May 15th News...CU Athletics Honored, Mixed Emotions for the Golf Team and Track & Field Prepares

CU Earns Diversity Award -
The University of Colorado will be honored along with 11 other Division 1 Universities for the prestigious Overall Excellence in Diversity Athletics Award. This is the first time the University has been recognized since the establishment of the award in 2005. Kansas State was the only other Big 12 team recognized and CU was one of only 4 Universities to be awarded that was in a BCS conference.

CU Golf Team Preps for Regionals without #1 Player -
The good news for the Buffs Golf team is that Scarlet Course, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, is a course the Buffs won on earlier this year. The bad news is that Michael Baird, the Buffs best player, will not be able to participate due to illness and is like done for the remainder of the season. Sophomore Justin Bardgett will replace Baird. This marks the 3rd consecutive year that the Buffs will participate in the NCAA tournament.

Track and Field move up a spot in the National Rankings -
On the eve of hosting the Big 12 Track and Field championships, the Buffs moved up to the 11th spot in the NCAA rankings. Texas A&M, Texas and Baylor along with Buffs remained in the Top 11 with Texas A&M being #1 in the country. All four teams will be in action starting tomorrow in Boulder.

Buffs Ink 2008 California Guard

The strange recruiting season for Jeff Bzdelik continued as the Buffs were able to steal guard Ryan Kelley from Pomona, California. Kelley waited until the very last moment to sign with the Buffs as the 2008 signing period is coming to a close. Kelley joins Austin Dufault, Toby Veal, Trey Eckloff, and Nate Tomlinson in the class; a class which will see a great deal of minutes very early in their careers. Colorado has been renovated by Bzdelik as he has dismissed players and had players leave on their own. This was too be expected as Jeff brings an entirely different attitude to the game than the departed Ricardo Patton did.

Ryan Kelley was receiving some late interest from schools such as Air Force, Gonzaga and Indiana but committed to the Buffs on his visit and signed with them when he returned to California. Kelley averaged nearly 17 points per game in his senior campaign and was first team all league.

2008 recruiting may not be over as Kavon Rose has also recently visited Boulder. Rose, a guard from Michigan, signed with Oregon State in the early signing period but was released when coach John Jay was fired. If Rose commits it would make a half dozen players for Bzdelik for the 2008 class.

Sunday News

Big 12 Track and Field Championships Next Weekend in Boulder

The University of Colorado will be hosting the Big 12 track and field championships at the newly renovated Potts Field in Boulder. They hope to attract around 8,000 fans to the watch one of the best conferences in track and field for both men and women. CU men are one of four teams ranked in the top 25 at No. 12. Texas A&M, Texas and Baylor are all in the top 11. On the women's side its all Texas squads (Tech, Baylor, the Longhorns and Aggies) and Oklahoma in the Top 25.

Look for CU's...

Peter Janson and Billy Nelson to compete in the 3000-meter Steeplechase as they have both won the Big 12 championship event in the last 2 years. Probably peg Billy Nelson to win this title

Brent Vaughn to contend for the 5,000 meter run as he is fresh off posting the best collegiate time this year last Sunday at Stanford.

Jeremy Dodson, who is the speedster of the team, will have to run two strong races in the 100 and 200 to compete with the Texas and OU runners. Dodson has 2 first and second place finishes this week.

Jenny Barringer to have a shot as she has finished first this year in the 800, 1500 and the Steeplechase . Look for her to have the best shot at making a mark next weekend on the women's side.

Buffs Golf Team Struggling in Big 12 Tune Up, Baird Currently in 5th seven shots back

1. Michigan
2. Oklahoma State
3. Oklahoma City
4. Wichita State
5. Middle Tennessee State
6. Tulsa
7. SMU
8. Colorado
8. Oklahoma
10. Missouri

Katoa's Season Done, Geer Likely to Miss as Well

The debut of LB Lynn Katoa will have to wait as ruling has come down from the Office of Judicial Affairs at CU that he will not be allowed to play this year due to being arrested and charged with felony assault in connection with an off-campus incident. He is appealing the charge but won't have enough credits to be academically eligible to join the team in the fall even if he won. It will be interesting to see if Katoa will transfer now as that has been a rumor in the past. You can't argue with the decision at all. It's hard to defend a guy who breaks into two apartments and then bashes one guys head into a wall and punches out another with a rock in his hand. If there is a positive to the story, and there aren't many, he is a true freshman so his redshirt is still available but still we would have liked to seen Katoa's first hit be on the football field, not with a rock in his hand.

Based on Katoa's ruling, TE Riar Geer's season looks to be in serious jeopardy as well considering he was also charged with assault in the spring session. With dwindling depth at both the TE and LB positions, the suspensions of these two players could really hurt the Buffs chances this year. LB Jake Duren, who was starting most of the spring at one of the LB positions, was also booted off the team this year on suspicion of first-degree criminal trespassing. In January, LB Nate Vaiomounga and Kai Maiava (who is no longer with the team for personal reasons and due to a change in his position from OL to FB) also had run-ins with the law. Not the best way to start the 2008 season for the Buffs. Expect two incoming freshman, Ryan Deehan (TE) and Jon Major (LB), to be given every opportunity to fill the voids left by the off-season issues. CU would have liked to redshirt these two players but the odds are that they will be seeing action early in there career.

May 8th Noteworthy News...

Big Words - "Our goal is to win a national championship at Colorado," Dan Hawkins said, veering into his booster speech. "They laugh at that now, but you won't be laughing because we'll do it, at some point. I promise you that."

Let's win a bowl game first...but it does get you pumped up.


DeVree Signs with the Patriots - Second Buff to join the New England Patriots.


Katoa to Enter Plea - The second biggest 2008 recruit will learn his fate on May 31st. The CU judicial board has to decide whether he will be allowed on campus this year or if he will removed from the university. This decision might go a long way in deciding how stout the Buffs defense may be this year and in the future.


Increased Tuition Leads to Increased Athletic Department Bill - Do you think the University of Oklahoma has an $8 million "bill" that they owe the school for over 300 student athletes' tuition? Something tells me that when push comes to shove, Mr. Stoops says I can either pay my portion of the $8 million or I can build that weight room to get that 5 star recruit...the way it should be. I guess when you put 9 democrats in a room, they forget the fact that they are in the Big 12.

Buffs Center on the Rimington Award Watch List

The 2008 Rimington Award watch list was released today which honors the best collegiate center and on it was 42 players from Division 1 teams across the country. Yes that is a lot and I did check the list twice to see if my name is on there. But there is a reason for this posting in that the Buffs own Daniel Sanders is on the list as he was last year. The release includes 7 Big 12 centers, the most of any conference, another validation that this year the Big 12 should be stellar on offense. The list includes two finalists from last year as well as the 2007 Rimington winner in Arkansas' Jon Luigs. Don't expect Luigs to walk away with the award, however, as there has never been a repeat winner of the award in its history. Man, you know you are craving college football season when you are writing about pre-season award lists.

Big 12 Round Table Recap

A good find by Woodrow this morning. Some of the round table comments from this site was highlighted by a sister Big 12 blog - Crimson and Cream Machine - an OU blog who put the whole round table idea together. Check out todays write up (5/8) to see what the other 12 blogs wrote about their teams in the conference. For the most part, CU was picked 3rd in the North, agreeing with what we said here on the Ralphie Report. You can definitely tell that the rest of the conference has gained respect for the Golden Buffaloes.

Priority #1: In-State Recruiting

The Dan Hawkins era began with a firm commitment to recruit the state of Colorado much more heavily than in the past. Gary Barnett consistently missed out on some of the top talent in that state (Calais Campbell, Jeff Byers, Zach Latimer, LenDale White). The arrival of Hawkins to Boulder was greeted with an immediate impact in in-state recruiting. Hawk was able to sign top Colorado recruit Ryan Miller in 2007. Miller was not only top in Colorado but was the second best offensive tackle in the country. In 2008, Hawkins even furthered his pipeline in Colorado by inking Bryce Givens, Jon Major, and Curtis Cunningham, three of the top four recruits in the state of Colorado.

2009 presents a new list of fresh talent that the Buffs need to get to keep their momentum going. On top of the list is Nick Kasa (right). The 6 foot 7 inch Defensive End from Legacy High School is a 5* recruit on Scout and boasts scholarships from nearly every high-major school except Southern Cal. He was an All-Colorado performer in his junior season and runs a 4.6 forty at 232 pounds. He had 22 tackles and 9 sacks his junior year. His stats fell from his sophomore year when he tallied 59 tackles and 10 sacks. The decline is no cause for concern; Kasa was constantly facing double and triple teams last year. He currently favors Colorado and Florida above all but offers from Notre Dame and Miami have to be attractive as well.

The second biggest target on CU's radar from Colorado is Jeremiah Sirles. Sirles is a 270 pound offensive tackle from Bear Creek High School. He was recently promoted to 4* by Scout. Like Kasa, Sirles was an All-Colorado performer and at 6 fett 8 inches, he is a load but quick on his feet, running a five second forty his junior year of high school. One cause for concern with Sirles is a torn ACL suffered in week 9 of his junior year but he is expected to have a full recovery by the start of his senior campaign. Sirles currently lists CU, Texas Tech, and Michigan as his top 3. He hasn't been offered yet by Michigan but it seems that they are his dream school.

Other major recruits on CU's radar not from Colorado include Manti Te'o, Cliff Harris, and Shaquelle Evans who are all 5* prospects. Look for CU's first commitment to come from Jarrod Darden (left), a receiver out of Keller, TX. He visited CU during their Spring Game and spent plenty of time with Darrell Scott. Darden holds eight scholarship offers but it seems like it will be CU or Texas Tech for 6 foot 5 inch receiver.

May 1st Links

Witherspoon Chooses Memphis - Atlanta area wing Wesley Witherspoon, one of the top three unsigned seniors in the 2008 hoops class, has chosen to attend the University of Memphis. CU was listed as one of Witherspoon's top 5 but in the end the allure of Calipari was just too great. Bzdelik will start to get these types of players in due time, but his teams need to start showing some solid improvement on the floor to help make their decision a little easier.
Witherspoon Decision Coming Today

BCS to Stay the Same - The brilliant conference commissioners met in Hollywood, Fl for the past few days and have once again decided that they are perfectly content just sitting back and watching the money flow in rather than actually giving the fans what they want. Check out Schlabach's story.
No Plus One

Mandel's Post Spring Top 25 - Five Big 12 teams in his top 25. Pretty consistent with what I have seen with the exception of Tech in the top 10. Big 12 is going to be fantastic this year.
Post Spring Top 25

Harvard is for Morons - We've landed on the moon! Way to be timely idiot. This happened over 5 years ago. LET IT GO.
Give This Clown an F

Big 12 Round Table - Take 1

So, after seeing this on the Crimson and Cream Machine, we loved the idea about previewing the upcoming CU football season and seeing how others rated the Buffs. So far, pretty good respect for Colorado. I think most of the Big 12 has gained respect for CU over the last 12 months and believe they are on the right track to becoming a contender in the conference. Check out what we think about the team and the upcoming season and head over to the C&C Machine to see what the other Big 12 blogs are saying about their '08 squads.

1. Who are some of the new faces that emerged in the spring who could be serious playmakers for your team this fall?

We are still waiting for the playmaker(s) on defense to emerge but on offense there are a few new faces that we have seen and have not seen that we hope make a splash this year. Demetrius Sumler will probably enter the year as RB1* and he earned that spot this spring being the most impressive runner of the bunch but that RB1 has a big asterisks next to it as Darrell Scott and Ray Polk are two prized recruits that will compete with Sumler in the summer. Should be the battle of the year.

I also have a good feeling about freshman wide receivers Markques Simas and Soph Josh Smith who finally look to break the unathletic trend at WR for the Buffs. You could finally see some size and speed that the Buffs have lacked in previous years. With a relatively experienced QB in Hawkins delivering the ball, this offense could be the most potent offense CU has had in years especially if TE’s Riar Greer is able to play this year (arrested in the off season) and Pat Devenney continues to impress. I am also intrigued to see Jon Major and Lynn Katoa on the field, hopefully being big time contributors to a defense that lost its only two big playmakers to the NFL from last year.

2. What is your biggest concern following the spring?

For as optimistic as my first answer was, there are plenty of concerns for the Buffs this year. Notice above that I didn’t really mention any playmakers with experience. The team will be very inexperienced and many freshman and sophomores will be expected to play important roles early.

Also, Jake Duren (LB), Riar Greer (TE) and Lynn Katoa (LB) have all been arrested this summer for one thing or another which resulted in Duren getting kicked off the team and the other two not being able to participate in the spring session. Greer and Katoa’s season and career status is still up in the air. All three of these players had a pretty good shot at being starters so filling these voids are definitely a concern.

To tell you the truth, my biggest concern is the rest of the Big 12 and the Buffs early season schedule. I have been amazed at the attention the Big 12 is getting this spring especially at the QB position. You have 10 legitimate QB’s returning in the conference this year including a few Heisman candidates in Chase Daniel, Todd Reesing and Sam Bradford who are big time gamers. Regarding the CU schedule, all that needs to be said is that in the first 6 games the Buffs play Colorado State, Eastern Washington, West Virginia, @ Florida State, Texas and @ Kansas. They may start 2 – 0 but 4 losses could follow. Who knows how a young team like the Buffs will respond if that happens.

3. Any major changes (philosophy, coaching or personnel) that you are concerned about?

There is not a lot of concern with the philosophy or the coaching. You could say the no-huddle offense might be a little bit of a concern but I don’t think it will be an issue. I am more excited that CU is finally getting the athletes to be able to do some of these offensive wrinkles that made coach Hawkins so intriguing at Boise State.

I still think that there is cause for concern around the front 7. With Katoa’s year in jeopardy, Duren already kicked off the team and Jordan Dizon graduating, the LB core supposed depth is falling by the wayside. The Buffs have an experienced but not a great starting defensive line in George Hypolite, Brandon Nicolas and Maurice Lucas. Switching back and forth between a 4 – 3 and a 3 – 4, which they might be forced to do, is a change that will lead to broken assignments and confusion the field.

4. Looking over the 2008 schedule which home and away game are you most concerned about?

Toughest question on the board. I am going to skip the first 8 because lets face it, 5 of the games concern me and they could lose all 5 play at Missouri, Florida State and Kansas and at home versus Texas and West Virginia. So let’s say the Buffs are 3 – 5 or maybe 4 - 4 after 8 games. They will have 4 games remaining to get bowl eligible. I think they beat Texas A&M but it is in College Station so it could go either way. For arguments sake let’s say they win. Iowa State should be a W. I am concerned about the last two games of the year as I seem them not only as games which get them into a bowl, but games they must win to keep momentum in Boulder and on the recruiting trail. Losing to the Pokes at home and Nebraska on the road would leave them on the outside looking in. This is truly a question that needs to be revisited after the West Virginia game.

5. Time for your way too early predictions (Yes, you can change them in August). Rank how you see your division finishing up this coming season.

BIG 12 NORTH

1. Missouri – Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin…enough said.
2. Kansas – Its tough for me to think that they can do it again but the way Reesing played last year, its hard to vote against them. They did lose two playmakers at CB and WR. Once again, Kansas plays a cupcake non conference schedule with the exception of South Florida of who tailed off towards the end of the year in 2007.
3. Colorado – Yes, I think 7 – 5 or 8 – 4 will be good enough to be 3^rd in the conference. The Buffs are still 1 - 2 years away from being on the top. Too hard of a schedule this year coupled with a lot of youth at key positions.
4. Nebraska – The Bo Pelini era will get off to a rough start. Not enough playmakers on either side of the ball to be very competitive.
5. Kansas State – Are going to need A LOT of JUCO’s to pan out.
6. Iowa State – Did Todd Blythe finally graduate?

See you all on the field