BOULDER - The first impression Jeff Pitman made on his new job was, well, wooden.

"The guy had the personality of this board," said University of Colorado defensive tackle George Hypolite, slapping the table supporting his well-distributed 285 pounds.

Not that the Buffaloes weren't briefed: "Coach (Dan) Hawkins had told us (Pitman) had the personality of a block of wood," cornerback Terrence Wheatley added.

Those observations came two springs ago, when Pitman, brawny and leaning toward bashful, arrived from Boise State as CU's new strength and conditioning coach.

A grueling 15 months later, the Buffs can't honestly say they've seen Pitman morph into a Comedy Central candidate. He still appears able to melt steel with a stare and might belly laugh only in even-numbered years.

But the Buffs have glimpsed changes - a few in "Pit," most in themselves. Players have warmed up to him, and once given tangible proof his intense approach had taken, he has embraced them.

" 'Pit' comes off as a real hard guy, almost kind of cold," offensive lineman Edwin Harrison said. "But he's really a funny guy, and more importantly, he cares."

Added Hypolite: "He knows what he's doing, but you've got to get to know 'Pit.' He's a man of his word, and in this business, you respect that. Everything he said (he would do), he's done for us.

"Point blank, he's gotten us so much stronger and ready to play. He's done what a strength and conditioning coach is supposed to do."

By Pitman's and their own standards, the Buffs claim they are stronger, more explosive and will have more fourth-quarter endurance when it counts. That is to be determined, and overall depth, which CU still lacks, will be critical in close games.

But for whatever reason, offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus conceded the 2006 Buffs fizzled in the fourth-quarter: "I don't feel like we were just getting manhandled, that teams were tossing us around. But there's something to it; whether it's conditioning or overall strength, we declined in the fourth quarter."

Players promise that won't happen this season. Tight end Joe Sanders believes the Buffs "will tend to recover better" and even enjoy a mental edge. "You line up against a team and a couple of series pass, you can see and feel that you're dominating. It's very reassuring for the rest of the game."

Earlier this week, Pitman revealed a set of eye-popping strength numbers. When he arrived, he said only 15 CU players could power clean 300 pounds. Now, that number is 63 - seven more than on his strongest Boise State teams.

Polumbus offers a qualifier: "We didn't do a lot of power cleans before he got here." Yet differences in teamwide strength are "night and day, not even comparable," Polumbus added.

Equally significant is a mental transformation Hawkins believes is more apparent now than when CU started the 2006 season. By Pitman's count, 18 players left the program last offseason, underscoring Pitman's pledge "to lay the hammer down," Polumbus recalled. "He said the guys who stayed were going to be the champions, the guys who left wouldn't be able to cut it. And that's pretty much been true."

Said Pitman: "That goes along with what 'Hawk' tells them all the time - they're going to be blue collar and tough. We just felt with the way the (2006) season went, and where we were personnelwise, that we had to make some adjustments."

Hawkins didn't "rein in" his taskmaster initially, noting, "He kind of played off me, and we knew that these guys had been beat up, beat down and beat around. And again, 'Finny' (former strength and conditioning coach Greg Finnegan) was a very popular guy. I think discretion in easing into the thing (was the best approach)."

Also, former CU coach Bill McCartney told Hawkins the late Bo Schembechler could coach his Michigan players "hard because the guys knew he loved them; he could destroy them, but they knew he loved them," Hawkins said.

"It's harder now in this day and age, just to come in and do the 'Bear Bryant thing.' Those kids need to know you care about them and love them and have their best interest at heart. Then you can kind of take them to the wall a little bit."

Pitman has taken the Buffs to the wall and beyond. He initially had players running bleachers for offseason conditioning, but "the pitch" of Folsom Field's seats "wasn't what we'd hoped for," said Pitman, who during his Boise State tenure ran the Broncos in a stadium whose steep upper deck was perfect for his needs.

So he herded the Buffs out of Folsom and onto the steep hill that leads from a parking lot to the Dal Ward Athletics Center. The hill's grade probably is 20 percent - a leg- and lung-burning experience.

"I hate that hill," Wheatley said. "I'll celebrate when I walk it for the last time."

Pitman called improving the team's overall toughness a work in progress but noted the number of players not practicing because of injuries has declined in this camp. That might be because of a new wrinkle in rehabilitation.

Instead of standing on the sidelines during practice, players with minor injuries now shovel sand into a wheelbarrow, cart it the length of the practice field and dump it. 'Pit's' plan: Move the pile from one end of the field to the other. Next day, start over.

Playing in the sand isn't what it used to be. Neither, apparently, is playing for CU.

brooksb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5466

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