Armstrong article: Underclassmen provide bulk of CU's grit

[JimmyBuff]

Some interesting tidbits:

They didn't just talk the talk. Several walked the walk, leaving CU and their college football careers behind them. Of the 23 players in Barnett's final recruiting class of 2005, seven left the program and two more, including former Mullen High tailback Maurice Greer, didn't qualify academically.

Two players, defensive tackle George Hypolite and defensive end Maurice Lucas, didn't redshirt as freshmen and went on to be big contributors before leaving after four years. A handful of others, most notably Geer, Ben Burney, Marcus Burton, Jake Behrens and Patrick Devenny, will be on the field today.

Player attrition has left CU painfully inexperienced at several key positions, including the offensive and defensive lines and wide receiver. How inexperienced? Consider this: The Buffs went into the season with one wideout, Scotty McKnight, who had caught a pass in a CU uniform. Or this: 2009 marks the first season since 1982 in which the Buffs haven't started a senior on the offensive line.

Barnett's 2005 recruiting class included five offensive linemen. One, junior-college transfer Bryce MacMartin, was on the roster for two years before his eligibility expired. The other four have come and gone, including Paul Backowski and Devin Head, each of whom could have played significant roles, according to Geer.

Hawkins, meanwhile, signed five offensive linemen in his first class in 2006. Of the five, one remains: Eric Lawson, who has been moved to defensive tackle

CU has 12 players remaining in the program from the 21 recruits in Hawkins' first class. A year later, in 2007, Hawkins brought in 27 recruits, 16 remain. That's 28 out of 48 in a two-year span. A high attrition rate? Not particularly. To put those numbers in perspective, Nebraska, according to Rivals.com, totaled 49 recruits in that two-year span, 27 of whom remain in the program.

This is what the Pro-Hawk people can cling to.. Everything else is :bs:
http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_13875488

 

[buffwings]

them :blah:

Me :lalala: