How CU Football Killed Its Own Recruiting Program

There’s mounting evidence that the University of Colorado’s decision to retain embattled football coach Dan Hawkins is a bad idea.

Littleton standout running back Mister Jones de-committed to the Buffs yesterday, ditching CU in favor of Texas A&M, reports Boulder’s Daily Camera. Columbine High School quarterback Danny Spond has also backed off his verbal commitment to CU, and it’s seemingly clear why.

Rivals.com, a college athlete-evaluation Web site, tells the Camera other college teams will remind recruits CU is a team that isn’t going anywhere next season, amid widespread speculation that Hawkins will be retained for just one more year to make his eventual buyout less expensive.

Buffs assistant coach Greg Brown also left the team this week, headed for Arizona—one more ding in the struggling football program.

Rivals puts CU at dead last in the Big 12 in terms of recruiting. The University of Texas has the nation’s best-rated recruiting class, followed in the Big 12 by Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Missouri. Then there’s Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, and Kansas State.

The fact that a recruit would want to play in Iowa over Boulder shows just how radioactive Hawkins is—and yet he remains as upbeat as ever, telling the Camera he’s “excited” about how recruiting is going, adding that it is a fluid situation that can change at any time. If being at the bottom of Big 12 recruiting makes Hawkins excited, I’m worried about what might piss him off.