BlackNGold
Club Member
fComing into this season - I believed the following things about the CU football team.
I hoped for the following:
I knew the following:
After the first game this is what it really is:
The first 4 bullet points under what I knew are pretty valid. Change is not going to happen overnight. On the 5th bullet point.
I am in this for the long haul and just want to see things improve.....
- During the Hawkins era the team lost the winning attitude. Winning was not that important - of course you want to win but if you did not it was no big deal.
- The CU traditions and culture were tossed out the window by Hawkins.
- Team leaders were never developed.
- Player development was non existent in most cases under the DH regime. Players got into the program and for the most part never developed.
- CU's talent level had drastically dropped off the past few years of recruiting and the best players recruited before that either never lived up to their potential or left the program or both.
I hoped for the following:
- The new staff could quickly instill a hard nosed attitude and the team would play to win.
- The new staff could "reprogram" the team with the tradition of CU football and what it means to wear the Black and Gold.
- Team leaders would emerge.
- The team would respond to solid Xs and Os coaching and many would finally start achieving their true potential.
- The players would actually be better than the recruiting rankings ala Boise State or Utah.
I knew the following:
- It takes time to change culture, Coach Mac was in his 4th season and Barnett was in his third before the players had really fully bought into what the coach was selling. Old habit die hard.
- Just like the first bullet point, the players understand what they are being told from a logical perspective but to actually take it to heart takes time and leadership.
- Thrusting a leadership role on a senior after not coming up in a system that demanded team leadership does not yield results.
- Changing in the coaching of Xs and Os results in a transition period before the players start getting it...this is really true in college where contact time is limited.
- The CU team has some talent gaps so depth is going to be a problem and a few positions are going to be hurting.
After the first game this is what it really is:
The first 4 bullet points under what I knew are pretty valid. Change is not going to happen overnight. On the 5th bullet point.
- The talent level of the team seems to be much worse than I thought. Too much attrition, poor recruiting, lack of development,...it actually looked to me that Hawaii had more talent across the board. Seriously lacking team speed. I hope this was just an impression based on another poor road performance but I am worried that it is not.
I am in this for the long haul and just want to see things improve.....
