Hawkins, Buffs catch spring fever

Coach sees more confidant and experienced play at spring practice

Like all major league baseball teams in Florida and Arizona at this time of the year, the CU football team is viewing spring practice with great optimism and hope.

As head coach Dan Hawkins had his team sit through a visualization exercise at the end of practice on Monday, the Buffs undoubtedly saw brighter days than their 2-10 season brought them last fall.

Unlike last year, when the team was running blind into its first season with a new head coach and a new system, the Buffs say there is tangible evidence through the first week of spring practice that the optimism and hope is more than just spring folly.

“Things are a lot more smooth this year because we’re competing. We’re going to have some bumps in the road against defense and offense but we’re just trying to get better,” said freshman Cha’pelle Brown, who is trying to make the transition from defensive back to wide receiver this season.

Through the first week of spring practice, it is clear the team is moving around with a different bounce in its step and that the players are a lot more comfortable in their second go around with the staff and terminology of the system. The CU players have acknowledged their increased comfort level with the playbook as opposed to last year. This has been a big factor in the first week of spring practice and how much more efficiently things are operating.

Coach Hawkins also said that he has noticed a significant difference in his team’s comfort level as opposed to last season.

“We’re definitely getting better. I think (the players) energy is good, their confidence is good and they’re doing a much better job of leading,” Hawkins said. “We’re so much further along in a lot of areas.”

Hawkins didn’t waste any time when asked what has been the biggest reason for his team’s increased comfort level as opposed to last year.

“Experience. The guys know what to expect,” he said.

Hawkins said that his team “probably had more production in one scrimmage in a limited amount of plays, than we had the entire spring and fall (of last year) combined probably.”

Hawkins referenced the increased number of balls that were completed in the team’s first spring scrimmage that took place on Saturday as an example of the improved efficiency his team has shown. He also talked about receivers doing a better job of getting open and guys having better overall knowledge of their assignments.

Along with the Buffs newfound confidence in Coach Hawkins’ system has come chances for healthy competition. So far in the spring, Cody Hawkins and juco-transfer Nick Nelson have worked hard to catch the attention of Coach Hawkins and passing game coordinator Mark Helfrich. The younger Hawkins says that the quarterbacks are much more comfortable this spring.

“We always know a way out and have an outlet against certain defenses where as last year we were just so unfamiliar with all the terms and different defenses,” said the freshman.

Hawkins helped himself early on in the team’s search for its starting quarterback by completing 5-7 passes for 105 yards in the scrimmage on Saturday. Nelson, who transferred from Saddleback Community College to CU this semester, was 3-7 on Saturday and threw the day’s only touchdown pass to tailback Demetrius Sumler. Jackson did not get as many reps on Saturday as the other two quarterbacks but Hawkins said that was solely due to the fact that Jackson missed practice on Thursday.

The work that Hawkins and the other quarterbacks put in over the off-season has appeared to pay off through the first week of spring practice. No interceptions were thrown in Saturday’s scrimmage.

The younger Hawkins said that the off-season provided everyone with a good chance to catch their breath and catch up with the terminology of the system.

“In the off-season we got a lot more time (to learn) because we weren’t always preparing for the next game. We got a chance to look back at each game to see what we did wrong and what we could have done better,” Hawkins said.

Getting into the film room and wanting to get better are qualities that Coach Hawkins wants to see from his players. Coach Hawkins has also stressed the importance of guys becoming leaders and he says that too is getting better.

Coach Hawkins said that he is continually working on with guys who are on what he terms the “Leadership Circle.” A couple of players from each position group are in the circle and Hawkins says the purpose is to cultivate leaders and teach them about leadership qualities.

“Everybody thinks that leadership is setting an example, and that’s a part of it, but there’s so many components to it that I’m trying to educate those guys about,” Hawkins said. “I think there are some concrete elements to leadership that everybody needs to learn about so you try to educate them that way.”

Contact Campus Press staff writer Stirling Wade at [email protected]