Senior quarterback Cody Hawkins lets the ball fly over senior linebacker B.J. Beatty during the annual Spring Game at Folsom Field Saturday. (CU Independent/Patrick Ghidossi)
They both threw multiple touchdown passes. They both went the entire game without an interception. And now, they’re both back at square one–in the midst of yet another even-sided competition for the starting job.
CU quarterbacks Tyler Hansen and Cody Hawkins performed marvelously while going against each other on the field in Saturday’s annual spring game. Hansen’s gold team beat the Hawkins-led black team, 38-27.
Hansen threw with a 77 percent completion rate, while garnering 170 yards and three touchdowns through the air. On the other side, Hawkins matched his counterpart by completing 20-of-26 passes for 220 yards and two scores.
Throughout the spring, players and coaches constantly used the word “competitive” to refer to the atmosphere this offseason. The final scrimmage of the spring was no exception.
“We wanted them bad,” Hansen said, referring to the black team. “It felt like [playing] Nebraska, like you were playing guys you hat. But they’re your brothers, so it’s just like when you’re playing in your backyard against your brother, you want to kill him.”
The game’s format was tweaked this year by the coaches. Four captains were selected for each team to draft players the week leading up to the game. During the scrimmage itself, the staff made it feel like an actual game rather than running situation drills.
“Last week’s scrimmage was much more situational,” said head coach Dan Hawkins. “[With this format] they’re able to get in much more of a groove when they’re able to drive the football.”
Even with injuries to offensive starters Rodney Stewart, Scotty McKnight and Ryan Miller, neither offense had trouble moving the ball. After two scrimmages where the defense dominated, it was the offense’s turn to put out in front of a crowd of 9,100 at Folsom Field.
“The last couple of scrimmages we weren’t that efficient,” Hansen said. “Today we felt real comfortable. We were more prepared for the spring game because we treated it like a real game.”
After a 0-0 first quarter, it looked like the defense would continue its powerful spring. A second quarter touchdown pass to tight end DaVaughn Thornton changed all that by catalyzing the gold offense.
“I’m with them everyday, so you kind of know what gets them going,” Thornton said. “It took us about a quarter, but after that we were making plays.”
Especially for the 6-foot-5 Thornton who redshirted last season and caught two touchdown passes from Hansen. After losing All-Big 12 tight end Riar Geer, Thornton brings athletic play to a team in need. He said basketball is still his first love, but his focus on blocking this offseason should allow him to immediately play.
While Thornton was Hansen’s favorite target throughout the game, sophomore walk-on Kyle Cefalo caught 12 passes from Cody Hawkins. The former Bishop Kelly High School teammates from Boise clearly have a rapport, as it was Hawkins who called Cefalo and convinced him to come to Boulder.
Cefalo didn’t give preference to his old friend when asked about the quarterback battle, instead he diverted by noting how well both of his teammates played.
“I think they both handled their teams well,” Cefalo said. “We’ll be fine with either one of them.”
Unlike the relatively unknown walk-on, one player came into the game with grand expectations perched firmly on his shoulder pads. CU fans were anxious to see number 17, transfer receiver Toney Clemons. As the first draft pick of the gold team, Clemons brings a potential of all-around skill to the receiver group. The former Michigan Wolverine doesn’t regret his choice to come to CU.
“It feels good to be loved and wanted by your teammates,” Clemons said. “Coming from a situation where it wasn’t that way just lets me know I’ve come a long way.”
Hearing Clemons’s enthusiasm makes it hard for anyone to want anything but future success to come his way. His patience for taking last season off due to NCAA transfer rules will benefit the Buffs, who can use any weapon available.
The man who should be most encouraged by Saturday’s 65 combined points is offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau. His offenses combined for more than 700 yards and 32 first downs.
Though the spring is over, there is still work to be done. Kiesau said the one thing the team got out of these practices and scrimmages is the heightened sense of chemistry they have.
“We’ll watch every practice again as a staff,” Kiesau said. “The biggest thing we got out of this camp was the things you can’t see on paper; the camaraderie, the enthusiasm and the trust level.”
That’s really what spring football is all about; it’s the gelling of a team that has four more months to work out all the imperfections left in their game.
It’s also a time where players can surprise their coaches.
One player who should still be in high school, impressed both Coach Kiesau and Coach Hawkins. As a freshman, this spring is Nick Hirschman’s first semester in college and on his first pass in Saturday’s game, he threw an 83-yard touchdown to receiver Andre Simmons. He is CU’s third quarterback, whose youth has him in the position of pupil under the junior Hansen and the senior Hawkins.
“He’s got two good guys to learn from,” Coach Hawkins said. “And Tyler and Cody have been real good with him.”
Both Cody Hawkins and Tyler Hansen have been the starting quarterback at different points in the past. Presently, they’re competing for that re-opened job, while mentoring a promising freshman. The future? Well, not even the head coach knows what that holds.
“We’ll figure that out when we get closer to Colorado State,” Hawkins said. “(The quarterback contest) is great for our guys to keep battling, it’s great for our competition.”
There’s that “C” word, again. It provided for an entertaining spring game. When the Buffs and whoever their quarterback is take the field in less than five months against CSU, they better keep that competitive level. If not, this spring may be the last for more than just one member of the Hawkins family.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Michael Krumholtz at michael.krumholtz@colorado.edu.
