Lefhandbuff over at "that other board" dug this up... i thought i twas appropriate though, so I'm bringing it over here. As much as things change... things stay the same...
Hawkins' promise: Best Buffs on field
Daily Camera staff
Posted: 10/08/2006
Give Colorado football coach Dan Hawkins this much: If some of his
peers were asked, as Hawkins was Sunday night, whether they were
playing their best players, they would react with scowls and growls.
Hawkins absorbed the question in stride and answered patiently. He
said he could understand why a layman watching CU games this season
from the stands or the press box might be scratching his head when he
sees, for example, former walk-ons Cody Crawford and Nick Holz lined
up at wide receiver with players such as Blake Mackey, Dusty Sprague,
Alvin Barnett and Patrick Williams watching from the sidelines.
"We're definitely trying to play the best guys," Hawkins said.
"When you look at the best players, there is a lot that goes into
that. When you're building a championship football program, there are
certain things that have to go into that. You have certain standards
and all that. ...It's not just about who is the fastest or who's the
biggest or who's the strongest. It's who, A, can execute and do all
those things. There are obviously little nuances all the time that
happen in a football game that people don't necessarily notice, but as
coaches you look at them. Why would we not want to do that? Why would
we want to have our worst players on the field? That doesn't make any
sense."
Hawkins also said the Buffs are relying on a lot of walk-ons or former
walk-ons this season, in part out of necessity, based on the state of
the roster they inherited. Hawkins said he is five scholarships down.
The Buffs are 0-6 and still looking for their first win under Hawkins
after a loss in triple overtime to the Baylor Bears on Saturday. They
have tied the program's record for the longest losing streak at 10
consecutive games, and they have the third-longest active losing
streak in the country.
Hawkins has withheld playing time as a way to send a message to
underachievers and players who don't consistently bring the proper
level of intensity and toughness to practices. He's not about to
apologize for his philosophies or change a formula that has proven to
be successful at every stop in his coaching career.
The problem here and now, however, is that his team can't consistently
pass the ball, and it is especially challenged to do so in situations
where opponents are expecting it. The Buffs found themselves in just
such a situation at the end of the fourth quarter against Baylor. They
had two timeouts, the ball on their 23-yard line and Mason Crosby's
leg needing only 29 yards to have a legitimate shot at a winning field
goal. Hawkins went conservative and played for overtime, demonstrating
a lack of faith in his offense to get the job done. Part of that
decision is based on the inexperience of quarterback Bernard Jackson,
and part of it is based on a receiving corps that has been unable to
consistently make big plays or even produce a player who is consistent
from week to week.
Jackson spent the past three years riding the pine at CU before
earning the starting job in Week 2 this year. He knows a thing or two
about the frustration of watching from the sidelines when a player
believes he could be helping. Jackson was also asked Sunday whether
coaches are surrounding him with his most talented offensive teammates.
"It's hard to say," Jackson said. "I think so, given the opportunity
we had this past week. It's every week we're in a position to make big
plays no matter who is in."
Mackey, a senior who led the Buffs in total reception yardage in the
2004 season and missed 2005 with a knee injury, hasn't caught a ball
yet this season. He said he is struggling to understand exactly what
more he can do to prove himself to Hawkins and wide receivers coach
Eric Kiesau.
"I'm not a quitter. I'm not going to do that. So there is only one
thing to do. Keep fighting and keep making plays in practice and
hopefully, I can do it in the game. Hopefully, I get a chance. They
are the ones who decide who is the best, and it's their opinion that
matters I guess. My opinion probably doesn't matter I guess in this
situation because I'm not making the decisions, but I definitely feel
like I can help the team win. I definitely feel like I can do some of
the things I did before."