Four weeks in the books on the 2006 Colorado season and there are still questions about the Buffaloes' identity. The Black and Gold Breakdown speaks to Patrick Ridgell, the beat reporter for Longmont's Daily Times-Call to get the pulse of where CU stands.
Here are his words.
Black & Gold: How did you see CU as a team before the Georgia game and how do you view them now?
Ridgell: Before the Georgia game I thought it was a chance for them to get blown out. Now I see they have the talent to compete. It's just a matter of the offense coming around and being able to score.
B & G: Offensively, do you see the Buffaloes being able to do that, being capable of averaging 20-plus points a game soon, or at any point this season?
Ridgell: Eventually, they'll have a nice power running game. Dan Hawkins likes to have a power running game and when Bernard Jackson has some games under his belt, he will be pretty dangerous. Unfortunately, that probably won't be until next year.
B & G: Speaking of Jackson, what kind of ceiling do you see him having or is it even possible to know right now?
Ridgell: Bernard has a thick layer of rust because he sat around for three years and didn't play much quarterback. Eventually, he will be a very dangerous quarterback. It's almost like he's thinking so much right now. He needs to be playing more on instinct. Right now, I think he's not always sure what he's supposed to be doing.
B & G: Where are the wide receivers in this offense? It seems they might as well be water boys right now.
Ridgell: The recruiting restrictions have hit the wide receiver position harder than anywhere else on the team. They don't have the playmakers right now so the defense will keep putting eight or nine (players) in the box and dare the offense to throw. They need someone with speed who can stretch the field and make plays.
B & G: One guy who is making plays in the passing game is Riar Geer; is he the next standout tight end for CU and what has made him effective so far?
Ridgell: Yes, I potentially think he is the next standout. Against Georgia he showed great hands and that he can get the ball upfield. Christian Fauria had great hands. I'm not saying he's Fauria but he's a good player.
B & G: Touching on a recent article of yours, Patrick, how much of a dropoff should we expect with (center) Mark Fenton out and how effective will he be when he returns (from a leg injury)?
Ridgell: Two weeks is very optimistic (Fenton's forecast for returning). If it were food, I'd say his eyes are bigger than his stomach. It sounds like he will be o.k. (Backup) Bryce McMartin's a bright kid. He's smaller than Mark and has much less experience but he's not that bad a player. He's a good ball player, a smart, heady kid. Maybe you can't do as much in the power running game but who knows right now.
B & G: James Cox. I see a potential Hollywood story coming down the line. He finally seems ready to be the starting quarterback then he apparently loses his job to Brian White, battles that emotion, but holds on as a starter, then Jackson replaces both of them, now his father passes away due to illness, someone he was very close to, and yet I have this feeling we haven't heard the last of James Cox. How do you foretell his future this season?
Ridgell: College football is a depth game. Every position needs two good players. I've felt Bernard needs to develop more pocket presence. In the Arizona State game he took quite a hit and I thought he's going to get hurt back there. I don't think we've heard the last from Cox.
B & G: Missouri is off to a good start, has a talented quarterback in Chase Daniel, a good running back in Tony Temple and talented pass rusher on a good defense in Brian Smith. How does CU take the Tigers out what they like to do?
Ridgell: I think the game will be a tougher matchup defensively than Georgia. When you go up against a freshman quarterback(the Bulldogs Matthew Stafford) it takes you out of a lot you like to do. I think this game will be one of the toughest defensive challenges this season. The big issue I see is can CU sustain the way they played against Georgia. They can't be satisified with how they played last week; they have to keep shooting for more.
B & G: I've been asking a lot of people their impressions of Dan Hawkins. So, to you, is he a master salesman, more style than substance, program builder, or something entirely different?
Ridgell: He's very engaging when he wants to be. You can't argue with his success. It is what it is. As far as CU, it's way too early to know. I thought when Mike Bohn hired him, he was a safe hire. He's been successful everywhere he's been. He does have a fire, a passion for the game. Whether Dan sinks or swims is going to depend on whether he can recruit.
Ridgell graduated from Chatfield high school and then CU before moving on to his journalism career. He's made stops at the Glen Falls (NY) Post Star, the New York Post, the Provo (Utah) Daily Herald, where he covered Brigham Young football and basketball, before making his way back to Colorado, where he hopes to root down. You may also have read his freelance work on baseball in Rockies Magazine.
Ridgell & Ringo look at Tigers
The Tigers are currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, setting up at the final spot in that poll. It is off to just the program's sxith 4-0 start in the last 81 years. It is also in the top 10 in total defense and offense, nationally. But do we know who Missouri is yet?
While the Buffs have played ASU of the Pac-10 and then ninth-ranked Georgia, the Tigers have bagged lesser knowns, the most prominently recognized being Mississippi.
Truth? Yes, Mizzou has a sparkling resume right now and talented players sprinkled on its' roster, led by quarterback Chase Daniel, but the question is whether they have been pushed yet? CU will have to come to the game with the same intensity and first-half execution they displayed in Athens against the Bulldogs to give itself a chance to win, but if the Buffaloes do, they might put doubt in the minds of the Tigers, who haven't been pushed.
Won't be easy, though, as Daniel is a winner. As the Daily Camera's Kyle Ringo points out, Daniel is 35-1 as a starter since his junior year of high school in Southlake, Texas.
As wonderful a talent as departed Tiger quarterback Brad Smith was, Daniel might end up being more successful. As CU coach Dan Hawkins said about Daniel in Ringo's article, "he's used to winning."
A question about Cody Hawkins is this...should he be playing this year, as Daniel was first exposed to the college game last season. Daniel played in parts of nine games in 2005, backing up Smith. Daniel told Ringo that experience has played big dividends.
"I think it was huge" he said. "It was the first time I was like, 'Wow, I can do this.' It was the first taste of success I had."
Daniel currently has nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions. His coach, Gary Pinkel, is already passionately in love, Ringo writes.
"That's probably the thing I like most about him is his competitive spirit."
TheTruth...Bernard Jackson is likely to be a two-year starter, providing he stays healthy and continues to grow, so that begs the question, do you get Cody Hawkins some spot action this season so he's ready to be a productive backup in 2007 or do you hold on to his redshirt season to retain another year of potential starting time for him? It says here to play Hawkins now, thinking that you will be able to bring in another talented quarterback in the next two-to-three years, so you don't lose anything and protect yourself this season and next if Jackson goes down or is ineffective. Daniel has talent and his confidence grew with minimal playing time last season allowing him to hit the ground running in 2006.
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