Buffs getting "better, Colorado National Signing Day Part 1

Similar to a helium balloon slipping through the hands of its pigtailed owner, the Colorado Buffaloes football program is on the rise. But unlike those cotton-candy coated hands of that same little girl that looks on in awe of the carnival that sits before her, Jon Embree’s grasp is only getting tighter, ready to take flight.

Embree and his team want that elevation too. 

“We're very excited about it.  Today we got better.  The Buffaloes definitely got better,” said Embree brimming on National Signing Day where the Buffs acquired 28 recruits. “There is a lot of excitement around our program.”  

            This is an exhilaration that translates and transfers much like osmosis throughout the veins of the Buffs contingent. A revival of the past is just one of number of reasons the Colorado program and its fan are excited about the upcoming years. All the coaches were a part of CU, and their pride and energy to resurrect it back to where it once was evident in the recruiting process.

“They (recruits) have to understand that they can come here and be part of us getting back to the way things used to be around here,” said Embree who played tight end for the Buffs in the late 1980’s. “We'll continue to work at it and we'll keep doing our best at it and eventually it will turn.”

Embree is a believer and conversion is what any good recruiter will tell you makes or breaks the sell. You don’t sell the product, Colorado football, you sell yourself, and Embree can make you want to be on his side, because that is where you’ll have the best chance of success.

But Embree wasn’t going after players because of their reputation; he went to place players that would fit the Colorado model. And one of these main requirements was passion; the passion to play the game, give everything for the team and being so committed to the team that they’d give anything to win.

 “As you talk to a kid, you can get a feel for how important it is to them and what it means to them,” said Embree who would strap a helmet on if they let him. “What would happen if they didn't have it?”  

So while a recruiting class win or lose you games, the energy Embree brought to the press conference and the enthusiasm he showed as he talked about his recruits makes you think his Buffs are already aspiring big things.

You better believe it, Embree sure does.