What the mentality of CU's running backs says about Mel Tucker

After Thursday’s practice, the Buffs’ running backs circled running backs coach Darian Hagan for a long conversation. They talked for at least 10 minutes, not about technique or strategy, but about swag.

“I don’t want to ruin the surprise,” freshman Jaren Mangham told BSN Denver when asked what the group was up to.

The details are unclear, but the group is getting some sort of matching gear that reps their position. It’s part of an effort to build comraderie among players who are competing against each other for playing time.

Camp competitions can be awkward. Each back is trying to steal touches from the others, who he spends hours with each day. They sit in meetings together, go to classes together, shower together and, sometimes, live together.

That’s why it’s important to create a healthy dynamic, despite the tension. One way to do that: matching swag.

At least four running backs seem poised to carve out significant roles in the Buffs’ backfield. As has been a theme throughout the entire team, nobody acts worried about who gets which role.

Take sophomore Alex Fontenot’s approach to the situation, for example:

Does the competition intimidate Fontenot?

“We’re just supporting one another,” he said. “We know we’re all going to get a chacnce to play.”

What would winning the starting job mean to Fontenot?

“It would mean a lot to me,” he said. “But I want them to play as much as I want to play myself.”

Does Fontenot have any personal goals?

“My personal goal is 1,000 yards.”

It took three questions to pull anything “me-first” out of Fontenot. Finally, he admits that, like every other human being everywhere, he wants to see himself succeed.

As he should.

It goes back to the adage that you have to think you’re the best to be the best. And if you think you’re the best option, shouldn’t you want to be on the field for the sake of your team?

This is the core of the dynamic that arouses a strange set of emotions in camp battles. Athletes are pulled in so many directions emotionally, that rifts can form.

Coaches must choose one of two approaches to this dynamic.

First, a coach can challenge players to beat each other out for jobs. They build up the competitions, creating a high-pressure setting that could bare benefits when the team finally takes the field for a regular-season game.

This is the Jon Gruden approach. Think back to the first episode of this season of Hard Kocks, when Gruden told his team to forget about their own dreams and focus on turning their positionmates’ dreams into nightmares. It creates an edge.

The other approach is to build a team-first mentality. Make sure everybody is bought into what the program needs first. Think Bill Belichick’s “just do your job” Patriots teams. No ego. All work. Everybody in the program has to buy in.

Mel Tucker appears much more similar to the Belichick brand, which makes sense given his ties to the Patriots’ coach and his descendants.

Throughout camp, Tucker’s guys have repeatedly said they don’t care about personal goals. That’s the case for more than half of the 25-plus Buffs I’ve talked to. Junior wide receiver K.D. Nixon said it’s because Tucker doesn’t want his players talking about their own personal achievements.

Maybe a wide receiver should be day-dreaming about a 1,000-yard season. Maybe it’s better if he just does what he’s told.

Personally, I believe there’s nothing wrong with either approach but I certainly believe the difference is worth noting. These cultural decisions are the best evidence we have of the thought processes behind what Mel Tucker is building in Boulder. Tucker leans more toward Alabama’s military-esque approach than Miami’s take-no-prisoners edginess.

But back to the point. These running backs are getting along just fine, despite the competition. Nobody is campaigning for the starting job. They feel the team-first vibe is beneficial.

“The competition is making us better as a group,” said Mangham, who has no personal goals. “Like Coach Tuck says, he wants fresh backs. There can’t be no falloff.”