Colorado Signing Day Part 7- Areas of focus

            A team that finishes the season 3-10 is bound to have a few holes. There will be, and are, numerous places the Buffs lacked any real contribution due to a number of reasons.

“When I looked at the board, we had a lot of holes, so I kind of prioritized how we needed to fill them,” said Embree who could have focused on a number of different positions but found his areas of emphasis without hesitation. “This year it was defensive back and D-line.”

Colorado graduated eight players from both those positions, 5 of whom were starters: Curtis Cunningham, David Goldberg, Josh Hartigan (the previous three from defensive line), Anthony Perkins and Travis Sanderfeld (both from the defensive backfield).

The focus was fulfilled with strong talent, big bodies and half of Colorado’s entire recruiting class. Fourteen players come in this year with a place, and more so a need for them to play a big part of the Buffs defense. Yuri Wright and Kenny Crawley in the secondary, along with Tyler Henington, Kisima Jagne and Justin Solis as the front line of the defense are just a few of the big names to watch.

Embree commented that there were no players that he planned to switch their position although it is not rare for that to happen later in some athlete’s career. But these players, in particular, come in with a clean slate ready to take the next step in their football careers and aid in the progression of Colorado football.      

“Thanks to the senior class, they don't have to hear about the (road losing) streak anymore, so they don't have to worry about that,” said Embree. The 28 players will come into a system that has only had a year to lay its initial groundwork, but learning on the fly is just something we’re going to all have to deal with. “At the end of it, it's still football.”

Colorado Signing Day Part 6- Embree's first full class

            A good hitter in baseball may watch the first pitch go by before taking his cuts. Embree didn’t have that luxury last year when he was hired amid recruiting. Now with a full cycle to compete for the top talent in the land he found himself knee deep in recruits that he hopes will turn the Colorado program around.

“I'd say about 75 percent, 80 percent of them have an opportunity to come in and earn some playing time, special teams or regular,” said Embree, which speaks to the talent of the class as well as the departure of a plethora of seniors.

            Colorado graduated 28 seniors, meaning the 28 recruits Embree signed will be forced to come in right and play.The overall youth of the team will be evident, and growing pains are going to happen.

“I'm sure there will be some mistakes that are made because of their youth, but also there is not just youth in this class, there is talent,” said Embree. “Hopefully the youth shows up in practice and the talent shows up on Saturday.”

With mistakes their will be obvious places for growth and advancement. But that’ll give a coaching staff riddled with NFL experience the ability to mold this raw talent. They’ll be able to set them on the right path, coach them up in the areas they need most and help the talented class reach its fullest potential

“The good thing about young is they grow up,” said Embree, the head designer and leader in the overall direction of Colorado football. “I actually have thought about that, about how young we possibly could be.  It's good and bad.  The good is they don't know any better.  There are no bad habits.”

Although a lot of the criticism of this class will likely come later on, when the 28 players put on the Colorado uniform, it is hard not to describe Embree first full go-round of recruiting a success. The Buffs did what they set out to do, and will be rewarded for there hard work in the falls to come. But as the ultimate perfectionist, there is always something more CU could do.

“I think we can be better in recruiting,” said the head coach. As the pistons of the recruiting machine continue to move and coaches, including Embree, reposition themselves to snag a player that will make all the difference. “I believe the dynamics in our conference, things change.”

Colorado Signing Day Part 5- Recruiting teammates

            College is a scary proposition, but so is college football. Combining the two would make any high school athlete feel genuinely sheepish stepping into a Pac-12 school, on both the academic and athletic fronts.  

            To combat the problem, or if it happened unknowingly, the Buffs found themselves wrangling in a number of teammates and siblings in this year’s class. Four different sets of teammates, including a pair of twins, with be coming to Colorado and helping each other ease the transition away from home and into the gauntlet that is Division I football.  

“Colorado is a unique program in that we have three kids in-state this year and last year we had two, so there are 25 kids in this class that are leaving home,” said Embree.

Of the teammates, there are Jeromy and Sean Irwin, twins from Cypress, Texas. Also the Buffs signed the proclaimed DC3 from H.D. Woodson High School in Washington D.C. including Kenneth Crawley, John Walker, De’Jon Wilson. And finally two pairs of teammates from the west coast; from Upland, California, came Donta Abron, Marques Mosley and Christian Powell, and from Westlake Village, California, was Justin Solis and Johnny Stuart.

            But what does not get talked about enough is the popularly wrong consensus of a seemingly trivial fact that these student athletes are leaving home for the first time and they are also prone to getting home sick. So Embree is more than just the football coach for many of these student athletes.

“They can say all they want, they're all tough, and then they're in my office on my couch talking about momma and the dog and everybody else that they miss,” said Embree, who treats and takes care of all 105 players like their his own kids. “They all go through it, so it will help having other teammates.”

            Being around a familiar face will likely calm the nerves of several of the players. And the camaraderie brought together by fighting for a sole cause, with 28 new faces and personalities will be an interesting dynamic.

“They’re really good kids,” said Embree. “That locker room downstairs is about to change.”

Colorado Signing Day Part 4- Good grade in a good Buffs class

            Some analysts, and experts, ranked the Buffaloes class as high as 27^th in the nation. That’s nothing to scoff at, especially for a program that has only won 11 games in the last three seasons combined.

            “The sooner the better, but I expect us to be able to put together competitive classes, and the thing I'm really proud about with this class is that our current kids did a great job helping recruit these kids,” said Embree who has been adamant about the prospect of prospects in his first year. “The name of the game is with this class, I want to bring somebody in who can beat these guys out.” 

            If competition breeds more focus and faster improvements then the Buffs are right where they need to be. No one player’s position is secure come spring and fall camp. And Embree is building depth with his first two classes that will continue to push the returning players, even starters.

“This class got along great with the kids that are here,” said Embree. He’s also already mentioned the class of 2013 and 2014, which is crucial component to a new mentality in Boulder. “I expect them to be the same way with next year's class, it's important to keep that going.”

A turn-around, a rebuilding will take time, but also the development of young men into supreme college football players also isn’t an instant formula. Some players make it, and make an impact while others don’t. That is just the way of life in recruiting, and projecting a player four years down the road when there are so many unknowns to account for is extremely hard to do.  

“Really at the end of it, you judge your class in four years,” said Embree, where four years in the life of college football is an eon. “I wish they'd rank you then.  You can see who stayed, who performed, who gets injured or maybe academics, some people don't make it.”

Embree can’t predict what the Colorado football program will look like in a quadrennial, but he has definitely plan or blueprint set for his black and gold.

Colorado Signing Day-Part 3, No Colorado love

Much like Embree’s first tumultuous season as head coach, one with seemingly more downs than ups, his first complete recruiting cycle didn’t finish without a few regrets. There are always a few fish that inevitably get away. 

But what Embree didn’t expect, especially in his first year when the changes around the program were more transparent close up, is that this bait would not work as well as it did inside the state of Colorado.  

“We didn't do a good enough job,” Embree said of his ability to keep kids at home. “We got three kids. We missed on some of them.”  

            The trio that the Buffs signed included Tyler Henington, from Mullen, Clay Norgard, from Mountain Vista and Derek McCartney, the grandson of former Buffs coach Bill McCartney. Several others in the state were undecided until the final moments but in the end chose to leave Colorado and play football elsewhere.

“When I say 'we', I mean 'me'. I've got to continue to try and figure out what it is that we need to do,” said Embree taking personal accountability for all things surrounding the program. “We'll continue to work at it and we'll keep doing our best at it and eventually it will turn."

This is the second year in a row that Colorado had a disappointing showing at home. Last year the only two Colorado-native recruits to come to Boulder were Brady Daigh and Marc Mustoe.    

Embree has made a consummate effort to recruit with the state, and keep the good talent, that happened to beat the Buffs a time or two this past season, on their side. But as Colorado begins its imminent climb it, a restoration of sorts, the ability to recruit the state will be much easier.  

            “As we get more successful, I hope that translates first off on kids wanting to stay home and be a part of it,” said Embree.

Colorado Signing Day-Part 2 Wright or Wrong

     It was rather fitting that almost 140 characters into the signing day press conference Embree was talking about controversial corner back Yuri Wright. Hejust happened to go in reverse alphabetical order, but nonetheless the recruit that had drawn so much attention, nearly more nationally than locally, was first on the docket.

     “He touched a hot stove,” Embree said of Wright. Wright was recently expelled from Don Bosco Prep school after sending out several vulgar and profane tweets.“I'll be surprised if he touches it again. He's very remorseful.”

But while other schools that had interest in Wright, big schools along the likes Michigan, pulled their scholarships, Colorado and Embree remained true to their word. In a stand that spoke louder than any yell he could muster, and Embree sure knows how to do just that, he conferred in Mike Bohn, Colorado athletic director,and Chancellor of the University of his intentions to continue after one of the most talents ball-hawks in the country.

“I didn't have any reservations,” said Embree.

Embree is sharp, passionate, and he loves a challenge so it was no surprise he was willing to take a chance on Wright.

           “Sometimes it's a hard lesson and yet at the same time I don't think it's a reason to not allow a kid an opportunity to improve himself,” said Embree. The coach is also willing to teach the athletes how to be men off the field as well. “It has nothing to do with football.”

           Whether you call it a second chance or risky bet, Embree is willing to push this through. If not completely tech savy, although he is on Twitter @JEbuffs, the head coach is aware of the way things are and how his players communicate and interact with players, friends, fans and others across a multitude of platforms.

“I have shared that with our team, about the responsibility that comes with social media.  I don't want to ban them because that train has left the station,”Embree said. He doesn’t necessarily embrace all the antics of his players, but he will have to keep some in check. “That's part of them, and growing up is learning some of these lessons.”

CU Signing Day

Pens were clicked, papers were scrawled on and recruits signed away their lives to numerous schools for the next 4 or 5 years of their lives. And that is about it.

National Letter of Intent Day came and went like a ship passing in the night.

I was in attendance for the first recruiting class under recently anointed head coach, Jon Embree. And other than the mouth watering chocolate macadamia nut cookies there was little to report on. He went down the list, name after name, talking about how special this kid could be and how good this kid might end up.

It was a press conference to have a press conference.