Embree's had interviews with ESPN and the Daily Camera, and Men's Basketball is finally on a roll as they head out to Las Vegas.
Embree aims to add QB to '11 CU Buffs recruiting class - Boulder Daily Camera
Colorado football coach Jon Embree plans to sign a quarterback in the 2011 recruiting class but only has about six weeks until national signing day to identify that player and persuade him to be a Buff. Embree discussed his quarterback situation and numerous other topics Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview with the Camera in his Dal Ward Center office....
"We'll sign a quarterback in this class," Embree said. "There are a couple guys in this class who I think are really good and under the radar and fit what we want to do."
"But I also think this gives us an opportunity where maybe there is that great one in 2012 who says, 'Hey, look, they only have a couple guys here. Let me go compete for that position at Colorado,'" Embree said. "So you've got to kind of look at it immediately for next year and you've got to look at the big picture."
...
Embree will have a fullback position on the roster even though the program stopped recruiting fullbacks several years ago and stopped using a traditional fullback when Jake Behrens graduated in 2009....
"We're going to run the football, but we're really going to run it," Embree said. "What I call, 'real runs' not necessarily zone reads. We're going to hand the ball off, not bubble screens. They're going to be runs. We'll use a fullback. We'll mix our personnel. We're not going to have personnel groups but we will have times where we will go to two tight ends and two backs."
In the movie about Embree's Championship Buffs they make in 25 years, that last quote will read: "and we aren't going to be running any of those sissy bubble screens, either!!"
Speaking of Vegas, did you know that Utah and Boise St. will be canoeing* into the endzone for the MAACO Las Vegas Rain Bowl tonight? Here's ESPN's take:
WHO TO WATCH: Utah quarterback Terrance Cain. Sure, we could have listed Kellen Moore or Austin Pettis or Titus Young. But the story of the game could be how Cain performs as the starting quarterback in place of Jordan Wynn...WHAT TO WATCH: Tempers. The two teams already tangled during one pregame welcoming dinner, and Utah receiver DeVonte Christopher referred to Boise State as "Girlse State" on Twitter. So we should watch early in the game for any chippy play. It seems both teams are feeling a bit disrespected going into this game:
*In all seriousness, floods are bad news; I should know. Here's hoping Vegas' flooding sucks as little as possible.
And here's the SLC-Tribune's take, that all the rain will favor Utah's run-oriented backup QB (and Senior tailbacks). There's only one way to find out, and it doesn't involve an umbrella.
And in case any of you thought that we were the only team where there's been wild speculation about new assistant coaches, texas would like a word with you...
Embree talks new staff, transition, mentors - Big 12 Blog - ESPN - Most of the same info that we've seen before, but here's one question that hadn't really been asked yet:
What's been the most difficult part of the transition? JE: Probably letting kids know that they can't be part of the program anymore. That's hard when you have to do that. That, or letting kids that were committed to the previous staff know that they don't fit into what you're going to do from an offensive or defensive standpoint.
College Football Recruiting: Colorado - ESPN - While yes, there's not many verbal commitments right now, (6, counting Donnie Duncan and Alex Lewis), ESPN lists 3 times that many as 'considering' Colorado. There's many in areas that Embree mentioned as areas of focus for recruting, including D-Line. At the very top of that list is Junior Seau's nephew, Ian Seau.
Roberson Named CU Athlete of the Week - CUBuffs.com
CU men's basketball freshman Andre Roberson snagged an athlete of the week award after recording back-to-back double-doubles to lift CU over the Citadel and Longwood at home during the week of December 13-19.
Brooks: Boyle's Buffs Decide Together Is Better - CUBuffs.com
Tad Boyle's first Colorado men's basketball team has been dynamite at home but something close to soggy gunpowder away from the Coors Events Center. The Buffs get a chance to make amends this week in Las Vegas.
A players' only meeting was called. "The biggest thing was that we had to commit to each other from here on out and really hold each other accountable," recalled Higgins. "We hadn't been doing that in the first couple of weeks of the season. That meeting was basically a contract between us as players to commit to give everything we had to this team.
...The challenge now is packing it all up and taking it to Vegas, where the Buffs face New Mexico on Wednesday and either Northern Iowa or Indiana on Thursday in the 10th Annual Las Vegas Classic.
This one slipped through the cracks, but a website called inthebleachers.net recognized Cody Hawkins as their Positive Impact Factor 'most improved' winner - inthebleachers.net
Most Improved Player: Cody Hawkins (Colorado), 48.6 PIF. Hawkins had a miserable year in 2009 (20 PIF) in which his dad and former Colorado coach Dan Hawkins benched him for Tyler Hansen. Hansen had a season ending injury in late October which secured Hawkins the starting job again. The Buffaloes fell short of making the postseason but Hawkins helped his team stay competitive even in losing efforts. Hawkins' 28.6 point improvement from 2009 helped him edge out Iowa's Ricky Stanzi and Oklahoma's Landry Jones who both saw 25+ point improvements in their PIF number in 2010.
Go Buffs! - Enjoy the Bowl Game and be sure to come back here and discuss why Boise St's canoe is purple.