Font ResizeHawkins spent about 45 minutes Wednesday afternoon discussing the merits of the 21 young men he is bringing to Boulder to help his struggling program. His opinion of their athletic ability stands in contrast to most of their individual rankings by the major recruiting services.
Hawkins also said he liked the twinkle in their eyes and the way they look you in eye when they shake your hand.
"The thing that sticks out to me with this group is just the tremendous amount of quality there," Hawkins said. "I`m very impressed with the kind of people they are. ...
"Tremendously athletic class, probably top to bottom might be the most athletic class we`ve had."
The Buffs did not sign a player ranked with four or more stars by either scout.com or rivals.com. Though final rankings are not yet available, it appears CU will finish behind most of the Big 12 Conference and Colorado State in overall class evaluations done by the major recruiting services.
This is the first year under Hawkins the program`s recruiting class will be ranked outside the top 50 in the nation.
Hawkins acknowledged recruiting rankings carry some validity, but they are not the only criteria by which a class should be judged. He referred to Denver Broncos left tackle Ryan Clady during one example, saying that Clady was lightly recruited before Hawkins brought him toBoise State.
"I don`t care if nobody recruited Ryan Clady," he said. "If I think he`s a good player, we`re going to recruit him and we`re going to offer him a scholarship. That`s how we`re going to do it."
Hawkins and his staff addressed needs throughout the depth chart with the class and will be close to the maximum of 85 scholarship athletes allowed by the NCAA next fall, barring more attrition. During Hawkins` first four seasons, the program has never had more than 77 players on scholarship during the season.
The class includes one quarterback, one defensive back, one place-kicker, two linebackers, two wide receivers, two defensive linemen, four offensive linemen, four running backs and four tight ends. Six of those players attended CU summer camps last year.
Hawkins said most members of the class are academically qualified but some still have work to do in order to pass the NCAA eligibility center and CU admissions.
Hawkins said he believes CU is perceived as a national school because so many of its students come from out of state and the recruiting class reflects that. This class hails from 11 different states stretching from New Jersey to Hawaii.
CU signed just two in-state players after enjoying a lot of success in-state in recent years. When he was asked why so many local kids went elsewhere this year, Hawkins talked about how much he likes the two local products who stayed home -- place kicker Justin Castor from Arvada West and tight end Kyle Slavin from Chatfield.
"Every situation is always different," Hawkins said. "We`re really excited about the guys we`ve got."
The topic of the local recruits -- such as Littleton running back Mister Jones and Columbine linebacker Danny Spond -- who got away, came up again later and Hawkins said he prefers not to focus on players who signed elsewhere.
"There is a ton of guys you don`t get," he said.
Local products weren`t the only recruits to end up elsewhere after flirting with CU. Munchie Legaux, a quarterback from New Orleans, faxed his national letter of intent to Cincinnati instead of Boulder after being committed to the Buffs for most of the past three months.
Hawkins said he believes he found four great tight ends after losing three to graduation last fall. It`s possible two of them could earn playing time next fall.
"Every one of those kids are in that 6-4 to 6-5 range," he said. "They`re very athletic and kind of lean looking right now at 220 or 230. I think each one of those guys can be a 240 or 245-pound guy who can run and catch."
CU also added some depth and size at running back, where two of the recruits are well over 220 pounds.
