfect tailgate!

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According to ESPN.com, the Buffs have offered California DT Justin Brown (ESPN_Rivals). Brown is 6'2" 260 pounds and is listed as running a 4.8 second forty. Many people, including Greg Biggins, thinks Brown is a pretty big sleeper. Rivals has him ranked as the 65th DT in the nation and a three star, which is a pretty strong rating for a guy that hasn't gotten a ton of looks so far in the process. But things are warming up for Brown. He is trying to visit New Mexico this weekend and then scheduled to be in Boulder January 16th.

The big deterrent as to why Brown is not more highly rated is his weight and strength. He will be a red shirt candidate his first year of school unless he has enough ability to play at the end position. Tough news for Buff fans because of the immediate help needed on the inside but as of right now, their are only a few prospects that might be able to step in from day one and start. Still, Brown is a good prospect and would be a welcomed depth addition to a Buffs team starved for interior help.

Oregon, Hawaii, Arizona State, Washington and Washington State have all recently expressed interest in Brown. Look for him to make a few visits to these places as well.

Many Buff fans are wondering what will happen to S Stan McKay now that UCLA has offered him. I asked Greg Biggins yesterday and here was his response:

I think CU is definitely still in it but his coaches believe he'll stay closer to home and play for UW or UCLA. I get the feeling they're pushing UW because they know the new DB coach over there very well.

UCLA does have some depth at safety but I don't think enough to make Stan go elsewhere. As for playing closer to home, Stan if you are out there, the West Coast is bigger than you think. Seattle, WA to Long Beach, CA is 1,162 miles. Boulder, CO to Long Beach, CA is 1,048 miles. I'm just saying!

I found this interesting as Greg Biggins, the West Region Recruiting analyst from ESPN, gave his take on a few of the bigger recruits in the region and where he thinks they will end up. It is not looking too good for the Buffs:

Markus Wheaton, 5-11, 170, WR, Chandler (Ariz.)
I'm not surprised too often in recruiting because you basically expect the unexpected. Saying that, it will be a little surprising if Wheaton ends up anywhere other than Oregon. Wheaton visited Oregon, Cal and Colorado and will trip to UCLA this coming weekend. He was raised a Ducks fan after the success of his older cousin Kenny Wheaton, a former Oregon All-American. If anyone can pull off the upset here, it's Cal but Oregon does look pretty solid.

I still think the Buffs have a better chance than Biggins thinks but with the emergence of Simmons, Darden and Jackson into the class plus the possibility of Ussery and Wright, it might not be a bad idea to write Wheaton off unless the Buffs can get him as an athlete, which is what they were initially recruiting him as.

Kevin Greene, 6-3, 220, DL, Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. (San Francisco, Calif.)
Greene has already visited Washington State and Colorado and will check out USC and Arizona State later this month. He has already ruled out the Buffs and said he will decide among the three Pac-10 schools following his final visit. USC leads big here and I'm actually surprised he hasn't committed to the Trojans already. Greene has liked USC for some time and it moved to the top of his list the second it offered him. Look for the talented pass rusher to commit to USC either on, or shortly after, his visit there.

We knew he had been gone for a while now. He has a big jimmy for USC.

Nik Abele, 6-6, 250, OL, Irvine (Calif.)
Abele is a specimen who opened a lot of eyes at the USC Rising Stars camp in the summer. Although he didn't earn an offer from the Trojans, several other schools jumped on the bandwagon and he took visits to Colorado, Utah and Arizona State. Abele will visit UCLA this weekend and has talked about visiting Oregon State or Cal for his final visit. The last time I spoke with Abele, he said the visits were growing on him and added there's a strong chance the visit to Westwood will be his last. The Bruins have done a great job recruiting Abele and assuming he enjoys his visit, look for him to announce for UCLA shortly afterwards.

I still think Nik is gettable. He is a kid who probably likes the thing that has been freshest in his mind but he has considerably cooled on the Buffs. If Hawk wants him, I think an in-home visit would do a lot. He had this same "good feeling" about Utah after he visited there as well.

Kyle Van Noy, 6-4, 200, ATH, McQueen H.S. (Reno, Nev.)
Van Noy is one of the most versatile players in the region and could end up on either side of the ball in college. Van Noy has already visited Colorado and Arizona State and will visit BYU and UCLA in the next two weeks. I've always gotten the feeling that Van Noy wanted to stay home and play for the Cougars and that feeling has only gotten stronger in recent months. Barring something crazy happening, look for Van Noy to announce for BYU after his final visit.

Not much of a chance with Van Noy. We sort of knew that before he even officially visited the Buffs. I was shocked he actually visited. He would be a great get but it isn't going to happen.

Michael Clay, 5-11, 205, LB, Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose, Calif.)
Clay is a talented outside linebacker and reminds me a lot of former Stanford 'backer Michael Okwo. Clay tripped to Colorado and will visit his other finalist, Oregon, this coming weekend. Clay said he plans to announce his college choice January 13, which is his mother's birthday. Heading into the visit to Eugene, it sounds like the Ducks hold a slight lead and they could really seal the deal with a strong trip this weekend.

The top two is CU and Oregon but he has always liked Oregon. I bet that is where he will end up.

January 6th, 2009. A little over 28 days until February 4th; signing day. A time of hope that a few of the players brought in will lead us to the promise land. A chance to believe that so and so will allow us to play in the month of January instead of sitting at home for the off-season. This year those players have to be QB Clark Evans and the wide receiver combination of Jarrod Darden, Andre Simmons and Diante Jackson. It has been a long time since the Buffs have had a true play maker and #1 quarterback. Can Clark Evans grow into that duty? Is he the real deal? Remains to be seen but he passes the eye test for sure. And for just as long as the Buffs have waited for a prime time quarterback, Colorado has been starved for a couple of good receivers that can stretch a defense and bring credibility to a passing game that has been less than average over the past five years. January is a good month to start assessing what we do and what we don't know about this year's recruiting class and even last year's recruiting class.

Straight up, CU has its work cut out. I don't know if their will be a busier BCS conference team than the Buffs over the next 28 days. We need both quantity and quality but as the days go by, quality may start to dwindle in favor of quantity. It is a serious judgment game. Fish for marlins with not a ton of bait, you could go hungry. Hawkins has promised that he would recruit the best to come to Boulder and he did that with guys like Nick Kasa, Kyle Van Noy, Edward Nuckols, Latu Heimuli, Keenan Graham, Josh Hunter, Emory Blake, Randall Carroll and Bryce McNeal among others. But we might strike out on all of them. 10 wins will get these guys to Boulder but until then, we are finishing for marlins with not a lot of bait.

It's not always how you start but how you finish and if their has been one thing Hawkins has shown, especially last year, is that he seems to find a couple gems late i.e. Rodney Stewart. Just remember if you are getting a little nervous, say to yourself, "it's not how you start but how you end." The Buffs still would like to sign 10 - 12 players and it could grow to 14 if guys like WR Andre Simmons don't qualify or DE Nosa Eguae really is on the fence to attend Colorado. The end number was supposed to be 20 - 22 players, right now CU has 10. Worst case scenario is the Buffs need to sign a player every TWO days. Best case scenario, Hawkins and Co. need to sign a player every THREE days. That is a scary proposition.

We don't really know how important getting 22 players is right now. Would the Buffs settle for 16 - 17 with the thought that they can go to a bowl game next year and if Hawkins had his way, get to 10 wins? Personally, I think I would rather have a class of 16 - 18 kids and next year, get stronger, more immediate impact guys to join the team. Basically, hopefully the Buffs don't end up settling. Let's face it, their may be 2 - 3 guys the Buffs will sign in January that may make an impact in 2009. Hawkins has put all his eggs in this year's basket. He feels he has the players right now to win 10. If that is the case, reap the benefits next year. I think this is a good question for us to ponder.

As a perception to the public, can Hawkins afford to underachieve in recruiting? Perception is huge in the eyes of the media, fans, future recruits, boosters, etc. Is it better to sign 22 players for perception or take 16 and wait until next year to hopefully be that program on the upswing again? It will be interesting to see how "active" the Buffs get in the next 28 days.

It is clear right now that this class will not be of last year's caliber. What the coaching staff did last year was miraculous. They sold these players based on a program that was perceived to be on the "upswing." That story only works once. 

While this class might not merit a top 20 ranking, it still has a chance to be very strong. The Buffs are still on a few really good players. A great wish list would be this: DT Edward Nuckols, K Zach Grossnickle (since we had to offer him a scholarship...freaking kickers), WR Terderma Ussery, S Stan McKay or S Nathan Fellner (I think we are getting a little carried away with defensive backs in this class), TE Tracy Moore, Ath Terrell Williams, DT Adam Alaya, DE Colton Nash, DB Bradley McDougald, LB Derrick Webb, DT Semisi Tokolahi and either DT Nik Abele or DE Iuta Tepa. Defense much?

The Buffs are still in desperate need of immediate defensive tackle help. JUCO's and Edward Nuckols. The Buffs need to find guys who can play right now and contribute. The problem: the Colorado Administration makes it really hard to be successful in getting JUCO talent in. I don't envy what Hawkins has to deal with when admitting kids. I wish we could have an administration that would take athletics seriously.

The 2008 recruiting class will be Hawkins meal ticket. All of his eggs are in that basket. Youthful and talented, that class will determine, in my opinion, whether Hawkins will be around in 2010 and beyond. That is a scary thought in that many of those guys will be playing exclusively for the first time and their are still a ton of question marks. Is Darrell Scott mentally and physically the man for the job? How will guys like Jon Major, Bryce Givens, Rodney Stewart and Max Tuioti-Mariner recover from injuries? Is Tyler Hansen the answer at quarterback. Can he become the pocket passer with a little athleticism on the side to run the show?

Come on defensive linemen. Other than that I feel pretty good about the team depending on the quarterback position. Can't really do anything about that now.

It should get very exciting over the next three weeks to say the least.

7-5 NR (AP) NR (USA Today)

January 5th, 2009 Who: Colorado Buffaloes vs. SMU Mustangs Where: Moody Coliseum (Dallas, TX) 6:00 pm MT TV: FSN Rocky Mountain Radio: AM 760 Live Stats: ESPN.com Line: SMU -2

4-7 NR (AP) NR (USA Today)

The Buffs are coming off a 25 point loss to the Vermont Catamounts in the Rainbow Classic. They will try and rebound against a mediocre SMU team that has won four games this year, all of which have been at home. SMU has played some relatively good teams this year, unlike the Buffs, but have lost to all of them (Northwestern, Texas A&M, TCU and South Florida). Against Vermont, Colorado cited fatigue as a main reason for the loss eventhough Vermont had played the same amount of games and had to travel farther than the Buffs to get to Hawaii? CU shot 40.8% from the field and 31.3% from beyond the arc. The offense wasn't the only problem against the Catamounts. The Buffs allowed a Vermont team who just lost to Colorado State the night before to score 84 points while shooting 57% from the field and a whopping 64% from three-point land.

I never thought I would say this but effort seems to be an issue with a Jeff Bzdelik coached team. Yes, youth, talent and inexperience are the main driving factor to the trouble this year but to lose to Vermont (by a lot) and Montana State already is disheartening to say the least. Conference play is just two games away and that might be a 1 to 2 win outlook. Wins against SMU and Western Colorado in the next three days would be positive momentum going into the Big 12 slate.

Colorado and SMU have had two common opponents this year: TCU and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Buffs had the only victory against those two, against APB at home. SMU lost to Pine Bluff by 2, 62 - 64. SMU has only won on it's home court this year (4 - 3), while Colorado is 0 - 2 on the road.  Go Buffs!

For more on tonight's game, check out this preview at CUBuffs.com