Head Coach Dan Hawkins walks to the sideline after speaking with his players in huddle. (CU Independent file/Molly Maher)
Head coach Dan Hawkins and the Buffaloes are getting ready for a new season with an official 21 new players added to the herd.
Hawkins introduced the 21 new athletes joining the football team on Wednesday at a press conference at Dal Ward Athletic Center.
Only two of the signees are from Colorado, the lowest since Hawkins’ tenure at CU. That number would be higher, but due to the deflections of highly regarded one-time CU commits Mister Jones and Danny Spond, the Buffs failed to land the state’s top talent.
According to Rivals.com, of Colorado’s top 11 highest rated players, CU did not get one.
Schools like Cal, Notre Dame, and Stanford swooped in to bag the state’s best recruiting crops from CU’s own farm.
Hawkins said such events are commonplace.
“There’s always guys that you don’t get and that’s the nature every year,” Hawkins said. “I think it’s important you get the right guys for your program and get the right fit.”
The Buffs did fill up positions of need by landing four prospective tailbacks and four tight ends.
Hawkins responded to concerns regarding the ranking of this class quickly and honestly.
“Does it mean something? Yeah. Does it mean everything? No, it really doesn’t,” Hawkins said. “[Recruiting Web sites and rankings are] a very inexact science.”
Hawkins cited Ryan Clady, a former player under Hawkins at Boise State and first round pick of the Broncos in 2008, as proof of the flaw of recruiting sites.
“Go ask Ryan Clady how many stars he had coming out of high school and how many scholarship offers he had,” Hawkins said.
Clady was ranked as a two star by Rivals.com in the class of 2004, before joining the Boise State Broncos in 2004.
Though Hawkins would love to have 21 Ryan Clady’s who weren’t recruited heavily to emerge from this class, he doesn’t appear too worried about the lack of “five,” or “four ” star recruits.
Hawkins recalled a prospect he was recruiting a few years ago.
“He said, ‘Coach I want to tell you something I respect about you and your staff’,” Hawkins said. “‘You didn’t ask one time who else is recruiting me, you didn’t care if nobody did, and you didn’t care if everybody did.’”
He eventually signed that recruit.
It is these types of high school players Hawkins said makes him very zealous to hit the recruiting trail.
“I love going on the road,” Hawkins said. “I love watching those kids play and talking to them. It’s fun to go to every corner of the United States [to recruit].”
By going all around the country, Hawkins was able to sign recruits representing 11 different states besides Colorado.
“We have kids from New Jersey and Florida,” Hawkins said, “and they’re going to be in the same locker room with a kid from Hawaii.”
Recruits from all around the country signed on with the Buffs in hopes of turning the program around. By signing with CU despite last season’s disappointing 3-9 record, they seem to put a great deal of faith in the program. Hawkins acknowledged this at the press conference, combined with the uncertainty surrounding his job at last season’s end.
“I think if you look around the country and you look at CU and you go, ‘Okay, let’s pick a good place to live. Let’s pick a good university. Let’s pick a program that has great football tradition. And let’s look at that well-rounded institution and that program,’” Hawkins said. “I think Colorado is pretty good there, regardless of who the coach is.”
Though the upcoming season could very well determine Hawkins’ career at CU, he will have to wait until spring practice kicks off on March 6 to see the new recruits in action.
“To see this kind of whole herd of Buffaloes running around that are very big and very agile and kids that have been around is great,” Hawkins said. “We’re looking forward to that.”
Colorado’s 2010 recruiting class:
Jared Bell, DB, 6-1, 185, Colony HS, Ontario, Calif.
Keenan Canty, WR, 5-9, 155, Edna Karr HS, New Orleans, La.
Justin Castor, PK-P, 6-4 180, Arvada West HS, Golden, Colo.
Cordary Clark-Allen, TB, 6-2, 230, Central HS, Phenix City, Ala.
Anthony “Kaiwi” Crabb, OL, 6-4, 270, Punahou School, Honolulu, Hawai’i
Donnie Duncan, WR, 6-0, 185, Hamilton HS, Cerritos, Calif.
Justin Favors, TE, 6-3, 225, Trotwood-Madison HS, Dayton, Ohio
Henley Griffon, TE, 6-5, 215, Apopka HS, Apopka, Fla.
Evan Harrington, LB, 6-0, 225 (Jr.) CC Canyons, Bowie, Md.
Nick Hirschman, QB, 6-4, 220, Los Gatos HS, Los Gatos, Calif.
Tony Jones, TB, 5-7, 180, Don Bosco Prep, Paterson, N.J.
Trea’ Jones, TB, 5-11, 190, Rolesville HS, Wake Forest, N.C.
Alex Lewis, OL, 6-6, 250, Mountain Pointe HS, Tempe, Ariz.
Harold Mobley, TE, 6-4, 230, Roosevelt HS, Corona, Calif.
Daniel Munyer, OL, 6-3, 275, Notre Dame HS, Tarzana, Calif.
Kirk Poston, DL, 6-2, 250, St. Pius X, Houston, Texas
Eric Richter, OG, 6-4, 305 (Jr.), Saddleback CC, Mission Viejo, Calif.
Kyle Slavin, TE, 6-5, 225, Chatfield HS, Littleton, Colo.
Justin “J.T.” Torres, TB, 6-1, 215, La Mirada HS, La Mirada, Calif.
Chidera Uzo-Diribe, DE, 6-4, 225, Corona HS, Corona, Calif.
Lowell Williams Jr., LB, 6-1, 210, Marshall HS, Missouri City, Texas
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Michael Krumholtz at Michael.krumholtz@colorado.edu.
