As coaching salaries soar, having a good leader at the helm of a program is of the utmost importance.
Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 7:00 pm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tuesday was critical for reporters at Big 12 media days. It was a day to sit up straight in your chair. And fellows, make that lunch break a short one, because Dan Hawkins is in the house.
“It’s Division I football!” the Colorado head coach shouted in his glorious January of 2007 rant that you can access on YouTube whenever you need a quick dose of motivation in your daily struggle against the gloomy economy.
“It’s the Big 12!” Hawkins continued. “It’s not intramurals!”
Garrulous Colorado defensive tackle George Hypolite also was on hand Tuesday. A thoughtful sort, he took issue with my word “rant.”
“I don’t really think it was a rant,” Hypolite protested. “I think it’s the truth.”
Whatever it was, everyone seemed to like it. The moment — which occurred after a parent complained to Hawkins about a son not having enough time away from training — helped further define the third-year Colorado coach who’s trying to nudge the Buffaloes back into the nation’s elite one motivational speech at a time. The Buffs were 6-7 in 2007 after going 2-10 in 2006.
“It seems like every year at this time my hair starts on fire again,” said Hawkins, part of an All-YouTube lineup of coaches Tuesday.
Mark (“You hotdog!”) Mangino and Mike (“I’m a man! I’m 40!”) Gundy also graced the podium. These fiery fellows might help keep America from going from soft to softer.
Just guessing, but I’d bet the ultraenergetic Hawkins isn’t hip on America having fast-food restaurants on every street corner.
Mangino likely has devoured a few Big Macs in his day, but I’d bet he isn’t too keen on America’s youth burying itself in video games as opposed to playing a little tackle football on sandlots every now and then.
These coaches rake in heaps of money (Mangino’s salary recently rose to $2.3 million per season), and sometimes I think they actually might be worth it.
I like it when Bo Pelini tells players that it’s what you do when nobody’s watching that’s most important.
I never tire of hearing Mangino’s sideline tirade directed toward Raimond Pendleton after Pendleton dived into the end zone to conclude a 77-yard kick return. Mangino grabbed the kid’s facemask and shouted, “You hot dog! It’s all about you, right?!” (Warning: Mangino’s YouTube moment is PG-13 for strong language).
I always enjoy listening to coaches preach about corny things such as having balance in your life and paying attention to detail. It almost makes me want to tuck in my shirt and drink pomegranate juice by the jug. Even before Big 12 media days, I was thinking I needed more globose fruit in my diet.
“I think there has to be a certain amount of reinvention in a person in being able to put yourself up against it and see what you’re all about,” said Hawkins, referring to his reclamation project at CU. “My dad told me when I came here, ‘You asked for it buddy, and you got it.’”
Colorado possesses strong and talented linemen on both sides of the ball, but has two new starting cornerbacks. The linemen and linebackers will need to apply heavy pressure on quarterbacks to ease pressure on the corners.
Indeed, giving the Big 12’s talented quarterbacks ample time in the pocket would’ve been like giving Wyatt Earp a five-second head start in a standoff.
Meanwhile, much of the buzz Tuesday was about Darrell Scott, Colorado’s 6-foot-2, 215-pound true freshman running back.
“He has a very high ceiling, and people in our program are trying to push it even higher,” said Hypolite, who compared Scott’s size and physique to Adrian Peterson and Jim Brown. Of course, lots of players have sculpted physiques but can’t play a lick.
However, “If I’m worth my salt, in three years you’re going to be talking about him as a Heisman Trophy winner,” Hypolite said.
Hypolite, by the way, has taken note of Kansas’ meteoric rise, saying he saw it coming when the Jayhawks were 6-6 in 2006. They needed only a quarterback to complete the puzzle, Hypolite said.
With Todd Reesing leading the way, Kansas finished 12-1 last season and returns 15 starters. Alas, the Jayhawks won’t have it easy this season with Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech on the schedule. Bring them on, Mangino said.
“We want to be able to play against all of the best teams in our league — and be able to beat them,” Mangino said. “That’s the test for our program. We will never truly get over the hump, in my eyes, until we’re able to defeat those teams as well.”
Can Kansas sustain success? Or will this be Pepper Rodgers (9-2 in 1968, 1-9 in 1969) and Glen Mason (10-2 in 1995, 4-7 in 1996) all over again?
Can Colorado continue to move forward under Hawkins?
“To be a college football player, there’s a lot you have to sacrifice and you have to work really, really hard,” Hypolite said of Hawkins’ classic outburst. “He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s really going to put it out there for us.”
To be sure, it’s right there on YouTube.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.