CU Meets With Media In Shreveport

SHREVEPORT, La. -- The University of Colorado football contingent, including Athletic Director Mike Bohn and head football coach Dan Hawkins, met with media members Thursday, covering a wide variety of issues during the Buffs first full day of Independence Bowl activities:

Colorado Athletic Director Mike Bohn

"We had an opportunity to visit with the PetroSun Bowl officials yesterday.  They told us that they were ahead of where they were at this time last year in terms of ticket sales.  We're excited about our ability to sell over 2,000 tickets to fans and when you add in tickets for our student athletes we are near 3,000."

"Today is indicative of our representation at the bowl game.  We were asked to bring some representatives to help distribute Tyson chicken to kids in poverty.  We had our whole team attend and that was over 100 people.  To put that in perspective, Alabama had 6-10 people show up.  Our guys stayed from the beginning to the end while the Alabama representatives left early.  I'm not taking anything away from Alabama, I'm just really proud of our team and how we represented ourselves at the event today."

"We have some gifts for our fan base who are making the trip down here to support the Buffs.  We knew we probably wouldn't sell all of our tickets, but we thought we'd help some people go to the game by giving our tickets to certain groups.  We have given tickets to the Barksdale Air Force base, the Police Department down here, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and other groups of people who wouldn't normally be able to come to the game.  We have given away around 4,000 tickets that.  I am real proud of our fans, our coach and our team for embracing the whole experience."

"The neat thing is that all of the people that we have down here are embracing the whole experience.  It was exciting to see the President of the group (Tyson chicken giveaway) today get on each of our busses and thank us for our participation.  He told us that they have never had a team show up like this before, they have had many college and NFL teams participate but there has never been a whole team come out like we did today.  He was very thankful for our commitment to their event."

"There have been people from all areas of our university helping with the bowl trip.  President Hank Brown and Chancellor Bud Peterson have really helped us a lot in our ability to do the things that we have been able to do for the people that are traveling with the team to the bowl.  They have demonstrated great teamwork working together, and we know we are going to be audited but we did a great job and have worked hard to get as much as we could while following the rules."

"We are working on a way to add permanent lighting to Folsom Field.  We are not just looking to do that but also to do it with renewable energy so that we are doing it in an environmentally friendly way."

Colorado Head Coach Dan Hawkins

On the Big 12 Conference's Signature
"It's interesting because what you are seeing in the Big 12 is the spread offense.  Texas Tech was really the first team in the conference to go to that but there are others starting to do the same in Missouri, Kansas and Baylor.  Most teams in the Big 12 are a spread offense now."

On Why He Doesn't Have Personal Police Escorts

"I've got Dave Plati and he knows guys.  No, when you only win two games, like we did last year, nobody wants you protected.  They are hoping something happens.  Honestly, I'm from a town of about 500 people so I just don't think that I need protection."

Colorado Players

QB Cody Hawkins

ON PLAYING FOOTBALL FOR HIS FATHER-"I've never played college football for a coach who wasn't my father, so I don't know how different it is.  He's done a good job of separating football and family.  When I'm at home he's my father and when he's at work it's all business."

ON THE DIFFERENCE IN HIS DAD COACHING HIM IN LITTLE LEAGUE AND NOW IN COLLEGE-"I don't really remember much from playing little league.  I was more worried about the snacks we were going to get after than I was about any coaching I was receiving."

ON WHAT RATING HE WOULD GIVE HIMSELF THIS SEASON-"6-6, there were a lot of highs and a lot of lows and some in between.  I have things I need to work on, but that goes for us as a team.  We were inconsistent but I think that comes with being a young team like we are.  We had a few games where we flashed our potential but we didn't have the consistency we needed this season."

ON WHETHER OR NOT HE IS EVER TOLD HE'S THE QB BECAUSE HE'S THE COACHES SON-"I've heard it from Cartman before the Nebraska game but that's about it.  I thought it was awesome when I heard it because I'm a huge South Park fan.  It's the highlight of my life so far."

ON THE BOWL GAME-"This is the first bowl game for a lot of our players, and the first at Colorado for this coaching staff, so it's an important game.  It is time for us to get back to our winning ways, and time for everyone to see that if you're going to be a Buffalo you're going to have to work hard."

WR Josh Smith

ON THE BOWL GAME-"This is a key game for us, we want to end our season by winning our last two games.  We want to beat two big red schools in Nebraska and Alabama; we want it to be our turning point."

ON HOW THE COACHING STAFF IS WORKING THEM-"They are still going to push us hard.  From what I've heard that is a key.  They keep pushing us and expect us to do our best.  We're excited because we're headed back to excellence."

ON CU'S 1-3 BOWL RECORD SINCE 2000-"We definitely want to turn that around, we're better than that and Colorado's tradition is better than that.  We're working to get back up to the top where we belong and right now is a great time to turn it around.  That is why I came here; I want to be a part of the turn around."

TE Tyson DeVree

ON THE BOWL GAME'S IMPORTANCE-"I want to end the season on a good note and I think it is important that we end the season with a win.  I want to win and end my college career with a win and a winning season."

LB Jordon Dizon

ON CU'S DEFENSE-"Our defense likes to keep it simple, we're a young group of guys and we just like to go run around and make plays."

ON DEFENSIVE STATISTICS-"We play a lot of passing teams (Texas Tech, Kansas, Missouri, etc.), and when you play teams like we do sometimes your stats are going to suffer."

ON COACH HAWKINS-"He likes things to be precise and he makes us keep our focus.  He mentions Samurai swords because Samurais are very focused and precise; now we're just trying to keep our swords sharp." 

OT Tyler Polumbus

ON ALABAMA'S DEFENSE-"They're a 3-4 defense and that is more of an NFL philosophy and we're more used to seeing 4-3 defenses.  With the 3-4 it's almost like they're lining up and saying we're bigger and better than you and it's on you to stop them."

ON WHAT WINNING THE BOWL GAME WOULD MEAN-"I can't speak for Alabama because I don't know where they are at as a program.  I do know that it'd be huge for CU, we're back in a bowl game which was the first step but a win will get us off on a good step for next year."

DT George Hypolite

ON WHAT TURNOVERS MEAN TO A TEAM-"Turnovers go a long way for any team; when you have a positive turnover ratio you usually have a winning record.  As a defense we pride ourselves on getting turnovers and getting the ball back for our offense so they can go score."

ON ALABAMA-"Watching their team on film they are very solid.  They are kind of like Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde, sometimes they look like a top 10 team and sometimes they don't.  We're the same way, we lack consistency.  We need the team that beat Oklahoma so show up on a regular basis, and even against Oklahoma we had plenty of room for improvement."

CB Terrence Wheatley

ON THE COACHING STAFF-"You have to have faith in your coaches.  I'll do whatever the coaches ask me to do.  Coach Hawkins is more of a modern coach, he knows how to relate to his players and that is great to have from a player's perspective."

ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH COACH HAWKINS-"I look at him as a father figure to me.  You can talk to him about some things you don't always feel comfortable talking to other people about.  I can approach him about anything; it's very easy to go to him when I am looking for advice."

ON THE BOWL GAME-"You definitely want to win the game.  I never go into a game not wanting to win and Sunday's game is no different.  I want to go out with a win and send the team into next season with a win."

TB Hugh Charles

ON THE BOWL TRIP SO FAR-"It has been very good so far.  There is a great group of people here helping us out, making us at home.  Everything has gone well in practice; we did most of our game planning in Colorado, so now it is just smoothing it out."

ON PLAYING AT SEA LEVEL-"You can really sense it, I got a lot of reps in practice yesterday and was feeling good.  I really feel the extra oxygen down here at sea level."

ON THE TRIP-"We are taking this as a business trip, we are here for a few days longer then a normal road trip.  It is great to have a little more fun at the beginning of the trip but in the end it is a business trip.  We seniors have been to three bowls so we kind of have a sense for how a bowl trip is in comparison to a road trip."

ON ALABAMA'S DEFENSE-"They run a 3-4 defense and the only 3-4 defense we've seen this year has been Kansas State.  We did pretty well against them offensively, but Alabama has better athletes so it is definitely going to be a test."