Winning attitudes fuel for college football offseason

Front Range football coaches like strong work ethic

The Rocky

Published June 30, 2008 at 10:14 p.m.

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Cody Hawkins will be back for his second season at quarterback for the Buffaloes.

Kory Sperry brings experience to the Rams at tight end.

Shea Smith, left, Eric Herbort will compete for the quarterback job at Air Force.

Photo by Photos: Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky: Hawkins/2007, Sperry 2005, Smith And Herbort 2007; Waggener: Joe Murphy/Getty Images/2007

Bryan Waggener, a transfer from Florida, won the starting quarterback job for Northern Colorado during spring drills.

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Listen closely and you can hear it, perhaps even feel it: Area college football fans must wait just more than a month for their teams to begin practice, but the annual buzz that surrounds autumn Saturdays already has begun.

At most Division I schools along the Front Range - Air Force is the exception - returning players and some incoming freshmen are deep into summer conditioning and voluntary playbook/tape study designed to thrust them into training camp at top speed.

Three of the state's coaches and one very suitable replacement offered a summer peek into their programs last week in Colorado Springs.

A summer look at Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force and Northern Colorado:

COLORADO

* Reporting date: Entire team Aug. 4.

* First game: Colorado State, Aug. 31, Invesco Field at Mile High.

* Summer status report: Give incumbent starting quarterback Cody Hawkins and the Buffaloes gold stars for individual participation (nearly 100 percent of returning squad members) in unsupervised summer workouts. It's an intangible coach Dan Hawkins said can't be overestimated: "Once you get down to it, (establishing a winning edge) is minuscule. We were that far from winning two games again (in 2007), and we were that far from winning 10 games. Our schedule, the way it is, we better understand that every little detail is going to count."

* When help arrives: The majority of CU's incoming freshmen from California - including touted tailback Darrell Scott - and a couple of signees from Eastern states won't arrive on campus until later this month. Freshman athlete Paul Vigo (New Brunswick, N.J.) will grayshirt, delaying enrollment until January. Hawkins said junior college linebacker Shaun Mohler is "doing OK" in working toward meeting admission requirements.

* July getaway: On the vacation front, Hawkins has set the bar high for his in-state peers; he and his family scheduled a South American trip, which includes a stop at Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes Mountains and an excursion on the Amazon River. In addition to precautionary shots, Hawkins said he and his family will have their clothes soaked in a substance allegedly guaranteeing that "any bug that drops on you will die. I don't know what that does to you."

* Coachspeak: "It's really naive to assume that you won two (games), then you won six (in 2007), now you're going to win eight or nine. I mean, I really think that's not the way any of us needs to be thinking. We have to keep paddling and paddling hard." -- Hawkins.

COLORADO STATE

* Reporting date: Freshmen Aug. 3, returnees Aug. 4.

* First game: Colorado, Aug. 31, Invesco Field.

* Summer status report: New coach Steve Fairchild and his staff still are settling in - and that includes unpacking boxes and tending to family matters. In Fairchild's absence (he was attending his daughter's graduation) at last week's Colorado Springs Sports Corporation luncheon, offensive coordinator Larry Lewis said the Rams' work ethic made a major impression on Fairchild's staff, which wasn't completely assembled until 14 days before signing day. Lewis estimated about 90 percent of the squad is on campus for the summer, noting, "The motivation of that first game helps our kids through the summer - that and the direction our administration is taking."

* When help arrives: Tight end Kory Sperry, a difference- maker in the Rams offense, returns for his senior season after tearing his ACL in the second game last year. Most of CSU's incoming freshmen are not yet on campus, but Lewis believes three transfers already on campus - receiver Ryan Gardner and defensive tackles Sam Stewart and Sevaro Johnson - could fit into the help category.

* July getaway: Lewis said the Rams staff will have some down time this month, but home tasks still undone won't allow much. He chuckled when told about the Hawkins family's trip. "My Amazon looks more like the Poudre River," Lewis said. "No, I'm going to take the opportunity to go back to Idaho and see my family and tie up some of the loose ends I left. . . . All of us are still unpacking boxes."

* Coachspeak: "We have no shortage of work ethic. We just need to translate that into change and what we want to do over the summer. Those kids are having the opportunity to come together and develop the camaraderie needed to take us through the tough times. . . . There's no predictions coming from me; that would be a great position for me to put (Fairchild) in, though, wouldn't it?" -- Lewis.

AIR FORCE

* Reporting date: Entire team July 30.

* First game: Southern Utah, Aug. 30.

* Summer status report: In terms of summer conditioning work, things are very different at Air Force. Obligations other than lifting, running and seven-on-seven work fill the Falcons' summer. "We're different from anywhere else," second-year coach Troy Calhoun said. "We just had six (players) get back from an Air Force base in Japan; they're all over the world right now. We've got to make sure we accelerate once we hit the first of August. We've got some making up to do; it's always going to be that way."

* When help arrives: Again, file the Falcons under very different. Calhoun's freshman class reported for 51/2 weeks of basic training Thursday, and while he calls the class "one quality group," he's hesitant to pencil in anyone in the immediate-impact category. "For a freshman to come in and think he's going to contribute at the academy, it's different," Calhoun said. Returnees piquing Calhoun's interest in spring ball included tailback Kyle Lumpkin, center Andrew Anderson, corner/return specialist Reggie Rembert, linebacker Ken Lamendola and quarterbacks Shea Smith and Eric Herbort. Calhoun calls Smith "a little more consistent," but says Herbort "probably moves a little better."

* July getaway: Break time happened in late May/early June. "Our guys cover more ground (recruiting) than anyone else; you have to cover the entire country," Calhoun said. "You have a little bit of a break, then you're more than antsy to get back to work."

* Coachspeak: "It could be a long-haul element anytime you're trying to rebuild a program (Air Force returns eight starters). But . . . we're playing with academy kids, and that means they'll be extremely feisty and play with great spirit and unity. And because of that, they've got a knack for jelling and coming together and maybe being a little bit better than they should." -- Calhoun.

NORTHERN COLORADO

* Reporting date: Entire team Aug. 8.

* First game: at Purdue, Sept. 6.

* Summer status report: So, Scott Downing, tell us how and why the Bears drew the Boilermakers? Said the UNC coach: "There's not one reason why, there's 400,000." That would be dollars. Otherwise, UNC might not immerse itself in a classic mismatch. But there's another reason, too: Downing twice worked for Boilermakers coach Joe Tiller (Wyoming, Purdue) and was happy to schedule a mentor. The Bears appear to be serious about preparing for that game and whatever follows. Downing said about 75 percent of his returning players stayed on campus for summer conditioning work - "and that's triple, maybe quadruple, what we've had in the past," he added.

* When help arrives: Downing's philosophy on freshmen reporting early: "It's tough to ask an incoming freshman to . . . come to an unfamiliar town and spend summer working out," he said. "We encourage them, and our coaches stay in constant contact with them. We want them fresh when they come in. I'll take a little bit less knowledge of the strength and conditioning process for more of a fresh attitude and excitement about the season." Downing, though, is buoyed by finding a starting quarterback - Florida transfer Bryan Waggener - in spring drills, and post-surgery progress made by offensive linemen Tim McGraw and Ryan Kemp, linebacker Joe Kenney and tight end Andrew Emmerling.

* July getaway: Don't get out your atlas to track Downing. Will he travel to an exotic locale? "Not unless you consider going to Seward, Neb., for the Fourth of July exotic," he said. "I think I'll go in the backyard and paddle around the wading pool."

* Coachspeak: "To me, it doesn't matter what level you're at in college athletics, it's what you're willing to do in the offseason. It's a 365-day-a-year commitment. " -- Downing.

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