Colorado Daily – January, 2022

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Colorado Daily – January, 2022

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January 31st

… CU in a few minutes …

CU student-athletes have another dominant semester (in the classroom)

Press release from CUBuffs.com … University of Colorado student-athletes have continued to perform extremely well in the classroom in grade point average statistics compiled by CU’s Herbst Academic Center staff, all the while at the same time dealing with the many distractions all CU students have had to concern themselves with over the past two years.

The grade point average for the recently completed fall 2021 semester for 385 CU student-athletes was 3.117, the second-best fall semester GPA on record. That help boost the cumulative grade point average to 3.110, the fourth straight semester above a 3.0. And also for the fourth straight semester, 13 of CU’s 15 programs (indoor and outdoor track count as one) owned cumulative GPA’s of 3.0 or higher.

The academic staff started charting these numbers in the spring of 1996.

For the fourth straight semester, all CU students continued to face challenges due to the COVID pandemic, including classes often in hybrid from between being held in-person or remotely. CU suffered minimal COVID cases during the 2020-21 academic year, but with the variants more were affected during the fall term, simultaneously with NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) coming into play. But as always, CU’s Herbst Academic Center staff once again did an incredible job aiding the students in balancing their athletic and academic responsibilities.

“Our student-athletes have continued to shine in the classroom despite all the distractions they have had to encounter over the last two years,” athletic director Rick George said. “I am proud that as a group that they have consistently posted impressive numbers, they have also continually improved on those as well. It is a team effort between our Herbst Academic staff, our coaches and our student-athletes, and I also should commend the university faculty members for all they have had to endure in this same period of time.”

“We have worked hard to create a culture that includes expectations of academic success,” said Kris Livingston, CU’s executive senior associate athletic director for student success. ‘Rick George expects it, our coaches expect it, and the Herbst Academic Center staff expects it. Our student-athletes are great competitors, and they compete in the classroom just as much as they compete in their sport.”

It marked the 15th straight semester dating back to the fall ’14 term for the grade point to exceed 2.9 (which had happened just once prior). The men’s track and field team members recorded their best grade point for a semester, spring or fall, with a 3.111 mark; three other teams logged their best-ever averages for a fall term: men’s cross country (3.354), men’s golf (3.194) and football (2.833).

For the fall term, 29 student-athletes owned 4.00 grade point averages, with 137 owning 3.5 or higher GPA’s (36 percent). Of the 385 student-athletes overall, 238 athletes came in at 3.0 or better and overall (62 percent) with 80 percent (309) logged in at 2.5 or higher. Cumulatively speaking, the second-highest percentage was recorded for those with grade points of 3.5-plus (119, or 31 percent) and the third-highest for those at the 3.0 level (236, 61 percent) and for those at 2.5 or better (324, or 84 percent).

The 3.500 term grade point recorded by the 25 members of the women’s cross country team and the 17 athletes on the men’s ski team topped all programs in the fall, the first time there has been a tie for the honor for the fall semester. The women’s harriers have now posted a 3.5 or better number for six of the last eight semesters, while the skiers have achieved that mark or better five straight terms.

Other impressive numbers include:

< Twelve of 15 programs own cumulative GPA’s of 3.0 or better, with two others between 2.92 and 2.99;

< Thirteen had term grade points of 3.10 or higher, with men’s basketball (2.85) posting its fourth-best fall number and football (2.833) its best average for any fall term over the last 26 years;

< The women’s ski team enjoyed its 41st semester in succession with a GPA of at least 3.0, including 20 straight terms of 3.3 or higher; they have been 3.0 or better in 50 of 51 semesters dating back to 1996;

< The women’s cross country team now has 35 straight semesters with a 3.0 or better (and in 48 of 51 semesters);

< Four other programs have semester streaks of 3.0 or better in the twenties: women’s soccer (26), women’s track and field (26), women’s golf (23) and men’s skiing (23).

< CU’s youngest program, women’s lacrosse (competing for the first time in 2014), opened with two semesters just under 3.0 but have since recorded 15 in a row.

Other accomplishments from the fall also included:

< Nine students who graduated between Sept. 1, 2020 and Aug. 31, 2021 were honored with the prestigious 1A FAR Academic Award, presented to those with a 3.80 or above undergraduate GPA and participation in at least two years at an FBS institution. Those recognized were: Victor Bjorlow (golf), Eliza Cahill and Libby Geraghty and Hannah Sharts (soccer), Sage Hurta, Caleb Penner and Valerie Welch (track and field), Elle Otten (golf) and Joey Young (skiing);

< A total of 16 student-athletes across all sports earned their degrees in December;

< The Pac-12 Fall Honor Roll is due for release this week, with CU submitting 62 student-athletes for the honor, led by 17 members of the women’s cross country team; cumulative GPA’s of 3.3 and one year in residence are required to be named on the list;

< The USTFCCCA placed four Buffaloes on it All-Academic teams: Brendan Fraser and Alec Hornecker were named to the men’s team, while India Johnson and Abby Nichols made the women’s team. Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams were recognized with the organization’s team honors.

< A school record 30 football players qualified for the NFF/Colorado Chapter’s Academic All-Colorado team, including 16 first-team members who owned cumulative grade points of 3.3 or higher (true freshmen are eligible if they participated in games). Sophomore outside linebacker Joshka Gustav (3.66 GPA in Psychology) is CU’s nomination for the chapter’s scholar athlete of the year, which will be awarded in April.

A closer look at team-by-team grade point averages:

Team Fall Term GPA Cumulative GPA

Men’s Basketball	2.850	2.922
Women’s Basketball	3.096	3.148
Men’s Cross Country	3.354	3.216
Women’s Cross Country	3.500	3.540
Football	2.833	2.787
Men’s Golf	3.194	3.170
Women’s Golf	3.224	3.381
Women’s Lacrosse	3.406	3.420
Men’s Skiing	3.500	3.402
Women’s Skiing	3.367	3.473
Women’s Soccer	3.268	3.257
Women’s Tennis	3.364	3.310
Men’s Track & Field	3.111	2.997
Women’s Track & Field	3.234	3.262
Women’s Volleyball	3.160	3.359
All Varsity Sports	3.117	3.110

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January 28th

… CU in a few minutes …

Nate Landman invited to participate in the NFL Combine

From the Daily Camera … Former Colorado linebacker Nate Landman has received an invitation to the NFL scouting combine.

The combine, scheduled for March 1-7 in Indianapolis, brings many of the top NFL Draft hopefuls together for workouts and interviews with scouts.

A second-team All-Pac-12 selection and two-time Butkus Award semifinalist, Landman is tied for fifth in CU history for career tackles (409) and ranks second in unassisted tackles (285) and sixth in tackles for loss (40).

… Landman is the first player in CU history to earn first- or second-team all-conference honors four times in his career.

With the NFL Draft slated for April 28-30, Landman is looking to become the first CU inside linebacker selected since Jordon Dizon in 2008. Dizon and Sean Tufts (2004) are the only CU inside linebackers drafted in the last 24 years.

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CU hosting several players in hopes of last minute commitments

From the Daily Camera … The regular signing period begins Wednesday, and CU is hosting several players on recruiting visits this weekend.

The Buffs are hosting three players on official visits: offensive lineman Alex Harkey (Tyler Junior College), running back Ramon Jefferson (Sam Houston State) and safety Jeremy Mack (East Mississippi Community College).

Listed at 5-foot-10, 215 pounds, Jefferson would be a graduate transfer with one season to play. He was an FCS second-team All-American in 2021 after rushing for 1,155 yards and 13 touchdowns. During the Bearkats’ 10-game spring season, he rushed for 752 yards and seven TDs.

Mack has three seasons of eligibility remaining. He recorded 40 tackles and four interceptions at EMCC last season.

Harkey also has three years of eligibility remaining. He received All-Southwest Junior College Football Conference honorable mention last season.

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January 27th

... CU in a few minutes …

CU’s non-conference schedule rated the most difficult in the Pac-12

From the San Jose Mercury News … The most inviting and daunting aspects of the Pac-12’s non-conference schedules in 2022 are one and the same.

With 11 games against Power Five opponents, including Georgia and Florida, the conference has ample opportunity for a collective show of strength … or repeated displays of weakness.

It won’t take long for the narrative to emerge: The Bulldogs and Gators loom as season openers, followed by Oklahoma State, Mississippi State and Wisconsin on Week Two.

There are only two matchups with BYU next season but a slew against top-tier teams from the Mountain West.

Oh, and the Pac-12 tangles with Notre Dame three times.

Please note: Our ranking prioritizes the overall strength of the three opponents rather than simply the highest-profile matchup on a given schedule. The toughest non-conference schedules are those devoid of cupcakes.

(Links to previous articles on the 2022 Pac-12 season are below.)

1. Colorado
Lineup: vs. TCU (Sept. 2), at Air Force (Sept. 10), at Minnesota (Sept. 17)
Comment: A fairly easy call for No. 1 given that CU’s most winnable game is (take your pick) at home against a Big 12 opponent or on the road against a Mountain West team that won 10 games last season. In other words, 0-3 is a distinct possibility.

2. Oregon
Lineup: vs. Georgia (Sept. 3, in Atlanta), vs. Eastern Washington (Sept. 10), vs. BYU (Sept. 17)
Comment: The Ducks carry the Pac-12 banner across the Mississippi once again with the not-so-neutral neutral site duel against the defending national champs (and coach Dan Lanning’s previous employer.)

3. Utah
Lineup: at Florida (Sept. 3), vs. Southern Utah (Sept. 10), vs. San Diego State (Sept. 17)
Comment: The Utes make their first regular-season appearance on the national stage since the 2015 victory over Michigan. (Florida visits Rice-Eccles in 2023, by the way.) We considered slotting Utah into the No. 2 position, but Georgia stands as a greater challenge than the Gators.

4. Arizona
Lineup: at San Diego State (Sept. 3), vs. Mississippi State (Sept. 10), vs. North Dakota State (Sept. 17)
Comment: Another bruising lineup. And yes, that includes NDSU, which won the 2021 FCS national title and has produced Carson Wentz and Trey Lance. If you’re wondering: Mike Leach’s starting quarterback last season, Will Rogers, is expected back for MSU in the fall.

… Continue reading story here …

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January 26th

… CU in a few minutes …

CU’s $18 million deficit “a success story for as much as you can call it that”

From the Daily Camera … The COVID-19 pandemic led to an $18 million deficit for the Colorado athletic department for the 2021 fiscal year.

While it’s a significant number, it’s not as bad as originally feared, and CU is optimistic about a solid rebound this year.

CU’s most recent NCAA financial report, for the 2021 fiscal year (FY2021) showed a net loss of $17,477,532. The NCAA report includes some accounting differences due to definitions of certain revenues and expenses that they include that differ from CU’s actual budget. According to numbers provided to BuffZone.com, the athletic department actually operated at a loss of $18,070,532 for FY2021.

Throughout the first full school year of the pandemic (2020-21), CU athletic director Rick George had projected a deficit of $20 million or more. Several schools around the country reported deficits significantly larger, such as Utah ($31 million), Iowa ($42 million) and Rutgers ($73 million).

“At the end of the day, an $18 million deficit, in our eyes, was a success story for as much as you can call it that, especially in comparison to our peers,” said Cory Hilliard, CU’s senior associate athletic director for business operations.

CU is projecting a much better FY2022. The athletics budget for FY2022 includes revenue and expenses in the $89 million range, which is where the budget was prior to the pandemic.

“Our budget continues to perform on schedule,” George said earlier this month. “Our revenues are where they need to be and we’ve kept our expenses where they should be. We anticipate and expect that we will balance our budget again like we normally do, so I’m happy about that.”

… From the Daily Camera …

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January 22nd

… CU in a few minutes …

Dimitri Stanley: “I’m just looking for somewhere that can get me the ball”

From DenverCBS4 … Dimitry Stanley was CU’s leading receiver in 2020. But in 2021, CU’s historically bad offense left talented players like Stanley frustrated and in dire need of better opportunities.

“I just felt that entering the transfer portal was going to give me the best opportunity. I felt that I wasn’t really being utilized enough at CU,” Stanley said. “I just wanted to step away and find the best opportunity where I can flourish.”

With two years of eligibility remaining and dreams of making it to the NFL, Stanley wants the chance to properly showcase his talents.

“I’m just looking for somewhere that can get me the ball. I’m looking for somewhere that can get me 70 or 80 touches. I feel like if I get that, I’ll be able to reach all my goals and be able to show NFL scouts what I can do,” Stanley said.

Since the 2021 season came to an end, CU players have been leaving at an alarming rate. Stanley is one of seven starters that have entered the transfer portal.

“It’s just guys kind of like me, just trying to find a better opportunity, feeling like CU wasn’t get the job done. So it’s just time to find somewhere new.”

These days, it’s no longer just about competing on the field. With the opportunity for athletes to earn significant money through NIL, many players are also looking to make the most of off field opportunity. Stanley said his decision was solely about football. But for many, the promise of creating financial opportunities is also a driving factor in playing elsewhere.

… Continue reading story here …

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January 21st

… CU in a few minutes …

Nine Buffs still in play for a Super Bowl ring

From CUBuffs.com … The Buffs presence in the NFL will continue in this weekend’s divisional round of the playoffs as three of the four matchups will have a former Buff involved whether on the field as a starter, on the sideline as a coach or as a member of the team’s practice squad. A total of nine former Buffs will partake in the divisional round.

For the second week in a row the Cincinnati Bengals will open up the playoff action as they travel to Nashville, Tenn. to take on the top-seeded Tennessee Titans. The Bengals will again look to former Colorado cornerback Chidobe Awuzie to try and help slow down the Titans offense. Defensive tackle Josh Tupou who missed last week with a knee injury might also be ready to return. If he returns the team will count on him to stop the high-powered Titans run game. On the Titans side, offensive lineman Daniel Munyer is currently with the team’s practice squad but was signed to the active roster a couple of times this season.

Following this matchup, the top-seeded Green Bay Packers who feature four former Buffs will host the San Francisco 49ers. Offensive lineman David Bakhtiari played for the first time this season in week 18 coming off an injury from last season and will likely see action. He will look to protect star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Packers will highly depend on veteran place kicker Mason Crosby to both get them points and pin the 49ers back in unfavorable field position. Wide receiver Juwann Winfree who had three catches in week 18 will likely see some action. Kabion Ento is still on the team’s practice squad. Former CU player, assistant coach and head coach Jon Embree will be on the 49ers sideline as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach.

The divisional round will wrap up on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Buffalo Bills. Former Buffs All-American running back, assistant coach and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will look for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to put up another big offensive performance.

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What it takes to become an NIL sponsor at CU

From the CU NIL page … No “Pay for Play” in Boulder (just in Eugene, Miami, College Station, Lincoln, etc., etc. … )

Please verify the following attestation provided by the institution for third parties.

I have read and understand the parameters around what is and is not a permissible NIL activity under NCAA rules and Interim Policy, Colorado state law and CU guidelines.
I acknowledge that any NIL agreement I make with a student-athlete is an exchange of value rather than “Pay for Play” or an extra benefit. The value I am providing to the student-athlete is not dependent upon their athletic achievements or successes. I know that I will be jeopardizing the student-athlete’s NCAA eligibility if I provide compensation without the student-athlete performing a service or otherwise “earning” such remuneration.
I am not offering an NIL deal to a current or prospective student-athlete in exchange for their commitment, attendance, initial or continued enrollment at CU Boulder.
I UNDERSTAND THAT APPROVAL TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EXCHANGE IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF ME OR MY COMPANY ON BEHALF OF CU BOULDER.
I AM AWARE OF THE CU BOULDER TRADEMARK AND LICENSING RULES REGARDING NIL ACTIVITIES. I UNDERSTAND THAT APPROVAL TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EXCHANGE DOES NOT GRANT ME CU LICENSEE STATUS.
I acknowledge that neither the University of Colorado, CU Athletics Department, sport programs nor individual coaches/staff members are parties to NIL contracts. I cannot hold the University liable for any unfulfilled obligations or breaches of contract by the student-athlete.

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“Buffs NIL Exchange” has some catching up to do: 58 Oregon players have NIL deals

From The Oregonian … The NCAA is poking around the University of Oregon, asking questions about its relationship with the newly formed third-party entity called Division Street, Inc.

UO says it’s cooperating with the NCAA. The probe was first reported by Sportico over the weekend and it appears at this point that the governing body of college athletics is trying to grasp Oregon’s policies and procedures as it pertains to athletes monetizing their name, image and likeness.

The Division Street venture was organized last September by a group of prominent UO boosters who wildly excelled in their respective industries. Sneaker czar Phil Knight joined forces with Pat Kilkenny (insurance), Ed Maletis (beverages), Jim Morse (lumber) and the Papé Family (machinery) to form an entity that aims to assist Ducks athletes in this NIL world.

So how’s it going?

Internal university communications obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive give us a glimpse at the early returns on the business of NIL at both Oregon and Oregon State.

Oregon logged 273 deals for student-athletes after the floodgates were opened in July of 2021, clearing the way for athletes to sign endorsement deals. Of those, 156 were for female athletes and 215 were for non-football players.

Average deal: $1,087.

Biggest deal: $100,000 (Kayvon Thibodeaux, football).

Meanwhile, Oregon State logged 48 NIL deals for athletes in the same time frame. Of those, 18 were for female athletes and 35 were for non-football players.

Average deal: $5,340.

Biggest deal: $200,000 (Jade Carey, gymnastics).

It’s a small sample size — and it’s still way early — but the NIL trend between the two in-state universities is an interesting study. The Ducks are outscoring the Beavers on the total number of deals made (273-48), but I’m told a pile of those UO arrangements included a trade of free Nike apparel and merchandise and no cash exchanged, which drove down the value of the average deal.

Also, if you remove the six-figure deals for Thibodeaux and Carey you get a better idea of how the average athlete who received an NIL deal actually did. The average deal at Oregon without Thibodeaux’s biggest endorsement would be $723, while the average at OSU without Carey’s big contract included is $1,198.

Oregon has had 58 football players benefit from NIL deals so far. OSU has had 13. Keep an eye on that tally as this progresses because I suspect the NCAA’s NIL questions will focus on football and men’s basketball even as it appears female athletes appear to be participating proportionally in our state.

… Continue reading story here …

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January 20th

… CU in a few minutes …

CU announces “Buffs NIL Exchange”

Email from CU Athletic Director Rick George …

Thank you for your investment in the lives of our 350+ CU student-athletes. Your recent support has ranged from the Sustainable Excellence Initiative (SEI) Drive for $105M, which resulted in the building of the UCHealth Champions Center, our Crawford Family WHOLE Student-Athlete Program, scholarship endowments, planned gifts, and season ticket purchases. This proves if we stand shoulder to shoulder, we can accomplish anything.

College athletics is in a very delicate place right now. The landscape is changing at a rapid pace and the issues that are prevalent today weren’t even topics a few years ago. The intersection of the transfer portal with name, image and likeness has created an unstable dynamic. While I’m disappointed to see the number of football student-athletes we’ve seen enter the transfer portal in the past few weeks, we are not unique to many teams around the country. As it stands today, there are over 1,700 FBS student-athletes in the transfer portal (average of 13+ per institution). One can speculate as to why this is occurring, but rest assured, our #1 priority is the student-athletes at CU, and we will continue to stand committed to educating, investing in, and providing them a world-class experience.

I am, and will always be, proud of what we do for our student-athletes at the University of Colorado. What we provide in student-athlete support is unmatched around the country. We want student-athletes that want to be at the University of Colorado as this is an incredible institution. We have the best coaches and staff in place across all our sports in my tenure and I’m excited about what the future holds for CU Athletics.

Thanks to your generosity, investments into the AD Excellence Fund have allowed us to recently act upon the NCAA vs. Alston et al decision. This means we will now provide up to $2,000 to all academically eligible scholarship student-athletes each semester. In addition, we will provide up to $990 to all student-athletes who participate in five or more advanced educational courses per semester (i.e. career development, diversity, equity & inclusion, mental health, etc.). In total, we expect to provide $1.7 million in new educational support directly to our student-athletes annually.

Moreover, I am excited to announce our approach to further assisting CU student-athletes with their name, image and likeness (NIL). I am pleased to share details on our new program called the Buffs NIL Exchange. This exchange will serve as the official marketplace for all businesses, individuals, and collectives to engage with our student-athletes on their NIL opportunities.

Should you consider partnering with our student-athletes on their NIL, please register your information using the link below. The passion of our Buffs Family is unmatched, and I am excited to bring this opportunity for you to support our student-athletes in this new world of college athletics.

Go Buffs!
Rick George

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NIL FAQ from CU NIL Exchange Page

WHAT IS THE BUFFS NIL EXCHANGE?

The Buffs NIL Exchange is a student-athlete NIL business registry that is designed for businesses, donors, alumni, and any other interested NIL dollars wishing to connect with CU student-athletes. Registered businesses can search, filter and initiate conversations with ~y~our student-athletes to discuss potential NIL activities. Once an NIL deal between a registrant and a student-athlete is complete, the Buffs NIL Exchange automatically produces a no-fee direct payment to the student-athlete as well as a transaction report to the INFLCR Verified Compliance Ledger, as required by Colorado state law. At the end of the year, all transactions within the Buffs NIL Exchange are consolidated into one 1099 Form for tax-reporting purposes for both registrants and student-athletes.

FAQS:

What is Name, Image & Likeness?

“Name, Image, and Likeness” or “NIL” is a common phrase used to refer to an individual’s rights of publicity – the ability to control and use one’s own unique identity for commercial promotion.

As of July 1, 2021, NCAA student-athletes are permitted to earn compensation from the use of their NIL by themselves or a noninstitutional third party without harming their intercollegiate eligibility or athletics scholarship.

What is an NIL deal?

A permissible NIL agreement is like a job: a quid pro quo agreement in which value is exchanged between the student-athlete and a noninstitutional third party. The student-athlete earns the compensation by performing a service or otherwise providing value to a third party (a business, a collective or a person). It is up to the third party to determine fair market value of the transaction.

This exchange of value may include, but is not limited to, transactional activities like endorsements and sponsorships, publicity activities such as appearances, autograph sessions or monetizing a YouTube channel as well as entrepreneurial ventures like selling merchandise, conducting sports camps, or operating their own product or service-based business.

Does Colorado have an NIL state law?

Yes. Instead of legislation, the NCAA issued an Interim Policy directing schools located in a state with an active NIL law to follow those regulations in place of NCAA rules when governing student-athletes’ rights of publicity. Schools without a state law were able to create institutional rules. CO Senate Bill 20-123 went into effect on July 1, 2021.

Who can register with the Buffs NIL Exchange?

The Exchange is open to all businesses, groups of people, and individuals seeking to enter an NIL agreement or participate in NIL activities with CU student-athletes so long as value is exchanged between both parties.

How is the University involved in NIL deals?

Neither the University of Colorado, the CU Athletics Department, sport programs nor individual CU coaches/staff members are parties to NIL contracts. The student-athlete engages in their NIL activities as an individual. University employees, including coaches and Athletics Department staff, may not compensate student-athletes for NIL activities.

A student-athlete granting a noninstitutional third party the right to use their NIL does not extend or include the ability to use the marks and logos of CU Boulder, the Pac-12 Conference, the NCAA or other protected marks incidental to their intercollegiate athletic participation (i.e., the Nike Swoosh on a CU jersey) unless the commercial entity is a licensee who secures approval through Co-Branding or Group Licensing processes. For licensing-related inquiries, please contact licensing@colorado.edu.

Does the school or INFLCR take any revenue from NIL transactions from the Buffs NIL Exchange?

Who approves the request to register & how will I know when this occurs?

CU Athletics approves each registration request. You will receive an initial email upon receipt of your registration. You will then receive an email confirming your approval and that is when you may begin contacting student-athletes through the Buffs NIL Exchange.

Can I register as an individual?

Yes! When you complete the Business Information, you will be required to fill out all of the sections except the EIN. You can include your LinkedIn or social media page for the website, and a headshot for the company logo.

Does the Buffs NIL Exchange make me an official licensee of the University?

Using the Buffs NIL Exchange does not make the company a licensee of CU Athletics, and any business must follow the appropriate procedures to become a licensee and follow all intellectually property rules. Information on how to become a licensee with CU Athletics can be found here.

Additional Resources

NIL Program Link

State Law – Senate Bill 20-123

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January 17th

… CU in a few minutes …

Offensive line early enrollee Travis Gray: “I have no words for how excited I am”

From the Daily Camera … While growing up, Travis Gray became accustomed to watching videos of the Colorado Buffaloes.

His father, Lamarr, was an outside linebacker with the Buffs from 1988-90, helping them win a national title in his senior year.

“He would show me some of his plays and how much of a beast he was,” Gray said.

When the opportunity to follow in his father’s footsteps was presented, Gray didn’t let it pass. A 6-foot-7, 295-pound offensive lineman from Cherokee Trail High School, Gray signed his letter of intent with CU last month and began classes in Boulder last week.

“Man, I’m so excited,” he said before moving into his new home in Boulder. “I have no words for how excited I am and how excited my family is for me. I’m just gonna do my best when I get there trying to ball out. I can’t wait.”

Gray’s father was a reserve with the Buffs, playing behind All-Americans Kanavis McGhee and Alfred Williams and taught his son to love the Buffs.

“I was always committed to CU,” Gray said. “My dad’s been talking about it since I was a kid. He would always get in my mind about, ‘CU’s such a great place to go.’ Once I got my CU offer, it was done. My recruitment was closed. I knew that was where I wanted to go.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Wilner: Don’t be surprised if Arizona overtakes CU in the standings

From the San Jose Mercury News …

Unreal uptick in Tucson

Arizona’s roster overhaul runs much deeper than the addition of Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura alone.

In addition to a recruiting class that features a slew of four-star players, the Wildcats are adding linebacker Anthony Solomon from Michigan, receiver Jacob Cowing from UTEP and offensive tackle Jack Buford from New Mexico. All three are likely rotation players.

(Other transfers could make instant impacts, as well. If there’s one thing the Wildcats can offer, it’s immediate playing time.)

Arizona’s recruiting success exceeds its on-field performance to a degree that we cannot recall ever witnessing. A one-win team with a top-20 recruiting class and a bevy of quality transfers — it’s a remarkable turnaround.

The Wildcats have improved their talent at the skill positions enough to climb out of the bottom of the division. Whether they move within sight of the top tier in the South next season depends on upgrades at the line of scrimmage.

None of the four-star prospects at the heart of the nation’s 20th-ranked recruiting class are linemen.

That’s the next step for Jedd Fisch and his program.

Of course, it’s the next step for most programs in the conference.

Meanwhile, in Boulder and Tempe …

Our breakdown of developments in the South has focused on four schools. What about Colorado and Arizona State?

We haven’t seen evidence that either program can hold its position in the division, at least not yet.

Colorado is worse relative to the competition after losing receiver Brenden Rice, tailback Jarek Broussard and safety Christian Gonzalez to the transfer portal, plus linebacker Carson Wells to the NFL Draft.

And we’d argue that Arizona State has lost ground, as well, with more playmakers leaving the program than entering.

Gone are tailbacks Rachaad White and Chip Trayanum, along with receiver Johnny Wilson — the former to the NFL, the latter two to the transfer portal.

And there are significant losses to expired eligibility, as well.

The Sun Devils have time for a course correction, especially if the NCAA’s investigation into recruiting violations resolves quickly.

But at this point, we would not be surprised if Arizona overtook CU and pulled up alongside ASU in the division race next season.

… Read full story here …

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January 16th

Updated Roster: CU at 85 Scholarships

From the Daily Camera … Returning starters in bold …

2022 Scholarship breakdown (* has used redshirt year)
Pos.	Sch	Seniors	Juniors	Sophomores	R-Freshmen	T-Freshmen
QB	6		JT Shrout*	Drew Carter Brendon Lewis	Maddox Kopp	Owen McCown Oakie Salave’a
RB	5	Alex Fontenot* Ramon Jefferson*	Deion Smith*	Jayle Stacks		Victor Venn
TE	6	Brady Russell*			Caleb Fauria* Erik Olsen* Louis Passarello* Austin Smith*	Zach Courtney
WR	10	Daniel Arias Maurice Bell* Jaylon JacksonRJ Sneed II		Montana Lemonious-Craig Chase Penry Ty Robinson		Grant Page Chase Sowell Jordan Tyson
OL	14		Frank Fillip* Josh Jynes* Casey Roddick*	Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan Noah Fenske* Austin Johnson* Carson Lee Jake Wiley*Alex Harkey	Edgar Amaya* Jackson Anderson*	Carter Edwards Travis GrayVan Wells
DL	10	Jeremiah Doss* Justin Jackson Janaz Jordan* Terrance Lang*	Na’im Rodman Jalen Sami*		Allan Baugh* Tyas Martin* Ryan Williams*	Aaron Austin
OLB	10	Chance Main* Jamar Montgomery* Guy Thomas*		Joshka Gustav* Alvin Williams	Devin Grant* Zion Magalei*	Eoghan Kerry Shakaun Bowser Kaden Ludwick
ILB	7	Robert Barnes* Quinn Perry*	Jack Lamb*	Marvin Ham II* Isaac Hurtado	Mister Williams*	Aubrey Smith
CB	8		Nigel Bethel* Jaylen Striker*	Kaylin Moore Nikko Reed		Simeon Harris Keyshon Mills Jason Oliver Joshua Wiggins
S	7	Isaiah Lewis*		Toren Pittman Tyrin Taylor Trevor WoodsJeremy Mack		Dylan Dixson Xavier Smith
K/P	2				Cole Becker	Ashton Logan
Scholarships	85	17	10	22	14	22

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January 13th

… CU in a few minutes …

“Money is Everywhere: Where College Football Recruiting Goes from Here”

From Dean Legge at the Dawg Pound … Money has never been a problem in college football. Figuring out what to do with it always has been, however, and is more important now.

If you have not noticed, money is being used to recruit players to play college football – and its all above board… at least for now. Navigating this sea change in the sport will be the most critical step for coaches, presidents and institutions.

Somewhere between Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, who continues to fight windmills, and Jackson State’s Deion Sanders lies the new world of recruiting.

$50,000 to play football at an SEC school? I can confirm that is in place. More than $1,000,000 to stay and play football at an SEC school? I can confirm that has happened. A deal worth seven figures for a player to sign with a school? That’s been discussed a lot.

And it’s not like money is being hidden any more. Hell, Tennessee’s Cade Mays has openly discussed needing at least $600,000 to stay instead of leaving for the NFL. More on that later…

All of these things accelerated this summer with the landmark NCAA vs. Alston decision in the Supreme Court.

There are no rules any more – college sports recruiting has very much been deregulated as it relates to money. College football, and sports, is becoming very close to unregulated capitalism. The only thing standing in the way of the schools doing what they want is the NCAA (which is impotent) and state legislatures (which are in bed with the schools as much as anyone).

And that’s just recruiting. The one-time transfer portal has also given the power to the players. As Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin correctly pointed out:

“The kids a lot of times go to where they’re going to get paid the most.”

Bingo.

One does not have to agree with the new world of college sports, or where it is going, to acknowledge its existence. One would be a fool to not adjust.

In other words, schools are going to have to change what they have done in the past in order to win in the future. If coaches and schools insist on chasing pavements in some sort of noble endeavor that never existed in the first place they will fail. In addition, some schools are in prime position to take advantage of recruiting in 2022 – some will be hurt by it.

A new world is here, and the landscape will provide for the most powerful schools, and those with the most advantageous situations to win in very, very big ways.

… Most major media markets – New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Fransisco-Oakland, Houston, Washington and Boston – don’t have major powers in their market.

The opportunity for schools like Georgia being positioned in a state where they are the only major power, and have a massive market within an hour drive is rare. Still, schools like Miami (No. 18 market), Colorado (No. 16), Washington (No. 12) who have won national titles in the last 31 years are poised to take advantage of the new world if they can get their acts together. The problem for Colorado and Washington is a lack of quality prospects in their market.

With that said, schools that aren’t in cities, and are not near big markets in their state like Florida State (No. 108), Clemson (No. 35), Oklahoma (No. 44), Nebraska (No. 105) and perhaps even Tennessee (No. 62) are at risk of being passed by over the next decade if they don’t adapt. Nebraska has not found its way in years. Tennessee isn’t that far from that. Clemson’s fanbase is spread out in a small state, with a small population, and that’s not an ideal situation.

… Continue reading story here …

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January 11th

… CU in a few minutes …

**Must read: “Four Ideas to Bring CU Athletics into the 21st Century”**

By Roger Pielke, Jr. at substack.com … No one has asked me but were I to advise University of Colorado Boulder leaders and administrators about the future of its athletics programs this post summarizes what I would tell them. Before doing that, let me just briefly tell you about my long relationship with CU Athletics.

My 35-year Love Affair with CU Athletics

I came to the Boulder campus in 1986 as a freshman aerospace engineering student, fully immersed in the college football culture of the late 20th century. And what a glorious time it was. My first game as a student was a soggy, damp affair – a dismal loss to Colorado State, followed up in my dorm room by a taunting phone call from my parents (not at all football fans), as my father was a professor at Colorado State. From there however, it was only up, up and away, for the mighty Buffaloes and for my love of CU Athletics.

I lived those golden years of Colorado football. Not just as a fan, but as a classmate of the players. Pick-up basketball at the Canyon court with Sal Aunese and Okland Salave’a. House parties with the O line, who roomed with two of my high school buddies on the Hill (I can still hear the GN’R). And of course, going to the Orange Bowl and a national championship.

Upon entering graduate school at CU Boulder, my interests took a turn and I decided I’d like to know how it all worked, from the inside. I landed a job with CU Athletics as a mentor/tutor and eventually was assigned as the main tutor for all subjects for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. I even sat on the bench with the men’s team at the Big 8 tournament in 1993. I got to know many athletes, administrators and coaches and in the process saw college sports from an entirely different perspective. What I learned was both fascinating, and also troubling. The dissonance between my naïve undergrad fandom and my challenging grad experiences helped spur my interest in sports governance.

Flash forward to 2013, when I (now a full professor at my alma mater) proposed to the Provost and Athletics Director (then Mike Bohn, who is now in that role at USC) that we create a Sports Governance Center inside CU Athletics, building a bridge between athletics and academics which at Boulder were typically far removed from each other. That proposal took off after Rick George became the AD in 2013. From 2015 to 2019 I sat in Athletics – the only tenured full professor in the US with such a position – and developed a successful Sports Governance Center. Ultimately, the campus decided not to continue the experiment. But the opportunity provided me a window into CU Athletics and college sports that few faculty members ever get on any campus.

After all that, I am still a fan — of the program, the staff and administrators, and most of all, of the athletes. Over the years that I taught from within CU Athletics, notably my big Introduction to Sports Governance course, I had the opportunity to get to know well many athletes across all sports. I also had a chance to get to know administrators, coaches and staff. They are an amazing group of people, with a shared commitment and purpose. It was a fun and educational experience.

That said, today CU Athletics finds itself at a crossroads, due especially to a long track record of frustration in its football program. So now, back to my advice, focusing on four recommendations to bring CU Athletics into the 21st century.

First: Stop Trying to Return to the Golden Age

It is difficult to convey the deep nostalgic attraction that the Bill McCartney era (in yellow in the figure below) holds over many Colorado football fans, particularly of my generation. From 1980 to 1990, Colorado went from its worst football team since 1902 (as measured by ELO ratings) to its best, and a national championship. The current AD, Rick George, was on the CU football team’s staff during 1987 to 1990, the peak of the golden age on the field. George often speaks of his desire for CU to win championships – and across sports CU does win championships, just not in football since 1990.

… Continue reading story here …

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January 10th

… CU in a few minutes …

**It’s Official: Rashaan Salaam to become the 10th Buff to be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame**

Press Release from CUBuffs.com … The call by KOA-Radio’s Larry Zimmer easily rates among the – if not the – most memorable in University of Colorado football history:

“He needs 28 yards to get him to 2,000. Here is the give to Salaam. Salaam to the outside, he’s down to the 50, he’s got 2,000! He’s on his way … 20 … 15 … 10 … 5 … Did he get in? Yes! Touchdown! Touchdown, Rashaan Salaam! This place is coming apart! The whole team is coming down … what a story. He goes over 2,000 by running 67 yards for a touchdown. I’ll you, what a golden moment this is. I have to admit, I’m choked up.”

On Nov. 19, 1994, with that play, the late Rashaan Salaam likely secured the Heisman Trophy and his name forever etched in University of Colorado history. And now, some 27-plus years later, he has earned the ultimate honor of officially being recognized as one of college football’s all-time greats, as the National Football Foundation (NFF) announced Monday that he has been selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in its 2022 class.

Salaam will become the 10th Buffalo enshrined in the Hall, joining Byron White (inducted in 1952), Joe Romig (1984), Dick Anderson (1993), Bobby Anderson (2006), Alfred Williams (2010), John Wooten (2012), Coach Bill McCartney (2013), Herb Orvis (2016) and Michael Westbrook (2020). Salaam is now the third player who was coached by McCartney to enter the Hall, joining Williams and Westbrook who also played for him during his 13-year tenure as head coach from 1982-94. Salaam passed away on Dec. 5, 2016 at the age of 42.

“Rashaan left five years ago, and it is still difficult to deal with,” said his mother, Khalada Salaam-Alaji. “A lot of attention has been given to Rashaan since he has been gone which the family deeply appreciates. After Rashaan left us, two of his friends who were very close to him and our family also passed away, T.J. Cunningham and John Thierry, and now, several homes in his community of Superior (Colo.) where he lived burned down last week.

“I wish Rashaan was still here so that he could use this wonderful recognition to support mental and physical health issues,” she added. “His going into the College Hall of Fame is a good thing, but there is so much serious social work that has to be done on this side for our children and this planet. If Rashaan was here, I think he would enjoy this honor and celebration of him being inducted into the National Football College Football of Fame.”

A 6-foot-1, 215-pound tailback who played 8-man football at San Diego’s La Jolla Country Day, he would become just the fourth player at the time to gain 2,000 yards rushing in a season, when schools generally played an 11-game schedule and the NCAA did not count bowl statistics into season totals. He ran for 2,055 yards in averaging 6.9 yards per carry, doing so even though he did not play in five fourth quarters and on two other occasions, played only briefly in the third quarter; over half of the yards (1,040) came against ranked opponents. He led the nation in rushing, scoring (24 touchdowns or 144 points) and all-purpose yards (2,349) and reeled off nine consecutive 100-yard games (10 total), including four 200-plus yard games. All the aforementioned set and remain school records.

See the play that put him over 2,000 yards here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nt6HjqtJt8&t=87s.

In the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2, 1995, he gained 83 yards and scored three touchdowns against Notre Dame in the Buffaloes’ 41-24 victory, which helped CU to an 11-1 record and a final No. 3 ranking in the polls. After the game, he announced he was foregoing his senior year and declared for the NFL Draft. McCartney had previously announced he was retiring; among Salaam’s postgame comments included, “I’m leaving with Coach Mac.” He would be selected in the first round of the draft (21st overall) by the Chicago Bears, and would go on to win the NFC’s Rookie of the Year honor with a 1,000-yard season. Injuries would eventually derail his professional career.

There was a three-man race for the Heisman Trophy between Salaam and Penn State’s running back Ki-Jana Carter and quarterback Kerry Collins. On Dec. 10, 1994 at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City, Salaam was the one who had his named called, in the process becoming the 60th to win the coveted prize. Carter finished second, with Alcorn State’s Steve McNair edging Collins for third. Salaam had won easily by over 800 points and collected almost twice as many first place votes than Carter and Collins combined. He had won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back the week before and the Walter Camp Player of the Year honor days before the Heisman, in addition to earning unanimous first-team All-America honors.

Back in Boulder, the team was hosting a recruiting dinner at the Dal Ward Athletic Center with all current players and numerous recruits. When Rashaan’s name was called by the Heisman’s chairman, there was massive applause and cheers, and the offensive linemen all lit up cigars. When Salaam returned to Denver the following Wednesday, a dozen players greeted him at Stapleton Airport, and were actually allowed down the jetway at to greet him when he exited the United flight with the Heisman in tow, again to the cheering of a hundred strangers on the flight.

Salaam was a member of CU’s highly-ranked 1992 recruiting class and originally was ticketed to redshirt as a freshman. But being so eager to play, he ran onto the field on the kickoff return unit in CU’s third game at Minnesota that fall. He saw limited action on offense that season (27 carries, 158 yards and one touchdown), but as a sophomore the next year (’93), he would split time with Lamont Warren and despite missing two games due to injuries, he rushed for 844 yards and eight TD’s in the regular season, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. In CU’s win over Fresno State in the Aloha Bowl, he carried 23 times for 135 yards and three scores, offering a glimpse of what was to come. When Warren declared early for the NFL Draft, Salaam would assume the featured back role by himself in 1994.

A first-team All-Big Eight performer in both 1993 and 1994, he was the conference’s offensive player of the year as a junior. A three-time league player of the week, he garnered national honors for his final regular season game against Iowa State, when he went over 2,000 with 259 yards. He had ended his sophomore year by being named the player of the game in the ’93 Aloha Bowl, and captured the Fred Casotti Award for the team’s top junior-to-be after spring ball.

He finished his career with 3,057 rushing yards, second all-time at CU at the time and still fourth, with 33 rushing touchdowns (first and remains third). When tacking on 38 receptions for 412 yards and one kickoff return for 13, his 3,482 all-purpose yards were third (now ninth). His number was officially retired on Oct. 28, 2017; CU had ceased retiring numbers in the 1970s but an exception was made for the school (and the state’s) only Heisman Trophy winner.

“The first thing that always comes to mind when thinking of Rashaan is that he was a complete player,” McCartney said. “Thorough and fast, competitive spirit off the charts. He could run inside, he could run outside, he could catch the ball, he could block with the best of them. When we recruited him, we knew that throughout the process that if we could get him, we would get a diamond – someone really special. He was one of those guys who, if going into a game evenly matched with the team you were playing, once you gave him the ball, you were no longer evenly matched.

“Even though he was playing 8-man in high school, everyone knew he was the real deal,” he added. “The really good ones aren’t always humble, but Rashaan was humble, unassuming, genuine.”

Speaking of Salaam’s blocking, he had one of the more notable ones in CU history. On the final play one September Saturday in Ann Arbor in 1994, Kordell Stewart dropped back to throw what has become known as the “Miracle in Michigan.” Wolverine defensive end Trevor Pryce had slipped a block by tackle Tony Berti, but before he could get to Stewart, Salaam stood him up; Berti gathered himself and then pancaked Price to the ground, buying time for Stewart to connect with Michael Westbrook some 64 yards downfield in the end zone and a 27-26 Buff victory. Of all the plays he made during that season, Salaam was most proud of that particular one.

Colorado’s linebacker coach at the time, Brian Cabral, recruited southern California and Hawai’i. He had known about Salaam from a relationship he had with his head coach at La Jolla Country Day and started recruiting him early.

“Oh, my goodness, this is terrific news,” were the first words Cabral spoke when finding out Salaam would be joining the Hall. “When I recruited him from 8-man football, I wasn’t sure if he would be good enough to be a running back, but with his size, he could be a linebacker for me. (The late) Ben Gregory was our running backs coach, and I asked him if this was someone we want to offer as a running back, and he had no hesitation whatsoever. He didn’t care that was coming from 8-man football, he loved everything he saw about Rashaan on film.

“I just remember his great smile,” Cabral said. “Not only was he a great player, he was a great kid. He contributed all his success to his offensive line and to the team — he always gave credit to everybody around him and never took any for himself. Rashaan had a phenomenal attitude that way, and that said a lot about him. He was the consummate team player.”

Current CU head coach Karl Dorrell was on McCartney’s staff when Salaam played as a freshman and sophomore. As receivers coach and being intimately involved in the offense, he saw early on just what Salaam could be capable of.

“Rashaan was an imposing young player who had a great work ethic,” Dorrell recalled. “We knew as a staff that he was going to be a special talent with great size, power and speed. He earned the respect of his teammates quickly because of his infectious personality, his competitive spirit, and his love for CU.”

With Salaam joining Westbrook in the Hall, they become the second set of Colorado players from a same team to be inducted. Brothers Dick and Bobby Anderson were teammates in 1967, when Dick was a senior defensive back and Bobby a sophomore quarterback.

“I was talking to (former Buff) J.J. Flannigan just the other day and we were discussing the talent that era of CU football had,” said Westbrook, the first and only CU receiver in the Hall. “We know about one in 66 guys make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but in college, it’s something like one in 5,600 hundred to get into the college Hall. It was an honor for me to make it, and now for a teammate I used to block for, bleed and cry with in the trenches together to get in is really something special. We always had each other’s back; if you were to ask Rashaan every time he got the ball to the outside, he’d look for number 81 to be mowing people down. Just like if I caught a designed short throw, there was number 19 doing the same for me.”

Salaam was the son of former Buff Teddy Washington (’64), and late CU sports information director Fred Casotti was familiar with the family bloodlines. Though the elder Salaam (Washington later changed his name to Sultan Salaam) transferred after his freshman year and never played a down at CU, Casotti told a few folks after watching his son after just his third day of practice in CU’s 1992 camp, “This kid is really, really good. He’s going to win the Heisman.” True story, and even more prophetic since the Buffs hadn’t practiced in pads yet. Casotti, who was associated with CU for half a century, never predicted that about any other player.

Salaam had previously been inducted into CU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012, and posthumously into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

There are five decades represented in the 2022 class that is made up of 18 first-team All-America players and three coaches (1970s-80s-90s-2000s-10s); they will be officially inducted during the 64th annual NFF Awards dinner on Dec. 6. All will also be honored with a “campus salute” at a home game of their respective schools this fall.

Including the newest members of the Hall of Fame Class, it will bring the count to 1,056 players and 226 coaches who will have been inducted. That is out of nearly 5.54 million who have played or coached the game during the past 152 years; that translates into less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have earned this distinction.

The 2022 HOF Class—Players: LaVar Arrington (LB, Penn State); Champ Bailey (DB, Georgia); Michael Crabtree (WR, Texas Tech); Sylvester Croom (C, Alabama); Mike Doss (S, Ohio State); Kevin Faulk (AP/RB, LSU); Moe Gardner (DT, Illinois); Boomer Grigsby (LB, Illinois State); Mike Hass (WR, Oregon State); Marvin Jones (LB, Florida State); Andrew Luck (QB, Stanford); Mark Messner (DT, Michigan); Terry Miller (RB, Oklahoma State); Rashaan Salaam (TB, Colorado); Dennis Thomas (C, Alcorn State); Zach Wiegert (OT, Nebraska); Roy Williams (DB, Oklahoma). Coaches: John Luckhardt (Washington & Jefferson/California Pa.); Billy Jack Murphy (Memphis); Gary Pinkel (Toledo/Missouri).

CAREER STATISTICS
RUSHING RECEIVING

Season	G	Att	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long	No.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Long
1992	7	27	158	5.9	1	49	1	0	0.0	0	0
1993	9	161	844	5.2	8	36	13	118	9.1	0	18
1994	11	298	2055	6.9	24	67t	24	294	12.3	0	41
Totals	27	486	3057	6.3	33	67t	38	412	10.8	0	41

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The Athletic: Reasons for optimism “hard to find for the Buffaloes”

From The Athletic …

In 2021, Pac-12 football teams lost to Montana at home, to Northern Arizona at home, to Central Michigan in a bowl and in all five games they played against BYU. Every program lost at least four games.

It was definitely not a good time. And the Pac-12’s 0-5 bowl season was the rotten cherry atop it all.

But hey, it’s 2022 now, and the dismal 2021 season is in the past. New year, new Pac-12. (Or maybe the same one — check back this fall.) So let’s focus on the year ahead. What should each Pac-12 program feel optimistic about in 2022? And what should give each one some cause for concern?

If the Pac-12 is going to improve as a whole in 2022, these are the advantages each program will have to maximize and the landmines they’ll have to navigate in order to have a successful season.

Colorado (4-8, fifth in the South)

Reason for optimism: These are hard to find for the Buffaloes. J.T. Shrout was expected to compete for the starting quarterback job last year but suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire season. Brendon Lewis was the starter, but the passing game really struggled. If Shrout can step in or if Lewis improves, it would open up things for the running game led by Jarek Broussard.

Cause for concern: Karl Dorrell fired Darrin Chiaverini after the Buffaloes finished 121stin the FBS in scoring offense (18.8 points per game), which made his next offensive coordinator hire a critical one. But Dorrell’s choice of Mike Sanford Jr., who was fired by Minnesota earlier this offseason, was extremely uninspiring.

The fact that three significant contributors — cornerback Christian Gonzalez, safety Mark Perry and receiver Brenden Rice — have all entered the portal within the past two weeks isn’t a great sign, either.

… Compare … Just so you will understand why CU is ranked below A 1-11 Arizona when the 2022 preseason magazines come out …

Arizona (1-11, sixth in the South)

Reason for optimism: Jedd Fisch is recruiting really, really well. That was evident when he landed four-star receiver Tetairoa McMillan during the early signing period. McMillan is a top-100 player nationally and the highest-rated player Arizona has ever signed.

Fisch followed that up this week by landing a commitment from UTEP transfer Jacob Cowing, who caught 69 passes for 1,354 yards and seven touchdowns in 2021 and was viewed as one of the best players in the transfer portal.

Arizona needs to boost its talent, and signing a top-25 recruiting class plus bringing in transfers like Cowing will help the Wildcats move in that direction.

Cause for concern: We’ll see how the hire of Johnny Nansen as defensive coordinator goes. Nansen has been touted as a good recruiter at previous stops but has no coordinator experience, which presents a challenge running a side of the ball with a major talent void.

The nonconference slate doesn’t set up well for early success in 2022, either. Arizona opens the season at San Diego State, followed by home games against Mississippi State and North Dakota State.

… Read full story here …

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January 8th

… CU in a few minutes …

Karl Dorrell: “I wanted to make, and with Rick’s endorsement of it, the necessary changes for us to be better as a staff”

From the Daily Camera … “It was a frustrating year,” Dorrell said. “There was great expectation early in our season and it was my first season of not going to a bowl. … We didn’t perform at a level that we all expect this program be.”

Dorrell led UCLA to five bowls in five years as head coach of the Bruins from 2003-07. Then, he took the Buffs to the Alamo Bowl in 2020, his first season in Boulder.

Falling short this year is fueling his offseason.

“When you come off of a disappointing year, I don’t believe in just being status quo going into the next season,” Dorrell said. “I think that sends the wrong message about the expectations that we all have.”

The expectations are for CU to be more competitive on the field and on the recruiting trail. CU’s 2022 recruiting class currently ranks No. 46 on 247Sports.com, but athletic director Rick George said the goal is to shoot for the top 25-30.

In the past few weeks, Dorrell has hired Mike Sanford (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), Kyle DeVan (offensive line), Vic So’oto (defensive line) and Rod Chance (cornerbacks). He will hire a new receivers coach, as well.

“I wanted to make, and with Rick’s endorsement of it, the necessary changes for us to be better as a staff in coaching our players so that we can get a better product on the field,” Dorrell said. “I’m not happy about (missing a bowl game). I want to make the necessary changes to keep us out of this unhappy feeling so that we’re successful in the future.

“It’s important that we continue to move the needle from a coaching perspective and obviously with continuing to improve the depth of our roster and creating better talent and things like that.”

… Continue reading story here …

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January 7th

… CU in a few minutes …

Karl Dorrell: “I don’t think anyone felt that the portal would be as a big a factor (as it is now)”

From the Daily Camera … In the 23 months since Karl Dorrell was hired as the head football coach at Colorado, he’s done a lot of readjusting to the college game after many years in the NFL.

One of the biggest adjustments, however, is one that he and his colleagues are going through together.

“I don’t think anyone felt that the portal would be as a big a factor (as it is now),” Dorrell said this week.

The NCAA transfer portal existed when Dorrell was hired in February of 2020, but not like now. In 2021, the NCAA made the decision to allow student-athletes in all sports to transfer one time without having to sit out a season. The NCAA also changed a long-standing rule by allowing athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL).

The portal is here to stay, but Dorrell said the transfer window – players can put their names into the portal at any time – came up as a concern during a head coaches’ conference call with the American Football Coaches Association on Thursday.

“(The window) is really all year long, and to me, that might be something we need to revisit,” Dorrell said. “A couple of coaches chimed in about there was instances where a position got depleted after spring because they all decided to go into the portal. Then you’re at a short window of time to try to replenish that by the time the fall hits. … It’s hard, as the head coach of a program, to really know who your 85 (scholarship players) are if there’s still some ability to move even in May. That makes it really, really challenging for forecasting what you have going into the fall.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Report: Rashaan Salaam to be a part of the College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022

From ActionNetwork.com … Colorado Heisman Trophy running back Rashaan Salaam, Oklahoma State running back Terry Miller, Oklahoma defensive back Roy Williams, Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones and former Toledo and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel were named to the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2022 class, sources told The Action Network.

The entire 2022 Hall of Fame class is expected to be announced in the next few days. The average class size is usually between 13 and 16 individuals. On Thursday, Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington announced he had made the 2022 class.

There were 177 players and 40 coaches nominated for the 2022 class — 78 players and seven coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision level and the remainder from the smaller college divisions.

Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner, died in 2016 at the age of 42. According to the Boulder (Colo.) County Coroner’s Office, Salaam committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Salaam’s brother, Jabali Alaji, later told USA Today that Salaam had “all the symptoms” associated with CTE.

In Salaam’s final season at Colorado in 1994, he led the nation in rushing (2,055 yards), scoring (24 touchdowns) and all-purpose yards (2,349 yards) as the Buffaloes were Big 8 Conference runners-up and finished No. 3 in the final 1994 AP Poll.

… Read full story here …

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January 6th

… CU in a few minutes …

CU athletic director Rick George talks with media about NIL

From BuffStampede.com …

NIL TALK DURING OPENING STATEMENT

Rick George: “We’re starting year two of our Buffs With A Brand (program). We were featured in Sports Illustrated as one of the five schools pioneering NIL landscape, and then we won a Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Award as part of that.

“With NIL, there’s some things out there that I’m disappointed in, that some schools are doing, because I think some of it falls under inducements. If you look at the bylaw 13.2 in the NCAA, we’re still members of the NCAA, there’s things that you can and cannot do with inducements, whether it’s in the transfer portal or in recruiting.

“I just think that we have to, either as the NCAA or as conferences collectively, we have to have more guidelines and more governance. There are people that go into the portal to see what opportunities they’re going to have in the NIL space. Again, as I look at this, I think it falls under inducements and that’s not acceptable as a member of the NCAA at this point.”

ON BUFFALOES FANS THAT ARE TRYING TO COLLECT FUNDS TO HELP CU STUDENT-ATHLETES THROUGH NIL

“The best thing that is going to happen in that regard is that once we bring this influencer marketplace… the influencer is INFLCR, that’s the company. They have this marketplace where it allows business and donors that have business to go in and match up with the student-athletes they want to provide an NIL deal with. Our compliance office in involved in that. That is probably the best way for them to do it.

“I know some schools have set up an LLC. We’re not prepared to do that at this point because I’m not certain that would be the best way for us to go. We’re looking at all of that, but right now, if they want to get involved, the best thing is to contact our compliance office and they will tell them the right way. But once we get this marketplace up and running, there will be an opportunity for them to do it above board and be able to put their business or whatever they want to do in there to support student-athletes from an NIL perspective.”

ON IF NIL IS LIKE THE WILD, WILD WEST

“It is complex. I would say it is more chaos, would be the word that I would use because there’s certain states that have laws and then those schools in those states have to abide by those laws. And then there’s states that don’t have laws and they’re just doing what they want to do. BYU is doing something different and has different parameters than Utah just because they don’t have a state law. There are so many different ways that people are going about it. I do have concerns about some of the NIL opportunities and programs that are in place around the country. Again, that’s just me, and we’re going to have to look at it as an industry and figure out how we get a handle on it. Because I don’t think we have a handle on it today.”

ON COLORADO’S STATE LAW REGARDING NIL

“We’ve looked at our state law. Right now I wouldn’t ask to change anything. But we’re early into this. I do think we’re going to get some governance. The NCAA is having their constitution convention in two weeks and we’re going to see where they’re going at that point. And then at that point, a lot of these states will be addressed. And by this coming August we should have a better indication on where all this is going. That’s the way I see it right now.”

… Continue reading story …

–

—

Transfer QB Maddox Kopp: “I wanted to go somewhere where I felt like I can maximize my potential”

From the Daily Camera … Late in his junior year at St. Thomas High School in Houston, Maddox Kopp began building a relationship with some coaches at Colorado.

While the CU staff has changed quite a bit since then, Kopp’s good impression of the Buffaloes’ program has not. So, when he made the decision in November to transfer from Houston he immediately turned his eyes to Boulder.

Last month, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound quarterback made the decision to transfer to CU. On Wednesday, he began the drive to Boulder.

“It was kind of easy to rekindle that relationship,” Kopp said. “A little under a year ago, we were kind of talking every day, Zoom and all that stuff, going through that whole recruiting process. It wasn’t hard to kind of pick up where we left off.”

Rated as a three-star prospect in the 2021 class, Kopp chose his hometown Houston Cougars over CU and others when he graduated from St. Thomas a year ago. He spent the spring and most of the 2021 season with the Cougars but put his name in the NCAA transfer portal in early November. He did not appear in any games with Houston and will have four years to play with the Buffs.

“It was tough,” he said of transferring. “It wasn’t easy to just kind of pick up and decide to look elsewhere, but I think it was the best thing for me and for my career, and I feel like I can really, really achieve my goals and a bunch of stuff. So it was tough, but it was the right move.

“I just wanted to have an opportunity to really develop. I wanted to go somewhere where I felt like I can maximize my potential and kind of become the quarterback and the person that I really am striving to be.”

… Continue reading story here …

–

—–

January 5th

… CU in a few minutes …

State NIL rankings: Colorado in the top ten or bottom ten?

From the Washington Post … In the absence of a national standard, the patchwork of state laws that govern how college athletes can monetize their fame has been likened to the Wild West. As Congress weighs whether to enact legislation that would bring coherence to the widely disparate name, image and likeness rules, commonly referred to as NIL, a prominent athlete-advocacy group has developed a rating system to help recruits negotiate this uncharted terrain.

The National College Players Association’s “Official NIL Ratings” debuted Thursday. It gives each state a grade on a scale of 0 to 100 percent, with the top marks accorded to states with laws granting college athletes the greatest freedom to negotiate and sign NIL deals.

The idea, said NCPA executive director Ramogi Huma, a former UCLA football player, is to give college recruits and transfers a means of evaluating how much latitude they’ll have to profit from their fame in weighing scholarship offers — just as they might weigh one school’s athletic facilities, coaching staff and conference affiliation against another’s.

“When you go through the recruiting process, oftentimes the decision is very difficult because many schools seem so similar,” Huma said. “But when it comes to NIL, it couldn’t be further from the truth in terms of rights and freedoms. Our hope is that it helps provide a road map for recruits and transfers to navigate this process.”

The ratings are based on 21 criteria that help or hurt athletes’ rights to monetize their fame in the view of the NCPA — whether they want to sign endorsement deals to promote products among their Instagram followers, launch their own T-shirt lines, get paid for autograph signings and appearances, start an offseason sports camp or something else that involves payment.

A state with an NIL law that helps college athletes in every category would score 100 percent, while one that restricts athletes’ freedom in the marketplace would be rated worse. A state with no NIL law is rated 0 percent.

Of the 28 states with NIL laws, New Mexico earned the NCPA’s highest rating at 90 percent. Three tied for lowest, at 43 percent: Alabama, Illinois and Mississippi. Maryland earned the highest mark (81 percent) among the 11 states that are home to the Big Ten’s 14 schools. Virginia is among 22 states without an NIL law (in such cases, the NCAA permits each school to set its own rules) and received a 0 rating.

The NCPA has been among the leading advocates of college athletes’ rights to earn money beyond NCAA-approved scholarships and stipends. Although the courts signaled they were moving toward granting college athletes such freedom, the NCAA failed to enact an overarching policy before July 1, when some state NIL laws went into effect, leading to the current ad hoc system.

State ratings (Pac-12 states):

Oregon – t-2nd … 81
California … t-5th … 76
Colorado … t-9th … 71
Arizona … t-13th … 67
Not ranked (No NIL laws) … Utah; Washington

Note … According to the NCPA ratings, the 22 states without NIL laws were given a “0” score. I think it could be argued that schools in these states should be given a “100” rating, as schools are left mostly to their own devices. If this is the case, Colorado is 10th in the Pac-12, only ahead of the Arizona schools in NIL legislation …

–

—–

January 4th

… CU in a few minutes …

CU: 700 employees/600 students affected by fires; CU to go to remote learning to open spring semester

From CUBoulder … After last week’s devastating fires, the extent of the damage and destruction in the Boulder County community is becoming more clear. While the fires didn’t reach the CU Boulder campus itself, hundreds of students, faculty and staff have been directly affected. More than 700 employees and more than 600 students live in areas that were evacuated. In all, nearly 1,000 structures were lost, including the homes of dozens of CU Boulder students, faculty and staff, and reports of other damages are expected to rise.

Many of the people evacuated were not able to return home over the weekend as first responders continued to evaluate fire conditions and other safety concerns, such as downed power lines, gas leaks or burst pipes. Thousands of homes in the area have not had power or heat during sub-freezing temperatures, which dropped to near zero over the weekend.

“The trauma Boulder County is enduring is significant and calls for a long-term, all-hands recovery,” said CU Boulder Chief Operating Officer Patrick O’Rourke. “While we are still evaluating who needs help and the best ways we can support our impacted students, faculty and staff, our campus community should know that we are committed to helping in any way we can.”

Campus launched a Fire Resources webpage over the weekend that will be continuously updated with emergency food, housing, financial assistance and other support, as well as opportunities to help those affected.

–

As Chancellor Philip DiStefano announced at the end of last week, the spring term will begin on Monday, Jan. 10, with fully remote instruction for the first two weeks of the semester. As the chancellor stated, the remote start will allow campus to provide support for impacted students, faculty and staff, as well as support community-wide recovery efforts.

“We know New Year’s Eve was not an ideal time to make this announcement,” said Executive Vice Provost Ann Schmiesing. “This is, however, an emergency situation. We needed to give people as much notice as possible to make alternative plans.”

“Starting the semester in remote status, rather than a two-week delay, preserves spring break, which students have indicated is integral to mental health,” said Schmiesing. “Not delaying the start of the semester also preserves Maymester, which cannot overlap with the spring semester due to federal financial aid guidelines. Maymester is an important opportunity for many students to take courses necessary for their progress toward their degrees.”

Research and creative work will continue as usual in accordance with masking and social distancing requirements. Staff who can work remotely, should work remotely during this time.

–

—–

January 1st

… CU in a few minutes …

CU sets up website to assist fire victims

From CU …

Dear CU Boulder community,

I hope this email finds you and your family healthy and safe during this difficult time. I want to update you on the impacts of the historic Marshall Fire in Boulder County as it pertains to the Forever Buffs community. While the fires may be extinguished, the long road of recovery and healing in local neighborhoods is just beginning.

Many CU Boulder faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters live in the evacuation areas and have not yet been able to return to their homes. Some may not know if their homes are still standing. Some have learned that their homes were destroyed. Many are facing immediate and pressing needs and rebuilding these communities will take time.

Yesterday evening, I announced that we are delaying the return of in-person instruction until Jan. 24. The remote start will allow us time to provide the support needed to impacted students, faculty and staff who may not be able to teach or attend classes in person.

By delaying an in-person return, we are also doing our part to support the community. The impacts of the fires, in combination with concerns about the COVID-19 omicron variant, mean that the broader Boulder area is not yet in a position to welcome back thousands of Buffs over the next week. This decision also allows the university to provide resources in support of community-wide recovery efforts.

We have received countless inquiries from Forever Buffs everywhere about how to help. One way to help is to make a gift through the Buffs Together website and support students or faculty and staff directly impacted by the Marshall Fire.

For anyone affected by this disaster, please know that CU Boulder stands with you. We have launched a new webpage where you can access resources to navigate this crisis in the days and weeks ahead. We are here to support the Boulder and Forever Buffs community through these challenges.

As we embark on the new year, I wish the best for all the Forever Buffs here in Boulder and beyond in 2022. Please take care of yourselves and each other.

Warmly,

Philip DiStefano
Chancellor

–

—–

Tags: Nate Landman, NIL, Vic So'oto
This post, about the Postseason game, from the 2021 Season, is filed under Article.
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Post-Season

170 Replies to “Colorado Daily – January, 2022”

Eric says:
February 15, 2022 at 9:48 pm
So’oto says be violent a lot. I think he means it.
Go Buffs
Reply
ep says:
February 15, 2022 at 12:01 pm
I can see it now. With Herm the worm skating past NCAA enforcement the Buffs will get torched for lunch at Torchy’s Tacos
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  February 15, 2022 at 12:16 pm
  Ha Ha Ha.
  errrrrrr
  You could be correct.
  Buffaruski
  Reply
Jenda says:
February 15, 2022 at 4:58 am
Anthony Hankerson:
0.8696 3-star RB on 247
#701 nationally, and top 100 in FL
His offer sheet is 29 long, and once you get past the Who’s Nobody list of Florida colleges (as somebody who went to college in Florida) you get to some nice ones:
Florida State, Florida, Georgia Tech, Arizona, etc.
It doesn’t seem there’s anything wrong with him, other than he’s a tough recruit to land with the lures schools typically use. He must truly like Boulder and CU. I love it. Give him a full scholly.
https://247sports.com/Player/Anthony-Hankerson-46098450/TimelineEvents/
Reply
ep says:
February 12, 2022 at 7:46 pm
here is hoping Sanford will change his RB by committee tune if one is l
killing it far beyond the others
Reply
BostonBuff says:
February 12, 2022 at 6:40 am
Great read about leaders emerging in offseason and Turley’s comments.
Very insightful man as evidenced by comments about B Lewis, Lang, Roddick, etc.
Those comments along with Sanford’s about Lewis toughness last year indicate a level of respect the coaches have about this young QB.
Will be interesting to watch as the QB competition will be super interesting, important, and competitive this year…
I feel good about this program, it may not translate into wins immediately, but the foundation is solidly being laid in place
GO BUFFS
Reply
ep says:
February 10, 2022 at 9:40 am
until I see otherwise, Turley will be the biggest difference maker on the coaching staff.
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  February 11, 2022 at 8:51 pm
  Ok
  but it a process
  and a slow one baby steps eh?
  But it is all about the coaches giving the players the opportunity and education to motivate themselves and people around them.
  I just look back at the last 2 years an wanna puke.
  Go Buffs
  Reply
VKBerlin says:
February 10, 2022 at 5:32 am
Glad Brian found a job quickly. Got caught in the numbers.
Heard there was a little communication with OSU to make this happen.
Ye ol fraternity of coaches.
Go Buffs
Reply
VKBerlin says:
February 6, 2022 at 11:43 am
It is just amazing how laid back, easy going, lack of emotion, is used to describe HCKD and should he really be the HC of the buffs.
But for some reason he was able to bring assistant coaches to CU that appear opposite in attitude and actions. See interviews and stories.
How can this be?
Opposites attract?
Buffs.
Note: HCKD can sell his vision to players and coaches regardless of the posts criticizing and stating otherwise.
Reply
1. Tatonka+Thunder says:
  February 10, 2022 at 12:40 am
  VK, I do like your points about the Portal Departures.
  However, can you please share what this “vision” is that KD has for the football program?
  Does it come from “seeing” that after TWO years, a High School OL coach who was selling blocking sleds may have been a bad choice for one of the more critical positions on the team?
  Or maybe it was when KD “saw” that squeaking by a hapless Washington Husky team that turned the ball over Four times was a “defining win” (his words) for the CU Football Program.
  Really Karl? Like when CU beat Nebraska in ‘86? That kind of “defining win”?
  This guy may realistically coach thru the end of his contract in 2023 with total wins in single digits for his final 3 years.
  Its not all his fault though. I like KD and I would love to eat my words, but I don’t see much hope.
  Reply
  1. VKBerlin says:
    February 13, 2022 at 8:28 am
    Morning,
    The Vision!!!
    You will have to ask earache.
    He said:
    with all the players leaving it appears HCKD cannot sell his vision
    First mention of the vision of HCKD
    I said:
    with the excellent recruiting class, some great adds through the portal, and some outstanding coaching adds, it appears he can sell his vision
    So the definition and understanding of the HCKD vision, has to come from earache, as he first pointed it out and, as earache defines it HCKD can’t sell it………….
    I have asked several times for his explanation as to what the vision is that he said HCKD cannot sell.
    Well?
    Go Buffs
    Reply
    1. Eric says:
      February 13, 2022 at 10:24 am
      Trolling again, so soon?
      I just think it helps your team when a coach can get their best and most experienced players to buy into their vision, regardless of who recruited them.
      After two years, some of those guys were not seeing it. Let’s hope those that are rallying do see it, and can execute it.
      Go Buffs
      Reply
      1. VKBerlin says:
        February 13, 2022 at 1:55 pm
        Some?
        You mean 4?
        Okay now I get it
        Buffs
      2. VKBerlin says:
        February 13, 2022 at 3:02 pm
        Well it’s clear the ones who left weren’t executing
        Maybe Stuart can get HCKD to detail is vision as part of the NLI deal
        500 is 500
        Buffs
BostonBuff says:
February 5, 2022 at 7:18 am
From linked DC article…
“Sanford points to his one season as the coordinator at Boise State, in 2014, as “the perfect example of offensive identity that I believe in.”
That Broncos team went 12-2 and ranked ninth nationally in scoring (39.7), running the ball 57.5 percent of the time. They had an 1,800-yard rusher (Jay Ajayi), but also ranked 13th nationally in pass efficiency.”
Sounds good, that was a good Boise team.
A lot of work to be done, OL must have that bully attitude ingrained, bring it
The key point that stands out to me is balance, as the pass efficiency metric with run game makes opposing defense have to respect you.
Boise QB in 2014 was Grant Hedrick
3696 pass yds 70.8% comp rate 23 TD 14 int
592 yards ruhsing
Sanford interview stoked the fire a bit for me
Go Buffs !
Reply
VKBerlin says:
February 4, 2022 at 7:19 am
It was great HCKD stepped up. Reality was.
75% of the 20 would have been gone whether he had stayed and talked to some of them or not. They had to go. Needed room for the 30 coming in.
Look where they ended up
Texas a&m commerce
UT san Antonio
Alabama state
Sam Houston state
Arkansas state
Tulsa
Northern Colorado
The twenty who left via the secret portal
Maybe 5 can play at this level
Defensive backs: Blackmon, Perry, Gonzalez, Miller
One would assume the inside mole guy cornerbacks coach had a big influence on these moves. (Wonder Where the DC was) Wonder when that cb coach was recruited by Oregon. Probably a big surprise to many.
Wide receivers. Shenault Stanley Rice Carpenter Miller
Ya know, just not impressed with that list Really, Rice? not impressed. Good returner but WR, not so much. The Rest ha Let em go. Look where they ended up.
That’s enough.
Broussard ok we will see.
To me the bottom line it was good HCKD was on the road recruiting. Those guys had already planned to leave. They all have reasons.
Didn’t like academics. Too hard.
Didn’t like the coaches
Didn’t like the cold weather
Didn’t like their playing time
Didn’t like the lack of NIL from CU. (some sad that they needed to be compensated)
Whatever, I am glad they have gone on to their greener pastures and wish them success and happiness and hope they made the right choice. (only get to use the transfer portal benefits once)
Go Buffs
Welcome New Buffs
Thanks for Being Buff old Buffs
Reply
Jenda says:
February 3, 2022 at 9:34 pm
I voted for the most damning “amen” answer regarding Dorrel not checking in with his existing players before hitting the road. However, I REALLY appreciate his acknowledging this. It gives me a lot of hope that he is ready and willing to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them. Sucks this is what it took and that he made this error in judgement in the first place, but no one is perfect. Just don’t repeat it. 😁
Reply
Robert says:
February 3, 2022 at 8:21 pm
Do you really think high school kids that may or may not choose CU are more important than recruiting players already invested in the program as starters. Certainly an oversight by KD but may not have changed the outcome. We’ll never know but still
a major learning moment for sure.
Reply
RobO says:
February 2, 2022 at 11:58 pm
Ok,
Gonna go a little VK stream of consciousness becuase I am FIRED UP!
Just got done watching the coaches interviews….. friggin a man! That is what Power 5 coaches sound like.
Sanford – we going to be physical. Even in passing we are going to be physical. We want to be balanced but we are going to take what a defense gives us. Lewis couldn’t read a defense last year, I am not sure why but playing for me he will know how (unsaid or he will not play).
Devan – Physical. All of us moving and believing will get things done. Watch his YouTube video. The guy knows football. Knows the line. He is going to instantly elevate this group. I bet Roddick and Philip return to form. Excited to see what he can do with the kid from Alabama.
Coach Phil – this guy again is a technician. He knows the position, knows what it takes to be successful not just at this level but every level. I think Sri e and Stanley made a big mistake. The new guy, MLC and the other young r3cievers are going to really learn a ton and those that can aborb it and put it into play are going to do real well.
Coach So’oto – did you catch that he liked who we had in our room? Sami, Lang these guys are going to shine. Violent, physical.
Guys, I gotta say all of these guys have better resumes than we have had as coaches in these same positions since Barnett. These guys know what they are doing, have had success doing it before. Even Sanford produces winning football teams (maybe not great statistics but they win games) at the highest levels.
We are not go8ng to win every game, but I think we are going to do a whole lot better than people expect.
Reply
1. Tatonka+Thunder says:
  February 10, 2022 at 12:13 am
  You can have all the great assistant coaches you want. If you don’t have talent, its not going to matter much.
  The Alabama staff (all 150 of them) couldn’t win more than 3 or 4 games with this current teams roster.
  “We’re going to be a finesse team.” Said no football coach ever. Especially one who can’t believe he got another P5 OC job after failing in his last 4 or 5 stints.
  Hope springs eternal and the Kool Aid flows generously in the offseason I guess.
  Not so much after we go 0 for November to close out a 3 (optimistic) win season.
  Reply
ep says:
January 27, 2022 at 6:24 pm
The schedule could be a lot tougher
hopefully
Wilson has an answer for the AF run game and the DBs dont fall asleep when AF does decide to pass.
Sanford will show his former employer something entirely different ….seriously
and TCU? overrated, at our house and the first game of the season. Have em pumped up and ready tp play Karl
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  January 28, 2022 at 3:05 pm
  Your optimism is excellent
  New Deal
  Go Buffs
  Reply
VKBerlin says:
January 27, 2022 at 8:41 am
So the financials.
Not bad compared to others eh?
Borrowed money against future revenues.
The only one
Why is that.
The University of Colorado Admin DOES NOT SUPPORT THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENTAS WELL AS OTHER PAC 12 SCHOOLS DO………..FACT
Go Buffs
Note: New coaches…………..new players…………………..=…………..new era
Reply
VKBerlin says:
January 25, 2022 at 5:42 am
Here is where it is starting from.
Believe it.
Previous coaches were a disaster for CU
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJ5SQs6VUAAeJr-?format=jpg&name=medium
Reply
VKBerlin says:
January 25, 2022 at 5:11 am
Here is some good daily stuff
Posts by CU Football Players who are staying
Chase Penry
@chase_penry
Everyone has to make their moves. This is a business. But my business is winning in Boulder, and there is a lot of guys who feel the same. Damn proud to be a Buff. Let’s get to work!
Brady Russell
@brady_russell5
Not a place for the timid or weak am I right? Pleasure workin with ya. Let’s bring this place back to the top ole son 🤝
Brendon Lewis
@brendonlewis123
Preach brother, let’s ride !!🤝💯
Drew Carter
@Drew_503
Couldn’t have said it better
Montana Lemonious-Craig
@Montana_L_Craig
You know what I’m on CP3!
Simeon Harris ‘22 🐦🖤
@21_SHarris
I’m with it!! All In 🦬
Get right or Get left #SkoBuffs #shouldertoshoulder
JT Shrout
@JT_Shrout12
Damn right lil bro! Let’s ride!
T. Robinson👀🦍
@therealty32
couldn’t have said it any better bro. super excited for next year!💯🖤 sko
NOTE: THE LEADERS OF THE “NEW->OLD BUFFS ARE EMERGING.
BET ON IT
Reply
MarcusJBuff says:
January 24, 2022 at 11:09 am
I haven’t read much about this: But how is legal gambling and NIL going to end up working out together?
Many of us know of the “death penalty” given out to SMU and have seen the movie Johnny Be Good, how is gambling going to effect NIL? A major gambling site finds a way to funnel monies to a player via agent(s) & NIL, and then asks player to miss a couple of plays to effect the score against the spread; we all know the game and how much could be made just by manipulating the score.
How hard would it be to do that?
Reply
1. 83BUFF says:
  January 27, 2022 at 4:13 pm
  Gambling sites, and the gambling industry in general, are of the most highly regulated industries IN THE WORLD. The potential return on investment to try and fix a game is so low compared to loss of a license to do business that it isn’t even a consideration. The major players Are a who’s who in gaming, MGM, Caesar’s, DraftKings, FanDuel. Any potential fixing would be drop in the ocean revenue wise. It would NEVER happen
  Reply
VKBerlin says:
January 22, 2022 at 7:41 pm
There you have it.
Its all about me and the money and oh by the way me
Sorry Not Sorry
Buffs
Reply
1. 83BUFF says:
  January 23, 2022 at 10:19 am
  Addition by subtraction at least with Stanley. Good luck finding a coach willing to take on a diva attitude like that. Usually you have to earn the playing time and the targets. Sheesh.
  Reply
2. ep says:
  January 24, 2022 at 9:37 am
  It’s obvious it has been about the money ever since college coaches and pro players have been making seven figures or long before NIL.
  The vast majority of kids who are offered a college scholarship were really big shots on their high school team leading to “I can make it to the NFL.” I have no doubt that places even other than Texas, where football rules, these players have been coddled for their grades making the trip to the NFL through college seem even easier.
  As time passes in college reality hits a lot of them but for the guys on first string at pretty much every P5 school the dream is still strong.
  Put that together with 21 pass attempts a game for a room full of receivers , one tight end and a new OC and QB coach who wants to continue a run heavy offense and hasn’t done his pupils many favors in the past….
  and voila
  I’m just really surprised we haven’t seen more than just one TE hit the portal.
  And along with money….no surprise….comes “ME”
  Too much money ruins a lot of things and its been ruining college football for some time. It just looks like now its finishing the job.
  I hate it too but what can you or I do about it?
  Reply
  1. VKBerlin says:
    January 24, 2022 at 7:39 pm
    Most of em leaving can’t play.
    Fact
    At least not at this level.
    Who the hell recruited those guys?
    Doesn’t matter. I hope they all leave. Start over.
    Buffs
    Reply
Eric says:
January 20, 2022 at 11:19 am
Better late than never, to the NIL game, I guess. Couldn’t the exchange have been set up basically a year ago? Wasn’t someone in the Champions Center claiming Colorado’s legislation prevented any schools from helping students w/ NIL opportunities? Maybe they hadn’t read the law?
I might have to go sponsor a Buff skier. I doubt I have the money to impress any football or basketball players.
Go Buffs
Reply
1. ep says:
  January 20, 2022 at 6:25 pm
  Much to Bloom’s chagrin top skiers may strike it rich from the equipment makers.
  Reply
  1. Eric says:
    January 20, 2022 at 9:16 pm
    I think Jeremy did ok. Nfl may have still paid better though. But you could, in the 90s and more so today, make a good living as a free skier. Olympic gold would get you a lot further though.
    So for me, it would either be a small charitable donation, or hoping a kid I build a relationship with kills it, and gets Olympic gold. Intriguing either way. And not mutually exclusive.
    Go Buffs
    Reply
VKBerlin says:
January 18, 2022 at 7:28 pm
What happened to all those tight ends on scholarship
Go Buffs
Note: I really like looking at the new roster
Reply
VKBerlin says:
January 17, 2022 at 2:25 pm
Uh Oh Buffalo
Wilner is about to feel the wrath of ep.
Can’t wait
Buffs a go go
Reply
1. ep says:
  January 17, 2022 at 4:36 pm
  actually I have new hope. Wilner’s predictions of what happens on the field are almost always wrong
  Reply
  1. AZBuff says:
    January 17, 2022 at 4:55 pm
    It is just amazing that guys like Wilner and Kizla are able to earn a living today with the crapola that they spew. When all these failing newspapers eventually go under do you think anyone, anyone will pay them for their worthless opinion if they go totally digital?
    Reply
iriebuff says:
January 13, 2022 at 10:13 am
On a slightly optimistic note…I just don’t see this ‘current trend’ becoming a long-term reality. ADs and Head Coaches (incl. Saban and all the ‘bluebloods’) are all saying this isn’t good for CFB. The reality is that it’s not good for them, you are giving these booster/alumni groups power over ADs and Coaches…what if they don’t like a coach/AD and refuse to ‘pay’ the recruits until someone is fired?? Saban and others see this scenario on the horizon and certainly don’t want that.
Reply
1. ep says:
  January 13, 2022 at 9:51 pm
  might be some contracts involved. Refuse to pay and the lawyers get paid.
  Reply
  1. iriebuff says:
    January 14, 2022 at 10:37 pm
    Not actual payment to the players, but the group just states it’s turning off the spigots for any new recruits until AD or coach or whoever is fired.
    Reply
Thomas says:
January 13, 2022 at 12:02 am
I don’t get why Pielke’s opinion piece was a “must read”. While he makes a few good points, I disagree with most of his premise. Especially this:
“… a mid-tier FBS school like Colorado simply cannot compete for the talent necessary to be competitive on the field with the elite programs.”
So Boise State was an elite program with elite talent and that’s why they played Oklahoma in one of the most Amazing New Years Day bowl games in history? Nope. Was Cincinnati — who made the pretend-offs this season — an Elite program full of elite players? Nope.
CU’s biggest problem is getting the Admin to back the Athletic Dept. I mean sure, Bill McCartney was a great coach, but he probably doesn’t have the same level of success without President Gordon Gee backing athletics like he did beginning in ‘85.
It takes a lot of things to compete at a high level in P5 football. But if it were just about money, Texas and Nebraska would never have been outside the top ten in football for the past 15 years, either. Does Pielke think they should leave P5 football? Of course not. And nor should CU.
The biggest thing a CU coach needs is also the most precious thing Bill McCartney was given: administrative backing and … time to develop a program.
Reply
ep says:
January 12, 2022 at 11:52 am
Shocked
just shocked, I tell you
Where is VK? He should be doing the master slap down on Pielke. Giving up….right VK?
A phony Buff fan if here ever was one….and in the position of a kool aid killing mole.
Go get him big guy
Reply
1. Eric says:
  January 12, 2022 at 1:54 pm
  I thought Pielke made some valid points surrounding the problems w/ CU athletics and football specifically, and actually moving soccer (women’s for now) into Folsom may be a good idea. But, I definitely don’t agree w/ his other solutions. As I’ve maintained, CU can and should be able to get back to reasonable performance in football, playing exciting games, regularly making bowl games, and occasionally making a run at Pac 12 championships and playoff berths. If Duke, and UVA and Stanford, etc. can do it, so can CU.
  I’m just increasingly less sure the current cadre in the athletic department and coaches on the field are the guys that can get us back there.
  We’ll know a lot more in about nine months (hey, that’s different from “we’ll see” or “time will tell”. Trying to mix it up for you, my friend).
  Go Buffs
  Reply
  1. VKBerlin says:
    January 13, 2022 at 10:23 am
    I’m just increasingly less sure the current cadre in the athletic department and coaches on the field are the guys that can get us back there.
    Why do you keep saying that over and over with different phrases but never give your reasons. Always the vague one.
    The ambiguous banker………………..hehaw
    Reply
  2. VKBerlin says:
    January 13, 2022 at 10:32 am
    Sheesh sometimes the posts just don’t clear so you post it again.
    I like the soccer ideas
    And wish he would have included baseball and softball. They could rig diamonds on Folsom as well. And lacrosse as well.
    The athletes provide such a benefit the athletic department should not be charged for tuition fees etd. Even the walkons
    As far as what level of football should play at. Where ever they fit going forward.
    It was just a long earaching type ramble that was speculation stuff.
    Basically ignored it.
    Go Buffs.
    Note: I bet earache loves it cause it gives him more opportunity to criticize the leaders of the athletic department, including coaches which of course is banker type stuffr.
    Reply
2. VKBerlin says:
  January 13, 2022 at 10:25 am
  I’m just increasingly less sure the current cadre in the athletic department and coaches on the field are the guys that can get us back there.
  Why do you keep saying that over and over with different phrases but never give your reasons. Always the vague one.
  The ambiguous banker………………..hehaw
  Reply
  1. Eric says:
    January 13, 2022 at 3:20 pm
    Trollin’, trollin’, trollin’, keep that vk trollin’, trollin’ trollin, trollin’ allloooooooong.
    Dude. I’ve been very specific. Lack of specifics is your game. However, in an effort to stop you from posting this same drivel for the next nine months or so, allow me to reiterate:
    Rick is good at generating and managing revenue (and expenses). That’s a big part of an AD’s job these days. Actually, the biggest. Second to that is hiring coaches. I think on that one, he has not done very well, particularly w/ football. It is possible to appreciate a person for what they do well, and fault them where they don’t. I know it’s hard for you to hold two opposing thoughts in your head at the same time, but most of us do it daily.
    Lance runs the football ops. Since 2013 when he got there, they have not been great, with the exception of 2016. And, since 2019, they have arguably gotten worse. I have also said why I feel he may not be the right guy in that role. I think he’s a bit of a “dig me” guy. You know the type.
    Additionally, it seems they are behind – relatively speaking – on the new realities of NIL and the transfer portal. The latter is yet to be confirmed b/c there’s still a LOT of kids looking for places to play in this cycle, and we know CU will “lose” more, to make room, but… so far, there is not very much room for optimistic views, unless maybe you squint really, really hard.
    Karl, I wasn’t a fan of that hire. Have said it many times. He knows football, no doubt. He’s a great guy, I’m sure. But, can he be a successful college coach? We’ll find out. But, like any hire – particularly ones I have zero involvement nor control over – I will always be guardedly optimistic. So, why has my optimism waned?
    Because we’re seeing our best (that means most talented and experienced) players leaving. Sure, they weren’t his recruits. But, he still has to sell his vision to them, and all the new guys too. Daily. And again, does every program now lose starters and key contributors to the portal? Yes. Of course. And many of them have the talent to spare. And others, like Wazzu and AZ have just done, seem to have made some pretty significant upgrades, too. Our Buffs? So far, less so. Will that change? I sure hope so.
    Beyond that, we’ve seen Karl’s offense. You said all last year it was Chev’s. Wrong. It was Karl’s. Poorly executed by all involved. But, Karl’s nonetheless.
    So, for those reasons, I will hope that I am wrong. And we’ll see if they, collectively, can turn this around. It’s going to be enlightening to see the team play this year. 60% of the staff is new. Will they be able to hit the ground running (pun intended) or will we hear “well, we’ve got a lot of new staff, and young team, so that’ll take time to work itself out.”?
    And all that said, I think an effective QB, whether Brendon or any of the others, will go a long way in turning things around for this team. Probably more so than any of the other cadre of characters involved.
    Looking forward to seeing it all unfold. And, I will continue supporting, sending money, and voicing my opinion as I see things, along the way. At least I recognize my opinions are just that. Not facts.
    Go Buffs
    Reply
    1. VKBerlin says:
      January 14, 2022 at 10:33 am
      Well okay.
      How many football coaches has the AD hired?
      Nil is driven by the alumni. Mega money alumni. CU has non of those type that will support football. Never have
      Transfer portal from CU is filled with a couple good ones and the rest will be going to a lesser school. I like it cause they deserve that chance. (Mid note: Some 4 and 5 stars leaving other schools, good football schools) as well. Not worried. Also the players may be highly rated (leaving CU…………only a couple) but they are from an old regime. Move out, or move on. I like that too. Lotta grumbling last year………….from the starters.
      You give lance too much responsibility. Bohn was a disaster at CU and did his basic training here.
      HCKD and the new staff deserve more than just mouth support. The biggest change will be the efficiency of the offense. gonna be fun.
      So squeal your negativity.
      Buffalo Up
      Reply
      1. Eric says:
        January 14, 2022 at 11:14 am
        I hope you’re right. We’ll know more in nine months. And have some glimmers of additional insight over the next several weeks, as well. In my eyes so far, those glimmers of information we are getting are not bright.
        Go Buffs
ep says:
January 8, 2022 at 6:44 pm
pertaining to Stuart’s recent poll, the KD quote which shocked me the most was the one where he said “no one” (including himself obviously) couldn’t see the portal being a major factor
Seriously Karl?
Reply
VKBerlin says:
January 7, 2022 at 3:59 am
“The Howling Man”
Staff removed
First have to find him
Then put him back
Had him, let him out,
Is too late?
Probably is.
Gonna have to deal with it.
Go Buffs, it is what it is, do your best, with what you got.
Note: Please have the organization and coaches to do better than best withs the players you do get.
Reply
Eric says:
January 1, 2022 at 7:01 pm
That is good that CU created a donation site for Marshall fire victims. You can also contribute through Buffs4life.
Go Buffs
Reply
BostonBuff says:
December 31, 2021 at 5:54 pm
Best thoughts to all out there…
Reply
Eric says:
December 31, 2021 at 10:48 am
Good morning. Well, for anyone not in Louisville. I saw the story of the fires last night. Read this morning that Mark smith lost everything. I hope anyone/everyone round cuatthegame is ok. We are all too familiar with wildfires in the ca foothills, and increasingly throughout the west. If there’s anything I can do to help, holler.
Go Buffs
Reply
Adam Kenny says:
December 31, 2021 at 10:41 am
Keep a good thought for Coach Smith and his family. Not-too-subtle reminder that there are things significantly more important than wins and losses.
Reply
ep says:
December 31, 2021 at 9:23 am
Looking at the new OL coach’s photo I’m sure he could still play. If nothing else he can probably take part in the drills himself and handle the players while telling them to do as I do as opposed to “what I say”
Reply
AsterixBUFF says:
December 31, 2021 at 2:24 am
Purdue beats Tenn with a former walkon qb that started 4th on the depth chart at the beginning of the year, Pitt almost beats Midnight Mel, an interception on the game winning drive, with a 3rd string qb and we burn a year of eligibility for our 2nd string qb for what, a dozen plays? Who’s in charge of this insane asylum?
Reply
Eric says:
December 30, 2021 at 3:04 pm
This hire of So’oto may be Karl’s best this off season. Bring back the Polynesian pipeline. And so cal, too.
Go Buffs
Reply
1. LoCoBuff says:
  December 30, 2021 at 4:51 pm
  Like it. OL guy from Michigan, DL guy from USC. It all starts in the trenches.
  Reply
BostonBuff says:
December 30, 2021 at 6:37 am
One thing seems likely, there will be a solid QB competition this Spring w/ Kopp, Carter, Salave’a, and JT along with Lewis.
Should we expect that the new OC and next year’s offense will be different enough that it will be a wide open competition for the QB position ?
QB coach will be…?
Reply
Eric says:
December 29, 2021 at 8:47 pm
I really like Owen mccown. I hope he grows, and his body can take the beating it will get as a d1 qb. Find a qb and a lot of things start to work on offense. The competition should be good this spring and fall.
Go Buffs
Reply
steve Gruenler says:
December 29, 2021 at 6:19 pm
OMG, we lose or best players on defense an you are allright with this. KD is responsible along with RG. We can’t afford to pay coaches and we have no big donors. Time to move into the mWC as we are irrelevant. BTW, KD is not the right guy. Lose 2 top guys sucks, this is our reality
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 30, 2021 at 3:05 pm
  Yes
  Reply
VKBerlin says:
December 29, 2021 at 8:29 am
Welp, losing players was needed to bring in the recruits and the possible transfers.
It is what it is.
So the coaches?
fired
OC/wr/recruting
O line coach
Moved on
CB coach
Hired
OC
OL coach
Wonder what the plan is for QB and WR coaches.
And the DB coaches. Still believe the Safety coach has the talent to coach the whole DB squad.
And the extra coach? dline coach gotta have one
DC needs to focus on the total package.
OC and WR and qb coach
Can’t really figure this one out can you?
gotta have a focused WR coach. Those boys need the focus
So OC as qb coach too.
Clueless
Go Buffs
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 30, 2021 at 3:07 pm
  Predictably
  Reply
BostonBuff says:
December 28, 2021 at 7:04 am
If you have a decent run game the D has to respect it, thus opening up the pass game. You need both as opposing D’s will have their strengths and weaknesses.
A good QB can read the D pre-snap and adjust…
I like this kid Kopp.
Worth checking out his film via the article Stuart has linked. He is mobile enough to get out of the pocket and can throw on the run. Nice arm. Can also dunk the basketball !
There will be plenty of QB competition next year and if the offense and play calling is strong then what we need is the right guy to break the huddle, run it and let the guys make plays
Call it koolaid or whatever, but a pessimist is not more right than the optimist or vice versa, however the optimist is happier
Reply
1. ep says:
  December 28, 2021 at 3:15 pm
  The new OL coach has provided me with a wee bit of optimism. When he said “it all starts in the trenches” I heartily agreed. We are are all still waiting for some help from the portal in the form of O linemen to protect Kopp and the QBs. Especially Kopp. He is a taller version of McCown….or hard pressed to cast a shadow. Cart before the horse?
  btw
  at 6’5″ and not being able to dunk is a very bad sign.
  btw2
  now that college football is all about the money being a pessimist will make you more money than an optimist from the plethora of sports betting sites. Optimists are usually pessimistic about money bringing happiness but sure doesnt hurt. The Buffs could sure use a lot more.
  Maybe being a realist is the best path to travel
  Reply
ep says:
December 27, 2021 at 5:15 pm
“Run the ball downfield and then take some shots.”
from Kopp, who it apparently got it from Langsdorf
take some shots???
Sounds more like a token pass game than a solid contributing one. Why would a pass hound like Kopp be excited about this? Was CU the only place that was interested in him?
so
along with that
Langsdorf is still around
and
Sanford is a run heavy guy
meaning to me the offense isn’t going to change at all next year.
Say it aint so…..Groan
that wont even be a baby step.
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 27, 2021 at 7:19 pm
  It will be a big step
  Cause
  The new OC
  Can actually game plan
  Design plays that work
  Call the right plays at the right time
  Make adjustments as needed or before hand
  You know, good OC traits.
  2022 Buffs.
  Note: And don’t forget real blocking schemes and techniques to support the play design. cause of the new OL coach
  Note 2: I am not going down the negative rat hole like some???? This is gonna be a great season. Write it down. Offensive efficiency will be there.
  Note 3: Trying to call if they ever ran a real RPO last year. I guess kinda….
  Note 4: Don’t ya-all see the starts aligning?
  Note 5: Screw that Stu lump of coal.
  Reply
  1. ep says:
    December 27, 2021 at 10:26 pm
    Good for you VK. Even if earache thought it was funny. I ‘ll be as happy as earache with another coach or one of their connections for a client if that turns out to be true and you can razz me mercilessly.
    In the meantime I will be watching but I cant drink the koolaid any more. Way too many years of the same ol or same ole crap and I dont see any stars aligning any differently.
    btw
    I never saw them call an RPO
    Reply
2. Eric says:
  December 27, 2021 at 9:35 pm
  Hehe.
  Go Buffs
  Reply
Eric says:
December 22, 2021 at 8:28 pm
I thought that piece on momentum was fun. I cannot think of a sports fan who hasn’t been on both ends of that game.
Go Buffs
Reply
VKBerlin says:
December 22, 2021 at 2:38 pm
Momentum
Sheesh what a read
I’LL stick with big mo
Reply
BostonBuff says:
December 22, 2021 at 6:52 am
Happy about this hire as it signals acknowledgement that “it all starts in the trenches !”
High energy guy and seems to be around good things happening…
After Michigan season-
Meet w/ CU OL and watch film of what you have, give everyone a lunchbox
Meet with CU Strength and Conditioning Coach, Mr Turley to compare notes about OL workout plan
Work transfer portal with KD
Make CU OL a pancake machine that Ralphie will approvingly snort and stomp at
Go Buffs
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 22, 2021 at 1:52 pm
  He has gotten a lot of love from the OL coaches around the country.
  Many say great hire
  Go Buffs
  Pancakanator
  Reply
VKBerlin says:
December 21, 2021 at 6:22 pm
Okay, so i like this hire. Seems lie a young fitter.
Go big HCKD
Mighty Buffs
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 21, 2021 at 6:24 pm
  So do does that leave another hire or not
  Who is coaching QB
  and of course
  WR
  Asking for earache
  Buffs
  Reply
  1. Eric says:
    December 21, 2021 at 7:54 pm
    Thanks for the consideration. I was asking for William vlachos.
    Go Buffs
    Reply
    1. VKBerlin says:
      December 22, 2021 at 6:56 am
      He has a job.
      Not at risk
      Still learning
      buffanator
      Reply
  2. Jhenry01 says:
    December 21, 2021 at 10:09 pm
    As a former OL myself, no complaints with the OL coach hire as a person or his coaching progression.Would prefer more experience, but seems decent enough and probably the best CU could do. Hope he can recruit. BUT…….he coached with Langs-Dork before. Which means 3 things:
    The village idiot QB coach isn’t going anywhere, he’ll be given a say into the OC planning and Duh-rell will sell keeping the QB destroyer for continuity in the program’
    Ugh…
    Reply
    1. VKBerlin says:
      December 22, 2021 at 2:05 pm
      Sheesh
      They have replaced the two coaches fired
      And the wr coach is who.
      Little sticky there don’t ya think,
      They need a real receivers coach cause they haven’t had one for awhile as he was focused on other duties which were not executed either.
      I think there is a bit of a puzzle there that has yet to be confirmed.
      Langsdorf contract is up in like Jan or feb.
      Interesting don’t ya know.
      Buffs.
      Note: Lets be clear HKCD didn’t recruit Lewis. He just kept him. All the other quarterbacks HKCD has brought into the program are pro-style, Shroud being the first. So he will want a qb coach to teach that style as he implements his vision.
      Note 2: Oline coach is huge……………….now need the bodies
      Reply
    2. ep says:
      December 22, 2021 at 2:08 pm
      I have no problem with the OL guy either. At least he hasn’t peter principled yet.
      not sure I can say that about the OC.
      And I wish you hadnt brought that up about Langsjoke. Sounds logical though dammit. I can here it now about Maddox…”well….he is just a freshman. Learning on the job is just too dangerous (like he was really going to be taught much otherwise). Call another running play.”
      Reply
ep says:
December 20, 2021 at 4:08 pm
Broncos run heavy offense got squished yesterday.
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 20, 2021 at 4:37 pm
  No quarterback
  Reply
  1. Eric says:
    December 20, 2021 at 6:19 pm
    Speaking of run heavy offenses, apparently UO’s was too. I really hadn’t paid close attention. But, Micah Pittman transferred to FSU b/c they weren’t throwing the ball enough. Arguably, they didn’t have a great QB either, but they seemed at least ok. You can find the story, I forget whether on ESPN or yahoo, but he had some interesting thoughts on the offensive scheme, ratio of pass to run, etc. Basically, he felt it would be a hindrance to his making the NFL, or at least having enough tape to be properly evaluated. I’m sure he won’t be the only one. The good news? Karl’s firm in his philosophy, for better or worse, and will be calling it like he sees it to the current roster, recruits, etc. One thing’s for sure, he’s a straight shooter. Well, as for sure as we can be standing a thousand miles away, watching, that is. But, he strikes me as pretty genuine, particularly w/ his staff and players, even if he’s not a fan of the media and all that that entails.
    Go Buffs
    Reply
    1. VKBerlin says:
      December 20, 2021 at 8:51 pm
      The four finalists national rankings
      Alabama passing 7th 347 per game rushing 79th 147 per game
      Cincinnati passing 57th 249 per game rushing 49th 180 per game
      michigan Passing 67th 228 per game rushing 9th 224 per game
      Georgia Passing 53rd 258 per game rushing 29th 195 per game
      Interesting
      Buffs
      Reply
      1. ep says:
        December 20, 2021 at 9:25 pm
        Quit using earaches’s favorite word
        but I’m glad you posted the rest of it.
        And which one of those teams has the No. 1 seed o the CFP?
        Just throw the damn ball.
      2. Eric says:
        December 20, 2021 at 10:07 pm
        Very. So, I mentioned this before, but I bet you can see if it rings true or not. In my eyes, average scores have come down, the las year, maybe two, both in the nfl and college. Is that right or just me? I watch maybe more than the average bison, but pretty casually, so not sure if that gut read is right.
        If it is? Maybe Karl is on to something. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
        Bradshaw was classic this weekend. He said he threw ten times in super bowl 9. Classic.
        Mnf is now 17-3.
        Go Buffs
      3. nocochado says:
        December 21, 2021 at 10:01 am
        What’s the one thing those teams have in common? It’s not “throw the damn ball”! It’s defense, all of those teams are led by their defense. Georgia #1 Alabama #6 Cincinnati #10 Michigan #11 Depending on which metric you choose, they will all be rated differently but all four teams are in the top 15 statistically for defense.
      4. VKBerlin says:
        December 21, 2021 at 1:41 pm
        Which one is undefeated
      5. VKBerlin says:
        December 21, 2021 at 2:35 pm
        So earache
        in college
        average points for all games
        2021 28.6
        2020 skipped
        2019 27.2
        2018 27.9
        2017 27.30
        2016 28.48
        2015 27.94
        mishymashy
      6. Eric says:
        December 21, 2021 at 3:48 pm
        Oh well. Nothing to see here on the scoring front, looks like. Pretty flat. Like CU’s scoring. Maybe it’s just that with our offense working at the furious pace of a yard or three per minute of game time, it seemed like everyone else was too.
        Go Buffs
    2. VKBerlin says:
      December 21, 2021 at 3:42 pm
      Yup Defense
      Buffs
      Reply
  2. ep says:
    December 20, 2021 at 9:19 pm
    He isnt all that bad. Or wasnt. If I was Bridgwater I would take my millions and go fishing after being taken off the field on the cart. Now they dont have a QB.
    Now that Hamler is injured there is no speed on the Broncos WR roaster. Patrick is probably the fastest guy there.
    Nope, Sutton and Juedy aren’t exactly burners either. Juedy has these quick cuts for a really small window of separation but he also lacks the speed to compete with the average NFL corner. Sutton can post up and win contested catches but that doesnt always get you a win.
    When Hamler was in there it made it a little easier for the others.
    They just have problems getting open and Shurmurmer is one of the boring cookie cutter OCs that dont have a shred of creativity.
    Reply
ep says:
December 20, 2021 at 12:55 pm
so just to make sure I didnt read this wrong”
Hurtado had 2,500 yards rushing and 41 touchdowns his senior year and now he is a linebacker?
Makes zero sense unless he played in the Cal equivalent of 8 man here in CO.
Reply
1. Eric says:
  December 20, 2021 at 3:46 pm
  Cypress is basically Anaheim. So no. It doesn’t sound like he played in Poway, where Rashaan Salaam crushed it in 8-man football. But, my guess is he was a man among boys in high school, but isn’t fast enough for a D1 running back. But, plenty fast for the new style of linebackers. And seems very smart, hard working, and probably with a high football IQ, if Karl’s continuing with his same player profile.
  Go Buffs
  Reply
ep says:
December 19, 2021 at 1:34 pm
I know you all read it already but I will post Howell again:
Sanford spent 2016 at Notre Dame and then two years as head coach at Western Kentucky; he was fired after a dismal second year. Then he was the offensive coordinator at Utah State for one year and at Minnesota the past two.
Each of the past six offenses Sanford has coached has had a decline in scoring average from the previous season. Kizer regressed in his second season as Notre Dame’s starter. Quarterbacks Mike White (Western Kentucky), Jordan Love (Utah State) and Tanner Morgan (Minnesota) all put up monster seasons the year before they worked with Sanford and had dramatically worse results with him.”
Not much I can do about these things except gripe. Not expecting a lot out of this hire. Just hoping that KD will find some linemen in the portal that will actually contribute enough to get us to a bowl. I dont see it happening without them.
btw
all the bios say he played QB at Boise. It was garbage time only. If it was under HWSRN that might not be a bad thing.
He was making Chev money at MN. Please RG dont give him a buyout. If this was any other business environment he should also take a pay cut from being recently fired. Give him some incentives instead.
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 20, 2021 at 4:41 pm
  Well okay then
  losing before they play
  now that is fair eh
  Reply
LoCoBuff says:
December 18, 2021 at 11:37 pm
I like the hire. I wasn’t expecting a big splash hire for our program, and was afraid of an unknown or unproven. This guy has a good background. Maybe the ground and pound focus will attract some OL talent. And if he can recruit like some say then great. When Minnesota lined up with those 4 tight end sets and jammed it down our throats, I thought the “try and stop us” attitude was pretty ballsy and novel in a funny old school sort of way.
Reply
ep says:
December 18, 2021 at 4:23 pm
Even the people who are kinda supporting this hire sound like they are accepting a half a loaf.
Unless Sanford installs some misdirection in the running game, a la Air Force, I don’t see how the Buffs win a whole lot of games next season trying to “grind it out.”
Maybe we will all be surprised by Sanford “unleashed.” Maybe we will all be surprised by a couple of blue chip O lineman from the portal. That one is even less likely as KD just got another linebacker.
Right now it looks like another baby step.
Reply
1. RobO says:
  December 18, 2021 at 5:10 pm
  Minnesota won 8 games with this offense. I think we will do ok.
  Reply
  1. VKBerlin says:
    December 18, 2021 at 5:57 pm
    Me too
    Just need the real OL coach
    And a couple of good (maybe 5) oline dudes
    Business Buffs
    Reply
    1. RobO says:
      December 19, 2021 at 8:31 pm
      Filip will be just fine with a good o line coach, Roddick is a mauler, I think Jynes and Wiley will be fine. Lichtenstein sure is big enough. I think we have the size. Just need a good o line coach. Vlachos made some improvement right away but I suspect Sanford will want say and may have a good one in mind.
      Reply
      1. ep says:
        December 20, 2021 at 10:42 am
        do I sense a little resignation? Earlier during the season you went to great lengths describing how our O linemen were getting beat like a drunk goalie.
GJBuff says:
December 18, 2021 at 4:22 pm
Not really excited by the new OC, but ok. I will still support and hope for the best…
I’m not at all surprised by the uninspiring hire, given the current safe, traditional, baby steps mentality; but a little disappointed with the result of something that was kept so under wraps… for so long. That sort of dramatic buildup, tends to promote excitement and hope.
This was the top secret hire that took so long? This?!?
Such a pedestrian hire, of a person who was already unemployed, because they were just fired for lack of offensive production, should have just been quickly announced in stride. (Yeah. I get that this was probably the end result of a process of negotiations that involved several candidates.)
Because of the veiled buildup however, I was anxiously, waiting for some exciting news to be revealed at the end. Visions of sugar plums and offensive innovation dancing in my head. There was the great hope, that when the veil was finally removed, it would be a shiny new OC, who has successfully run dynamic, creative offenses that were imaginative, productive and fun to watch. I don’t need air raid stuff, just creativity and prior success. I guess that’s what really added to the feeling of being underwhelmed.
It’s kinda like saving the biggest, most beautifully wrapped gift under the tree for last and then discovering it was… just a pair of socks.
Oh well… I guess everybody needs socks. Yawn…
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 18, 2021 at 5:59 pm
  I hate those big boxes that when you unwrap them there is another wrapped box and another and another…………but it’s an Ipad Pro……….with a case………..and ear buddies, and a 3 year warranty.
  yup
  Reply
  1. VKBerlin says:
    December 18, 2021 at 6:12 pm
    Also 8-4 every year with upside years would be heaven eh
    Business Buffs
    Reply
2. Jhenry01 says:
  December 21, 2021 at 9:59 pm
  Agree with you, GJ. All that for an unemployed under achiever. My hopes were on Sowder, Marion, Harrel or someone similar with a creative offense. Apparently CU didn’t interview any of them. Typical.
  Reply
Eric says:
December 18, 2021 at 11:20 am
The other thought I had the other day, that Rob basically covered in way better detail, was that when Karl said he expects to run about sixty plays a game, it sounded to me like he expects about six possessions a game, with plodding, clock burning, ten play drives, on average, that get touchdowns each time. There’s your 42 pints (I kept the typo) and ballgame. Maybe more with special teams and defense. A lot less if you can only get 14 first downs a game.
But as I have said for a while, I don’t care if CU wins 20-17 or 10-6. Just win, please.
Go Buffs
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 18, 2021 at 12:29 pm
  First downs are interesting
  In The Big. 20 first downs a game is middle of the pack.
  Highest was ohio state this year at 27 (Gophers at 20) last year highest was OSU at 25 (Gophers at 22)
  Lotta good teams in the Big eh?
  Time of possession
  Last year Gophers 35.09 4th in the nation
  Buffs 26.2
  Grind it and rind it and win
  business buffs
  Reply
Eric says:
December 18, 2021 at 11:05 am
I didn’t realize his dad was also a football coach. So, he is a cerebral football guy/lifer who also believes in Karl’s offensive philosophy. That can’t hurt. I hope he recruits well. Old school ball can win games. Let’s hope it does or we’ll be starting over in another year or two.
Go Buffs
Reply
VKBerlin says:
December 18, 2021 at 6:25 am
Speculate………….Speculate…………Speculate
It’s what you do when you don’t know but want yourself to believe you do.
People are so funny eh?
Anyway the more i check this hiring out, it appears to be a good fit for HCKD, which by the way is pretty dang important.
And
He does have recruiting chops.
And he has worked under excellent head coaches.
Excellent academic schools too
Good blood lines
And I really like his name
Michael Gunar William Sanford
As I said elsewhere, I hope he his just like FRED
Here we go Buffaloes Here we go
Reply
RobO says:
December 18, 2021 at 1:49 am
So there is a lot of gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair on this hire over on the 247 site. As the wife went to out tonight for a girl’s night I decided to spend some time seeing if I could figure out what I thought.
My first note is that I only considered the Boise State 2014, Utah State 2019, and both Minnesota seasons as these were the seasons he was an offensive coordinator and calling plays. A bit of research shows at Notre Dame Kelly was calling the plays.
With that:
Sanford likes to run the ball. He likes to run it a lot and we should expect that. The only exception is when he has a program changing QB (Jordan Love in this case) and in that case he only makes it about 50/50.
Boise State 2014: 57%
Utah State 2019: 47.4% (Jordan Love)
Minn 2020: 61.8%
Minn 2021: 69%
As I do not see a Jordan Love in our immediate future I think we should expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-70% of plays to be runs.
In addition, to be a run first, run a lot offense he is also a control the clock guy. For those of you that remember the Minnesota game almost every play they would line up, look over at the sideline for a potential adjustment and snap the ball with 10 or so seconds left on the play clock. This is old school grind it out football. You will NEVER lead the league in scoring or offense. You are too busy grinding away at the clock to be scoring constantly. So those of you that look at the offensive rankings and try and compare this offense to most other offenses are going to come up horribly disappointed. Instead, you need to look at efficiency. For each time you get the ball how often does the team score and then you compare this number to your opponent. Football is designed so that each team will get the ball roughly the same amount of times, so more than how many yards you wrack up it is important to score more times with more points EACH time you touch the ball compared to your opponent. If you grind away at the clock, both you and your opponent will touch the ball less and the scores and stats will be lower but if you are more efficient than them you will tend to win games. Stack a better than average defense on that and you will win games. The current football meta is to go fast and there are absolutely strengths to that approach. But it doesn’t have to be the only approach and if everyone (or nearly everyone else is doing it) your offensive statistics will show much lower numbers compared to those teams. But if you can score more often than your opponent, be more efficient when you do get the ball, you will win games.
There are a couple of places on the internet that try and measure this. They try and even it out using mathematical models to try and factor in strength of the opponent and such and so it is a measurement that is up to debate but it can at least give you an indicator:
ESPN has its Efficiencies page you can go digging for. In 2021 Minnesota Offensive efficiency ranked 37 in the country. Oregon State, UCLA, Utah, Oregon, and Arizona State had a better number in the PAC12 this year. Colorado was 117.
Football Outsiders has a similar idea with its Offensive FEI with
– 2021: Minnesota coming in at 36. And Utah, UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State better in the PAC12. Colorado was 110.
– 2020: Minnesota came in at 40 (even with a bad record so I assume their defense was particularly bad). Colorado with our lovely 4-2 record came in at 57…..
This is how a team with the 84th ranked scoring offense only scoring 27 points and the 99th ranked total offense with only 360 yards ends up with an 8-4 record and second in the big 10 west with a win against a top 20 opponent. They are purposely slowing the game down, reducing the number of times their opponent touches the ball while trying to be more efficient with scoring when they touch the ball.
Now there are downsides to this approach. The games are going to be closer, and your opponent with quick, big strike offenses can come back and can score much faster than you. If you fall behind it is tougher to get back.
I have also noticed that his QB’s have a pretty high Interception to TD rate, meaning they are throwing a lot of INT’s. Completion percentage is also lower in his offense. Both Love and Morgan had their completion percentages drop significantly in his offense. I suspect it is because they are driving the ball downfield to beat the stacked box, but it could also be because his route trees are basic and predictable….
But let’s be honest about where our program is right now. We are not worried about dropping a game or two a year because someone’s high powered offense scored quickly. Nor are we too worried that a 4 star QB is going to come in and get upset because the offense is not tuned to throwing from the pocket. We just need to win games. Maybe in 5 or 6 years and we have went bowling most of them we can get greedy and take a chance at some truly creative offensive thinker and get exciting. But maybe this is the way. McCartney brought CU out of the dumps with a running wishbone. I think Dorrell and Sanford may be able to do so with a running Read Option. It actually perfectly fits Lewis’s skill set. He should be jumping for joy.
Reply
1. Luckyprof says:
  December 18, 2021 at 10:38 am
  Amazing analysis. I consider it an early Christmas present to all of us. Of course, Stuart makes it Christmas every day for all of us with, on so many occasions, multiple “gifts to open/read.”
  Thank you, Rob, and, thank you, Stuart!!
  Reply
2. Cjbuffco says:
  December 18, 2021 at 1:02 pm
  Wow. Great analysis. I liked your statement about “where our program is right now”. Given where it is, I feel this is a good hire and the recruiting class was good. Neither is great but considering the status, let’s hope that these are some good building blocks along with the current, young players gaining experience. Go Buffs!
  Reply
3. BostonBuff says:
  December 18, 2021 at 3:22 pm
  Definitely appreciate the time put in here RobO.
  Guess we better have a good OL and OL coach !
  Reply
ep says:
December 17, 2021 at 11:22 pm
Gee
I dunno
the guy has been around…..maybe too much.
I’m kinda with Jhenry01. Why do we have to get someone who has just been fired? How many times has he been fired? Is Boulder that bad of a name on the carousel?
Reminds me of mickey mac who pulled his buddies out of the unemployment line
After 17 years you get kind of set in your ways…you know…the old dog and new trick thing. I speak from experience running through the mud with these computers.
I was really hoping for a younger guy with notable right now success like Sowder who would be looking to step up and make the Buffs the beneficiary of a stepping stone for once…..and not quite that run heavy.
oh well
He has been with some good HCs. Hopefully he soaked up a little from them before being fired. At the very least he should be a good coach for teaching the fundamentals. Something that KD likes.
I mean he has to be better than chev….right? Most of the commenters in here would be better than chev in game time. If he is an upgrade maybe he will get us finally to a bowl.
Reply
Eric says:
December 17, 2021 at 7:09 pm
Ok. This strikes me as a hire that was the guy that wanted CU/a job, and probably not Karl’s first choice. Does that mean it won’t work? Not at all. But it does illuminate things further. Looking around at other coordinator hires, particularly. Please, prove me wrong. And maybe dude can recruit? That is what matters most.
Go Buffs
Reply
KevMc says:
December 17, 2021 at 6:50 pm
I remember being pretty impressed with the Minnesota offense when they played in Boulder this year. Big rushing yards, yes, but creativity using the tight end was something I particularly noticed.
Reply
BuffTime says:
December 17, 2021 at 6:08 pm
Hard to gauge at the moment, though his recruiting chops are legit: https://247sports.com/Coach/Mike-Sanford-1131/AllTimeRecruits/
Should be able to help us prep for our game at Minnesota next season too.. hehe
He has a good pedigree and definitely has familiarity with Shannon Turley as well as they both should have overlapped at Stanford.
Will be interesting to see if he coaches WRs or QBs…
Reply
83BUFF says:
December 17, 2021 at 5:43 pm
This looks like a good hire to me. Maybe not great, but he coached the Minnie-sota team with a lot of injuries to good record this. His resume shows a lot of experience coaching and recruiting the west. If Stanford is his model, I’ll take it, despite the last few lean years there by Shaw. No complaints from me. I’ll wait until next fall when he calls a FB dive on 3rd and 5 from the 20 yard line and settles for a FG. 🙂
Reply
1. Eric says:
  December 17, 2021 at 7:00 pm
  I believe he got his start with Dan Hawkins. I like Dan. But either way, that was 20 years ago. We have all learned a lot in the last 20yrs, I reckon.
  Go Buffs
  Reply
  1. VKBerlin says:
    December 18, 2021 at 6:10 am
    Michael Gunar William Sanford
    I like the name.
    I hope he is just like Fred.
    Business Buffs
    Reply
  2. VKBerlin says:
    December 18, 2021 at 6:17 am
    QB at Boise 2000-2004
    Dad was a head coach
    2005–2006 UNLV (GA)
    2007–2008 Stanford (OA)
    2009 Yale (RC/TE/FB)
    2010 Western Kentucky (QB)
    2011 Stanford (RB)
    2012 Stanford (RC/RB)
    2013 Stanford (RC/QB/WR)
    2014 Boise State (OC/QB)
    2015–2016 Notre Dame (OC/QB)
    2017–2018 Western Kentucky
    2019 Utah State (OC/QB)
    2020–2021 Minnesota (OC/QB)
    got a lot of experience at high education rated places.
    Business Buffs.
    Note: While OC of NDame for 2 years scoring offense
    2015 34
    2016 31
    He left NDame to try his hand at HC…….Welp?
    Reply
  3. MarcusJBuff says:
    December 18, 2021 at 9:42 am
    he play until 2005 so he was a student/player for Dan, not a coach and Peterson was his actual coach as the OC. The day Hawkins was hired I read a few post from BSU fans that were happy Dan was leaving town and were claiming CU got the wrong guy and that BSU’s success was the two top coaches including Peterson who took over and we all know how that turned out.
    I had wrote them off as disgruntled fans losing their winning coach with something like a 50-10 record who was leaving them; boy was I wrong.
    Sanford, seems to have more of Peterson’s than Hawkins influence; and a great coaching tree.
    “In 2021, Sanford oversaw a Minnesota offense that ran the ball the majority of the time, and despite losing three of its top running backs, still averaged 193.8 yards per game to rank 31st in the NCAA heading into the postseason. UM was 8-4… The Gophers were also 15th nationally in fewest turnovers (11), 17th in third down conversions (45.6 percent) and 27th in red zone offense, scoring 40 times (28 touchdowns) in 45 trips.”
    He got fired for that? That’s difference from where CU is at and where Minn is at and thinks they should be at. I think CU would take those numbers all day long AND that was with injuries to starters… in a very competitive conference. Those type of numbers in the PAC12 would land CU in running for the south and if/with less injuries, better production is possible, so we’ll see.
    I think CU could have done far worst, we’ll see if coming home to the west to a “destination job” is true, he played his football when CU was great and a lot of CA kids were following the program and discovered Boulder as a great out of state experience to go to school; we’ll see if he can sell that on the recruiting trail.
    Reply
2. VKBerlin says:
  December 17, 2021 at 7:01 pm
  Well the goophers had a great defense
  Had some good wins
  One bad loss
  2 close loses
  finished 8 and 4
  Offense (oc) took the heat
  Plays run per game
  Passing 20.3
  Rushing 45.8
  tot 66.1
  (I think HCKD likes that)
  Many injuries on Offense including their star running back in the first game and then the 2 team running back and then the 3rd team
  So there is that plus several injuries to starting oline guys.
  So I gotta say, I am not gonna be negative about this.
  In fact am gonna be positive.
  See what he runs in the spring game.
  Business Buffs
  Note: Now about that OL coach, and the current qb coach.
  Reply
  1. Eric says:
    December 17, 2021 at 8:39 pm
    I like the optimism. And to fuel it, I think they have some good running backs. And the o line, as Rob pointed out, may snap back quickly. Do they have a qb? We will find out. I guess that goes for all the above too, though.
    Go Buffs
    Reply
Jhenry01 says:
December 17, 2021 at 5:20 pm
Underwhelming hire compared to Marion or Sowder. More of the same. Can CU hire anyone who isn’t employed? Can’t wait for the call to renew season tickets so I can laugh at them on the phone.
More mediocrity and failure for the program to come with this hire.
Reply
1. Jhenry01 says:
  December 17, 2021 at 9:35 pm
  Edit: can CU hire someone that isn’t UN-employed?
  Underwhelming by any metric. Marion better have turned them down instead of not being chosen. Wait a month for news and it’s more of the same, lame, game on O……nothing creative about the prospect of the O, like the Go-Go would have brought. Definitely np ho-ho, ho for coach Doh-rell.
  Sad really.
  Reply
VKBerlin says:
December 17, 2021 at 4:55 pm
I cannot decide if I am underwhelmed by this hire. or not.
Business Buffs.
Note: Wonder what this means for the current qb coach if anything?
Reply
1. Chirality says:
  December 17, 2021 at 5:17 pm
  Hopefully it means Langsdorf is fired because the QB not being able to read a defense is his fault.
  Reddit comments are not positive. Minnesota was mostly a disappointment on offense this year.
  But those WKU teams were pretty good?
  Hell if I know
  Reply
  1. VKBerlin says:
    December 17, 2021 at 5:46 pm
    Yup,
    Minnesota offense was a disappointment but I believe they had key injuries.
    Agree with you about Langsdorf
    Well as earache always ends his un-profound comments………..
    I guess we’ll see
    Business Buffs
    Reply
VKBerlin says:
December 16, 2021 at 3:22 pm
Number of plays run during a game depends on a lot of criteria.
How fast how slow the offense operates is interesting
Most important is the number of 3 and outs.
In 2021 the Buffs averaged 14 first downs per game on 61 plays per game
In 2020 the buffs averaged 20 first downs per game on 77 plays per game.
Gotta convert. The number of plays will be there regardless eh?
Business Buffs
This year the Buffs
Reply
1. VKBerlin says:
  December 16, 2021 at 5:21 pm
  And a little more
  2021……………2020
  passes per game 22.4…………….29.7
  rushes per game 36.5…………….46.0
  Total plays 59 75
  rounding errors
  But those plays gotta transition to yards and first downs.
  It’s all a mystery says AAron
  But move the chains and win.
  In 2020 the games they lost they could not move the chains
  prelude to 2021
  Anyway Business Buffs
  Reply
Eric says:
December 16, 2021 at 9:48 am
Karl’s vision of offense is to run about 60 plays a game. He likes to control the clock more than using tempo to limit defensive substitutions. Old school can work. New school can work. If they got the right players to run it. I guess we’ll find out in ten months.
Go Buffs
Reply
ep says:
December 16, 2021 at 9:05 am
glad to hear KD doesn’t want any assistants with NFL aspirations. That is heavily underscored with Urban’s firing today and his really weird alleged behavior. Bohn must have known and USC dodged a howitzer shell.
Problem is with the level of sincerity shown by a lot of coaches lately how will KD really know? Even Notre Dame is a stepping stone these days.
Reply
Don in Durango says:
December 13, 2021 at 2:17 pm
Welcome to Boulder, Mr. Jackson. Any chance you can call an offense on Saturdays?
Reply
83BUFF says:
December 7, 2021 at 8:26 pm
Can we just hire some damn coaches and get on with it please? What is the hold up?!
Reply
1. ep says:
  December 8, 2021 at 10:40 am
  Yup
  Based on what I read from the pundits, which may not mount to squat, KD is trying to convince one of his buddies to leave their job in the NFL like he did to come here…..and that would have to be a position coach as opposed to someone who is already an OC in the NFL. Its kinda hard for me to believe that is an easy thing to do.
  Pundits have also said he will be looking for an OC who runs a “run heavy” offense which also may not be the case as its based on the usual pundit 20/20 hindsight. Having said that, my hopes that when KD arrived his background as a player and a coach on the O side of the ball would lead to a more diverse O have been, to this point, dashed.
  Its hard for me to believe that after the Minnesota game that KD and RG didnt start thinking about replacing Chev then and putting together a list of those who they might persuade. My opinion may not be any better than your average pundit’s but if I was RG I would have been proactive for at least a month now looking around the country for an up and coming guy at a lower level who has some intriguing film of his successful O schemes. That would put the Buffs at risk for being a stepping stone again but at this point you would think most fans would take that in return for a couple of years with a winning record….that at least would make Boulder a more attractive place for the next hire.
  The “next hire” brings me to Fort Fun’s new coach who may finally be their acorn. Sounds like he runs an air raid which is what Chev was involved coaching with (as a WR coach) in his early coaching days. Instead of at least a balanced attack we got repetitive headbanging against a stacked stone wall box.
  I’m not a superstitious guy and I joke about a curse but at some point you wonder when you will actually start believing it.
  Reply
VKBerlin says:
December 4, 2021 at 4:03 pm
Amazing no one was keeping track and they burned his redshirt year
Sheesh
Buffs.
Maybe redshirt the coming year is in the plan. If not someone needs to be fired eh?
Reply
1. Otter says:
  December 4, 2021 at 8:29 pm
  One of my biggest wtf from this year. Not paying attention or didnt care.
  Reply
bufffan62 says:
December 3, 2021 at 5:44 pm
I hope Drew Carter makes a big splash in basketball. KD clearly doesn’t think much of him as a QB. Have no idea why they would burn his redshirt year by just having him take a knee. Would be nice to have him as a contributing Buffalo somewhere.
Reply
1. ep says:
  December 4, 2021 at 9:15 am
  If he can help cut down the turnovers Tad wont let him go back to football
  Reply
ep says:
November 30, 2021 at 9:07 am
Maea appears to be the first Buff to hit the portal. I wonder if he was the reddit guy.
Vanderbilt lost a bunch. Among them is a 4 star QB and a high 3 star OL.
Reply
bufffan62 says:
November 30, 2021 at 8:57 am
Bobo made $1.3 million at Auburn. Ouch…..
Reply
1. Chirality says:
  December 1, 2021 at 3:06 pm
  I almost spit my coffee out. What was his CSU salary? That’s insane
  Reply
ep says:
November 29, 2021 at 9:54 pm
My first thought was….Gee Brian, why couldnt you have included what kind of offense each candidate ran or had experience with?
Second thought…..dont make any difference because that is one uninspiring list. I’ll pass it of as being old and late at night because I almost fell asleep reading it.
The only one that piques my interest is Sowder. He is the only one that has a current and a 4 year consistent experience as an OC with steady improvement and success.
Sowder aside I hope to VK’s Gott that there are better candidates out there. And is it a necessary requirement to have some kind of past connection to HCKD? I hope not.
Reply
1. Eric says:
  November 30, 2021 at 9:44 am
  Who would be your top three choices? And since it seems top choices don’t want to come to CU, your next three?
  Weren’t you a fan of the co school of mines coach? Was that stitt? What’s he up to?
  I don’t follow enough teams and their coaches enough to have a list.
  But I am interested to see which network Karl leverages. Nfl, college, or rogue (not really rogue, but someone he doesn’t know or has never worked with). My guess? He goes with someone he knows and has worked with. Who wants to run his offense.
  Will be illuminating either way. As Will o line coach. Sounds like he is happy with the defensive staff, so that is set, unless someone leaves.
  Go Buffs
  Reply
  1. ep says:
    November 30, 2021 at 9:19 pm
    “I don’t follow enough teams and their coaches enough to have a list.”
    Neither do I. But just reading the bios of the guys on Howell’s list and what I know otherwise about some of them it just shrieked “checker players.”
    If you listened to Stuarts podcast they were intrigued with Walters. It sounds like he has been hanging with Frost which isn’t the best reference in the world. Although, even with their record the cobb O looks like wide open compared to the chevette blinders.
    Your guess? isnt very “interesting” not surprising in that you have always been “the connection guy”
    KD’s offense has to be something like what we have seen this year. Even if it was just Chev’s senseless play calling that screwed thigs up its still upsetting that KD put up with that past the bye week. I hate to say it but it looks like baby steps are still the thing and we will have to put up with a couple more losing seasons before…voila….KD breaks through like Crowder, McCartney and Barnett. What are the odds?
    I would ask you if you have a problem with Crowder too but I’m sure you dont have a clue who he is.
    Reply
    1. Eric says:
      November 30, 2021 at 11:19 pm
      Dude. Not a bad cogent response. Crowder? Although I find it informative to learn from the past, I try not to live in it. You never did answer my question, which is fine. More later.
      Go Buffs
      Reply
      1. VKBerlin says:
        December 2, 2021 at 6:16 am
        Yo,
        Ol Clemson finished pretty strong.
        Musta got new players since that is 70%
        of the reason for success.
        Go tigs
    2. Eric says:
      December 1, 2021 at 1:26 pm
      Yeah, I’m definitely relationship driven. Seems like Karl is too, looking at how they seem to recruit, having his son working with him, hiring guys he’s worked with before, etc. Pretty normal stuff.
      So, what I’m interested in seeing is what he does w/ the OC and O-line spots, now that he’s had some time to think about potential candidates (vs when he was first hired, trying to cobble together whatever he could). Theoretically, he’s been thinking of OC candidates for more than a year, if the rumor he wanted to replace Chev last year is true, but was unable to, due to cash.
      It’ll be equally informative to see whether he focuses more on someone with whom he can work well, or someone with an OC background, whether running the more west-coast pro-style stuff he seems to prefer, or the more spread and pistol oriented stuff that seems to have become more standard across the college and NFL playbooks?
      Hopefully we’ll find out sooner rather than later.
      Go Buffs
      Reply
      1. VKBerlin says:
        December 3, 2021 at 4:59 am
        Relationships can ruin your career…………
        mickeymacwac………….Those ol retread coaches and his son too.
        Flimfam man……….
        Yup
        Gotta pick the best man for the job always…………….and it ain’t usually yur brother……….just cause he likes your college football team.
        Go Buffs.
        Note: The spread (whatever that is) look is a piece of every NFL team. Some more than others but none even close to a majority.
bufffan62 says:
November 29, 2021 at 7:22 pm
Mike Bobo is now available as OC…….
Reply
1. Eric says:
  November 29, 2021 at 9:57 pm
  Did harsin let him go? He is a very good oc. Doesn’t seem like a good fit with Karl and CU, but they could do worse.
  I am curious what direction Karl goes.
  Go Buffs
  Reply
2. Chirality says:
  November 29, 2021 at 11:46 pm
  I thought Bobo had some great gameplans at CSU. On offense at least.
  I would unironically be happy with him as OC
  Reply
Jason says:
November 29, 2021 at 6:39 pm
Sad to see him go but it was overdue.
Reply
culater62 says:
November 29, 2021 at 4:46 am
Chev will be remembered as a great Buff alum, a good WR recruiter and a good WR coach. However, not a good OC. Too many times he did not adjust the play-calling to the talent he had on the field; you have to call plays your players can execute. I suspect there will be more coaches that are let go, and that’s OK. There are some interesting coaches available now, hope that Dorrell and George move quickly with a solid hire for OC, O-line coach, etc.
Also hope we use the transfer portal to get some depth at QB and linebackers, it will be tough to replace Landman and Wells, our defense has some holes to fill as well.
Reply
VKBerlin says:
November 28, 2021 at 11:54 pm
Best of luck Chev
May your big heart carry you forward
Forever Buff
Reply
RobO says:
November 28, 2021 at 10:16 pm
My best to him and his family.I am sure he will find a receiving coaching job somewhere soon. It was time though. I am excited to see what Dorrell does. Unlike Macintyre who was loyal to a fault Dorrell moves on. I thought the defense did pretty well given the load they were forced to bear so the d coordinator was likely an upgrade. The strength coach we will need to wait and see. A lot of injuries again this year. But I have heard that it is a 4 year process, and I didn’t see us getting man handled this year so I think we are ok and that is widely regarded as an upgrade. And a surprising one at that. Let’s see what happens on the OC side.
Reply
Thomas says:
November 28, 2021 at 6:59 pm
Sorry, but this should have happened (or at least all play-calling duties passed to someone else) after the 2017 season when a team that went 10-2 regular season the year before went 6-6 because the O couldn’t stay on the field when they needed to… not unlike the majority of the loses this 2021 season, starting with Texas A&M game when simply generating 1st downs to give our D a rest in the 2nd half would have wrapped up that game.
Thanks for the hard work Coach Chev, good luck in the future. But it was time for a change to help spark this team.
Reply
GJBuff says:
November 28, 2021 at 4:33 pm
All the best to Chev and his family. I hope he lands a receivers coach gig, that fulfills him and brings him happiness. I also hope he takes care of the school he loves, by bowing out gracefully and not leaving, in a pot stirring, scorched earth manner. I still have a bad taste, from when he realized he wasn’t going to be the new head coach. This one probably didn’t take him by surprise, so hopefully he’s resolved within himself and matured from that point in time.
Let’s just shake hands and move on…
This particular coaching move won’t be the answer for everything, but it does come with significant hope.
The best leaders take note of talented people, that stand out along the way and remember them for future possibilities. My hope is, that KD has already gone through a comprehensive list of quality candidates, from a wide variety of sources and has/keeps an on-going list.
Hopefully, he has already studied the young, fresh, imaginative coordinators of lower salaried, successful schools, such as UTSA, San Diego State, Fresno State, App. State, etc.
I would think, that he has also scoured the ranks of proven analysts of the mega schools, such as Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, etc. Leave no stone unturned.
My wish list, is for someone who has passion, respect and excellent relationships with their players. Someone who is a proven recruiter, creative play calling and the ability to make quick adjustments on the fly.
I hope that KD and staff, keep in close communication with current players throughout, so that they are comfortable with all of these moving parts and don’t all run for the portal.
Whatever the turnover looks like, KD should take full advantage of the portal for incoming talent, because it can go a long way in filling any holes and leveling the playing field a bit.
Now is the time to get this thing going in the right direction!
GO BUFFS!
Reply
1. Eric says:
  November 28, 2021 at 6:27 pm
  I’m curious if he goes through his nfl contacts, college or new? He had to have a list, and probably some feelers out. But, there may be a difference between who he wants, and who he gets. But even so, that doesn’t mean they won’t be a good fit.
  Going to be illuminating either way.
  Go Buffs
  Reply
Chirality says:
November 28, 2021 at 3:10 pm
I worry that Chev out triggers a flood of transfers and decommits.
Langsdorf still there? Really? Would rather fire him than Chev
Reply
1. Darin M says:
  November 28, 2021 at 8:47 pm
  Losing 2-3 stars recruits that barely receive many offers won’t be that big of a loss. I’m sure the players want a change as well from that terrible play calling, hell, more might want to stay now
  Reply
Gunbarrel Buff says:
November 28, 2021 at 2:09 pm
It was time for Chev to move on. A great Buff with a big heart for CU but this is a results business and the result on the field was not there. KD needs to find a young, bright coordinator on the way up who can energize our offense. With continued improvement on D I think we fans can have some optimism. Thanks Chev for your sacrifice and hard work. It’s time for everyone to move forward.
Reply
Adam Kenny says:
November 28, 2021 at 1:43 pm
Chev is a true blue Buff and no one can ever question his love for CU and his love for the program. At day’s end, however, results matter and in two tours as OC, the results simply were not there. As a Buff alum, I feel no better about this than I did when Jon Embree was fired as HC but understand now, as I did then, why the decision had to be made. Wish Coach Chev and his family nothing but the best and hope that whoever the new OC is produces a more productive offense.
Reply
Darin M says:
November 28, 2021 at 1:07 pm
Love the guys heart, but this move is a few years overdue
Reply

Colorado Daily – January, 2022

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