On the day after Thanksgiving, the final curtain comes down on one of the best sports stories of the year--and almost nobody knows it.
Cody Hawkins, starting quarterback at the University of Colorado for most of the last four years--and the son of Dan Hawkins, fired as CU head football coach just weeks ago--will end his bittersweet Big 12 Buffs career in Lincoln, Nebraska, with multiple school records and a resume that was simply not immortal enough to save his father's scalp.
His should have been a storybook career: Dad turns around Buffs program when son comes to Boulder to play QB. Of course, the problem for father and son was their team simply could not win. A disastrous second half against Kansas this season sealed Coach Hawk's fate after nearly four seasons: he disappeared until returning for Senior Day 2010 with his wife to be there for his son--and his team captain--despite it all.
In the meantime, under interim CU head coach Bruce Cabral, Cody Hawkins has led said Buffs to two victories with at least a chance for a third Friday on the road against a stingy and nationally ranked Nebraska team. A win over the Cornhuskers would make Colorado eligible to go bowling--a miraculous possibility. A fourth win in a row and this team could end with a winning record, a first in the Hawkins era.
Did Coach Hawk play favorites with his son? In the filmy transparency of retrospect, absolutely not. Cody Hawkins was yanked for Tyler Hansen with middling results at best: Hansen was a much better athlete and runner, but Cody Hawkins, despite his pint-size and a so-so arm, was a very good passer. I watched every televised Colorado game for his four years and I can tell you that he was almost always better than the team around him. With 7,246 passing yards and 657 completions, Cody Hawk needs just 10 completions and 130 passing yards to break Joel Klatt's school records. Not only that: his sidekick Scotty McKnight already holds all the meaningful CU receiving records, and was not nearly as effective with Hansen as the QB.
Hawkins also led the Buffs to landmark wins over Nebraska, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, the kind of legendary victories that were never matched by the lesser wins that make for success. His teammates voted him captain. He won the Buffalo Heart award bestowed by fans. He never complained when he was benched and he was ready to rock and roll when Hansen went down with an injury.
Let's hope Cody Hawkins breaks the Colorado school records for passing. He played his heart out, and he deserved better than he got. He deserves a storybook ending, one that he can tell his children about.