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All-in-one assistant coach suggestions for CU

How many 2018 assistants will Mel Tucker retain?

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Poly ties? Check (born in Tonga and grew up in SLC)
Western ties? Check
Coaching experience? Check (even at lower levels, he has coached at successful programs)
Coaching up players? Check (Weber State had an All-American at TE in 2017)

He also has some limited experience with the Utes, started as a voluntary assistant there, though it was before they joined the P12 during Whittingham's first two years.
 
Pupunu looks like a good hire.

We really needed a guy at TE who can tell recruits that he knows what it takes to make it to the NFL and succeed if we're ever going to land a top TE prospect again. For recruiting, I love the Utah, San Diego and Pacific Island connections. Areas that were lacking and much needed.

I'm very happy with this one.

I'm also very happy to see that we expanded our S&C staff with a great hire. The organization is finally coming up to what's needed to compete with top programs. It's tough enough to compete with those programs without setting yourself up to be understaffed by comparison.
 
Timing just a coincidence?


Edit: Actually seems this may just be a coincidence, hard to tell from MSU reports but seems like he was strangely forced out despite doing a very good job. Hope he lands on his feet either way and it isn't any sort of other issue there, he seems highly regarded by players and coaches alike.
 
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No offense SRB, but you were a funny looking kid.
 
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Really like the Pupunu hire. He should help recruiting a lot. He checks a couple more boxes for the staff. Except for Kapilovic, none of the hires would be considered big splashes, but it could be a very good staff. Especially if we are adding additional coaches as analysis and S&C coaches.
 
Timing just a coincidence?

Here is a story about his move from Montana to Montana State with some interesting quotes. He definitely has ambitions.

Gregorak leaving Griz for Montana State

"If you would have told me when I got here at age 24 in 2003 that in 2015 I was still at Montana -- considering I got to play at Colorado and then right away (grad assistant) in the old Pac-10 at Washington -- then in some respects I would have thought that I failed because I hadn't coached in the Pac-12 yet," Gregorak said. "I'm not going to say those still aren't aspirations. Jeff (Choate) knows that.

"It was one of the first things. We talked about it that I want to be a head coach. I want to coach at the FBS level. The NFL is intriguing to me at some point in my career. As Jeff said, 'You let me know when and where that is and I'll be the first call to support you.' But right now I just want to live in a great place and I want my family to be safe."
 
Pupunu is Tongan. Tongans represent about ~20% or so of the Poly football population with those of Samoan decent making up the vast majority. This is population driven.

There is definitely a difference in terms of how they view themselves, as they tend to be Rivals. In my Utah office, I find they are closer to each other typically than with us mainlanders, but they are definitely more tight within their own people. Tongans consider Tongans their close brothers and Samoans as more distant cousins.

Edit: not to suggest that a team has to choose. But this may help more with Tongans than Samoans. But helps both.
 
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AllBuffs: We need a guy with poly connections that’s probably young and excited to recruit. TE coach is a good spot to break in a newer coach, since they spend half their time with the o-line and a lot of time with receivers.

* Alfred Pupunu is hired *

AllBuffs: This staff sucks, he has very little experience and we have no idea if he can actually recruit, look at what Jeffcoat did. This AD is broke and Tucker has no connections.
 
AllBuffs: We need a guy with poly connections that’s probably young and excited to recruit. TE coach is a good spot to break in a newer coach, since they spend half their time with the o-line and a lot of time with receivers.

* Alfred Pupunu is hired *

AllBuffs: This staff sucks, he has very little experience and we have no idea if he can actually recruit, look at what Jeffcoat did. This AD is broke and Tucker has no connections.
Stop being mean to lefty
 
With Chev on staff we have a lot of options for the last AC spot. If he has CA connections great move Chev to TX and we are good. If he has TX connections move Chev to So Cal and we are good. Looking forward to getting the best potential recruiter available from one of those locations.
 
AllBuffs: We need a guy with poly connections that’s probably young and excited to recruit. TE coach is a good spot to break in a newer coach, since they spend half their time with the o-line and a lot of time with receivers.

* Alfred Pupunu is hired *

AllBuffs: This staff sucks, he has very little experience and we have no idea if he can actually recruit, look at what Jeffcoat did. This AD is broke and Tucker has no connections.
Also AllBuffs: Our new Poly coach probably isn’t the right kind of Poly.
 
Some color on Day
Link - The opportunity at Colorado allows Day to reunite with several former colleagues, most notably defensive coordinator Tyson Summers, who is one of Day's best friends in coaching.

At Georgia, Summers worked closely with strength and conditioning coordinator Scott Sinclair, who had joined the Bulldogs' staff after a stint at Marshall.
Sinclair recommended Day for the Marshall position and all three - Summers, Sinclair and Day -- had spent time together at UCF from 2012-14.

"He's one of my closest friends in this business," Day said of Summers. "His family and my family are tight, as well. When we heard they were coming to Colorado and the opportunity presented itself, it was even more intriguing."

Day followed Sinclair, who recommended him for the position. Both fall under the coaching tree of veteran Georgia senior associate director of strength and conditioning Ed Ellis, whom has influenced many in the realm of strength and conditioning. Day and Sinclair each worked for Ellis at UCF. Day gave Ellis credit for helping him develop into the coach he is today.

"Really, one of the best kept secrets in strength and conditioning is the coaching tree of Ed Ellis," Day said. "That guy, I owe a lot to him and he's one of the best there is in the business. He's quietly gone about his business and quietly been very, very successful his whole career and he's put out a lot of really good coaches who developed underneath him."
 
AllBuffs: We need a guy with poly connections that’s probably young and excited to recruit. TE coach is a good spot to break in a newer coach, since they spend half their time with the o-line and a lot of time with receivers.

* Alfred Pupunu is hired *

AllBuffs: This staff sucks, he has very little experience and we have no idea if he can actually recruit, look at what Jeffcoat did. This AD is broke and Tucker has no connections.

I think the vast majority are happy about the Pupunu hire. Even @Duff Man gave him a Woot, which I’ve never read before on this page.
 
I am extremely worried about the very obvious effect budget constraints had on this staff and the hires. They went cheap across the board for just about every position except for Kapilovic. From hiring a first time HC to hiring 2 coordinators who in their most recent roles weren't even coaches ...
I should make something really really clear here. This staff, from the head coach on down, has NOT been limited from a budget perspective. The sum of the salaries to date do not come anywhere close to the maximum budget that could have been spent.

I know that leads several of you to all sorts of conclusions. I am going to avoid any of those conclusions until I see results.
 
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