**** OFFICIAL 2010 Kansas Football Repository Thread ****
 

Spring football Site

Let the Gill era begin.

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/a...10Schedule.jpg

lol...starting early I see

I'm excited and nervous at the same time

This will be the first year I have season tickets. So yeah I'm a little excited. I like the new coach.

cool. This year may be the first in 11 I don't have season tickets. grrrr...

Trading places: Gill allows position changes for KU spring football

By Matt Tait


http://media.lawrence.com/img/croppe...6f48523261b548
Photo by Kevin Anderson
Jeff Himes, head football equipment manager, finds the practice jersey belonging to quarterback Kale Pick on Wednesday in preparation for the start of spring drills. The preseason workouts begin Saturday.

When Kansas University football coach Turner Gill takes the field with his team for the first time at 1 p.m. Saturday, he’ll do so with a handful of Jayhawks in new positions.
Eight returning players from last year’s squad will open spring practices at a different position than the one they played to finish 2009. The reason falls in line with what Gill has preached since arriving in Lawrence.

“I left it up to the guys and just asked them to tell me where they wanted to start out,” Gill said. “So there have been some changes based on what they felt. If they believe there’s a certain position they can play well, I want to start ’em there. I want to see them get excited, I want to see them go out and play hard and feel good about it.”

KU officials said Wednesday the following players have taken Gill up on his offer: Isiah Barfield (wide receiver to cornerback), D.J. Beshears (cornerback to wide receiver), Steven Foster (linebacker to fullback), Chase Knighton (quarterback to wide receiver), Daymond Patterson (cornerback to wide receiver), Angus Quigley (linebacker to running back), Ian Wolfe (offensive line to tight end) and Duane Zlatnik (defensive line to offensive line).

That’s not to say the final depth chart will be set by the players themselves. But at least the first draft will be penned by the guys who put on helmets and shoulder pads.

“Obviously, if a person doesn’t do well or if we believe he can help us at a different position or get more playing time (somewhere else), then we’ll discuss that later,” Gill said.

Of the eight players making a switch, only Beshears and Patterson started games in 2009. Both figure to be in the middle of heated battles at their new positions. Of course, the same could be said for just about everyone on KU’s team.

“There’ll be competition at every position,” Gill said. “Obviously, quarterback’s going to get all of the attention. I understand that. But we’re going to make it where there’s competition at every position.”

The quarterback race likely will have three main candidates — returning back-up Kale Pick, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds; junior-college transfer Quinn Mecham, 6-2, 195; and red-shirt freshman Jordan Webb, 6-1, 210. Although Gill has not said whether he will name a starter by the end of spring practices, all three will jockey for position throughout the next four weeks.

Similar competitions are being waged at running back, where Toben Opurum (577 yards and nine TDs on 133 carries in 2009) returns as the only player who tallied meaningful carries; wide receiver, where Johnathan Wilson (35 receptions in 2009) and Bradley McDougald (33) lead a crowded and potential-packed group of playmakers; linebacker, where Drew Dudley, Huldon Tharp and Justin Springer return with experience; defensive line, where only All-Big 12 performer Jake Laptad is a known commodity; and the secondary, where all of the starting positions appear to be up for grabs.

This year, perhaps more than any season that has come before it, the most important aspect of spring practices might not show up in the depth chart or on the field.

“Obviously, you have to do all of the things to take care of (the game), taking care of the football, creating turnovers, excellent special teams and all of that,” Gill said. “But you also have to make sure you’re having guys believe in each other. And that starts with players to players, and then you have to take it to the next level of players to coaches and coaches to coaches. That takes time. I don’t have a magic ball here that’s going to tell me if it’ll take one month, seven months, two years, four years or whatever. But I do know that we will be successful here at some point in time on a consistent basis.”

Spring practices begin Saturday and run through the April 24 Spring Game.

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Why? Did you move?

very interesting....

KU officials said Wednesday the following players have taken Gill up on his offer: Isiah Barfield (wide receiver to cornerback), D.J. Beshears (cornerback to wide receiver), Steven Foster (linebacker to fullback), Chase Knighton (quarterback to wide receiver), Daymond Patterson (cornerback to wide receiver), Angus Quigley (linebacker to running back), Ian Wolfe (offensive line to tight end) and Duane Zlatnik (defensive line to offensive line).

Let them start were they want and if they don't work out they can always move back. They might play harder at a position they want to play.

no, my old college roommate and I have had tickets together for 11 years, but he decided he had to give them up this year. I don't really want to move seats, and none of my other buddies want to move to a donor section, and I don't want to be in the upper deck. I'd normally just get 2 but my wife is pregnant expecting at the end of May, so I know she won't be able to go to any games.

That sucks.

Is conner Teahan gonna play

I nicknamed him "High School Musical" during the season, or "HSM" for short.

I doubt it.

He is just a walk-on that is there to funnel cash. Don't think he will see much playing time.

All the best to KU football.

If Kerrey Meier goes undrafted, I would love that we pick him up.

I bet he gets drafted. He's a very good tall possession WR, I don't think he will ever be an NFL star, but he I see him being a productive player somewhere.

I dunno man. He's slow as shit. Did he go to the combine? I'd be interested to see his numbers.
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I'm not sure. As long as it's not too slow, I think 40 times are way overrated. Some of the best WRs ran 4.6's

Interesting to see Quigley move back to RB. I thought he did a respectable job there in 08 and mangino moved him to backup LB. He did have some fumbles, but I thought he ran hard and made some plays. When Sharp got hurt, I think he could have provided some decent carries.
Posted via Mobile Device

I understand that, but it just looked like he was slow as hell out there. Maybe he wasn't. He was always wide the **** open and they all can't be coverage errors because he led the team in catches iirc. Just watching him, he looked slow.
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Kansas Head Coach Turner Gill Brings New Atmosphere to Jayhawk Football

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images...jpg?1259889486 by JD
Written on March 26, 2010

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images...jpg?1269630494 Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony knew Kansas needed a football coach who would garner not only statistical success, but would turn this program into one that embodied team and school spirit as well.
Newly hired head coach Turner Gill made it clear upon his arrival that he would meet this goal, and his own lofty expectations for the Jayhawks, by taking care of business off the field first.

Making Changes
Freshman running back Ryan Burton said that as soon as he arrived on campus Gill began making changes to help mold the Jayhawks into great football players and upstanding individuals.
Unlike the fiery, strategy-first style of former head coach Mark Mangino , Gill’s coaching philosophy is centered on a positive attitude, team unity, and personal relationships.
Individual players have pointed to specific changes.
-Red-shirt sophomore linebacker Steven Johnson says he likes the new “BELIEVE” acronym Gill uses to describe the faith every player should have in himself and his peers.
-Freshman kicker Nate Kalish says all game jerseys now bear an identical “Kansas” logo rather than a surname, and players are required to wear uniform T-shirts to workouts.
-Kalish also says that Gill has even changed weight-lifting into group-work challenges that are more conducive to team-building and entertaining than standard lifting.
-Burton says that Gill makes his presence felt as a part of the team by making surprise visits to the weight room, just to check on his players.The best part, Burton said, is that the new coaching staff has given the players a positive new outlook without changing the intensity and passion instilled in the program by Mangino.

Building Relationships
The most important changes being made to the team, all three players said, is Gill’s increased emphasis on building warm personal relationships. Johnson said that Gill’s office door is always open, and that every player has his cell phone number to use in any situation.
Kalish said that special teams coach Aaron Stamn texts him regularly and keeps a close eye on his grades. Burton said that Reggie Mitchell , the running backs coach, has taken all the backs out to dinner together, and opened his home to them on holidays when they cannot make the trip home.
“We are a Jayhawk football family,” Burton said. He, Johnson, and Kalish all said that the entire coaching staff is genuinely concerned with the well-being and personal growth of every player—a feeling not as evident in the past.
Gill’s superiors have noticed the changes, too. “Success on the field is in no small part dependent upon building a team of quality student-athletes who know how to represent themselves and the University of Kansas,” Marchiony said. “No one understands that better than Coach Gill.”

A New Beginning
Fans will soon get to witness these changes on the gridiron. Spring practice begins Saturday, March 26, the annual spring game will kick off on Saturday, April 24 at 1 p.m., and the Jayhawks will open the 2010 season on Sept. 4 against North Dakota State.
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First spring practice pushed back to Sunday

http://media.lawrence.com/img/croppe...cf7613005fe067 Photo by Mike Yoder. Enlarge photo.
This view of Memorial Stadium, taken from the top floor of the Oread Hotel, shows the east side of the stadium in the foreground. Earlier this fall the Kansas Board of Regents recently approved the addition of the Gridiron Club to Memorial Stadium, which would be built on the east side. The club will hold 3,000 seats, cost $34 million to build and finance a $40 million commitment from Kansas Athletics to KU’s academic programs.

By Matt Tait

March 26, 2010

The beginning of the Turner Gill era will have to wait another day.
Thursday afternoon, Kansas University football officials announced that, because of the threat of rain in the Saturday weather forecast, the first practice of spring drills would be pushed back to Sunday.

Gill and the Jayhawks were scheduled to take the field at 1 p.m. Saturday but will go instead at 3:45 p.m. Sunday. Practice is scheduled to last until 6 p.m. and is the first of 15 dates during the next four weeks that Gill and the Jayhawks will hit the field.
The final spring practice of the year will be the team’s annual Spring Game, which is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, April 24. The Spring Game is the only one of the 15 dates that is open to the public. Fans will be admitted to the game free of charge.


Here are a few highlights regarding who will take the field on Sunday, when the Jayhawks officially kick off the 2010 season:
• In all, KU returns 39 letter winners and 17 starters from last season’s 5-7 team, which began the year 5-0 but lost seven straight games to close the year.
• Five of the eight Jayhawks who started all 12 games in 2009 will return this season.
• Ten players with at least 10 career starts will suit up for for the 2010 squad.
• Sophomore running back Toben Opurum, who became the first freshman to lead the Jayhawks in rushing since 2002 (Clark Green gained 813 yards on 197 carries) will return to the KU backfield. Opurum tallied 577 yards and 10 TDs on 133 carries last season.
• Sophomore quarterback Kale Pick, who backed up Todd Reesing in 2009, will compete for the starting job with red-shirt freshman Jordan Webb and junior college transfer Quinn Mecham. Despite his status as the team’s top returning passer (4-for-5 for 22 yards in ’09), Pick led the Jayhawks in runs of 20 yards or more (3) in 2009 and also had the team’s two longest single runs of the year, 55 yards and 32 yards.
For more on what to expect this spring, check out Wednesday's story about the eight players who will start the 2010 season in a different position than the one they played in 2009

Meier will likely go in the 5th round area from the sound of it. He is 6'2", 225-pounds and runs a 4.6 forty. At his size, he is plenty fast enough. He is a possession receiver in the Eddie McCaffery mold.

Don't act like you haven't been here.

KU football assistant happy to be back in Lawrence
By Dugan Arnett
In the 10 years since Darrell Wyatt last coached in Lawrence, some things have remained more or less the same.

“Obviously, the town has changed a little bit with growth and roads,” said Wyatt, Kansas University’s new co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach. “But once I started to drive around a little bit, I got a pretty good feel in terms of getting to difference places.”

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Other things, however, have proven nearly unrecognizable.

Since Wyatt’s first stint at KU, when he served as associate head coach, offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach under Terry Allen from 1997-2000, he has found a program no longer resigned to a fate of extended mediocrity.

Under the supervision of Mark Mangino, the eighth-year coach who was forced to resign in December before being replaced by Buffalo’s Turner Gill, the program underwent an extensive makeover, from the cosmetic (the $31 million Anderson Family Football Complex was constructed prior to the start of the ’08 season) to the more fundamental.

“You can feel it when you walk in the building,” Wyatt said. “You understand that this is a place where people expect to win. The fans look forward to the season, they look forward to coming to the games. It’s a situation where the morale is really good in terms of the kids going out on the field and feeling like it’s a level playing field, feeling like they can compete. And not only compete, but also win.

“I think at that time (late-90s), there was still doubt as to whether or not you could actually win the game,” he added. “Now, I think the kids expect to win.”

Having developed relationships with both Gill (“Coach Gill and I actually talked during the season when we had a common opponent,” he says) and new offensive coordinator Chuck Long during his time as an assistant in the Big 12, Wyatt called his decision to join KU’s new staff a natural fit, an opportunity to return to a conference and region with which he’s been long familiar.

Following his previous stint in Lawrence, he served as an assistant at Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Arizona, along with a season spent as the receivers coach for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, before handling associate head coach/offensive coordinator/wide receiver coaching duties at Southern Mississippi for the past two seasons.

“In (the last) 10 years, I’ve been fortunate that I’ve had a chance to work with some really good football coaches,” he said. “I had the opportunity to work for two head coaches that are probably going to go to the college football hall of fame. I’ve coached in some national championship games, been a part of some Big 12 championships, coached in the National Football League, been a coordinator.

“Kind of ran the full gamut, to be honest with you.”

Among the first in a list of awaiting challenges, meanwhile, will be devising a way to replace two receivers who established themselves, statistically, as the two best in school history.

With Kerry Meier (102 catches, 985 yards, eight touchdowns last season) lost to graduation and Dezmon Briscoe (84 catches, 1,337 yards, nine touchdowns) opting to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft — both received invitations to the NFL Combine — the unit will likely take a hit next season, though the blow should be lessened by a wealth of seemingly talented young receivers.

In its past two recruiting classes, Kansas has added seven receivers, including 2009 contributor Bradley McDougald and incoming four-star signee Keeston Terry, who Gill said had the ability to play both offense and defense.

“Kansas has become a place where there’s some wide receiver tradition here now,” Wyatt said. “And I think there’s some young guys that haven’t played a significant role who are looking forward to the opportunity of increasing their role.”

As of now, Wyatt says his focus is pointed toward the start of spring practice, where he’ll have the opportunity to see first-hand what he’ll have to work with next season. With offensive and defensive meetings in full-swing, and with recruiting a full-time affair, he hasn’t been afforded much free time since arriving in Lawrence on Dec. 28, a week after coaching Southern Miss. in the New Orleans Bowl.

But he’s seen enough to smile when asked about his return.

“It’s not good to be back,” he said. “It’s great to be back.”

Dreamius Smith a Jayhawk

Well, looks like Coach Gill's tweet might have in fact been about recruiting. Dreamius Smith has committed to the Jayhawks according to The Shiver. Not a major surprise as both the Shiver and Jayhawkslant had reported this to be very likely this weekend.

The 6'0 205 pound running back with great speed will be the Jayhawks second local prospect to commit joining Darrian Miller. Smith was seeing interest from Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

------

This is what he tweeted
Great News Today……Looking forward to even MORE TOMORROW.

He ran a 4.62, Briscoe ran a 4.61

http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/2...lts.cfm?pos=WR

Cool. Thanks. He's not as slow as I thought. If the Chiefs could get him as an UDFA I would be tickled. He's got to be better than the assbuckets we have at the bottom of the depth chart.

Tag

Looks like he is a going to be a 4 star recruit. Good to see that we beat out Old Balls for this guy. Also would be nice if he would convince Perry Ellis to come to school here.

Wichita RB picks Kansas

By Matt Tait
March 27, 2010
As expected, Wichita Heights running back Dreamius Smith orally committed to Turner Gill’s Kansas University football program on Saturday.

Smith, in town with his family to take in the Jayhawks first practices of the spring and visit the facilities, becomes the second commitment in KU’s Class of 2011. He joins fellow-running back Darrian Miller, of Blue Springs (Mo.) High as the first high school juniors to commit to Kansas this season.


“I met all of the coaches and they made it feel like a home to me,” Smith told Rivals.com on Saturday.

KU assistant coach Robert Wimberly was the lead recruiter for the projected four-star running back and Smith said last week that he felt as if Wimberly was one of his best friends.

After meeting with Wimberly and other KU assistant coaches — including running backs coach Reggie Mitchell — Smith and his family sat down with Gill and told the head coach of his decision to become a Jayhawk.

As a junior in 2009, Smith, 6-foot, 205 pounds, rushed for more than 1,300 yards and helped lead Wichita Heights to the Class 6A state title game, where they lost to Olathe North. In addition, Smith joined heavily-recruited hoops teammate Perry Ellis in leading Heights to the state basketball title.

In February, Kansas became the first school to offer Smith a scholarship. That early interest, combined with Smith’s childhood dreams of playing his college football in Lawrence, helped lead him to commit.

Smith also received heavy interest from Kansas State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State.

Both of KU's RB commits might be 4*. I know Miller will be for sure and Smith might also. The first two commits for KU will fill KU's RB class. One heck of a way to start recruiting for 2011!

I like the Gill era already.

KU landed a 4* in Bourbon last class and Sims very well could have ended up one as well. I think it is pretty apparent KU will be running the ball a lot more this coming season. Sure they have a lot of talent and depth at WR, but it will be the running game they will hang their hat on.

Not only do KU return all of their starting OL and depth behind that, but they have bulked up further even. Hawkinson is 295-pounds now and likely will be 300-pounds + come season time, Spikes and Zlatnik are 325-pounds, Hatch is 335-pounds, Capra 300-pounds, and Thorson is 315-pounds. Wolfe has moved from OT down to TE is now sitting at 255-pounds and is supposedly moving very well. He will be a great tandem with Biere who is close to 260-pounds now. KU is definitely loading up to run like crazy! They will need it due to the defense... ball control time.

What's that?......It will be nice not to have to win shootouts.

No kidding, there was no such thing as ball control the last few years of Mangino. We were purely a Spread team that was horrible in short yardage situations. Not only will we see a lot of two tight TE's, but we will also see the use of a fullback a lot. Foster is 255-pounds and will likely be the fullback. Wouldn't surprise me if Quigley got into that mix if he proved he wanted to block... he has the size. KU also landed as a preferred walk-on in Hutchinson fullback Josh Smith. Smith is a freaking beast in the mold of the old Nebraska fullbacks. He turned down offers from Air Force and Navy since he fit perfectly in their Flexbone offense (that is what Hutch ran).

Hopefully change is good.

Gill casts his spell on KU football

New Jayhawk era opens with spring drills

By Matt Tait


http://media.lawrence.com/img/croppe...6f48523261b548
Photo by Jon Goering
Kansas head coach Turner Gill gathers with the team during spring practice on Sunday, March 28, 2010.
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Sunday, after nearly three hours on the field for his first official practice with Kansas University’s football team, KU coach Turner Gill had one final test for his troops.

This, perhaps more than any physical drill or simple instruction, best symbolized what Gill is all about as a football coach. With his team on one knee, huddled in front of him, Gill called on senior place kicker Jacob Branstetter to lead the Jayhawks in one of the team’s new traditions: a letter-by-letter reciting of the team mantra “B.E.L.I.E.V.E.”

B: Believe in each other and the things not yet seen.

E: Empower people by encouragement.

L: Learn and press on toward the goal.

I: Influence by being a positive role model.

E: Expect great effort all the time.

V: Visualize excellence.

E: Enjoy the college football experience.

This same idea served Gill well during his four years at the University of Buffalo and, according to wide receiver Chris Omigie, was one of Gill’s priorities upon arriving at KU.

“It was the first day (he met with us),” Omigie said. “He told us what it was and then he said, ‘Now, I’m going to expect you guys to memorize this before our season is over.’ And he’s going to expect all of us to be able to recite it word-for-word to the rest of the team.

“I’m close,” Omigie continued. “I practice it almost every day. I think I’ve got it down to the second E. I think it’s more just remembering how to spell it than remembering the words of it. Some people just get it mixed up.”

The simple sound of the drill, with its almost military ring, invoked visions of a team that relies on discipline and togetherness. The hooting and hollering that followed — after the “enjoy the college football experience” part — demonstrated that things are a little different around the KU camp these days.

“(Coach Gill) was pretty laid-back,” sophomore running back Toben Opurum said. “You know, there were a couple of mental mistakes, but that’s expected at the first practice. We just went out and played our hearts out like we know he wants us to.”

Added sophomore receiver Bradley McDougald: “The coaches, they were getting after us, but in the right way. It was definitely different, something I can get used to.”

On a sunny day, with temperatures comfortably in the 50s, Gill looked very much like the same man he had been for the past four years at Buffalo. He wore a blue pullover, gray sweatpants and a white hat with blue letters. Of course, the setting, the increased media presence, the players in the helmets and even the other coaches served as constant reminders that Gill no longer was in New York.

As he has with just about everything that has been thrown at him since arriving in Lawrence, Gill greeted his new environment with his head held high and a smile on his face.

“The only word is just exciting,” he said. “It’s an exciting opportunity to be here, to coach in the Big 12 Conference and at the University of Kansas. I’m just excited to get this thing going.”
Photo Gallery

KU football spring practice

http://media.lawrence.com/img/photos...8a07f5331c05b6
Photos from the Jayhawks' spring practice March 28, 2010.

While a large portion of opening day was a feeling-out process for both players and coaches — what senior defensive back Chris Harris called “a learning practice” — there were a few details that needed to be addressed:

• Linebacker Vernon Brooks, a senior-to-be who played in five games and made five tackles in 2009, has been dismissed from the team. Gill informed the media in his opening statement. “Vernon Brooks has been removed from our football team due to violation of our team policy,” Gill said. “Permanently.”

• Speaking of linebackers, Gill said senior linebacker Drew Dudley, who was rumored to be out for spring drills because of a shoulder injury, was day-to-day and would be limited during the first several practices. “He’s just doing the minimum stuff. We’ll just have to see how he feels. But our trainers are going to make all those calls, and we’ll do the best we can with them. There’s some guys who will be limited. On Wednesday, we’ll give you more of a specific update on where we’re at.”

• Gill said he planned to make good use of the program’s three-year-old practice fields that still look as if they were installed last week. “(In college football), everybody knows what everybody’s doing, and I’m not a person that’s going to be (worried) over somebody watching what we do and how we do it,” said Gill, asked if he was concerned about spies observing practice. “We’ll probably (spend) the majority of the time on the practice fields, but there will be times where we’ll go into the stadium, too.”

• The Jayhawks will return to practice at 3:30 today and also will practice Wednesday, Friday and Saturday to close out the first week of spring drills.

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I B.E.L.I.E.V.E. that they're going to S.U.C.K. A.S.S. ROFL

OMG! Omigie promising

By Tom Keegan


Sometimes you just get a hunch about a young athlete. Something about the way he carries himself, the intelligence he displays in an interview, the physical gifts he possesses, how seriously he takes his sport.

Kansas University receiver Chris Omigie, who red-shirted in 2009 and has four years of eligibility remaining, qualifies.

He stands 6-foot-4 and said that after packing on 10 pounds of muscle he weighs 195 pounds. After his first spring practice Sunday under new coach Turner Gill, Omigie revealed a self-confidence that seemed real, yet not the least bit obnoxious.

“I think I bring size to the table, speed as a tall receiver, and you throw it up and it has to come down with me,” said Omigie, a native of Arlington, Texas. “If it’s not coming down with me, it’s not coming down with anybody.”

A quick look at his high school highlight tape on YouTube shows a physical player opening holes for running backs. Omigie said he always has taken pride in blocking and enjoys letting cornerbacks know he’s not going to get pushed around by them.

“If you hit them first, that’s going to make them second-think the next time they run up to you,” he said. “And if they do run back up to you, you just have to keep hitting them in the mouth until they realize you’re not one to be messed with on the football field.”

Nobody can say Mark Mangino left the cupboard bare, particularly at wide receiver. Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier are gone, but it still will take beating out proven receivers for Omigie to earn significant playing time.

Wideouts Johnathan Wilson and Bradley McDougald and slot receiver Daymond Patterson are the leading candidates to appear on the first team of Gill’s first depth chart. Omigie and Erick McGriff, also a 6-4 rising red-shirt freshman, bring more size to the position.

Omigie said he is grateful to Mangino for not burning his red-shirt year with minimal playing time.

“Against Iowa State, I just knew I was going to go in,” Omigie said. “It was pretty cold. Briscoe was freezing. Everybody had their big jackets on on the sideline. At first, we were winning, and then the game got kind of close. He looked at Briscoe, and Briscoe’s hands were red and numb, and he had them in a hand-warmer. He looked at me, and he was like, ‘Briscoe, I’m sorry, this game is too close, too much on the line. You have to suck it up and get back out there.’ I understood.”

Asked to name a receiver he resembles, Omigie didn’t grow shy.

“I want to say Randy Moss because I grew up trying to copy-cat everything he did,” Omigie said. “I would watch Viking games when he got traded. All through elementary school to high school I was always wanting the fade ball, all deep balls, because I was always fast and tall.”

During his red-shirt season, Briscoe was his receiving role model.

“I learned from him that you have to have a really short-term memory,” Omigie said. “If you drop a pass, you can’t be thinking, ‘Man, I dropped that pass.’ You have to let that go.”

Asked if he dropped any passes on the first day of spring practice, Omigie said, “I forgot already.”

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Wow, so clever.

Is history still awaiting?

IIRC, he was a pretty big-time recruit.

So tell me again how many Big 12 Championships and National Championships Mizzou has that makes it so much better than KU. Oh yeah that would be ZERO! Now how about head to head you should have a comanding lead there also right. WRONG!

How DARE you question The Program? ROFL

Oh, deflectors on full! :LOL:

I know I'm late to this topic so if has been already discussed, my apologies. But I would have to point out the fact that several of those players are simply returning to their original positions. Mangino used to like to change players' positions to somewhere that he thought they could contribute in an area of need. Sometimes it worked out well (Kerry Meier) and sometimes it didn't (Angus Quigley).

I think its good they will play harder at a position that they want to play at.

Yep, makes sense. Quigley was pretty good at RB, IMO. He just needs to work on how to properly hold the ball in a crowd. That's on the coaches.

It seems that Gill likes to be loaded at RB. Our first two recruites for 2011 are RB's.

I'm pretty pleased with Gill and the changes so far. Some things are going to change (personnel, positions, attitudes), some things will stay the same (fans of other teams being less than cordial).

:clap:

This was a response after last years loss in arrowhead from a few ku fans i ran into, which i didn't talk shit at all....(i was in mizzou gear walkin excited we won) "BASKETBALL!!!!!"

I will be very excited for this years game again as well, should be fun.

Zero is also the number of times that Kansas has finished ahead of Missouri in this century.

Videos, blog for KU Football found here.

That link is in the OP.

My enthusiasm got the best of me.

:)

Yes you are so dominant over the last 10 years that half of those years you finished 1 game or less ahead of Kansas. That screams out dominance.

Stuckey impressive at combine.
http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2010/mar/02/29281/

Ready to rumble: KU football eager to put pads on

By Matt Tait


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Photo by Jon Goering
Offensive players on Kansas University’s football team stretch prior to the Jayhawks’ first practice Sunday on the KU practice fields. After having worked out twice without pads, the Jayhawks will don pads today for the first time this spring.

The team's next spring practice will be held on Wednesday.

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Although the start of spring football practice has been accompanied by a fair amount of excitement and energy, there still are a handful of rules that players and coaches must follow.

For that reason, Kansas University coach Turner Gill has not put too much emphasis on what he has seen during the first two days of drills.

“I’m more anxious to see what they do when pads are on and things are going on around them,” Gill said. “I’m taking into consideration what we learned in the winter (during individual workouts), but I want to know how they respond when we’re on the field, and (I want to) see all the things that are going through their minds. It’s a process. It’s a journey. Each and every day we’re going to find out some things about our football team.”

Beginning today, Gill will discover how his players perform in pads. According to the NCAA rulebook — which can be accessed at www.ncaa.org — only 12 of a team’s 15 spring practices can include full pads and contact. The first of those days cannot take place before the third practice of the spring. That third practice without contact is scheduled for Friday, April 23, the day before the annual spring game.

Of the 12 days during which contact is permitted, eight may involve
tackling, and no more than three of the eight tackling days can take place via the 11-on-11 scrimmage-type scenario.

In short, after helmets and shorts on Sunday and Monday, the Jayhawks are ready to turn it up a notch beginning at 3:30 p.m. today.

“Obviously, we know some guys, who’s played quite a bit and who hasn’t,” Gill said. “But I want to make sure our coaches have an open mind as we go here and really evaluate these guys on the practice field, particularly when we get into pads. It’s really going to be more of a true evaluation once we get our pads on.”

In a lot of ways, today could be the first real indication of what Kansas football under Gill might look like. Both coaches and players referred to the first couple of days of drills as a learning process, a chance to feel each other out and see how the coaches coach and the players respond.

Offensively, playing in full pads gives the linemen a better chance to show Gill and his staff what kind of players they are. Are they better suited for run-blocking or pass-blocking? In addition, the wide receivers, of which there are many, will get the opportunity not only to show how they make plays in pads, but also how they play in blocking situations.

“I try to be physical,” freshman Chris Omigie said. “At receiver, you have to be tough, physically and mentally tough.”

Defensively, opening practice up to full-contact status provides those vying for starting spots — on a defense full of opportunities — a chance to play fast and hit hard, which seems to be in line with the style of defense Gill’s teams will play.

“We’re going to get to be a lot more aggressive,” senior defensive back Chris Harris said. “We’ll get to take a lot of chances. As a defense, we’re bringing a lot now. It’s just an aggressive-minded defense.”

After today’s session, KU will practice again on Friday and Saturday and will be off Sunday.

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Running it 60 percent of the time might not be bad for Turner Gill and KU

Blog: The Mad Geek
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By Jesse Newell
March 31, 2010

In an interview with WHB 810 on Tuesday, Kansas coach Turner Gill was asked about how often he envisioned his team would run the football.
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/...7501865a0e2373
"What that percentage is, I can't give that answer right now," Gill said. "If you sit here and say, 'What's your ideal situation?' I would say it would probably be more of a standpoint of being 60 percent run the football and 40 percent throw the football."

Gill did say that he would adjust his offensive philosophy to his talent, especially in his first year. That means KU still might rely some on the pass this year.

But 60 percent runs? When I first heard it, that number sounded awfully high, especially considering the success teams have had with the spread offense in college football the last few years.

So just how uncommon is it for a team to run it 60 percent of the time in today's college football?

Perhaps not as uncommon as you might think.

Let's take a look at some run percentage numbers.

To calculate a team's run percentage, I simply divided its rushing attempts by the combined number of rushing attempts and passing attempts it had during a season.

I understand this isn't perfect, as sometimes, passing plays turn into runs when quarterbacks either scramble or are sacked. Still, I figured these numbers will give us a pretty good glimpse into how often each team ran the football.
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/...7501865a0e2373
Let's start with KU's numbers. No Jayhawk team in the last 10 seasons has run the ball at least 60 percent of the time. The last time KU ran the ball 60 percent of its snaps was in 1999 (61.8 percent).

Kansas run percentage
2000 — 59.4 percent (4-7)
2001 — 59.7 percent (3-8)
2002 — 52.3 percent (2-10)
2003 — 54.3 percent (6-7)
2004 — 47.4 percent (4-7)
2005 — 51.8 percent (7-5)
2006 — 54.7 percent (6-6)
2007 — 51.8 percent (12-1)
2008 — 47.1 percent (8-5)
2009 — 42.8 percent (5-7)

It's interesting to see just how much KU went away from the running game in the last few seasons. The Jayhawks have seen their run percentage decline in each of the last four years.

So how do KU's run percentage numbers stack up against other Big 12 teams? Let's look.

Run percentage
Kansas State — 62.8 percent (6-6, 4-4)
Oklahoma State — 62.3 percent (9-4, 6-2)
Nebraska — 58.4 percent (10-4, 6-1 Big 12)
Iowa State — 57.6 percent (7-6, 3-5)
Texas A&M — 51.7 percent (6-7, 3-5)
Texas — 48.7 percent (13-1, 8-0)
Missouri — 48.7 percent (8-5, 4-4)
Oklahoma — 48.3 percent (8-5, 5-3)
Colorado — 44.5 percent (3-9, 2-6)
Baylor — 44.5 percent (4-8, 1-7)
Kansas — 42.8 percent (5-7, 1-7)
Texas Tech — 32.3 percent (9-4, 5-3)

Big 12 average — 50.0 percent (5,496 runs; 5,492 passes)
KU was next-to-last in the league in run percentage, leading only Texas Tech.
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If KU would have run it 60 percent of the time last year, it would have been third in the conference behind Kansas State and Oklahoma State. Running it 60 percent of the time also would be 10 percent more than the league average.

So running it 60 percent of the time is crazy, right? Not if you take a look at the best teams from last year's final Associated Press Top 25.

AP Top 25 Run percentage
Alabama — 63.5 percent
Texas — 48.7 percent
Florida — 60.4 percent
Boise State — 52.3 percent
Ohio State — 64.1 percent
TCU — 64.6 percent
Iowa — 53.7 percent
Cincinnati — 43.3 percent
Penn State — 54.1 percent
Virginia Tech — 69.7 percent

Four of the top six teams — including the national champion, Alabama — ran the ball at least 60 percent of the time.
http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/...7501865a0e2373
Honestly, that number shocked me.
So how close was Gill to hitting a 60 percent run percentage in Buffalo? Here are Buffalo's run percentages during Gill's four-year tenure.

Buffalo run percentage
2006 — 51.8 percent (2-10)
2007 — 52.8 percent (5-7)
2008 — 50.7 percent (8-6)
2009 — 51.9 percent (5-7)

The coach didn't come close to achieving his ideal 60/40 run-pass split with the Bulls. His team also didn't appear to become any more prone to the run later in his tenure.
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Though it was a different era, perhaps Gill's run-first mentality came from his days playing quarterback at Nebraska.
Just for fun, here are his run percentages as a player at NU.

Nebraska run percentage
1980 — 80.9 percent (10-2)
1981 — 78.5 percent (9-3)
1982 — 78.1 percent (12-1)
1983 — 79.0 percent (12-1)

So what should we take from these numbers? I would say two things.

1. KU will run the ball much more this year than it has in years past.
2. That might not be a bad thing for Gill and the Jayhawks if they hope to someday build an elite team.

Interesting. This is a good idea, although it shows that Gill's Buffalo teams were just over 50% all 4 years. The other thing it shows is that KU didn't run enough last year.

And Texas Tech, WTF? Only ran one third of the time?

A lot of it was screen passes to that little back they had.
Posted via Mobile Device

What did he run/lift?

You could tell just by watching that we didn't run enough. I mean we couldn't even run enough to ice the game against MU.

The cornhuskerification of the Jayhawks continues.

At first I think only the elite programs can do the defense/running thing, since they get the elite athletes it takes to play dominating defense. But K-State had success last year playing that style, and KU's defense in 2007 was no slouch.

This is the way I have hoped KU would play for quite awhile. I say that because the defense needed help in the worse way. The high octane spread offense was fun to watch, but it killed KU's own defense and lacked any form of power. It was finesse offense when not clicking was a death trap.

All anyone needs to know about the lack of a rushing attack/mentality was the Mizzou game where KU throws three crappy passes in about a 10 second period by the goal line to allow Mizzou to easily stroll into scoring position for a game winning score.

Does anyone know if we are going to line up in th I, or stick to the spread? It would seem our lineman likely aren't suited well for a running game.

I really hope Opurum gets some good carries. He looked very very good last year. If we could get a scat back to get some speed back there, coupled with some carries for Quigley, I can see some success there if the line can perform.
Posted via Mobile Device

It's the cyclical nature of college football. Had you been watching prior to 2007, you'd know. :p

Teams recruited smaller, faster players to stop spread offenses. Of course that means if you want to run straight at these smaller guys, you will have success.

Patterson, no longer disgruntled, back at WR

By Jesse Newell


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Photo by Richard Gwin
Kansas junior-to-be Daymond Patterson has made the switch back to wide receiver.

Daymond Patterson found his mind wandering during practices with the cornerbacks last season.

The Kansas University junior-to-be couldn’t help but think that he should be catching passes instead of trying to defend them.

“I would look down on the other side of the field and just daydream: ‘I remember when I used to be down there,’” Patterson said. “I’m just happy to be back over there now.”

Patterson is back to receiver this spring after playing that position briefly his freshman year.

The latest switch actually wasn’t even requested by him. Some assistants from the previous staff told new KU coach Turner Gill that Patterson would be better suited as a receiver than a cornerback.

“I feel like I’ll be a better player, a happier player and more productive on the offensive side of the ball,” Patterson said.

The 5-foot-9, 173-pound wideout from Mesquite, Texas, admitted that he had discussions with his father about transferring away from KU last season.

“We talked about it, but it was like a 50-50,” Patterson said. “It wasn’t like, ‘OK, for sure I’m leaving if this happens.’ But we did end up talking about it.”

Most of Patterson’s dissatisfaction came because he believed he wasn’t given much of a chance to prove himself at receiver.

In his first two games as a freshman, Patterson caught 11 passes for 152 yards with two touchdowns. He also added a 75-yard punt return for TD.

Following a two-catch game against South Florida, Patterson fumbled his first reception against Sam Houston State.

After that game, he was moved to cornerback.

“I felt like I had showed enough flashes that I could be a productive player and really grow as a receiver before they actually moved me to corner,” Patterson said. “I could have seen if I was out there through four games, no catches, all types of drops and you just knew that I wouldn’t be any good at receiver.

“I think that’s what frustrated me more than anything is that you didn’t really give me an opportunity to prove that I wouldn’t be good at that position before you actually moved me.”

Patterson said he was promised by the previous coaching staff that he would return to the offensive side of the ball either later his freshman year or sometime his sophomore year. That never happened.

“I guess that kind of set me back,” Patterson said. “I was a little frustrated. ‘Well, they’re going to bring me back in the offense this game.

Well, they’ve got five wide-receiver sets this game.’ I never made it back.”

Though Patterson was benched at cornerback during the second half of last season, he still mentored D.J. Beshears, who was another receiver-turned-cornerback.

Beshears, who started three of the last five games, also is transitioning back to receiver this season.

“My mom and dad always told me and my brother, ‘Things are going to go your way sometimes and sometimes they’re not. That doesn’t mean you can sit there and complain about it,’” Patterson said. “Because I feel like I had plenty of chances to complain. ‘Well, I don’t want to play corner.’ Or, ‘I came here as a receiver.’ But that’s not how I am.”

Patterson said moving back to receiver fits his personality best.

“Growing up, I was always a running back, a quarterback. Basketball, a point guard,” Patterson said. “So I always had the ball in my hand, and I was always a focus point with the ball in whatever sport I played.”

Re-energized after being switched back to his natural position, Patterson said he’s ready to make up for the time he’s lost.

“I’m really out to prove that I was the receiver that could make plays in this offense before,” Patterson said, “and in this offense now.”

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Matt Tait’s KU football notebook

By Matt Tait

Second week on tap

The second week of Kansas University’s spring football practices begins today, and, if Week Two is anything like the opener, coach Turner Gill figures to be a happy man.

After taking his team through four practices last week, including a small-scale scrimmage during Saturday’s workout, Gill said he was impressed by the way the Jayhawks absorbed what he and his staff had taught.

“(I) thought the guys got a good grasp of what we were doing, and every day we got better,” Gill said. “I love the effort and aggressiveness, what we showed on both offense and defense.”

Now that the lesson plan is in place, Gill said the rest of the month would be spent improving.

“We will work on execution the rest of the spring,” he said. “The first week was acclimation and expectations. There was a feeling-out period. Now they understand what we are doing, and we will start fine tuning.”

KU will practice at 3:30 today and will go again Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

A Bronx tale

Rivals.com indicates that KU has extended a scholarship offer to defensive tackle Al Page.

Page, 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, is a junior at Christopher Columbus High in Bronx, New York.

He recorded 40 tackles, one sack and four fumble recoveries during the 2009 season.

In late March, Page told Rivals.com’s Mike Farrell that Rutgers, Maryland and Penn State — “in that order” — were his top three schools, but that did not stop Gill and his staff from offering.

Penn State has yet to offer Page.

Syracuse is the fourth school that has offered a scholarship to the defensive lineman.

KU in hunt for tackle

Kansas also recently made an offer to Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) offensive tackle Pat Flavin.

Flavin, 6-6, 260, is being recruited by KU offensive coordinator Chuck Long and has received seven scholarship offers so far.

According to Rivals, the six other schools that have offered Flavin are: Ball State, Baylor, Boston College, Illinois, Toledo and UCLA.

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Replacing Reesing: Six candidates are vying for KU starting quarterback position

By Matt Tait


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Photo by Jon Goering
The quarterback candidates for Kansas University run through a drill at spring practice last Sunday. It’s too early to tell who is leading the race to replace Todd Reesing.

The one question that may spark the most interest around the Kansas University football program this season might be the one that takes the longest to answer.

Which of the six Jayhawks wearing red jerseys will replace Todd Reesing as the team’s starting quarterback?

“It’s way too early right now,” KU quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Chuck Long said. “Each one has done some good things. But I have to go through a spring, really, to get a good feel for these guys.”

He’s not alone. In a lot of ways, the six QBs vying to be listed atop the team’s depth chart at their position still are trying to get a good feel for things themselves.

Entering spring ball, the list of possible replacements for Reesing included three favorites and a couple of darkhorses. That list grew by one on the third day of practice, when KU basketball guard Conner Teahan — a standout high school quarterback at Rockhurst High in Kansas City, Mo. — decided to go out for the team.

Although Gill has called Teahan “a longshot” to win the job, his presence further muddies the water that the KU staff is trying peer through in search of a starter.

“They’re all getting good reps now,” Long said. “But as time goes by, we’re not going to be able to give all six the same number of reps. We have to whittle it down coming out of spring. Who knows how much.”

The one quarterback on KU’s roster who even comes close to resembling a known commodity is red-shirt sophomore-to-be Kale Pick, who served as Reesing’s back-up in 2009. Pick, 6-foot-1, 208 pounds, appeared in seven games last season but threw just five passes, completing four of them for 22 yards. More often than not, Pick was asked to show off his skills as a running quarterback. He gained 167 yards on 14 carries and was responsible for the team’s two longest runs from scrimmage.

Also in the running for first-team snaps are red-shirt freshman Jordan Webb and junior-college transfer Quinn Mecham.

Webb, 6-foot, 210, hails from Union (Mo.) High. Mecham, 6-2, 207, comes to KU from perennial powerhouse Snow College, a juco in Ephraim, Utah. In 2009, Mecham led Snow to a 10-2 record, a top-five national ranking and threw for 3,091 yards and 40 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.

Along with that trio, red-shirt freshman Christian Matthews, 6-1, 186, and red-shirt junior Jacob Morse, 6-3, 195, will join Teahan in an attempt to make this year’s battle more than a three-horse race.

KU coach Turner Gill, a quarterback himself at Nebraska in the 1980s, did not make any of the quarterbacks available to the media during the first week of spring practices. All of them are expected to talk with reporters Monday, but, for now, it’s been up to their teammates to do the talking for them.

“It’s going to be a fight,” sophomore wideout Bradley McDougald said. “We’ve got a lot of great quarterbacks.”

Added senior defensive back Chris Harris: “I’ve been able to see ’em a lot so far. They came out here and managed the offense well and looked like they had a good grasp on what we’re doing. That’s exciting to see. I wasn’t here when we had a quarterback battle with Todd (Reesing) and Kerry (Meier) (prior to the 2007 season), so it’s exciting to see all of them battle.”

Gill does not appear to be overly concerned about how the quarterback position will shake out. For one, he has great confidence in his staff’s ability to assess talent and make the right selection. Secondly, he has faith in his own criteria for evaluating the position. Gill said the quarterback who wins the job will do so for four reasons.

“He’s going to take care of the football,” Gill said. “He’s going to raise the level of play of all the people around him. He’s going to show his leadership. And he’s going to show why the people there are excited about him being in that huddle. That’s it.

“They’re going to make mistakes, I understand that,” he added. “It’s a whole new terminology and all those things. But (we’ll look at) how they carry themselves and how the team responds to them, both good and bad.”

Long, who was a standout quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up at the University of Iowa before playing five seasons in the NFL, said he would evaluate this year’s group based on one thing.

“Even if I had a starting role or starting position, I always felt like the next guy could beat me out,” Long said. “Quarterbacks have to have that inner competitive drive, even when they’re the starter, that says, ‘Hey, I’m going to keep this job, no one’s going to take it from me, so I’m going to be a perfectionist in everything I do.’ If you don’t have that then you get beat out. So that’s what you look for.”

Added Gill: “We’ve got two guys who definitely know how to handle quarterbacks.”

Spring ball heating up

After going through four practices of introductions, the Jayhawks changed things up Saturday and conducted the first official scrimmage under head coach Turner Gill.

Although the scrimmage was closed to the public and media and only lasted for part of Saturday’s practice, Gill appeared to be looking forward to it in a big way. A little more than two hours before Gill and the Jayhawks hit the field, the KU coach posted the following message on his Twitter page: “1ST SCRIMMAGE TODAY. LET’S GO!” Anyone with any kind of computer savvy knows that the all-caps style indicates excitement.

The Jayhawks are off today and will return to practice at 3:30 p.m. Monday.

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I really like this approach. As much as I liked Reesing and everything he did for KU football, I think a big part of the problem last year was that Mangino refused to sit him when it really appeared that it needed to be done.

IIRC, Mangino got a lot of crap for benching Reesing at the end of a game, I believe Texas Tech.

I completely agree. We should have seen what Kale Pick could do with his arm. Not just his legs.

Climbing the chart: Freshman Webb playing his way into thick of QB battle

By Matt Tait


http://media.lawrence.com/img/croppe...6f48523261b548
Photo by Nick Krug
Kansas quarterback Jordan Webb pulls back to pass during football practice Monday at the practice fields. In the foreground is quarterback Kale Pick.

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The Kansas University quarterback listed last in alphabetical order on the roster might have played his way into first on the field.

Though no official depth chart was released, KU coach Turner Gill spoke glowingly about red-shirt freshman Jordan Webb at Monday’s practice.
“He’s been consistent,” Gill said of Webb. “He has great command in the huddle. I like his demeanor. He’s played smart, thrown the ball fairly well.

He’s got a good grasp of what we’re doing.”

Webb’s was the first name out of Gill’s mouth when the coach rattled off a short list of players who stood out during the first week of spring ball.

Considering Webb is competing for the starting quarterback job with five other guys, that’s no small feat.

Asked what he thought might have caught Gill’s eye, Webb hardly sounded like a player who believed the job was done.

“Everything’s moving kind of fast, learning this new offense,” Webb said.

“But it’s fun. We’re all out here having fun. We all have our strengths, and whoever wins the job is going to give us a good chance to win a lot of ballgames.”

Webb, 6-foot, 200 pounds, from Union, Mo., listed throwing and play-making as his strengths.

“I’m definitely a pass-first-type quarterback,” he said. “But if I have to tuck the ball and run, I will. There’s a lot of stuff (the coaches are watching). But I think one thing they’re really looking for is a leader.”

Although Gill did not come right out and say it, it seems as if the race to replace Todd Reesing — the player many have compared Webb to — is a battle between Webb and sophomore Kale Pick. At least for now.

Monday, Gill barely mentioned red-shirt junior Jacob Morse and basketball-player-turned-football-hopeful Conner Teahan. He didn’t mention junior-college transfer Quinn Mecham at all, and threw Webb, Pick and freshman Christian Matthews into the category of QBs soon to get more reps.

“Things could change,” Gill said. “But all three of those guys bring something a little different. They all have talent, and we feel like they’re guys who could do some good things for us. (They) would be the three guys who get more reps than the other guys at this particular time.”

As for Pick, it’s not the number of reps that he’s worried about.

“You can’t,” he said. “You can’t count the reps, you gotta make each rep count.”

For now, that seems to be the focus of all of KU’s quarterbacks. They don’t appear worried about who’s ahead or who’s behind. They’re not so much concerned with what will happen this fall as they are with what’s happening on the field today.

“It’s tough to say I don’t want to know (who will win the job),” Webb said. “But going through, learning all this stuff is definitely going to help. Whoever wins it is going to win it, and I think that’s going to be the guy who works the hardest and is the best leader.”

Added Pick about the battle: “We have fun with it. We don’t take it off the field. We’re all competitive, but we’re all still pretty talkative to each other. It’s going good.”

Asked for his take on what the coaches might be looking for from the future starter, Pick did not hesitate to answer.

“Win ballgames,” he said. “I don’t think (Gill) cares how we play as long as we get the W on the board.”

Moving pieces

Gill announced Monday that AJ Steward (wide receiver to tight end), Christian Matthews (quarterback to splitting time at wide receiver and QB) and Justin Puthoff (tight end to fullback) were in new positions.

“We’re going to continue to move around guys,” Gill said. “We’re trying to evaluate people in all different situations, in different parts of the game, (to) see how they respond.”

Who looks good?

The following players were cited by Gill for strong, consistent play during the first week: Webb, running back Angus Quigley, tight end Tim Biere, safety Olaitan Oguntodu, linebacker Justin Springer, linebacker Steven Johnson and defensive tackle Jamal Greene.

“There were some other guys,” Gill said. “But over a five-day period, those are the guys who have really improved each and every day.”

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Long: KU offense won’t be strictly shotgun

By Matt Tait


http://media.lawrence.com/img/croppe...6f48523261b548
Photo by Jon Goering

With each spring practice, Kansas University football coach Turner Gill and his staff slowly have revealed what the offense will look like in 2010. Monday, on the fifth day of drills, the coaches shared a little more.

“We’re going to be half and half, half under center, half in the (shotgun),” offensive coordinator Chuck Long said. “We want to be able to go under center for some of our run game and play-action game.”

The top two candidates to win the starting quarterback job have next to no experience under center, but Long doesn’t seem worried.

“It’s really not that difficult,” he said. “Like anything, if you work at it and practice it, you’ll get it down. That’s what we’re doing.”

Through one week, red-shirt freshman Jordan Webb and red-shirt sophomore Kale Pick have emerged as the front-runners to replace Todd Reesing at QB. To some degree, freshman Christian Matthews also remains in the mix, but Gill announced Monday that Matthews would split time between quarterback and wide receiver.

So, for now, that leaves Webb and Pick, two players who worked in spread offenses in high school and came to Kansas largely because the old staff ran a similar system.

“I didn’t take a snap under center in high school,” Webb said. “We ran all spread, and I definitely wanted to stay in that. But with this new offense, I’m really happy.”

Surprisingly, Webb said the transition under center has not bothered him. While at Union (Mo.) High, Webb recorded astonishing numbers. As a junior, he threw for 3,832 yards and 46 touchdowns. A year later, he nearly matched those totals — 3,100 yards and 31 TDs — and added 1,024 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground.

Though he realized those wild numbers likely won’t be available in KU’s new offense, Webb said he liked the style.

“Actually it hasn’t been as hard as I thought,” he said. “I like going under center so far, going through reads and taking longer drops. In the gun you take a three-step (drop) or you catch and throw. But under center you gotta be able to take a five-step (drop) and do play-action.”

The last time Pick was under center he was a junior at Dodge City High, where he was an all-state selection and threw for 1,779 yards and 19 touchdowns. Pick suffered a hand injury during the first game of his senior season and didn’t get back onto the field until he came to KU.

“I’ve been in the old system for two years so I haven’t taken a snap under center for a while,” he said. “But it’s coming around. Coach Long says I’m improving my under-center footwork so that’s good.”

The biggest challenge for Pick is not so much juggling offensive styles as it is shedding the label that’s been placed on him.

“In high school I was a throwing quarterback,” he said. “I was never a running quarterback. But I got a few good runs here, and now everyone thinks I’m a running quarterback. Now I just have to show I can throw it, too.”