Some good links out there today with all the Buffs' news yesterday. I interviewed the most recent Buff basketball commit, 6'7" Wing/G combo Marcus Relphorde, yesterday so look for that later today.
Ryan Thornburn of the BDC has some comments from our new offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach, Eric Kiesau:
Kiesau, who was an assistant at Cal under Jeff Tedford before coming to CU, said the offense will be run differently in 2009.
"There will be some changes. My style of football and offense is more along the lines of Jeff Tedford's. I have a lot of respect for him," Kiesau said. "So there will be a shade of him in my offense. There will be a shade of Chris Petersen of Boise State, another coach I really respect. There will be some things I picked up from Mark. And then there will be some of my own style."
Kiesau follows up by saying just because he has a little west coast influence, doesn't mean they won't run the ball.
"That's a misconception that because I was in charge of the passing game and was the receivers coach that we're not going to run the ball," Kiesau said. "The running game is going to be a very strong emphasis. We're not going to be Mike Leach at Texas Tech throwing the football."
More Kiesau quotes for Ridgell's article in the Longmont Times:
"A lot of people, when they're growing up, they dream of being a doctor or of being a first-round pick in the NFL Draft," he said. "My whole goal was to be an offensive coordinator in a big-time conference. That's been my aspiration, and I was always grooming myself for that.
"Now that it's happened ... I want to do the best job I can and make sure our players are reaching their potential and we're winning football games."
Winning football games...yes, please.
The transition from one offensive coordinator to another at this time of the year should be smooth, Kiesau said.
"A lot of the things we unveiled this spring were ideas Mark and I talked about and that I felt strong about, especially in the run game." Kiesau said. "But if I had to characterize my feel for what we'll see on the field this year in Colorado football, I'd say a big chunk of it is what you see at Cal with Tedford and Boise State with Petersen and things I've learned over the years.
"I think it'll be a product the fan base and alumni can be very proud of."
The more statements we hear about the running game the better. I remember Kiesau in the offseason saying he was against giving the ball to Darrell Scott in the shotgun formation but wanted to take a more forward approach in the running game, something that we have seen with the new offense this spring. I am sure Kiesau is well aware of the deficiencies in the passing game and will implement the running game just as much, if not more than Helfrich planned to.
Read the Oregon press release at the bottom of the article and tell me that the last few paragraphs talking about what Helfrich has done at Colorado shouldn't give anyone a warm and fuzzy feeling. They tried to spin it as much as possible, focusing on a 4.5 ypc average in 2006, and gaining a thousand more yards in 2007 than 2006. In 2006, the Buffs only passed for only 1,422 yards, good for 116th out of 119th in the nation. It was easy to improve on that offense. They also mention something about three walk-ons starting the Nebraska game, well only two started (McKnight is a scholarship player and the Buffs leading receiver the last two years) and I am pretty sure Melton and Crawford got the nod because they were seniors. Regardless, I was wondering how they would present Helfrich in the press release and it was a swinging masterpiece. I commend them, they did a better job at trying to twist the story than I could have done.
Our friends over at Addicted to Quack are learning of the Helfrich hire. I am not sure they know what to think yet. All they have really read about is from our site and let's face it, no Buff fan is too heartbroken he is gone. I don't think they should worry, it is Chip Kelly's offense, the offensive coordinator title is just that, a title and I doubt Helfrich will have any real influence.
You can read the writing on the wall from the OregonLive.com article and know who will be calling the Oregon plays for the foreseeable future:
Helfrich, 35, is a Medford native who grew up an Oregon fan, but the question on the minds of most Oregon fans now:
Who will call the plays?
"We talked about that,'' Helfrich said, referring to his interview with Kelly this week. "I'm a company guy, I'm a team guy, I'm a loyal guy. If that's something that Chip wants to do, that's certainly something that's a bridge we will cross.
"If he wants me to coordinate the postgame meal, it'll be a darn good postgame meal. If we're calling plays against SC, I've done that before, too. We’ll work through all those issues, situations, etc. as they come."
It looks like Air Force and CU may meet on the hardwood the next few years:
University of Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn and Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh are negotiating to renew the school's basketball rivalry.
I talked with the ADs Thursday night, and both said they are trying to find a date for a CU-AFA men's basketball game next season. If they can't find a date for 2009-2010, expect the schools to play in 2010-2011.
I think many of us skipped over yesterday's Buff Bites due to yesterday's news so I thought I would re-post this because it could be pretty big news for 2010:
Could Georgia back out of the 2010 game with Colorado to play against UCLA in the Georgia Dome? Mark Richt doesn't sound too confident that Georgia will get the all the details worked out but if they do, DawgSports on SBNation says that Colorado will either have to let Georgia out of their commitment to travel to Boulder or move it to another year. It sounds like Georgia wants more exposure in Atlanta and with Alabama playing there last year. DawgSports sounds like they want nothing to do with this but you never know after what happened this year with the Miami (OH) saga. Just something that might be worth keeping an eye on.