Top recruit will leave CU

Tuesday’s news conference with Colorado coach Dan Hawkins had an eerie feel to it. Something was amiss, but it was hard to place your finger on exactly what that was. Reporters left the Dal Ward athletic center about 30 minutes early, as the university declined to provide a star player for questions, something it has done every week prior.

At first, it seemed simply to be a product of the state of the program. The Buffs are 2-6 and still spiraling after Saturday’s blowout loss to Missouri. Players gave impassioned statements right  after the game, so it made sense that it would be hard to find someone eager to face the media and talk about how poor his team has been playing.

Hawkins didn’t have much to say, compared with his 25-minute opening speech last week. Business was attended to: DE Nick Kasa is out for the year and will apply for a hardship red shirt after contracting mono and an enlarged spleen; linebackers coach Brian Cabral will be on the sidelines for his 300th game Saturday; Hawkins thinks Texas A&M is a good team; and emotion needs to translate to the field. OK, great.

Afterward, it was hard to think of CU football in any other terms than “blase.” Apathy morphed into despair around 3 p.m., however, when officials confirmed a bombshell: Top recruit Darrell Scott is leaving the Buffaloes. Scott told his coaches Tuesday afternoon he plans to return to his home in Southern California. No announcements have been made regarding what school Scott plans to play for, but the writing on the wall says UCLA is the likely candidate. His uncle Josh Smith, last year’s leading receiver for CU, left last summer to play for coach Rick Neuheisel and the Bruins. Neuheisel is a former head coach at Colorado.

The question on everyone’s mind is “Why?” Sadly, it’s easy to build a big list of reasons. While the official word from the administration is “various personal reasons” (can you get any more thinly veiled than that?), here are some real possibilities:

• After an injury-filled 2008 campaign, Scott was ready to be the guy on offense coming into this year. Scott has barely played in five games and has carried the ball only 23 times.

• Coaches said the limited carries on offense were due to a bruised knee Scott sustained on the opening kickoff in the game against Toledo . . . yet Scott ran for 85 yards afterward.

• Meanwhile, Scott was used heavily in the early part of this season for kickoff returns during games he was “too hurt” to run the ball. Aren’t kickoff returns much more dangerous, much more physical?

• With another arthroscopic surgery two weeks before Tuesday’s announcement, it’s possible Scott grew tired of a team not talented enough to protect him.

• Rumors around the school indicated there were issues with the relationship between Smith and the coaches before the start of this year, which might have prompted him to transfer. It seems like Scott tried to stick it out, but his uncle might have had his ear.

• On the flip side, some have hinted that Scott wasn’t willing to put in the work demanded of him, and was criticized highly for showing up his freshman year out of shape.

Scott was Hawkins’ marquee recruit since taking over. He was considered the top running back coming out of high school in 2007. Now this will be Hawkins’ biggest blemish. He’s the guy who chased off Darrell Scott, regardless of whether that statement is fair.

And according to some of the coaching staff, it may not be fair. Hawkins wasn’t aware of the news until after his press conference. According to CU, Scott’s locker was cleaned out before anyone could do anything about it, sometime around 1pm.

Running backs coach Darian Hagan found out from Scott about the departure via text message, and Scott would not answer Hagan’s calls back. The coach was livid at tonight’s practice -

“I don’t even want to know the reason. Because there’s not a reason. He’ll probably say, ‘Well, I had to get home to my mom, or I just wasn’t happy here,’ he’ll make up a whole bunch of different things, and the truth of the matter is…I don’t know. He just did something he shouldn’t have done.”

While this story dominates the chatter regarding the state of a declining program, the job security of Dan Hawkins and even calls for AD Mike Bohn’s head, there is still a game to be played on Saturday. Texas A&M comes to Boulder with a 5-3 record, 2-2 in the Big 12. If you thought Missouri’s offense looked good, wait until you see the scoring machine the Aggies can be.

Three keys to the game -

JERROD, MEET HERROD
A&M’s junior quarterback, Jerrod Johnson, is a big boy that can hurt you in many ways.

“It’s not often that you find guys that are as tall as he is and as heavy as he is and can run like he does,” said Hawkins, “He’s got a tremendous arm, he can make all the wide-field throws you want. He’s the total package and that’s where he can hurt you. He can not only scramble but put his foot in the ground and throw it a long ways down the field.”

Johnson is six-foot-five and weighs over 240 lbs. The quarterback has thrown for over 2,500 yards and is in the top ten for total offense nationally. Johnson had some struggles earlier in the season, a result of some offensive line issues the Aggies were having. If Colorado wants to slow down A&M’s no-huddle attack, it starts with getting to the backfield. Defensive linemen such as Marquez Herrod will need to get familiar with Johnson, and put him on his back.

STAND BY YOUR MAN
“It bothers me, I know it bothers the rest of our O line,” said offensive tackle Nate Solder of the Missouri game that allowed eight sacks, three fumbles and a safety. “We take that responsibility even though it may not have been all us. We have to do the best that we can do and when we see eight sacks that’s not good on us or our offense at all.”

Colorado has had one shutout this year, and they shouldn’t expect another. To win Saturday, they need to be putting points up on the board consistently. Tyler Hansen needs more time in the pocket to react, and when he does scramble, shouldn’t have to worry about his blindside the second he rotates out.

Asked if a running quarterback made blocking different or more difficult, Solder laid out the formula.  “You gotta stay on your guy, you’ve got to keep blocking him well into the play, that changes it a lot. It’s exciting though.”

FRIENDLY FIRE
Technically a home game, Folsom Field doesn’t sound too appealing right now. Last week just 45,634 fans showed up, one of the smallest home crowds in almost two years. People are starting to vote with their wallets, and if they already have tickets they’ll come vote with their voices.

The mood is going to shift from chants and signs to a full-on protest. Right now student groups are trying to organize a “blue-out” for those still coming to the game. Boulder students are organized, they brought back the fabled “Mall Crawl” last weekend on Pearl Street. Despite pleas from university officials and the police to stay away, over 4,000 people showed up, all started by a page on Facebook.

The current page invites fans to wear their Denver Nuggets or other powder-blue apparel to the game, to voice their discontent with the program. In the 1980’s, when Colorado was at their worst, the Buffaloes wore uniforms of the same color. Some may not agree with this tactic, calling it disloyal, but it should be commended. In this world, you have to use all the voice you can muster, even if it’s the quietest one in the room. Those who want to promote change in a situation they have no control over are doing the best they can, and this is so much better than some of the other, ahem, hijinks the student body could think of.

Editor’s note: Comments have been turned off on football stories involving CU to meet the university’s requirement for giving media credentials to Web site reporters and photographers.