Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1165179
Young and Hankwitz developed a close mentor-mentee relationship during these years. Unlike their old boss Schembechler, they both favored a more subdued approach to coaching. With Young and Hankwitz, you didn't get fist-pounding rah-rah speeches. Instead, they found common ground with their players and broke through to them as teachers, getting the most out of them in the process. "I saw how Jim was adaptable to his personnel and he wasn't stuck on doing things one way, and he didn't try to be Bo [Schembechler]," Hankwitz says. "The other thing I liked was how he treated people and players… he tried to develop them as young men and not just coach them and win games." Young stepped down after the 1981 season and Hankwitz went looking for new challenges. The successful reclamation projects at Arizona and Purdue had turned him into a hot commodity, but they paled in comparison to what he walked into in 1985 when he joined the University of Colorado as a linebackers and punters coach. The Buffaloes were a Big Eight punchline after going 1-10 the year before, and they hadn't won more than four games in a season since 1978. Under head coach Bill McCartney and defensive coordinator Lou Tepper, Hankwitz instilled a disciplined mindset in his players, preaching fundamentals and helping them reach their potential using the tactics he had honed with Young. The team posted a winning record in his first season there, and the defense, which had ranked 106th in points allowed in 1984, was ranked 19th in the country that year. By 1988 Hankwitz had taken over as defensive coordinator, and in 1990 the Buffaloes broke through, going 11-1-1. They beat a good Notre Dame team in the 1991 Orange Bowl, finished the season ranked No. 1 by the AP, and were named national champions in all but two polls. Hankwitz had reached the pinnacle of his profession, but there was a head coaching shakeup after the 1994 season and he left Colorado. He went on to have successful stints at Kansas and Texas A&M in the years that followed, winning a Big 12 championship in 1998 with the Aggies, before returning to Arizona for a year in 2003, then to Colorado for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, serving as interim head coach for a time at both stops. Hankwitz found his way back to the Big Ten in 2006, joining Bret Bielema's staff as defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin, where he helped the Badgers to a top-10 finish in 2006 and a top- 25 finish in 2007. Then, in 2008, he came to Evanston, leading the defense to one of his trademark turnarounds; that year, they were the fifth-most-improved unit in the country. MIKE HANKWITZ