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.”

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.

A Speechless Embree

What can you say? What is there to say after your team, your alma mater loses by more than 30 points for the third time in four weeks?

“We have all talked about it, but it’s been all talk and no action,” said head coach Jon Embree after an all-too regular performance by his Buffs in Tempe, Arizona.

Embree has said the right things from the beginning of his tenure in October. Players and staff utter a statement of quality control improvements, but the translation to the field is worse than the instruction manual to a Chinese knock-off mahogany bookshelf. Fans are starting to get restless, and we can only get senses of what’s going on inside the locker room.

 “There are some guys who are just okay with wearing the jersey. That’s wrong and that’s what has to change,” said senior captain Tyler Hansen who showed his true grit and fire coming back after a concussion a week prior.

And that feeling seems to be a mutual one from everyone involved, and is trickling down from the man in charge. “The other ones that just want to be on the team, be around if it goes good and then decide to jump in the water when it’s not going good. We will just have to keep weeding them out,” said Embree.

Embree is realistic, optimistic and he seems to be truly aware of his team.

“You can find a million reasons why you can’t, the goal is to go out there and find the one reason you can and go out there and do it,” said Embree who, even after everything that could have easily torn down a lesser football coach, is still on the straight and narrow.

Embree wants, nay, demands big things of his players. He can articulate all he wants right now, but it will be interesting to see what happens when he gets players that care as much as he does. The coach may be naïve, inexperience and willing to take the criticism if it means success.

An image, or win in the Buffs case, could speak a thousand words but I doubt ‘satisfied’ will be one that Jon Embree uses.

Colorado is no match of #9 Oregon

The Colorado Buffaloes were outmatched, outplayed and out-schemed as they took on the number-9 team in the nation yesterday. The Ducks looked the part of the defending runner-up to the National Champion; they came out and didn’t disappoint.

“That is just how far we have to go,” said CU head coach Jon Embree, “I don’t think when you look out there you see a lack of effort or a lack of hustle or guys trying. We are just not at that level yet.”

The Ducks led by 29 points after the first quarter of play and let off the gas as much as they could. The much underappreciated Ducks defense barely allowed the Buff to cross into Oregon territory. The only points the Buffs could salvage was a safety on an uncharacteristic play by the OU lightning fast return man Cliff Harris. Oregon finished the game with a kneel down from the Colorado 22 yard line and a 45-2 victory.

“Disappointed about what happened to us, but hats off to Oregon,” said Embree in compliment of his opposing number and one of the best coaches in college football, Chip Kelly.

Oregon was classy and refined. They were the most talented, fastest and most well-coached team that the Buffs will see all year.  Colorado had no answers for the Ducks, who were even playing without their starting quarterback, Darren Thomas, and running back, LaMichael James.

The Buffs move to 1-6 and, realistically, no hope on the horizon.

“It is hard. I’m smiling because you have to smile to keep from crying,” Embree said. He is a true Buff believer, and he saw one of the lowest points in Colorado football history first hand in the early 1980’s. But he also saw the resurgence and the changing of a mentality in Boulder.

Now, Embree is in the forefront of the 21^st-century version of this same change. With 15 or 16 freshman getting substantial playing time and his first true recruiting class Embree will have his chance to make it happen.

“It is like what I have been telling them [younger players], ‘It is not where we are, it is where we are going to be,’ and that is what they have to stay focused on,” Embree said, emphasizing on looking toward the future of the program.

Buffs ill-timing proves costly in loss to WSU

Jon Embree doesn’t understand losing.

“I hate losing and I’m competitive and I expect these guys to win every time we go out there,” said the former Buff tight end and now head coach.

The way Colorado let a 10-point lead slip out of their grasp in the final minutes of play is beyond him.

Embree came into Boulder knowing that taking over one of the worst stretches in CU football history was going to be tough. But I don’t know if he thought it was going to be this hard.

“When are they going to get tired of losing?” said Embree who has not strayed away from the Buffs ineptitude to close out a ballgame, “When are they going to get tired of finding a way to lose because you know what, this staff, we’ve been here for five weeks and I’m tired of it.”

But it’s the way the Buffs lost this game, which also happened to be their very first in the Pac-12 that can make any black and gold fan need some high-quality antacid.

The Cougars blocked a Will Oliver field goal attempt early in the first half, which ended up being the winning margin for WSU. Throughout the game the Buffs were able to play Embree’s ‘physical’ game. CU’s offensive line found a rhythm and pushed Rodney ‘Speedy’ Stewart easily 100-yards on the ground.  Then, like looking in a mirror of years past, the Buffs proceeded to squander a 10-point lead with just over five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

“‘When is it going to be enough? When is enough, enough?” said Embree as his almost lost gaze turned into something more along the lines of disgust, “You put in all of this work, you do all of this stuff that you have done from spring ball to training camp for this? This is what we did the work for? So when is it enough?”

This mentality change is slowly working its way around the Colorado locker room, but there is one man ready to make it a full-on epidemic.

“It starts with Jon Embree, no one else.”

Colorado not close at the Horseshoe

Heading into Ohio State, and the biggest stadium most of these players have ever seen, the Buffaloes had the opportunity to change many people's minds about this program. The game was televised nationally; no blackouts anywhere except for a couple frat houses.

Colorado’s newest coaches have said everything right since they were appointed in October. They even looked, and felt the part. (Not this.)

But, as Jon Embree has said several times in several different situations, ‘there is a difference from saying something, and then proceeding to go out and do it’ (I’m paraphrasing here). So when he said that this time was going to be a ‘physical team that runs the ball’ I completely believed him.

Then the Buffs got the ball for the first time.

“We have been awful starting games,” said Embree. The first three plays were all throws and were all unsuccessful; they used 21 total seconds and gave the ball right back to the Buckeyes  “We script plays and we go through it and we give them the looks and we practice it.”

The Buffs want to be physical program, in a name-sake game and that’s how you open the game?

If you are losing, and you need to score in a hurry I can completely understand the philosophy of throwing the ball numerous times. But if there is more than 30 minutes left in a game, so before half time, you cannot disregard everything you ever preached.

In the first half Colorado snapped the ball 23 times; 18 passes and only 5 runs. In those five prescribed running plays none lost yards and they averaged over 4 yards per carry. (‘Four yards a carry’ is something Embree has also stated previously.)

Colorado wants to return to playing good football, but you can’t just say that to win games.

Rocky Mountain Showdown; Good not Great

You always remember your first.

“It feels great,” said Jon Embree after his first victory as a head coach, “My first win as a player was against these guys so to do it as a coach means a lot.”

It doesn’t hurt that his inaugural victory comes against, what is now, Colorado’s only true rival.

The 16^th Rocky Mountain Showdown matched the undefeated Rams against the defeated Buffs but lacked the anticipation that many Colorado natives once knew. The two teams combined for 8 wins in 2010 (only 7 if you don’t count the Buffs win in the same matchup last year), and the last bowl game for either team was Colorado State’s win over Fresno State in 2008.

Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, which holds upwards of 70-thousand people, was far from full. There were patches of empty seats scattered throughout, but the no-shows (whom are usually booed at Mile High Field) didn’t lessen the energy that translated to the players on the field.

“I heard them; I don’t count them. I don’t spend too much time looking at them,” said CSU head coach Steve Fairchild about the fans although the Rams were only able to see a little more than 17-thousand of their 31-thousand (55%) allotment, “There were enough people there to provide an atmosphere.”

The 55-thousand that staggered into the building from the exponential rowdy tailgates saw a physical game. The Buffs defense took on a new mentality that made them fly to the ball.

“I take responsibility for the personal fouls because I told the team in their today that I took the leash off – there were no rules,” said Embree who usually doesn’t handle the defense, allowed the Buffs to fly around in this big game, “There were no rules and I took the leash off them.”

Colorado’s defense slowed down the Rams rushing game, only giving up 67 yards on the ground and only 176 through the air for sophomore Pete Thomas. But the 10 minute drive to seal the game for the Buffs, the defense stepping up, and even the win was once again overshadowed by the mistakes.  

“I’m happy. I’ll be happier,” said Jon Embree who was clearly upset by numerous mistakes that are constantly plaguing the Buffs.

“There are a lot of things we need to fix too,” said senior Ryan Miller. Colorado came into the game as one of the most penalized teams in the nation and was flagged 10 times for 114 yards on Saturday. “[Today] definitely wasn’t a perfect game. We had a lot of penalties; we need to clean that up.”

The Buffs have a long way to go, but the victory is most obviously a step in the right direction. But CU can’t stew on the victory too long; they have to start preparing for the Buckeyes and a streak that nobody in black & gold can avoid.

“As soon as possible,” said senior Anthony Perkins.

Embree and Buffs lose season opener

The first game for the Colorado Buffaloes under new head coach Jon Embree didn’t go as well as planned.

“Not good. Not A great debut,” Embree said following the 34-17 loss to the Hawai’i Warriors.

The loss makes it 18 consecutive road losses for the Buffaloes, a streak that dates back to October of 2007. Embree emphasized, during the offseason, the ineptitude of the Buffs to win away from the friendly confines of Folsom Field.

“There is no bright side. I’m not a moral victory type guy. We did not win,” said the former Colorado tight end was 7-13 in true road games over his career in the mid-1980’s, “That was our goal. We got to end this losing streak on the road. That is the goal right now. We didn’t do that.”

Colorado’s offense got off to a slow start at Aloha Stadium.  “We were off in the first half. I don’t know what that was,” Embree concluded, the first play was an extremely inauspicious start for the Buffs, “I mean, you fumble the snap on the first play of the game.” CU punted on their first 5 possessions, and went into halftime with 100 total yards of offense.

Bryant Moniz led the nation in passing a year ago with 5,040 yards through the air. But it was his legs, including a touchdown run of 57 yards that surprised some of the Warrior faithful and led the home team into the half up 17-0. “Mo Might not lead the nation in passing this week, but he might lead the nation in rushing,” said Hawai’i head coach McMackin about his now dual threat quarterback.

“You have to give him some credit, too. Seventeen (Moniz) is a heck of a player,” Embree and the Buffs defenders were preparing for an aerial attack from the Warrior senior, “He’s a stronger guy than what I thought. He ran though a lot of tackles.”

Even though CU went into the half, there was still quite a bit of confidence remaining in the Buffs locker room.

“I told the teams at halftime don’t worry about it. Let’s just come out and play and we did. I felt at halftime like we were going to win,” said Embree. The Buffs took only 3 minutes to do just that. A 15 yard strike by senior Tyler Hansen to sophomore Paul Richardson put the ball in the end zone for the first time on the season for the Buffs.

But Hawai’i stole the momentum right back. A 48 yard kickoff return gave the Warriors a short field ending in another Moniz touchdown scamper, one of three on the day, from 1 yard out.

Colorado continued to battle back though, the same combination met up on the next drive, Hansen to Richardson, this time from 21 yards out. Down ten, 24-14, and an ensuing fumble recovery by Conrad Obi and the Buffs put CU in position to strike. Will Oliver made a 34 yard field goal to open the 4^th quarter, to make it a one possession game, at 24-17.

After trading punts, Hawai’i started to put distance between themselves and the Buffs. Joey Iosefa took a shovel pass from Moniz 22 yards to the end zone, extending the lead to 31-17 with only 6:17 to play. Tyler Hansen was then intercepted on a 4^th and 6 from inside the Colorado 30, and Hawai’i tacked on a field goal to put the game away.

“It’s a great win, a great team win. I’m really proud of our players and our coaches,” said McMackin who saw a 10-0 lead disappear, losing 31-17 in Boulder last year, “We let one get away last year (at Colorado). We had that chip on our shoulders. We’ve been working really hard for this.”

The 34-17 loss for the Buffs is not what Jon Embree and company had in mind when they got on the 7 hour plane ride to the Aloha State. But patience is key for Embree and the rest of the Buffs, especially with a Pac-12 opponent (although it is not a conference matchup this year) in California coming to Boulder next week.

“We have to get ready for Cal. We don’t have any choice. That’s who’s coming in,” finished Embree, the Buffs lost 52-7 in 2010, “They whipped our butts last year. We just got to go. We need to get better.”

Eric Bieniemy's Booth Box

Eric Bieniemy looked like the awkward cherry atop the lopsided sundae at the Buffs scrimmage Saturday.

And, boy, he was close to toppling the high-rise appartatus.

During games Bieniemy will be up in the booth calling the plays. In his coaching career he has alwasy been a sideline guy but he got his first taste of the eagle-eye view at the scrimmage. He was a little kid violently shaking a Snow-Globe from his lofty perch.

(And don't think the BuffVision camera guy joining Bieniemy in the crows-nest was enjoying the quaking ride over 40 feet about ground.)

Jon Embree appointed his former Buff teammate as the offensive coordinator to change a mentality in the Colorado program. His intense nature will only supplement the direction Embree wishes to see CU headed. Bieniemy, and Embree have said countless times they are going to be more ‘physical’.

But that was not the case in Saturday’s scrimmage at the lower practice fields in Boulder. What several hundred Buff faithful saw that day was not what ‘Garcia’ the Beanie Babies bear would call “physical” play.

Bieniemy will be in the booth for the first couple games. He’s not going to stay there.

Like a Mentos and Diet Coke experiment gone bad, Bieniemy isn’t going to be contained in that little box screaming into a, soon to be, batter and bruised headset.

He will be on the field before long. It’s going to happen.

Jon Embree's Staff will lead to Buffs Success

Any successful leader, any Superhero, any delicious Thanksgiving turkey is nothing without other essential parts.

And Jon Embree knows that.

He has surrounded himself with an ultimate assortment of talent and experience. He made a cliché buffet of assistant coaches that know college football and even more importantly PAC-12 football.

Greg Brown is the mad scientist; the defensive coordinator. He spent 15 years in the NFL. He’s coached the likes of the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers, along with several stints in Boulder in between.

Mike Tuiasosopo and Kanavis McGhee, also front the defense, are no-nonsense coaches that know how to get the most out of their players.

Eric Bieniemy is the wrecking ball that attended at CU; the offensive coordinator. He spent his last few years coaching ‘All-Day’. He coached Adrian Peterson with the Minnesota Viking, and knows the crucial nature of the running game on offense.

Rip Scherer and J.D. Brookhart lead the offensive charge. They are proven, and know what it takes to be successful at the highest level.

What do all these guys have in common? They are Buffs through and through, they know what it takes to reach the next level, their resumes are stacked with great experience, and they all have that winning-itch.

Embree may be inexperienced, he will be nervous this year; he may not even be the man for the job. But the one thing he’s already mastered is collaboration; “surround yourself with successful people then you will have no choice but to be successful.”

Welcome to Pac-12 Football Colorado

The Buffaloes shouldn’t be waiting for any fresh baked muffins. There aren’t any coming.

The University of Colorado has a legacy in football that stacks up with the top schools of their newest colleagues. They are ‘officially’ in the PAC-12, they have the patches to prove it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they belong.

PAC-12 media day, hosted in Los Angeles, was as star studded as the Boulder night sky.

The new league, it could be readily debated, was the best conference in America a year ago. “You have to have tons of flexibility and you have to be very creative,” said new head coach Jon Embree, “And that's what's so great about this conference.”

The gauntlet that is Colorado's schedule will test the young team, with the new staff, in the new conference. “So for them, they should be excited about it [the schedule]," said Embree yesterday to the media, "I just told him I was glad he didn’t put the Packers on the schedule.”

From the beginning of September, for 13 straight weeks, to the end of November CU has no room for error. The new staff will have to address the stacks of issues left behind by Dan Hawkins. It’ll be like trying to remove a middle block out of a wobbley Jenga tower.

He won’t be able to change the philosophy overnight. It will take weeks, even months of hard work (the offseason helped jumpstart this transistion) to get Colorado football back to where Jon Embree and the rest of the Buffalo herd know they can be.

“I want to improve the identity of our program,” said Embree, who played three seasons for the Buffs, knows what CU football is all about, “I want when people see us play, I want them to understand we're a physical program, physical team.”

But Colorado won’t, and shouldn’t, be seen as a force coming into the conference. They need to regain the hardnosed, college football reputation.

The only way to get respect, especially in this league will be to earn it on the field when the lights turn on.

http://www.ralphiereport.com/2011/7/26/2295707/pac-12-media-day-jon-embree-and-tyler-hansen-represent-the-buffaloes