MAGAZINES 
Buffaloes embark on historic season
Any way you look at it, 2011 will be an historic season for Colorado football. The Big 12 is in the rear-view mirror, and so, the Buffaloes hope, are their five straight losing seasons.
On Oct. 1 at Folsom Field, CU plays its first game in the Pac-12 Conference against the Washington State Cougars. On the CU sidelines will be Coach Jon Embree, the first African-American named to that position, and only the third Colorado graduate to coach his alma mater. Harry Heller (1894) and Bud Davis (1962) both had one-year tenures. Embree plans to be around a lot longer. Historic? You bet. Colorado’s joining the Pac-12 has generated renewed fan enthusiasm. Gone are the longtime rivalries with Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, and the more recent ones with Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech. The Buff faithful look westward to new rivalries.
After early memberships in the Colorado Football Association, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Mountain States Conference, CU became the seventh member of the Big 7 Conference in 1948. That has been the home for the Buffaloes for 62 years, with name changes making it the Big 8 (1960) and the Big 12 (1996).
The big question is if a new conference, a new coaching staff and new enthusiasm can turn L’s into W’s. After winning the Big 12 championship in 2001 and winning the Northern Division title four out of five years early in the decade with Gary Barnett at the helm, Colorado failed to post a winning season in five years under Dan Hawkins.
Embree’s work in the first nine months of his tenure has been impressive. He has put together an experienced staff, recruited a good freshman class, despite a late start, and successfully installed a new system during spirited spring and preseason drills.
buffalo passion
Embree was not happy with what he saw from afar. “I didn’t sense that the players really believed they could win,” he says. “They thought it, but they didn’t believe it. I know in my heart that Dan Hawkins did the best that he could. I have nothing against Dan, and to see him not flourish was hard, because I helped build [CU football]. When I came here [in 1983] there was one dumbbell in the weight room, and now there’s the Dal Ward Center, the practice bubble, great academics and academic support. We will raise the bar in how we do things. We are going to get the swagger back in this program.”
Embree believes it starts with passion. “There is a certain passion that I believe you need, to have success in this program. If you’re not a Buff guy, how do you know about the passion? You can’t get to where you want to go if you don’t know where you’ve been,” he says. “Knowing the traditions, how they evolved, is important. I want the players to understand who we are, where we’re going, and how we’re going to get there. We’ve accomplished some great things here. We’ve won a national championship, we’ve played in some of the biggest games in college football history. They need to know that. They need to understand what they are a part of. The vision is excellence. It’s returning the luster to this program.”
Embree was a tight end for the Buffaloes under Bill McCartney and coached on the staffs of McCartney, Rick Neuheisel and Barnett. He has been in the Pac-10 (UCLA) and most recently has been an assistant coach in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins.
Strongly believing in the Colorado tradition, Embree has chosen a staff with strong Buffalo roots. He retained veteran Brian Cabral (linebackers) and brought back Buff legends Eric Bieniemy (offensive coordinator) and Kanavis McGhee (defensive line), both members of CU’s National Championship team.
While not Colorado grads, Bobby Kennedy (wide receivers) grew up in Boulder, and J. D. Brookhart (tight ends/special teams) grew up in the Denver area; he played at Cherry Creek High School with Embree, played at CSU, and was head coach at Akron for six years. Greg Brown (defensive coordinator/secondary) is a Denver native and has had two stints on the CU coaching staff. Steve Marshall (offensive line) was on the staff 10 years ago.
Quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer and defensive line coach Mike Tuiasosopo have no Colorado ties, but, like the other assistants, have extensive coaching careers at the college and professional levels.
why the optimism?
The road to a winning season will not be easy, with nonconference games at Hawaii and Ohio State, the traditional battle with CSU and a home game with California. The Bears are a Pac-12 team, but the previously scheduled game will not count as a conference game.
The experts have tabbed the Buffs as the cellar team in the Pac-12 South, with Southern California, Arizona State, UCLA, Utah and Arizona all finishing in front of them. Embree pays no attention. He’s optimistic. Why?
“Because I know me,” he says. “I know my coaching staff. I believe in those players. They have made unbelievable changes in their habits off the field. The most talented team doesn’t always win; that’s why you play the game. These guys will go out and fight and compete, and we’ll see what happens.”
Embree scoffs at those who say to give him time—that the team will be better in four years. “That isn’t fair to these seniors. What about the guys who won’t be here in four years?”
One reason for Embree’s optimism is what he has seen on the field. “The spring was good,” he says. “It was grueling, and 95 percent of the guys responded.” The other 5 percent are no longer in the program.
It’s obvious Embree wants to win now, and while he inherited a team that doesn’t have great depth, the cupboard isn’t exactly bare.
Embree says, “I’m happy with the guys who are here. We play physical and know how to throw a punch, but we just need more guys. Right now we can’t do anything about that.”
the players
Offensively, it all starts with the quarterback, and Embree feels he has the right man in place. The coach says of senior Tyler Hansen, “He isn’t one of the leaders on this team, he is the leader.” Hansen was CU’s starter last year, but his season was short-circuited when he suffered a ruptured spleen against Texas Tech in the seventh game. He is healthy and confident, and has gained a total command of the new offense.
The Buffs will be more of a power team and will run the ball more than in the recent past. Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who coaches the running backs, notes, “These guys know that their old coach loves to run the ball. We’ve developed an attitude here.”
Bieniemy finished his college career 21 years ago, but still is the all-time CU leader in rushing yards and touchdowns. Now that rushing record is in jeopardy. Rodney “Speedy” Stewart will be the featured back. He ran for 1,318 yards last fall, and with 2,744 career yards, is pursuing his coach’s record 3,940 yards.
The blocking will come from a retooled offensive line. All-American tackle Nate Solder is on his way to the New England Patriots, taken in the first round of the NFL draft. That’s a major hole to fill. The anchor of this group will be fifth-year senior guard Ryan Miller, who has been tabbed an All-American in at least one preseason football publication. Veterans Ethan Adkins, David Bakhtiari, Blake Behrens, Ryan Dannewitz, Shawn Daniels, Jack Harris, Sione Tau, and newcomer Daniel Munyer will fill the other positions. Senior Ryan Deehan returns at tight end. The Buffs will have to fill the shoes of their leading all-time receiver, Scotty McKnight. Senior Toney Clemons returns, as does freshman sensation Paul Richardson. The depth will come from Kyle Cefalo, Keenan Canty, Jason Espinoza and Georgia transfer Logan Gray.
Defensive coordinator Greg Brown must replace two cornerbacks, both NFL draft choices: Jimmy Smith (#1 Baltimore Ravens) and Jalil Brown (#4 Kansas City Chiefs). Travis Sandersfeld, Parker Orms, Paul Vigo, Ayodeji Olatoye, Jonathan Hawkins, Arthur Jaffee and Jered Bell are in the mix. Veterans Anthony Perkins, Ray Polk and Terrel Smith return at safeties.
At linebacker, a key is developing depth behind experienced starters Jon Major, Doug Rippy and Patrick Mahnke. Returning on the defensive line are Josh Hartigan, Tony Poremba, Nick Kasa, Will Pericak, Curtis Cunningham, Conrad Obi, Nate Bonsu, Chidera Uzo-Diribe and David Goldberg.
The biggest improvement needs to come on special teams. Zach Grossnickle returns as the punter, but needs to improve on his average of 35.7 yards per punt. The new placekicker is Will Oliver, a freshman.
The schedule makers were not kind to the Buffs. Other than the above-mentioned nonconference games and the contests against the division rivals, from the North Division CU must face Orange Bowl champion Stanford and Holiday Bowl champ Washington in back-to-back games on the road. The Oregon Ducks, who lost to Auburn in the National Championship Game, play in Boulder on Oct. 22.
Look for even more of an historic season if Embree and his staff can work a miracle or two with this Buff team, and produce a winning record and a bowl game. They truly believe that they can.
For the 46th consecutive year, Larry Zimmer will be behind the microphone broadcasting college football as the Colorado Buffaloes play their first year in the Pac-12. This is Zimmer’s 37th year as “Voice of the Buffs.” He also was play announcer for the Michigan Wolverines and Colorado State Rams, and broadcast Denver Bronco football for 26 years.
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