KU's Meier hurting more than he let on

[Lzen]

CJOnline Link

By Kevin Haskin
The Capital-Journal

LAWRENCE -- In hindsight, leaving freshman quarterback Kerry Meier in at quarterback may not have been the right move for Kansas in a double-overtime loss Friday at Toledo.

Meier could be seen shaking his right hand after a hit early in the fourth quarter, and KU coach Mark Mangino acknowledged Sunday the injury limited his quarterback's range of motion.

"Early in the fourth quarter he got rolled under a pile," Mangino said. "I asked him during the game if he was OK and he said he was. Actually, after the game I found out he wasn't, but he's a 19-year-old kid who's extremely competitive. He didn't want to come off the field."

Although Meier did not receive any repetitions in practice Sunday, Mangino expects his starter to be ready Saturday when Kansas (2-1) plays South Florida (3-0) at 6 p.m. in Memorial Stadium.

Kansas does not disclose injuries, though Meier appeared to hurt his wrist or hand.

He was examined by a team surgeon, who informed Mangino the injury would take about 48 hours to heal, enabling Meier to return to practice early this week.

"It affected his range of motion," Mangino said. "and we could tell after the game watching the tape he had a little bit of a problem.

"But gee whiz, he is a tough customer and I think that type of mentality in the long run will benefit us."

The 37-31 setback included four interceptions Meier threw, including one in the second overtime.

In addition, a botched handoff between him and running back Jon Cornish ended the first OT with the Jayhawks only needing to set up a field goal attempt after holding Toledo scoreless.

Yet Meier did guide KU on a 69-yard scoring march in the fourth quarter, which he capped by running in the game-tying two-point conversion at the 3:55 mark.

While his arm looked dead on the overtime interception, other balls he threw had considerable zip. He finished 23 of 41 for 243 yards, with two touchdowns.

Along the sideline, the KU medical staff detected bruising, Mangino said, but Meier insisted he was fine.

"I made a coaching decision to leave him in the game, so any turnovers that were thought to be attributed to him should be attributed to me," Mangino said.

"We're not going to make any excuses. Hindsight is always 20-20 vision.

"But when you consider all the other things he did in the game, he kept our offense in the game all night long with his plays. The reason we were able to compete with five turnovers was because of Kerry, too."

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Cochise

Promising? You're going to have to cross the border to the east to see a QB that looks promising.

Illinois has a promising QB?

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Illinois has a promising QB?

I'll give you a hint: Rivals ranks him as the 16th best QB in the country.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by HC_Chief

No yipping from the anklebiters until they actual BEAT KU or KSU.

Unfortunately, they might just take care of that this year.

As solid as MU is playing, I certainly don't see the Cat's beating them in Columbia. As for the Hawks, they won't be deep enough to hang with Mizzou by the end of the year. Their D is already pretty thin in several spots (especially DB's), and their Offense is about as bad as KSU's.

Now the KSU-KU game should be a damn good game. I'll be front and center for that event in Larryville

[Pitt Gorilla]

Of course, he's throwing to the #10 and #11 ranked TEs in the country, so that helps.

[sedated]

It'll be a challenge, but I hold out hope that Pinkel will be able to fuck him up, too

[dr00d]

you don't have to remind us about Josh Freeman, we are just that good that we can bench the #16 qb in the land.

oh wait...that is #4 qb...that's right, #4 qb is being benched at kstate.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

I'll give you a hint: Rivals ranks him as the 16th best QB in the country.

Really? At Illinois?

[HC_Chief]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

Unfortunately, they might just take care of that this year.

As solid as MU is playing, I certainly don't see the Cat's beating them in Columbia. As for the Hawks, they won't be deep enough to hang with Mizzou by the end of the year. Their D is already pretty thin in several spots (especially DB's), and their Offense is about as bad as KSU's.

Now the KSU-KU game should be a damn good game. I'll be front and center for that event in Larryville

Oh, it is definitely possible... but we've heard it all before and in typical fashion the tiggers shit themselves.

Kinda like KU did against Toledo Saturday.

Have I mentioned I'm a tad bitter about that loss?

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by dr00d

you don't have to remind us about Josh Freeman, we are just that good that we can bench the #16 qb in the land.

oh wait...that is #4 qb...that's right, #4 qb is being benched at kstate.

Good Lord, your and idiot. The #16 QB IN THE COUNTRY, not in some cute recruiting contest. Of course, you Kitties probably think your QB is better than Leak, Henne, et al.

Per Rivals Power Rankings:

1 Troy Smith QB Ohio State 6-1/215 Glenville, OH
Smith has thrown seven TD passes without getting picked off once.
2 Brady Quinn QB Notre Dame 6-4/233 Dublin, OH
Michigan harassed Quinn into his worst performance of the Charlie Weis era.
3 Brian Brohm QB Louisville 6-4/224 Louisville, KY
Brohm should return from a thumb injury in time for the West Virginia.
4 Drew Stanton QB Michigan State 6-3/230 Farmington Hills, MI
Stanton threw for two TDs and rushed for a third score to beat Pittsburgh.
5 Chris Leak QB Florida 6-0/210 Charlotte, NC
His latest comeback should have silenced any remaining doubters.
6 Chad Henne QB Michigan 6-2/223 Wyomissing, PA
Henne outplayed Quinn as Michigan breezed past Notre Dame.
7 JaMarcus Russell QB LSU 6-5/248 Mobile, AL
Although he played well, Russell failed to produce a TD against Auburn.
8 Pat White QB West Virginia 6-2/190 Daphne, AL
White has more rushing yards than the entire Florida State offense.
9 Rudy Carpenter QB Arizona State 6-2/207 Westlake, CA
Carpenter faces the toughest test of his career when the Devils travel to Cal.
10 Matt Ryan QB Boston College 6-5/215 Exton, PA
This guy is the main reason why Boston College remains unbeaten.
11 Brandon Cox QB Auburn 6-2/209 Trussville, AL
His stats may not have looked good, but Cox led Auburn to a critical win.
12 Drew Tate QB Iowa 6-0/192 Baytown, TX
Iowa looked like an entirely different team with Tate in the lineup.
13 Tyler Palko QB Pittsburgh 6-2/220 Imperial, PA
Palko heated up only after Michigan State had put the game away
14 Bret Meyer QB Iowa State 6-3/208 Atlantic, IA
Meyer already has exceeded his rushing total from last year.
15 John David Booty QB Southern Cal 6-3/215 Shreveport, LA
For the second straight game, Booty threw three TD passes with no picks.
16 Chase Daniel QB Missouri 6-1/220 Southlake, TX -
His versatility makes Missouri one of the more exciting teams to watch.
17 Erik Ainge QB Tennessee 6-6/220 Hillsboro, OR
Ainge threw two interceptions without a TD pass in a loss to Florida.
18 Ben Olson QB UCLA 6-5/225 Thousand Oaks, CA
Olson and Co. got a week off to prepare for Washington.
19 John Beck QB Brigham Young 6-2/212 Mesa, AZ
Beck threw for 436 yards in a heartbreaking loss to Boston College.
20 Zac Taylor QB Nebraska 6-2/210 Norman, OK

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by HC_Chief

Oh, it is definitely possible... but we've heard it all before and in typical fashion the tiggers shit themselves.

Kinda like KU did against Toledo Saturday.

Have I mentioned I'm a tad bitter about that loss?

There is little doubt that we'll lose one that we shouldn't. Unfortunately, it will be against a team like KU, KSU, or Ohio. That's just the way it goes.

[Lzen]

I gotta admit that in the one game I watched (part of anyway) of Mizzou this year, I was very impressed with their QB. Only thing is that I don't know much about the level of competition.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Forgive all us non MUtt's for not shaking in our boots over Rivals' power rankings.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by Lzen

I gotta admit that in the one game I watched (part of anyway) of Mizzou this year, I was very impressed with their QB. Only thing is that I don't know much about the level of competition.

They haven't played anyone.

1. Murray State. I-AA team, not even a good one IIRC.
2. Ole Miss. They lost to Kentucky. Nuff said.
3. New Mexico. They lost to I-AA Portland State at HOME. They are awful.

Mizzou is definately improved with Chase Daniel, and they have a very solid defense, but they aren't world beaters. They are better than Nebraska though, IMO. Nebraska is terribly overrated.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Forgive all us non MUtt's for not shaking in our boots over Rivals' power rankings.

13 years in a row. How embarrassing.

[HC_Chief]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

They haven't played anyone.

1. Murray State. I-AA team, not even a good one IIRC.
2. Ole Miss. They lost to Kentucky. Nuff said.
3. New Mexico. They lost to I-AA Portland State at HOME. They are awful.

Mizzou is definately improved with Chase Daniel, and they have a very solid defense, but they aren't world beaters. They are better than Nebraska though, IMO. Nebraska is terribly overrated.

Give them some credit - they took care of business against teams they should beat.

Unlike KU. Who completely botched a game they should have won 42-14.

Bitter? Me? You bet your ass!