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CU football players skipping summer break
More Buffs joining workouts in hopes of improving performance in season
Paying a visit to summer workouts for the Colorado football team in recent years generally meant seeing no more than 40 to 50 players on the field with at least a handful of them seemingly not taking the activities very seriously.
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All of that has changed this summer.
The Buffs are boasting the highest attendance rate at player-organized practices that anyone can remember. With many members of the 2008 recruiting class beginning to filter into town from around the nation, the number of players on the practice fields is approaching triple digits.
"They have been far and away the best since I've been here," said third-year sophomore wide receiver Scotty McKnight. "No one misses it any more. It's 100 percent every day."
The Buffs are taking advantage of the turnout by doing 11-on-11 work where linemen don't necessarily battle each other under game-like conditions but they do well enough to give skill position players a realistic look. CU starting quarterback Cody Hawkins said it is invaluable to the team with players still working hard to master a new no-huddle offense coaches installed during spring football.
The offense requires players to know various hand signals from their teammates on the sidelines telling them what the next play will be. Players are continuing to refine that system this summer, sans coaches.
"I think our guys have done an awesome job with it this summer," Hawkins said. "It's second nature to our guys now. We haven't huddled once in seven-on-seven."
Players were similarly excitedabout summer workouts and the attendance last summer, but they say a year has made a dramatic difference in terms of how many more players are showing sincere commitment to the team. It might be a natural inclination to believe you're doing better from one year to the next, but players point to specific tangible numbers to prove their point.
Two years ago during the first summer after the coaching change, strength and conditioning coach Jeff Pitman would require players to run two sets of 300-yard shuttles on the most difficult day of the week. Now the toughest day includes three sets of 300-yard shuttles along with six sessions of agility runs.
"That's going to be huge in the fourth quarter when you're gassed usually," McKnight said. "We're doing so much running right now that I don't see myself getting worn down really when we're playing in the games."
Hawkins said he has noticed a big difference not just in what players are able to do but how they are doing it compared with his first summer in Boulder in 2006 when he was fresh out of high school.
"I think the biggest improvement is in the whole team chemistry and morale," he said. "Guys are picking themselves up through the workouts. You don't have guys bending over so much anymore and guys aren't really pouting so much. I think guys are really working hard through the workouts and I think that's awesome."
McKnight said Pitman occasionally brings the team together to emphasize what players do now will show up during the season. McKnight said many of the veterans have concrete examples of that to draw upon from last year.
He said the Buffs made a handful of silly mental mistakes that could be traced to fatigue in nonconference losses to Arizona State and Florida State. He believes they have learned their lesson having lost both of those winnable games.
"I think if we had done more in the summer and been more prepared and had more 11-on-11 and things like that, maybe we wouldn't have had those troubles early on," McKnight said.
The Buffs are hoping to practice without pads against Northern Colorado and Wyoming at least once in the next month leading up to training camp in early August.
"Last summer was better than the summer before, but we would talk about this and it wasn't near what it was supposed to be," McKnight said. "I think right now this summer this is how it should be and it should continue to be like this every summer."
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Posted by hinfinityl on June 23, 2008 at 6:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Awesome! Go Buffs!
Posted by DCBuff on June 23, 2008 at 7:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is great news!! Keep up the good work Buffs!!
Posted by rodrigo on June 23, 2008 at 7:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nice piece, Kyle. Thanks, and keep feeding the fire. I, for one, would love to hear, how Scott and hopefully Polk are making the transition...
Posted by extrapoint on June 23, 2008 at 7:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
this news also makes rswright squirm. None of the off field problems have dimmed the team's enthusiasm.
Posted by MDBuff on June 23, 2008 at 8:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tall - nice coins. It figures that Bo's face will land face down in the grass at kickoff.
Posted by montanabuff on June 23, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If CU players won the Congressional medal of honor, talli would complain about the costs of sending them to Washington.
Posted by JBuff on June 23, 2008 at 9:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tal's avoiding the obvious by a head-fake. The point he's avoiding is Hawkins is a terrific leader. Tal's going after his height or his record but he's only going to be a Sophomore this year. What a leader, something Tal knows nothing about.
Posted by MDBuff on June 23, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks, Fla. They have some new postings at bigrednetwork.com that I'm going to post on, and I would encourage others to do as well. I'm calling mine "Huskerkilled" and mentioning some blowouts from last year.
Posted by Black_Rob on June 23, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Cody is basically a coach right now. Keep up the good work boys!
Posted by skipples4u on June 23, 2008 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
hwo are the eggs all in one basket? are you asking the same questions on the husker sites? wondering who else besides Ganz is taking snaps? Id love to know how many of those guys are working out in the summer, Ill bet they all get out of there as soon as possible after school....
Posted by bufffan8 on June 23, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tall - that comment doesn't even make sense. Why don't you make yourself useful and drive from Lincoln to Boulder and report back to us what Ballenger does during these workouts.
Posted by SnowBuff on June 23, 2008 at 11:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great hometown team article Kyle! Stoking the stoke!
Now.... who stood out among the WR's for you?
Posted by mntbyker on June 23, 2008 at 12:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What tal? Don't you get any responses on the fusker site, or do they ignore you too. Maybe the posters on this site have higher IQ's than fuskerville and this is where you finally get synaptic stimulation in that shallow brain of yours. Just leave US (BUFFS) alone with your fusker stats, and your neg attitude..., your no Buff!!!!!!!!!
Posted by SnowBuff on June 23, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wrong. Nelson killed it in the spring game and the spring in general. Almost as good as Cody. He used the spread in Juco. Ballenger got better as spring went on but still has a ways to go.
Next.
BTW DSCOTT IS HERE!!! Keep an eye out for him at the practices Ringo!
And again, I want to know how the WR's look. Sort of like your DE update the other day!
Posted by skipples4u on June 23, 2008 at 12:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
the DE update is in the blog from a few days ago, find it on the main page
Posted by rodrigo on June 23, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, while the rest of the team is practicing, I'm sure Ballenger and Nelson are moutain biking (no offense intended, byker) or wandering around campus with their girlfriends, uninvited to participate with their teammates.
Jeez, tall. One would think you just sit around making this s**t up... [for all you Nebraska folks that last sentence was irony].
Posted by extrapoint on June 23, 2008 at 1:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I just hope that basket doesn't get dropped in the form of an injury putting one of those guys in totally unprepared.
Posted by tallisall on June 23, 2008 at 12:23 p.m.
of course you do
We can handle your tear down and badmouthing Tall. That is what is part of sites like this....but when you act like and say things that imply you are a buff fan you expose youraelf as a real worm..
Posted by rodrigo on June 23, 2008 at 1:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No.
You of all people should know that game time didn't make Brian White a better qb.
Posted by SnowBuff on June 23, 2008 at 1:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hope ringo saw my questions up top, all this Tall riff raff keeps adding little to the discussion but length.
Posted by shoulder2shoulder on June 23, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
tall- I used to find you somewhat interesting but now i wish you would just go away...Cody should have played every possible snap last year, he was a talented freshman that needed expierience and was able to get plenty during the early part of the season. I'm think gained enough in the ASU and M of O game that he was able to remain cool and calm and beat the AMAZING ou sooners and out play the BEST QB EVER in Sam Bradford.
Posted by shoulder2shoulder on June 23, 2008 at 2:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I love the fact that he was left in when they were getting blown out. You learn more from the bad games then you do from the good games. If hawk would have "protected" him from getting hurt you would be on here complaining that he was being a dad looking after his son!! If Nelson and Ballanger are as good as you say they should be ready to step in regardless.
Posted by bufffan8 on June 23, 2008 at 2:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Tall - there is also a downside to putting the back-up in a blowout game that you are losing. 1 - it tells the players that either you have no confidence in the starter and/or you are giving up. 2 - if you are getting blown out it is likely the back-up, not having the experience, will get knocked around which will hurt his confidence. Since you likely never payed or coached at a high level you wouldn't know this. A lopsided victory is a better venue for a back-up to come in. Unless of course the starter is a freshman and he needs all the experience he can get. Please bring your poor Monday morning quarterbacking over to the Husker site. Bo needs the help.
Posted by MDBuff on June 23, 2008 at 3:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yay, no more tall!
Posted by extrapoint on June 23, 2008 at 3:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dang
I missed tall losing his cool.
buffan8
the problem with tall hooking up with Bo (as far as tall is concerned) is that Bo isnt interested in a vendetta on Barnett or some snubbed player's behalf.
Posted by skipples4u on June 23, 2008 at 3:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
kyle, just boot tall dr tom and Rs off the boards, they don't belong here
Posted by SnowBuff on June 23, 2008 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Damn, what a stupid time to get productive! Wish i had seen whatever it was. I am curious to see what the next iteration of Dr. Tom is. Tall was his best yet as far as staying power, but his schtick was very tired at this point. Ballenger Cody yada yada yada.
I welcome Husker fans, as long as they are honest and have the necessary thick skin to handle a Buff board. The troll thing that tall was doing was pretty damn annoying (go Buffs.... BALLENGER etc). Honest discussion baby!
Posted by SnowBuff on June 23, 2008 at 3:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nah, don't kick anyone off until they get offensive. Good job letting Tall run around. He was interesting at times and its nice to have people to argue with. Nothing wrong with opposing viewpoints!
Good job staff, now, can you pretty please let me know how our young WR's are looking? Or the DB's?
Posted by iowabuff on June 23, 2008 at 5:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Tall makes absolutely no sense at all, "Letting Cody have every single snap may make Cody better, but also increases chance of injury and leaves the cupboard bare." So if the cupboard is bare why are you complaining about Cody all of the time. Give him his due and if he sucks this year you may have reason to complain, otherwise shut the F*&% up, he's a RS Frosh. As many posted have stated in the past and I am guilty as well we need to ignore this clown puncher and move on. The excitement going on in Boulder is reason to be optomistic and I can' recall in recent pasts this much excitement and involvement over the summer.
Go Buffs!
Spreading the word in Cedar Rapids!!
Posted by buff4ever on June 23, 2008 at 8:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What??? What will happen to Florida if the Heisman trophy winner goes down? What kind of stupid logic says you have to give even practice reps to the backups? Is Tall an idiot? Obviously Nebraska won all their games last year when Kellewoman went down last year so let's follow that lead of spreading the practice reps evenly. Maybe CU can lose just as bad to Nebraska next year with that strategy!
Posted by mgmtgrad on June 23, 2008 at 8:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If CU had dumped Cody when behind, how would CU have comeback in the game with OU (ranked 3rd nationally) and ended up winning that game. He and the team had some really exciting comebacks for near wins with Bama, FSU and even a strong 4th quarter against ASU. AND don't forget the come from behind win against Nebraska.
Yes the very young team had their down games, ISU ( a complete melt down), KU and Mizz.
But young Cody is playing the roles of team captin, starting QB and even a Player/Coach during the summer. The fact that twice the amount of players are attending summer drills on their own shows a great deal of improvement in the young team's dedication.
All of the above is nothing less but improvement and makes this fall that more exciting.
PERIOD.
Marcus J
Posted by Dizonrocks on June 24, 2008 at 12:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Talliwacker is still depressed that the Cody Hawkins led Buffs are 1-0 against the Huskers.Maybe Bo Bo will find a way to slow him down, but I doubt it.
Posted by IowaBuffFan on June 24, 2008 at 1:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Damn glad to see I'm not the only Buff fan in the formerly great, currently under water, corn fields of Iowa! I'm representing Cedar Falls.
As bad as Tall is, at least he isn't a Big Ten fan. Anyone who has lived in Big Ten country knows those fans are equally annoying to the NU faithful.
Go Buffs!
Posted by archalon on June 24, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Hawk, why not call this kid and see if he wants to join Darrell in Boulder ? You still have two offers in pocket from Kafusi and Tinker, I think.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008...
Posted by archalon on June 25, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Schwenke gave a verbal to Cal - looks like Wynn couldnt persuade him to come with him.
Posted by shoulder2shoulder on June 25, 2008 at 8:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ryan Hewitt committed to Stanford...I am very impressed by what Jim Harbaugh seems to be doing for Stanford
Posted by archalon on June 25, 2008 at 10:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We need a name kid to committ soon. Too bad we lost those two, but Hawk will get it done.
Posted by shoulder2shoulder on June 25, 2008 at 10:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
its interesting, Stanford has 4 or 5 TE that have given verbals so far this year and I think Hewitt is the lowest rated
Posted by extrapoint on June 25, 2008 at 12:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Scout has 3 others as commits and one is probably going to be something other as he is way undersized for TE.
This kid probably chose the academics and Cali lifestyle over football. Stanford is probably even better than CU for post grad networking.