HOT NEWS (last updated 2/09):
- After a disappointing 5-7 season, the Buffs took a step back on the recruiting front.  While they did address their two most urgent needs in
emphasizing Wide Receivers and Defensive Linemen, the overall class ranked in the bottom half of the Big 12 South and roughly 50-60th
overall.  2009 will be a critical year for the Buffs to start showing some improvement on the field in order to get the recruiting momentum
going again.  
- Having tracked Buffs recruiting for years, this class is better than its rankings.  While the recruiting services measure team rankings with a
combination of quality and quantity, it's a somewhat flawed approach--quality is much more important.  Having 20 4-star players is better
than having 30 3-star players.  Eventually the quantity evens out year over year--some years you just don't need as many players.  So while
this class was ranked in the 50's overall, it's actually pretty comparable to the solid 2007 class, which included many good players--Ryan
Miller, Josh Smith, Markques Simas and Shawn Daniels to name a few.  But because that class had 25 players instead of this year's 19, it
was ranked in the 30's nationally.  At any rate, this year's class is nothing to be overly concerned about--the overall trend is still solid.
- Looks like the coaching staff is pretty sold on the current stable or RB's heading into spring practices.  Not only did they not add a single
RB in the 2009 recruiting class, former nationally ranked stud, Ray Polk is moving to Safety.  Spread that talent around, kids!!
- Most of the wounded are getting back on track--in particular the offensive line.  Critical to the Buffs' success will be the return of OT's Ryan
Miller and Nate Solder--both should be loaded for bear when the pads get strapped on next month.
1. *Nick Kasa-DE*, Colorado  The prize of this class is Kasa who could end
up being one of the best DE's to ever suit up for the Buffs.  After committing
to Florida, Kasa changed his mind around Christmas and put a nice
present under Colorado's tree.  Kasa dominated the US Army Prep Game
and should be a mainstay in the lineup as early as this fall.

2. *Edward Nuckols-DT, California  Another top-shelf D-Lineman, Nuckols
already looks like he's 25 already.  Nuckols gave the Buffs his pledge just
days after they snagged Kasa.  He too will have a legit shot at playing early.

3. *Jack Harris-OT, Colorado  The Buffs locked in on Harris early before he
started ratcheting up in the rankings.  He's just another very solid piece to
what is becoming a very talent-rich offensive line for the Buffs.

4. *Andre Simmons-WR, Kansas  While Simmons was one of the higher
ranked recruits in this class, he comes with some caveats.  First, he's a JC,
so we only get him on the field for two seasons.  And second, he still has a
bit of work to do to qualify.  I give this one a 50-50 shot of sticking.

5. Clark Evans-QB, California  Evans was one of the earliest to commit and
he never wavered.  At 6' 5", he's the type of big signal-caller that Hawkins
has built his career on.

6. Terdema Ussery-WR, Texas  When the Buffs lost highly-recruited Diante
Jackson to Oregon on signing day, Ussery pulled the trigger shortly
thereafter.  And although Jackson carried a higher rating, Ussery is certainly
no slouch--ranking amongst the top five WR's in Texas.

7. Jarrod Dardon-WR, Texas  While they were in Texas chatting up Ussery,
the Buffs landed another quality wideout when Dardon decide to come to
Boulder.  Ultimately, Darden's size could make him an ideal TE.

8. Nate Bonsu-DT, Texas  Bonsu is another solid get out of the lone star
state.  He is a bit under-sized at this point but if he can eat his Wheaties this
summer, he could see some time along a defensive line that could use him.

9 Liloa Nobriga-LB, Nevada  The Buffs are pretty loaded at the LB position
but they couldn't resist adding this rangy  Somoan from Las Vegas.  He'll
almost surely redshirt this season and learn from some great ones.

10. Derrick Webb-LB, Tennessee  The Buffs withstood a late push from the
home state Volunteers for Webb's services.  Another solid addition to an
already very stout linebacking corps.

11. Josh Moten-ATH, California  While Moten is a solid get who can play
QB, WR or CB, I believe the real play on Moten was to convince his all-world
teammate to join him in Boulder.  But on signing day, Safety Byron Moore
decided to stick with USC instead.  Regardless, Moten is a nice addition.

12. Parker Orms-S, Colorado  While he wasn't the highest ranked guy
around, this guy is clearly a player--almost single-handedly delivering a
state title to Wheat Ridge this year.  He scored the game's deciding
touchdown on the final play.

13. Zach Grossnickle-K, Colorado  The Nickle is probably the lowest valued
recruit on general terms but given the horrid state of CU's kicking in 2008,
he could end up being the one guy on this list who's starting against CSU.

14. Gus Handler-OL, Illinois  Handler has that "diamond in the rough" feel
that seems to emerge from every class.  He's a nasty player who likes to
make his opponents pay.  Sounds good to me--particularly vs. The Corn.

15. Deji Olatoye-DB, Ohio  A bit like Moten, Olatoye was a quality player who
may have been borderline if it hadn't been for the prospect of luring his
highly-ranked teammate.  Bradley McDoughald somehow ended up in
Kansas (huh?!?!).

16. David Bakhtiari-OL, California  Bakhtiari will add depth to an area that's
constantly in need of healthy bodies.

17. J Forrest West-DE, Connecticut  A true roll of the dice, West was one of
the more highly sought after players on the east coast until he suffered a
season-ending injury last year.  The Buffs are hoping he'll rebound.

18. Shaun Simon-OL, Colorado  Like Bakhtiari, Simon fills a depth need
and may need a few years to develop.

19. DeVaughn Thorton-TE, Colorado  And the final piece of the 2009 puzzle,
Thorton is a big athlete who represents a rare entry into the inner-city
Denver Prep League.  I'm sure Hawk would like to mine this are further in
the coming years.

* Nationally-recruited level player.

Overall, this was a solid class but not quite what we've seen over the past two
years out of this staff.  It's time to translate promise into wins on the field--and
then the recruiting will come much easier.  While the Buffs seemed to lose
out on just about every last-minute battle for some remaining elites, I like
that they were still swinging for the fences.  And I give Hawk and his staff a
lot of credit for turning in a respectable class featuring a couple of
outstanding defensive linemen, despite three straight losing records.  But
2009 performance will be critical.  Even a 6-6 record is going to have the
locals clamoring for a change at the top and recruits wondering if the Buffs
will ever return to glory.  Because this class was better than one would
expect given the team's recent records, I'll give this a B-
Future Non-Cons
2011
@ Hawaii
Cal
Fresno State

2012
@ Minnesota
@ Fresno St
Utah
BCS Title:
Rose Bowl:
Orange Bowl:
Fiesta Bowl:
Sugar Bowl:
Gator Bowl
Cotton Bowl:  
Holiday Bowl:
Alamo Bowl:
The Pride & Tradition Of The Colorado Buffaloes
Shall Not Be Entrusted To The Timid Or The Weak.
Ex-Coach
Barnett says,
"Good luck with
your dump,      
Mr. Sean Kahr".
Jacko's 2009 Recruiting Tracker
All hail the Neweasel!  And now you can
officially burn in hell, UCLA Bruins!!
Jacko's 2009 Roster Analysis
Quarterback: Grade C+
As a returning starter, I expected Cody Hawkins to take his heady game to
the next level. But while I love the guy's moxie, there's no question that his
lack of height is a problem.  Late in the year, the Buffs burned Tyler
Hansen's redshirt to utilize his running skills to secure a win against Texas
A&M.  But he was still a true freshman.  The play at this position will be
incredible important to this offense, the team overall and longevity of this
coaching staff.  And for that reason, I think Hansen's upside will get the nod.

Running Back/Fullback: Grade B
Heading into last season, there was a ton of excitement about two incoming
freshman recruits--Darrell Scott (one of the top overall recruits in the country)
and Ray Polk (one of the top RB's in the country).  When you compare Scott's
rankings to other former #1 overall RB's of the past few years, you're talking
about guys like Reggie Bush, Adrian Peterson, Chris Wells, etc.  So you can
understand the excitement.  So what happened?  An unknown 2-star pip
squeak named Speedy Stewart stole the show and then promptly got hurt
and missed the last few games.  Scott looked slow and indecisive, while
Polk never saw the field and ended up red-shirting.  But 2009 should
better--the electric Stewart will be back, Scott has gotten in better shape and
the depth is solid with Demetrius Sumler and Brian Lockridge still around.  
The fact that Polk has moved on to Safety leads me to believe Coach
Hawkins is feeling good about what he's got here.  Look for an improved
running game this season.

Receiver/Tight End: Grade B
This could finally be the year that Hawk has the right WR talent in place to
begin stretching the field on offense.  Highly-touted Markques Simas may
finally have his grades figured out and should make his first appearance on
the field.  Deep threat Josh Smith is back, as are the reliable hands of Scotty
McKnight.  If incoming JC, Andre Simmons qualifies early enough, he could
also step right in and see some action.  The TE position is loaded once
again and three-deep with studs in Riar Geer, Patrick Devenny and Ryan
Deehan.  Houston, we have lift-off!

Offensive Line: Grade B
The offensive line is still young but it's loaded with premium quality talent.  
With this area getting a heavy dose of recruiting emphasis the past couple
of years, guys like Ryan Miller, Nate Solder, Max Tuioti-Marinar, Shawn
Daniels and Bryce Givens may blossom into the best OL we've seen in
Boulder since the mid 90's.  The key is to get Miller back at full speed and
hope for the best that the line can avoid the injury bug that literally decimated
this team last year.  A healthy line will open holes for the running game, give
our young QB time to throw and our emerging receiving threats time to get
open.  

Defensive Line: Grade C-
This is the one area on this team that really makes me nervous.  Gone are
all four starters and in their place will be a bunch of talent but inexperienced
youngsters.  I'm not counting on much here.  But with a little luck, 1 or 2 of
the young studs will come out of the gate on fire to neutralize this area of
deficiency.  Maybe Jon Major or the incoming Nick Kasa.  We're going to
need to keep our fingers crossed either way--this line lacks upper class
leadership and depth.

Linebackers: Grade B+
While I wasn't expecting too much from this unit after Jordan Dizon departing
last off-season, they actually proved to be the heart of the defense.  
Unheralded Jeff Smart is a quality performer.  Shaun Mohler came in as a
JC junior and was making tons of plays by mid-season.  And returnees
Michael Sipili and BJ Beatty did a solid job.  Add a year of experience and the
hopeful arrival of Lynn Katoa--a top 40 overall recruit from 2008 and this is
one very talented bunch.  

Defensive Backs: Grade C
The secondary is a bit of a wild card.  There's definitely upside here--just not
a ton of experience.  Anthony Perkins and Patrick Manke should be called on
to man centerfield, while Chappel Brown and Jalil Brown will look after the
corners.  But nobody is untouchable here--so look for one of the youngsters
to be a surprise starter.  Perhaps Ray Polk at safety or Stephen Hicks at
cornerback..

Special Teams:  Grade C-
Matt DiLillo is back and provides reliability from the punting position.  But
kicking is anther matte completely.  Newcomers Eric Goodman and James
Davison had Buffs fans looking fondly upon the Eberhardt era (and trust me,
barring a miracle kick to knock off #4 Oklahoma in 2007, the words
"Eberhardt" and "era" have no business being spoken together).

The Buffs should be much-improved offensively over 2008, as nearly
everyone returns.  If the offensive line can stay healthy and they get
improved play at quarterback, the Buffs should have no trouble putting up
25-30 a game.  And if Darrell Scott can take his game to the next level, Buffs
fans could be in for a real treat.  Defense on the other hand, will be very
young and untested up front and in the secondary.  Of particular concern will
be how the Buffs are able to rush the passer.  The linebackers should be
excellent--rivaling any unit in the Big 12 North.  But if the D-Line doesn't grow
up fast, they could spend all their time making up for missed assignments.  
And finally the kicking game has to improve.  I'm convinced that the Buffs
would have won 1-2 more games last year with a decent kicker--they not
only missed some makable kicks, but also  ended up going on 4th and long
too many times under the assumption that a field goal attempt was
pointless.  Beyond the depth chart, the good news is that the schedule
lightens up a bit.  With Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska coming to Boulder, I
expect a 7-5 and bowl win.  Then it's time to bring in a monster 2010 class!
Jacko's 2009 Bowl Projections
Florida Gators vs Texas Longhorns
USC Trojans vs Ohio State Buckeyes
Florida State Seminoles vs Virginia Tech Hokies
Oklahoma Sooners vs BYU Cougars
Alabama Crimson Tide vs Penn State Nittany Lions
LSU Tigers vs Oklahoma State Cowboys
Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Georgia Bulldogs
Oregon State Beavers vs Kansas Jayhawks
Missouri Tigers vs Wisconsin Badgers
Schedules, Pics & Random Crap
2009 Schedule
Colorado St
@ Miami, OH
Wyoming
@ West Virginia
@ Texas
Kansas
@ Kansas St
Missouri
Texas A&M
@ Iowa St
@ Oklahoma St
Nebraska
2010 Schedule
@ Colorado St
@ Cal
Hawaii
Georgia
@ Missouri
Baylor
Texas Tech
@ Oklahoma
@ Kansas
Iowa St
Kansas St
@ Nebraska