In the end, it came down to the simple stuff. Cody Hawkins' mastery of the little things, along with his knack for leadership, earned him the starting quarterback job at Colorado this season.

Hawkins, a redshirt freshman with a 59-0 lifetime record as a starter, will be the first freshman to play quarterback at Colorado since Craig Ochs took over as the starter halfway through the 2000 season.

Colorado offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich named Hawkins his starting quarterback Saturday night — the program announced it Sunday — because of Hawkins' ability to execute the fundamental parts of the offense at a high level, Helfrich said.

Head coach Dan Hawkins, Cody's father (in case you have been on another planet), said Helfrich made the final call only after meeting with the rest of the staff. Hawkins said his son was the consensus pick over junior Nick Nelson.

Cody Hawkins had a small lead over Nelson at the end of spring practices and he carried that margin through summer work and into preseason practices. Coaches decided to name a starter Saturday night because they are beginning to install the game plan this week for the Sept. 1 season opener against Colorado State.

"Fortunately for me, things went my way, but it's a bummer to see Nick be disappointed," Cody Hawkins said.

Helfrich was asked to sum up what sets the two quarterbacks apart at this point. He pointed first to Cody Hawkins' consistency, but Helfrich also said he knows he will go into the season with two quarterbacks who can lead the team to touchdowns.

"He makes almost every routine play," Helfrich said. "That's a big deal as a quarterback, is just making every play that is there.

"And the difference-maker type plays, those are the ones you have to make the majority of to be on the greater side of good, and Cody definitely worked toward that. But just overall it was just his consistency, his command of the offense and making those routine plays."Nelson acknowledged his disappointment in hearing the decision, but he said he's a team-first kind of player and he plans to keep pushing his friend for the job.

"(Saturday) I was a little discouraged," Nelson said. "It was just disappointing, but you've got to live with it. It's life, man. Life is going to throw a lot of stuff at you and you've just got to overcome it."

Senior wide receiver Dusty Sprague said he feels "great" about having a freshman playing quarterback and being in a leadership role on the team. Sprague said Cody Hawkins seems naturally suited to being a leader and he has the respect of everyone on the team.

"He's been raised around this game and you can tell that," he said. "He's been a quarterback since he was little and so I think he's developed those skills over time, and I think it's pretty obvious when you meet him."

Cody Hawkins was named the starting quarterback in conjunction with the release of the first depth chart changes since the beginning of training camp.

The offensive line won't feature a true freshman if it remains the same in the opener as it was constituted Sunday, but it will include redshirt freshman Wes Palazzi, who has risen to the starter's role at one guard spot. Sophomore Devin Head is the other starting guard at this point. Seniors Tyler Polumbus and Edwin Harrison are the tackles and junior Daniel Sanders is the center.

Other notable shifts in the depth chart included redshirt freshman Scotty McKnight at the top of the Z wide receiver grouping. True freshman Kendrick Celestine is second there.

Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Marquez Herrod is listed as a co-starter at defensive end with junior Maurice Lucas. Ben Burney is first at the right cornerback position over Cha'pelle Brown and a pair of true freshmen — Anthony Perkins and Anthony Wright — are battling for the backup free safety job behind Ryan Walters.

Dan Hawkins said there is still plenty of time for things to change at some of those positions prior to the season opener.

"I'm just one of those guys, I'm not into what you did yesterday or what you did last week," Hawkins said. "People have to play, and people have to make plays and people have to continue to step up. As long as we have that culture around here, we'll have the best 22 and 11 guys out there."