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Two articles on CU recruiting this morning in the Post...

BlackNGold

Club Member
The first a column by Woody Paige basically blasting Hawkins for a variety of things....

Woody Paige

The second was an article on Lack of Texas recruiting....

Texas Recruiting


Hawkins has handled the press situation poorly. He is now going to be a marked man,. IMO.
 
The Texas situation is ridiculous. Two prospects out of the approximately 375 Division 1 prospects from Texas is not going to cut it. I know some people think we can get by without recruiting Texas heavily, but I think it makes no sense to ignore a state where kids can actually see you play on a given weekend.
 
Woody's article was lazy, idiotic, and cheap. The article on Texas recruiting was very fair.
 
Woody's article was lazy, idiotic, and cheap. The article on Texas recruiting was very fair.

Give me specifics of why it was lazy, idiotic and cheap. Instead of just calling names why don't you actually refute the article? I think was going after Hawkins but I also think that he was dead on in analysis....like this comment.


Yet, he was given another chance. The man should have been kissing the ground — the burned ground — he walked on in Boulder, especially after he admitted he shouldn't have recruited his own son, a mistake almost everyone else realized four years ago. Hawkins should have known the only reason he was kept was because CU didn't have the money to pay him off.
So, did Hawkins respond by changing his assistant coaches, changing his recruiting patterns, changing his attitude? Not really?


 
Give me specifics of why it was lazy, idiotic and cheap. Instead of just calling names why don't you actually refute the article? I think was going after Hawkins but I also think that he was dead on in analysis....like this comment.





Well, just in the quote you attached, I don't remember that "everyone" thought bringing Cody here was a mistake. Cody is a good kid and not that bad a player. What has been unfair is his treatment by many of the "fans." I thought his shot at Hawkins being in Hawaii was just lazy "journalism." He made no effort whatsoever to find out what Hawkins is doing there. Woody only speaks the "truths" that support his particular argument and doesn't make an effort to balance out all the facts, IMO.
 
Hawk pretty much got a pass for 3+ years as local sportswriters wrote more stories about climbing GPAs than declining winning percentage.

However, I don't understand Woody's shot about Hawkins visiting Hawaii. Uncommitted from Hawaii: 4* Linebackers Shaydon Akuna and V.J. Fehoka, 3* DE Handsome Tanielu, 3* DT Sani Fuimaono, 3* DB Jeremy Ioane and 3* OL Jiniki Timoteo along with a number of uncommitted 2* guys (including DT Foi Foi who wants to come to CU if he can qualify), a number of commits that may not be 100% solid, and a CU commit (OL Kaiwi Crabb) who probably got an in-home in order to make sure we secured our top OL recruit. I have to think that a CU head coach traveling all the way to the islands on the last recruiting weekend was very appreciated by any prospects he saw and, for the future, any high school coaches he saw. Hawaii is a very important recruiting area for CU.
 
Hawk pretty much got a pass for 3+ years as local sportswriters wrote more stories about climbing GPAs than declining winning percentage.

However, I don't understand Woody's shot about Hawkins visiting Hawaii. Uncommitted from Hawaii: 4* Linebackers Shaydon Akuna and V.J. Fehoka, 3* DE Handsome Tanielu, 3* DT Sani Fuimaono, 3* DB Jeremy Ioane and 3* OL Jiniki Timoteo along with a number of uncommitted 2* guys (including DT Foi Foi who wants to come to CU if he can qualify), a number of commits that may not be 100% solid, and a CU commit (OL Kaiwi Crabb) who probably got an in-home in order to make sure we secured our top OL recruit. I have to think that a CU head coach traveling all the way to the islands on the last recruiting weekend was very appreciated by any prospects he saw and, for the future, any high school coaches he saw. Hawaii is a very important recruiting area for CU.
I think the point that got lost in the cheap shots is that our coach went to Hawaii (important, but not vital), INSTEAD of going to Texas (where we have struggled) or California (where the vast majority of the talent we bring in comes from). Two commits from Texas? Seriously!!? and our coach goes to effing Hawaii!!!? We must have struck out very very badly in Texas this year to have MORE POTENTIAL COMMITS IN HAWAII then Texas... thats awful.
 
Well, just in the quote you attached, I don't remember that "everyone" thought bringing Cody here was a mistake. Cody is a good kid and not that bad a player. What has been unfair is his treatment by many of the "fans." I thought his shot at Hawkins being in Hawaii was just lazy "journalism." He made no effort whatsoever to find out what Hawkins is doing there. Woody only speaks the "truths" that support his particular argument and doesn't make an effort to balance out all the facts, IMO.

You are correct, Cody is a good kid but that is were it ends.....Dan Hawkins in Hawaii with only a few days left until LOI day, his ass should be in Texas or Cali lining up kids for the 2011 class. Dan Hawkins just keep proving time after time that he is in way over his head.
 
You are correct, Cody is a good kid but that is were it ends.....Dan Hawkins in Hawaii with only a few days left until LOI day, his ass should be in Texas or Cali lining up kids for the 2011 class. Dan Hawkins just keep proving time after time that he is in way over his head.
Give me a break. As Buffnik pointed out, and I thought this was probably the case, there are some very good recruits left in Hawaii. CU has always had good success there and who knows what kind of foundation he may even be laying for next year there. Hawaii ALWAYS has a couple of top (4/5 star) kids. Also, this is Cabral's territory. Maybe Hawkins felt like his best chance to land one or two more good recruits lies in Hawaii, not Texas or Cal.

BTW, I totally agree with the other article on Hawkins' failuers in Texas. It is TOTALLY unacceptable to not be strong there.
 
I think the point that got lost in the cheap shots is that our coach went to Hawaii (important, but not vital), INSTEAD of going to Texas (where we have struggled) or California (where the vast majority of the talent we bring in comes from). Two commits from Texas? Seriously!!? and our coach goes to effing Hawaii!!!? We must have struck out very very badly in Texas this year to have MORE POTENTIAL COMMITS IN HAWAII then Texas... thats awful.

Yes, we need to do better in Texas. But the point makes no sense in context. When you're scrambling for an 11th hour commit on the final weekend, you go where you have a good opportunity to land the guy you need. I wouldn't care if Hawkins was in Montana if he knew about a kid up there we could get who was really good and filled a need. Texas recruiting must be a priority, but this was not the time to make the trip unless you want a symbolic effort instead of something that could land us a good DL, LB or DB this cycle.
 
Hawkins has been flying under the radar for about 2.5 months now without any mention of what players he and his staff have been trying hardest to recruit, why they havn't been recruiting Texas, why some of the recruits were not offered schollys from other schools, what if any changes there are going to be to the team this year, disipline issues, etc, etc, etc. It's like he's ignoring everyone. Not cool!!!
 
Hawkins has been flying under the radar for about 2.5 months now without any mention of what players he and his staff have been trying hardest to recruit, why they havn't been recruiting Texas, why some of the recruits were not offered schollys from other schools, what if any changes there are going to be to the team this year, disipline issues, etc, etc, etc. It's like he's ignoring everyone. Not cool!!!

That could have something to do with the fact that the NCAA does not allow coaches or schools to comment on recruits until LOI day.... :huh:
 
That could have something to do with the fact that the NCAA does not allow coaches or schools to comment on recruits until LOI day.... :huh:

Yeah, there are plenty of things to criticize Hawkins about. But you really cannot criticize for not committing multiple NCAA violations.
 
The less I hear from Hawkins, the better. His voice makes my skin crawl and my bullsh!t meter goes into hyperdrive. I need to have that thing looked at.
 
I actually like that he hasn't been seen or heard from, I assume he's like recruiting and stuff. I'm really just tired of hearing about the best Tuesday practices ever, or how awesome the recruiting class was, or how great the players who redshirted last year performed in practice. The only thing I really care to hear him say is we are going to beat CSU.
 
To publish this article the day before LOI day, and to use the "Hawaii" induendo with no facts to support it is much worst than Lazy Journalism.

Say what you want about Hawkins, but I don't think "lazy" fits. Woody is trying to bury him the day before LOI day. Nice.
 
As with most aspects of the CU program, we're failing due to a lack of execution, not a lack of effort.

We offered a ton of guys from Texas and California this cycle. If you look at where the CU offers go, our state targets go in this general order for our top 8:

1. California
2. Texas
3. Louisiana
4. Colorado
5. Ohio
6. Hawaii
7. Arizona
8. Oklahoma

Additionally, we are trying to develop our recruiting into Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina with Ambrose; Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania with Hagan; and, Utah and Nevada with Cabral.

For me, my biggest disappointments are that we have not been able to hire a good recruiter with strong Texas ties and that we haven't been as strong in the Pacific Northwest as you'd expect from this staff. On a positive note, they are doing a pretty good job of opening up the pipelines to Ohio and Louisiana for us.
 
I actually like that he hasn't been seen or heard from, I assume he's like recruiting and stuff. I'm really just tired of hearing about the best Tuesday practices ever, or how awesome the recruiting class was, or how great the players who redshirted last year performed in practice. The only thing I really care to hear him say is we are going to beat CSU.

Gotta agree with you here... I hate him slightly less when his mouth is not moving.
 
However, I don't understand Woody's shot about Hawkins visiting Hawaii. Uncommitted from Hawaii: 4* Linebackers Shaydon Akuna and V.J. Fehoka, 3* DE Handsome Tanielu, 3* DT Sani Fuimaono, 3* DB Jeremy Ioane and 3* OL Jiniki Timoteo along with a number of uncommitted 2* guys (including DT Foi Foi who wants to come to CU if he can qualify), a number of commits that may not be 100% solid, and a CU commit (OL Kaiwi Crabb) who probably got an in-home in order to make sure we secured our top OL recruit. I have to think that a CU head coach traveling all the way to the islands on the last recruiting weekend was very appreciated by any prospects he saw and, for the future, any high school coaches he saw. Hawaii is a very important recruiting area for CU.

We will see how much his trip to Hawaii in the winter pays off.

It'd be much more beneficial for the program if we started focusing more on Texas than the island.
 
Man those articles were tough to read. Things that I already know, but just suck to see in print.
Woody's article was an attack on Hawkins. No more. Hawkins has pissed Woody off a number of times and Woody holds a lot more clout in this state than any other media person. Hawkins had that coming from Woody, facts were inconsequential.

I have no problem with Hawk being in Hawaii. It is pretty clear that we struck out in Texas and there are also NCAA rules about who can do in home visits with kids and how many. Not to mention, CU's program is probably not the laughing stock in Hawaii like it is in Big 12 country right now. Further, maybe Hawk got the go ahead on some academically questionable kids because they add "diversity" to the campus (speculation). I think it was a risk Hawk had to take.
 
I think everyone would agree that Ringo hasn't been pulling any punches when it comes to the decision to retain Hawkins, the recruiting for this year, the recent off-field incidents or the attrition rate in the program this decade. But at least he's trying to be fair:

http://buffzone.pmpblogs.com/

Hawkins’ recruiting calendar nothing new
Written by kyle in Tuesday, February 2nd 2010 under Uncategorized
Comments (0)
I read Woody Paige’s column in the Denver Post today and thought part of it was a little unfair to Dan Hawkins. So I thought I would share a different perspective here.

I’ve covered the Colorado football program every year Dan Hawkins has been the coach and I can tell you it is not unusual that Hawkins “disappeared” in December and January. Hawkins immerses himself in recruiting and doesn’t do a lot of interviews or public appearances at this time of year because he spends a great deal of his time on the road or focused on recruiting.

But if you really need to talk to him about something, he will make the time. At least that has been my experience with him. Before the NCAA stupidly instituted a rule a few years ago preventing head coaches from participating in the spring evaluation period off campus, Hawkins used to fall off the grid then, too. The man likes being on the road, meeting with high school coaches, recruits and their parents.

That’s what you want in a head coach when it comes to recruiting.

Hawkins wrapped up recruiting in Hawaii last week before coming home to host a group of recruits on campus. Trust me, the man was not on vacation. He has been recruiting Hawaii hard since his days at Boise State and even earlier. CU has several prospects in Hawaii this year, as it does most years. So it was perfectly logical for him to be there.

I don’t have any problem with the rest of what Woody wrote. I’m not trying to defend Hawkins’ record or anything. I just saw something that I know to be a bit off base. So I thought I would share my view of it.
 
I still maintain hope that Hawkins is in Hawaii interviewing for a job with UH.

Sorry to dash your hopes, Sacky...just checked the Hawaii papers and nary a mention of the Hawk Love in Honolulu. :smile2:

Which in turn could be seen as a disappointment of Hawk possibly coming back empty handed since there was no mention of any of the uncommitted Hawai'i kids making a commitment to CU. :huh:
 
I dont know about yall but I dont think we should make our recruiting foundation in Hawaii. We should try to keep the best instaters at home, hit Texas and Cali really really hard. That should be our foundation. Of course, Arizona, Ohio, Hawaii, etc.. are places we should recruit. Id just think it raises our talent level to recruit where the most talent is.
 
I dont know about yall but I dont think we should make our recruiting foundation in Hawaii. We should try to keep the best instaters at home, hit Texas and Cali really really hard. That should be our foundation. Of course, Arizona, Ohio, Hawaii, etc.. are places we should recruit. Id just think it raises our talent level to recruit where the most talent is.

See Nik's post above. Hawaii was #6 in states for # of offers. I wouldn't exactly say that's making Hawaii our recruiting foundation. BTW, Texas and Cali are #1 and 2 on that list.

The issue is that we can't get kids from Texas, in particular, to commit. We've actually done pretty well with that in Hawaii, historically. I'm not sure just pulling out of Hawaii and floundering around in Texas a few more days is really the prescription for success....
 
As with most aspects of the CU program, we're failing due to a lack of execution, not a lack of effort.

We offered a ton of guys from Texas and California this cycle. If you look at where the CU offers go, our state targets go in this general order for our top 8:

1. California
2. Texas
3. Louisiana
4. Colorado
5. Ohio
6. Hawaii
7. Arizona
8. Oklahoma

Additionally, we are trying to develop our recruiting into Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina with Ambrose; Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania with Hagan; and, Utah and Nevada with Cabral.

For me, my biggest disappointments are that we have not been able to hire a good recruiter with strong Texas ties and that we haven't been as strong in the Pacific Northwest as you'd expect from this staff. On a positive note, they are doing a pretty good job of opening up the pipelines to Ohio and Louisiana for us.

My own opinion is that Hawkins fails at recruiting the same way he fails at other things - lack of focus. Anyone read the SI article in December on recruiting Texas for QBs. Good article and talked about how the HS coaches in Texas are very tight knit group and you have to make inroads into those coaches. Hawkins has failed to do that. With CUs recruiting budget CU has to narrow its geographical area and go deep into those areas. I don't like to bring up CSU but I like what they are doing in Florida - they decided they were going to recruit down there and it is paying off. CU needs to focus on Colorado, California, and Texas...it was that way under Crowder, Mac, RN, and Barnett. If Ambrose is a great recruiter lets get him into Texas. CU has little attraction to kids in North Carolina.
 
I think that blog by Ringo was pretty accurate. If we really stop to think about it, what kids are going to still respect CU as a good program right now? Not very many, but one place I think the respect is still high is Hawaii. Cabral and thus forth CU is very highly thought of there imo. I have no issue with him trying to do some recruiting down there, I can't even think of any Texas kids that we have left on our radar.

That being said it's there's no excuse for not being able to reel in more commits from Texas. BlackNGold made a great point, we really should be sending our best recruiters to Texas instead of forcing Ambrose and Hagan to fight an uphill battle in far off places like North Carolina and Michigan. Let Hagan spend his time in Southern California and let Ambrose take Texas and Louisiana. Cabral can focus on the heavily polynesian places like Hawaii, Utah, and Nevada.
 
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