KU **** OFFICIAL 2012 Kansas Football Repository Thread **** - Page 188

ArrowheadHawk · 09:53 AM

New Coach, New year, new thread.

Sat, Sept. 1 SDSU at Kansas Memorial Stadium
Lawrence, KS at 6:00p.m. CT Jayhawk IMG TV Network

Sat, Sept. 8 Rice at Kansas Memorial Stadium
Lawrence, KS FSN at 2:30p.m. CT Fox Sports Net

Sat, Sept. 15 TCU at Kansas Memorial Stadium
Lawrence, KS at 11:00a.m. CT FX

Sat, Sept. 22 Kansas at No. Illinois
DeKalb, Illinois

Sat, Oct. 6 Kansas at Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Stadium
Manhattan, KS

Sat, Oct. 13 Okla. St. at Kansas Memorial Stadium
Lawrence, KS

Sat, Oct. 20 Kansas at Oklahoma Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Norman, OK

Sat, Oct. 27 Texas at Kansas Memorial Stadium
Lawrence, KS

Sat, Nov. 3 Kansas at Baylor Floyd Casey Stadium
Waco, TX

Sat, Nov. 10 Kansas at TT Jones AT&T Stadium
Lubbock, TX

Sat, Nov. 17 Iowa State at Kansas Memorial Stadium
Lawrence, KS

Sat, Dec. 1 Kansas at West Virginia
Morgantown, W.V.

Braincase · 02-29-2012, 11:13 AM

Nice article on the new S&C coach. He's making a difference it seems.

New football coach brings discipline to the field

By Mike Vernon
Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Sitting calmly in his chair, new football strength and conditioning coach Scott Holsopple told a story of discipline. The tale consisted of a player calling Holsopple to tell him that he was stuck in traffic and would be late to that day’s practice. Instead of offering sympathy, Holsopple insisted that he get out of his vehicle and run.

This exemplifies the dedication that Holsopple wants from his players. It embodies the new, discipline-first mindset of the Kansas football team that originates with Holsopple himself.

“That’s what I expect from them, because I would do the same thing,” Holsopple said. “If my truck broke down an hour away, I’m going to run to make sure I’m here. I’m going to run.”

While the new coaching staff tries to preach discipline to its players, Holsopple has the added task of conditioning them the way coach Charlie Weis would like for the spring.

The Road to Kansas

Just two months ago, Holsopple was the top assistant on the Florida Gators’ strength and conditioning staff. Holsopple spent five years at Florida. He won a national championship in 2008, and he helped coach and mentor 18 players who were drafted in the NFL, six of whom were first-round draft picks.
Shortly after Weis left his position as offensive coordinator at Florida to take the Kansas job, he spoke with Holsopple about coming to Kansas to run the strength and conditioning program.

Chris Bronson/Kansan File Photo
Football coach Scott Holsopple answers questions from reporters on Feb. 3. Holsopple is the coach of strength and conditioning.

Florida’s record during his time was 50-17, but the decision for Holsopple to leave one of the nation’s most elite programs to come to a Kansas team that went 2-10 last season was an easy one.

“In my head, the decision was made when I hung up the phone with him,” Holsopple said. “I just knew. When you get a great opportunity like this, you don’t waver or hesistate.”

In addition to his respect for Weis, Holsopple said he had a folder that helped with the decision. In this folder, there are pictures of every football facility in the country and a list of every exercise machine each school has.So Hols opple knew all about the state-of-the-art, $31 million Anderson Family Football Complex, which he now has at his disposal.

“You’re not going to get any better facilities than what the University of Kansas has here,” Holsopple said. “They’re the best of the best.”

Already in his short time at Kansas, Holsopple received advice from special teams coordinator Clint Bowen.

Bowen coached with former head coach Mark Mangino in 2008 during one of the Kansas’ winningest football seasons. He said Mangino’s coaching philosophy emphasized three key concepts: toughness, conditioning and smarts. And those attributes come to fruition in the weight room with Holsopple.

“In college football, no one spends more time with the players than the strength coach,” Bowen said. “His role is invaluable.”
Additionally, Holsopple has received rave ratings throughout his career in coaching.

A former All-American boxer at Penn State, Holsopple coached at his alma mater and Notre Dame in the years after graduating. He then spent five seasons as Marquette’s strength and conditioning basketball coach, where he received praise from former head coach Tom Crean.
“Scott Holsopple would be the MVP of our staff right now,” Crean said to gomarquette.com during the 2001 season. “He’s done a tremendous job of building their bodies over a period of time.”

Now, it’s time for Holsopple to do the same at Kansas.

“I don’t expect anybody to be able to get through it right now,” Holsopple said. “You’re not supposed to. It shouldn’t feel good. It’s never going to. It’s part of the price you pay that makes winning so sweet. I don’t judge somebody for being down. I judge them for not standing back up.”
— Edited by Taylor Lewis

Bambi · 03-09-2012, 04:08 PM

Coach Charlie Weis ‏
@CoachWeisKansas

Daylight savings timechange this Saturday. Remember to set your clock ahead one hour. That means you lose an hour of sleep.

**Saul Good** · 03-09-2012, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wickedson

Coach Charlie Weis ‏
@CoachWeisKansas

Daylight savings timechange this Saturday. Remember to set your clock ahead one hour. That means you lose an hour of sleep.

No fourth meal for Chuck?

Braincase · 03-09-2012, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saul Good

No fourth meal for Chuck?

Gary's more concerned about the early last call.

Bambi · 03-09-2012, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braincase

Gary's more concerned about the early last call.

Bambi · 03-13-2012, 07:08 PM

Nice article on Weis.

Kansas coach Charlie Weis on the painful life of an 'ogre'

Steve Greenberg
Sporting News

It was time to say goodbye to Charlie Weis. Thanks for the interview, best of luck, see you down the road. But it wouldn’t have been right to leave his new office at Kansas University just yet, because the man had this look on his face — his head tilted, his mouth forming a bit of a crooked smile as he leaned back in his chair. What is it, Charlie?

“I’m not what you expected, am I?”

Well now, that was a tough one.

There are a lot of ways one could look at the nearly 56-year-old Weis, who in December signed a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $2.5 million annually to coach the Jayhawks.

Confident and cocky, in light of some of his big talk when he was at Notre Dame. Sharp-minded and driven, considering his renowned expertise and the career he has put together despite not having played college football. Sentimental, given the palpable emotion with which he has always spoken of his wife, son and daughter. Perhaps also vulnerable, given his struggles with his weight, his overall health and his reputation, which he calls “tarnished” since he failed to win big in South Bend.

How about complex? Weis certainly is that.

But also a guy’s guy — temperamental, sarcastic, self-deprecating, funny, and loyal to the friends in coaching he calls his “boys.” Basically, he’s like a lot of us who might not be smooth, unshakable, born-CEO types.

Was he different than expected in Lawrence last week because he didn’t talk trash, lash out, that sort of stuff? No, not really.

And yet this is what Weis believes most college football fans and media across the country think of him:

“Like I’m some kind of ogre,” he said. “Some arrogant, obnoxious, loudmouth punk from New Jersey.”

If that’s the camp you’re in, Weis would like to change your mind.

FORWARD AND BACK

The intention wasn’t to speak with Weis about a whole lot of Notre Dame stuff, or even the Kansas City Chiefs and Florida Gators stuff from his single seasons under Todd Haley and Will Muschamp, respectively, since. What’s his mindset today about his career, his life in Kansas and the future of KU football? It seemed like a good time to reset Weis’ story, so to speak.

But Weis isn’t one of those tunnel-vision coaches who walls off his past lest someone think he cares about anything other than the next game. For one thing, he does care what people think of him. In this way and in many others, his past in South Bend is intertwined with his future in Lawrence. Which must be why he spoke the name of his alma mater as often as he did.

Discussing his careful first steps to get off to the right kind of start with his new players, coaches and fan base, Weis slipped back to a promise-filled 2005, his first year with the Irish: “You take a job, your first job, and you say and do some stupid things. I’m certainly guilty as charged. Not that I didn’t mean what I said, but just the fact that I said it. You look back and say, ‘Why did you say that?’

You won’t hear him boast of all the huge successes to come for the Jayhawks, partly because they were 2-10 last season but also because such talk only set him up to be knocked down — on and off the field — at Notre Dame.

“That university, you’re a good guy or you’re a bad guy right off the bat,” he said. “First of all, half the free world can’t stand you walking in because you’re at the place. And then about half the (people) at the place can’t stand you. There’s plenty of people at Notre Dame who could care less about ever seeing me, or me seeing them.”

Weis is — as all household names are — conscious of his image. At times hurt by it, too:

“What really bothers me more than anything is, partially (due to) myself but partially because of the image that was portrayed, you had so many people thinking you were such a bad person.”

Again, is that the camp you’re in? If it is, here’s another question: Have you ever spent 40 months in excruciating pain?

A WORLD OF HURT

Many of you will recall the sideline hit Weis took from one of his Irish players in September of 2008. His left knee was shredded: the ACL, MCL and PCL all gone; the kneecap dislocated. Gruesome, isn’t it? What you might not realize is that his right knee was injured even more seriously.

“It just broke,” Weis said. “If you imagine the outside right part of the knee, it just essentially broke off.”

His right knee was replaced soon after that 7-6 season, but the left knee went unaddressed in 2009 — and then, after Weis was fired following the ’09 season, he continued to put off surgery in order to join the Chiefs.

“I felt that my reputation had been tarnished,” he said, “and that I had to try to go earn that back.”

After helping to lead a dramatic turnaround from a 3-13 record the season before to the NFL playoffs, Weis left for Florida largely because of a school Weis and wife Maura had found for their daughter, Hannah, who has special needs. Weis’ left knee was replaced in the spring of 2011.

Meanwhile, the residual pain in his left hip was becoming unbearable. It, too, was replaced, in January of this year.

“I hadn’t been pain-free not one second of one minute of any day from that hit in the Michigan game in September of 2008 until after that hip was done,” Weis said. “Now? I’m titanium all over the place, but it’s the best I’ve felt in a long, long time.”

Those who’ve seen Weis in a wheelchair or leaning on a cane — or who remember him at Notre Dame when he was in too much pain to climb a single step onto a podium for a postgame interview — can imagine how significant this is for him.

“You never say anything. You learn not to say anything,” he explained. “People think you’re moody and stuff like that, but you might just be in pain. Psychologically, you can block a lot out, OK? But I was miserable.”

Weis has been walking for an hour on an underwater treadmill at least four times a week in Lawrence — he calls the ability to exercise “uplifting.” In all, he’s happier these days than he was while his joints were a mess.

“I’m calmer, too,” he said. And then he smiled that guy’s-guy smile: “I’m more selective in my verbal attacks.”

ALL HANDS ON DECK

The Jayhawks’ strength and conditioning lapsed under previous coach Turner Gill, and their commitment to academics was widely lacking. So call those Jobs 1 and 2 for Weis, who is trying to show more patience with his players than he did in South Bend while accentuating the positive.

“Instead of just grinding on players all the time, I’m picking my spots,” he said. “One thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is eventually it goes in one ear and out the other when you just hammer them all the time. So I’m more selective — and trust me, when I do get on them, it has a much greater impact.”

He also showed more patience in assembling a coaching staff than he was able to during the final weeks of the 2004 NFL season, when he was busy coordinating the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl-bound offense.

“I knew only two of the guys I hired at Notre Dame, and I hired everyone by phone,” he said. “I’m calling guys up, and you know what? I hired a bunch of good coaches. But I’m not talking about my boys; almost all of my boys were in the NFL.”

Clasping his hands and fingers together to represent closeness and unity, Weis added: “The problem was, there was no this.”

Weis has his old Irish recruiting coordinator, Rob Ianello, on board at KU. But he also has mixed in a significant NFL influence, most notably defensive coordinator Dave Campo, the former Dallas Cowboys head coach who’d last worked in the college ranks in 1988.

“I’m going to coordinate the offense,” Weis said. “I felt I needed an elder statesman type I could turn the defense over to and not have to be looking to the other field every other second to see what they’re doing. … And Dave’s been a friend for a number of years. It was the right situation at the right time.”

Weis will work hand-in-hand with Notre Dame transfer quarterback Dayne Crist, whose career fizzled under Weis’ successor, Brian Kelly.

“We get to do it again,” Weis said, “which is good because I feel like I let Dayne down. I feel like I let a bunch of my former players down.”

THE NEXT CHAPTER

No, Weis’ favorite memories as a coach didn’t come at Notre Dame. They came in the NFL. Not surprisingly, they came with the Patriots. Weis names two of them: the last-minute drive in Super Bowl 36, with second-year quarterback Tom Brady at the helm, to beat the St. Louis Rams; and the on-field hug with Bill Belichik and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel after beating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 39.

“Romeo was going to Cleveland, and I was going to Notre Dame,” Weis said. “All of New England was ready for me to throw in the towel on the Patriots and just worry about my next job, but it was important to finish that job. That little hug after the game — that little goodbye — I’ll always cherish it.”

What does he envision as his greatest successes at KU? Weis views the answer both short-term and long-term.

“Somewhere this year,” he said, “you want to have a full house and have a team from the conference that everyone thinks is decent in here, and you want to beat them so all these people that live and die crimson and blue can celebrate together.

“Two is going on the road somewhere where everyone thought you had no chance, and their fans heading for the rafters before the game is over, and those couple thousand Kansas fans that got tickets scattered throughout the stadium all end up behind your bench waving towels. I want this program to experience that this year.”

In the wide-open Big 12, where offense begins at 40 points and defense is just a rumor, Weis plans to take an usual approach: “We’re going to run the ball. We’re going to run it a lot. At the end of the year, I’d like to be 50-50 (in run-pass ratio).”

If Kansas State can win 10 games, Weis is convinced Kansas can, too — and relatively soon. And if he stays in Lawrence for five years, equaling his time in South Bend, or far longer, he wants to be remembered for all the right reasons.

“I want recruits to say, ‘I want to go to Kansas. They win every year.’ I want the program to go from a team that’s used to losing to being a perennial winning program,” he said.

“See, habits work both ways — good and bad. Winning, that’s a good habit. But losing, that’s a habit too. And that’s a habit we need to change.”

Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-foo...#ixzz1p34uXwMd

Braincase · 03-13-2012, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wickedson

Nice article on Weis.

Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-foo...#ixzz1p34uXwMd

I chatted with Coach after church on Sunday. Our parish priest is a big sports fan, and made a comment about prayers for the basketball team on Selection Sunday. On the way out, I caught Coach and told, "Hey, we pray for the football team, too!". Nice ice breaker. He's getting around pretty well on his new hip.

ArrowheadHawk · 03-13-2012, 08:02 PM

Cool Story. I hope Weis lives up to the hype.

Bambi · 03-14-2012, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braincase

I chatted with Coach after church on Sunday. Our parish priest is a big sports fan, and made a comment about prayers for the basketball team on Selection Sunday. On the way out, I caught Coach and told, "Hey, we pray for the football team, too!". Nice ice breaker. He's getting around pretty well on his new hip.

Good to hear. I had no idea that the injury was that severe when the guy knocked into him.

Bambi · 03-14-2012, 10:04 PM

TCU
By David Ubben

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Early in Tuesday's practice under an overcast sky, a fitting anthem blared.

"You know where you are?" screeched Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose. "You're in the jungle, baby."

Nevermind that the song's next line prophesied death for the newcomer. TCU is officially preparing to enter the Big 12.

Welcome to the jungle, indeed. Hope you brought a machete.

Preparations start now in the spring for Gary Patterson's Horned Frogs. As TCU transitions into an AQ conference, it must tackle the No. 1 criticism of any non-AQ team: depth.

One of the questions facing TCU coach Gary Patterson is if he has enough depth to compete in the Big 12.
"Twos and threes win championships. Everybody loses ones," Patterson said. "How do your twos and threes play?"

He's already undergoing his third conference move as he prepares for his 13th season as TCU head coach. The program moved from the WAC to Conference USA after Patterson's first season and from C-USA to the Mountain West in 2005.

Patterson already has every Big 12 game from 2011 for viewing on his home laptop.

"Instead of watching 'CSI: Miami,' I’m watching Oklahoma State," Patterson said. "That’s what you have to do. There’s a lot of preparation. It’s not like we’ve been playing these teams 7-8 years and you know what they do. You’ve got to start preparing right now."

The same is true on the recruiting trail, where TCU cracked the national top 25 with its latest class. The Horned Frogs could see those dividends multiply with its new home in one of college football's best conferences, where former Southwest Conference rivals Baylor, Texas Tech and Texas reside along with new foes Oklahoma and Oklahoma State from the former Big 8.

"We’ve always recruited to play in the Big 12, because we knew if we could recruit to play in the Big 12, we could have a chance to win in the Mountain West," Patterson said. "So, the only big difference is now we’re recruiting kids and people can’t say, 'Well, you’re not going to go to TCU because you’re not in the Big 12.' Well, now we are in the Big 12."

TCU looks ready to grow, and if prospects in the Metroplex don't want to come along? Well ...

"We're like the girl next door. If they're not careful in the Metroplex, pretty soon they are going to go three hours down the road," Patterson said. "They are going to grow up and we are going to grow up and be beautiful and they are going to wish they would have went out with us because somebody else is taking them to the prom."

Yeah, but it's not all boutonnieres and roses (or Rose Bowls). Those recruiting inroads come with a price: a schedule that's likely to feature five preseason top-20 teams.

TCU can have its new stadium, undergoing a $164 million upgrade, including six $15 million suites 20 rows from the field (it will seat 45,000 when it's finished before the 2012 season). It can have its new locker room with pristine wood lining each player's space along with a cushy seat to park after long practices.

That doesn't change the obvious truth.

"All that doesn’t make any difference if you don’t win," Patterson said. "So my goal is to grow up the best football team I can and win.

"That’s what we’re doing right now."

We'll find out in the fall if Patterson is succeeding, but he's got the pieces. His Horned Frogs return an all-conference quarterback in Casey Pachall and his top three targets, along with an outlandish three 700-yard rushers from last year's team.

The big job this spring is patching together a defense that took a step back in 2011. It fell on its face when three starters were arrested in a campus drug sting and have been consequently "separated" from the team until the legal process plays out.

"The thing I like best about this team is they competed hard but they still like each other," Patterson said. "But for two hours, you’ve gotta hate each other. You’ve gotta learn."

His team is learning, but the fall tests will be much more difficult.

Will TCU pass or fail?

Braincase · 03-15-2012, 08:39 PM

Link

Report: Ragone headed to KU

Once a four-star prospect and ranked the No. 2 tight end in the Class of 2007, Notre Dame senior Mike Ragone appears poised to join the Kansas Jayhawks in May, per a report in the South Bend Tribune, after the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility.

South Bend (IN) Tribune beat writer Eric Hansen has issued a report that Thursday the NCAA granted Notre Dame tight end Mike Ragone a sixth-year of eligibility, and that the former four-star prospect out of Cherry Hill, N.J. will transfer to the University of Kansas this summer. The move to the Jayhawks would reunite Ragone with former head coach Charlie Weis and teammate Dayne Crist.

The big tight end, once renowned for his outstanding athleticism, had an injury-plagued career with the Irish - missing the 2008 season entirely and virtually all of 2011 with torn ACLs.

During his career, he registered 11 receptions for 109 yards. In later years, however, he was lauded by Notre Dame fans for his run-blocking skills.
Stay tuned to Phog.net for more, as we work to get an interview with the 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end.

Bambi · 03-15-2012, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braincase

Link

Report: Ragone headed to KU

Sure, why not.

Reerun_KC · 03-15-2012, 09:44 PM

Ku football is going to be off the charts next year. I for one am freaking stoked.

Bambi · 03-15-2012, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

Ku football is going to be off the charts next year. I for one am freaking stoked.

It's hard not to get excited.

ArrowheadHawk · 03-15-2012, 10:03 PM

I will be happy to just be competitive.

11-28-2011, 08:19 AM
ArrowheadHawk Rock Chalk! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Topeka, KS Casino cash: $8004961	** OFFICIAL 2012 Kansas Football Repository Thread ** New Coach, New year, new thread. Sat, Sept. 1 SDSU at Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS at 6:00p.m. CT Jayhawk IMG TV Network Sat, Sept. 8 Rice at Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS FSN at 2:30p.m. CT Fox Sports Net Sat, Sept. 15 TCU at Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS at 11:00a.m. CT FX Sat, Sept. 22 Kansas at No. Illinois DeKalb, Illinois Sat, Oct. 6 Kansas at Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Stadium Manhattan, KS Sat, Oct. 13 Okla. St. at Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS Sat, Oct. 20 Kansas at Oklahoma Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK Sat, Oct. 27 Texas at Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS Sat, Nov. 3 Kansas at Baylor Floyd Casey Stadium Waco, TX Sat, Nov. 10 Kansas at TT Jones AT&T Stadium Lubbock, TX Sat, Nov. 17 Iowa State at Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS Sat, Dec. 1 Kansas at West Virginia Morgantown, W.V. Last edited by ArrowheadHawk; 08-28-2012 at 09:53 AM..
Posts: 15,672

02-29-2012, 11:13 AM	#2806
Braincase Banned Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Pond> Me <Barn Casino cash: $11298284	Nice article on the new S&C coach. He's making a difference it seems. New football coach brings discipline to the field By Mike Vernon Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Sitting calmly in his chair, new football strength and conditioning coach Scott Holsopple told a story of discipline. The tale consisted of a player calling Holsopple to tell him that he was stuck in traffic and would be late to that day’s practice. Instead of offering sympathy, Holsopple insisted that he get out of his vehicle and run. This exemplifies the dedication that Holsopple wants from his players. It embodies the new, discipline-first mindset of the Kansas football team that originates with Holsopple himself. “That’s what I expect from them, because I would do the same thing,” Holsopple said. “If my truck broke down an hour away, I’m going to run to make sure I’m here. I’m going to run.” While the new coaching staff tries to preach discipline to its players, Holsopple has the added task of conditioning them the way coach Charlie Weis would like for the spring. The Road to Kansas Just two months ago, Holsopple was the top assistant on the Florida Gators’ strength and conditioning staff. Holsopple spent five years at Florida. He won a national championship in 2008, and he helped coach and mentor 18 players who were drafted in the NFL, six of whom were first-round draft picks. Shortly after Weis left his position as offensive coordinator at Florida to take the Kansas job, he spoke with Holsopple about coming to Kansas to run the strength and conditioning program. Chris Bronson/Kansan File Photo Football coach Scott Holsopple answers questions from reporters on Feb. 3. Holsopple is the coach of strength and conditioning. Florida’s record during his time was 50-17, but the decision for Holsopple to leave one of the nation’s most elite programs to come to a Kansas team that went 2-10 last season was an easy one. “In my head, the decision was made when I hung up the phone with him,” Holsopple said. “I just knew. When you get a great opportunity like this, you don’t waver or hesistate.” In addition to his respect for Weis, Holsopple said he had a folder that helped with the decision. In this folder, there are pictures of every football facility in the country and a list of every exercise machine each school has.So Hols opple knew all about the state-of-the-art, $31 million Anderson Family Football Complex, which he now has at his disposal. “You’re not going to get any better facilities than what the University of Kansas has here,” Holsopple said. “They’re the best of the best.” Already in his short time at Kansas, Holsopple received advice from special teams coordinator Clint Bowen. Bowen coached with former head coach Mark Mangino in 2008 during one of the Kansas’ winningest football seasons. He said Mangino’s coaching philosophy emphasized three key concepts: toughness, conditioning and smarts. And those attributes come to fruition in the weight room with Holsopple. “In college football, no one spends more time with the players than the strength coach,” Bowen said. “His role is invaluable.” Additionally, Holsopple has received rave ratings throughout his career in coaching. A former All-American boxer at Penn State, Holsopple coached at his alma mater and Notre Dame in the years after graduating. He then spent five seasons as Marquette’s strength and conditioning basketball coach, where he received praise from former head coach Tom Crean. “Scott Holsopple would be the MVP of our staff right now,” Crean said to gomarquette.com during the 2001 season. “He’s done a tremendous job of building their bodies over a period of time.” Now, it’s time for Holsopple to do the same at Kansas. “I don’t expect anybody to be able to get through it right now,” Holsopple said. “You’re not supposed to. It shouldn’t feel good. It’s never going to. It’s part of the price you pay that makes winning so sweet. I don’t judge somebody for being down. I judge them for not standing back up.” — Edited by Taylor Lewis __________________ BrainCase
Posts: 15,429

03-09-2012, 04:08 PM	#2807
Bambi Banned Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New York City Casino cash: $10036993	Coach Charlie Weis ‏ @CoachWeisKansas Daylight savings timechange this Saturday. Remember to set your clock ahead one hour. That means you lose an hour of sleep.
Posts: 17,810

03-13-2012, 07:08 PM	#2811
Bambi Banned Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New York City Casino cash: $10036993	Nice article on Weis. Kansas coach Charlie Weis on the painful life of an 'ogre' Steve Greenberg Sporting News It was time to say goodbye to Charlie Weis. Thanks for the interview, best of luck, see you down the road. But it wouldn’t have been right to leave his new office at Kansas University just yet, because the man had this look on his face — his head tilted, his mouth forming a bit of a crooked smile as he leaned back in his chair. What is it, Charlie? “I’m not what you expected, am I?” Well now, that was a tough one. There are a lot of ways one could look at the nearly 56-year-old Weis, who in December signed a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $2.5 million annually to coach the Jayhawks. Confident and cocky, in light of some of his big talk when he was at Notre Dame. Sharp-minded and driven, considering his renowned expertise and the career he has put together despite not having played college football. Sentimental, given the palpable emotion with which he has always spoken of his wife, son and daughter. Perhaps also vulnerable, given his struggles with his weight, his overall health and his reputation, which he calls “tarnished” since he failed to win big in South Bend. How about complex? Weis certainly is that. But also a guy’s guy — temperamental, sarcastic, self-deprecating, funny, and loyal to the friends in coaching he calls his “boys.” Basically, he’s like a lot of us who might not be smooth, unshakable, born-CEO types. Was he different than expected in Lawrence last week because he didn’t talk trash, lash out, that sort of stuff? No, not really. And yet this is what Weis believes most college football fans and media across the country think of him: “Like I’m some kind of ogre,” he said. “Some arrogant, obnoxious, loudmouth punk from New Jersey.” If that’s the camp you’re in, Weis would like to change your mind. FORWARD AND BACK The intention wasn’t to speak with Weis about a whole lot of Notre Dame stuff, or even the Kansas City Chiefs and Florida Gators stuff from his single seasons under Todd Haley and Will Muschamp, respectively, since. What’s his mindset today about his career, his life in Kansas and the future of KU football? It seemed like a good time to reset Weis’ story, so to speak. But Weis isn’t one of those tunnel-vision coaches who walls off his past lest someone think he cares about anything other than the next game. For one thing, he does care what people think of him. In this way and in many others, his past in South Bend is intertwined with his future in Lawrence. Which must be why he spoke the name of his alma mater as often as he did. Discussing his careful first steps to get off to the right kind of start with his new players, coaches and fan base, Weis slipped back to a promise-filled 2005, his first year with the Irish: “You take a job, your first job, and you say and do some stupid things. I’m certainly guilty as charged. Not that I didn’t mean what I said, but just the fact that I said it. You look back and say, ‘Why did you say that?’ You won’t hear him boast of all the huge successes to come for the Jayhawks, partly because they were 2-10 last season but also because such talk only set him up to be knocked down — on and off the field — at Notre Dame. “That university, you’re a good guy or you’re a bad guy right off the bat,” he said. “First of all, half the free world can’t stand you walking in because you’re at the place. And then about half the (people) at the place can’t stand you. There’s plenty of people at Notre Dame who could care less about ever seeing me, or me seeing them.” Weis is — as all household names are — conscious of his image. At times hurt by it, too: “What really bothers me more than anything is, partially (due to) myself but partially because of the image that was portrayed, you had so many people thinking you were such a bad person.” Again, is that the camp you’re in? If it is, here’s another question: Have you ever spent 40 months in excruciating pain? A WORLD OF HURT Many of you will recall the sideline hit Weis took from one of his Irish players in September of 2008. His left knee was shredded: the ACL, MCL and PCL all gone; the kneecap dislocated. Gruesome, isn’t it? What you might not realize is that his right knee was injured even more seriously. “It just broke,” Weis said. “If you imagine the outside right part of the knee, it just essentially broke off.” His right knee was replaced soon after that 7-6 season, but the left knee went unaddressed in 2009 — and then, after Weis was fired following the ’09 season, he continued to put off surgery in order to join the Chiefs. “I felt that my reputation had been tarnished,” he said, “and that I had to try to go earn that back.” After helping to lead a dramatic turnaround from a 3-13 record the season before to the NFL playoffs, Weis left for Florida largely because of a school Weis and wife Maura had found for their daughter, Hannah, who has special needs. Weis’ left knee was replaced in the spring of 2011. Meanwhile, the residual pain in his left hip was becoming unbearable. It, too, was replaced, in January of this year. “I hadn’t been pain-free not one second of one minute of any day from that hit in the Michigan game in September of 2008 until after that hip was done,” Weis said. “Now? I’m titanium all over the place, but it’s the best I’ve felt in a long, long time.” Those who’ve seen Weis in a wheelchair or leaning on a cane — or who remember him at Notre Dame when he was in too much pain to climb a single step onto a podium for a postgame interview — can imagine how significant this is for him. “You never say anything. You learn not to say anything,” he explained. “People think you’re moody and stuff like that, but you might just be in pain. Psychologically, you can block a lot out, OK? But I was miserable.” Weis has been walking for an hour on an underwater treadmill at least four times a week in Lawrence — he calls the ability to exercise “uplifting.” In all, he’s happier these days than he was while his joints were a mess. “I’m calmer, too,” he said. And then he smiled that guy’s-guy smile: “I’m more selective in my verbal attacks.” ALL HANDS ON DECK The Jayhawks’ strength and conditioning lapsed under previous coach Turner Gill, and their commitment to academics was widely lacking. So call those Jobs 1 and 2 for Weis, who is trying to show more patience with his players than he did in South Bend while accentuating the positive. “Instead of just grinding on players all the time, I’m picking my spots,” he said. “One thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is eventually it goes in one ear and out the other when you just hammer them all the time. So I’m more selective — and trust me, when I do get on them, it has a much greater impact.” He also showed more patience in assembling a coaching staff than he was able to during the final weeks of the 2004 NFL season, when he was busy coordinating the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl-bound offense. “I knew only two of the guys I hired at Notre Dame, and I hired everyone by phone,” he said. “I’m calling guys up, and you know what? I hired a bunch of good coaches. But I’m not talking about my boys; almost all of my boys were in the NFL.” Clasping his hands and fingers together to represent closeness and unity, Weis added: “The problem was, there was no this.” Weis has his old Irish recruiting coordinator, Rob Ianello, on board at KU. But he also has mixed in a significant NFL influence, most notably defensive coordinator Dave Campo, the former Dallas Cowboys head coach who’d last worked in the college ranks in 1988. “I’m going to coordinate the offense,” Weis said. “I felt I needed an elder statesman type I could turn the defense over to and not have to be looking to the other field every other second to see what they’re doing. … And Dave’s been a friend for a number of years. It was the right situation at the right time.” Weis will work hand-in-hand with Notre Dame transfer quarterback Dayne Crist, whose career fizzled under Weis’ successor, Brian Kelly. “We get to do it again,” Weis said, “which is good because I feel like I let Dayne down. I feel like I let a bunch of my former players down.” THE NEXT CHAPTER No, Weis’ favorite memories as a coach didn’t come at Notre Dame. They came in the NFL. Not surprisingly, they came with the Patriots. Weis names two of them: the last-minute drive in Super Bowl 36, with second-year quarterback Tom Brady at the helm, to beat the St. Louis Rams; and the on-field hug with Bill Belichik and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel after beating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 39. “Romeo was going to Cleveland, and I was going to Notre Dame,” Weis said. “All of New England was ready for me to throw in the towel on the Patriots and just worry about my next job, but it was important to finish that job. That little hug after the game — that little goodbye — I’ll always cherish it.” What does he envision as his greatest successes at KU? Weis views the answer both short-term and long-term. “Somewhere this year,” he said, “you want to have a full house and have a team from the conference that everyone thinks is decent in here, and you want to beat them so all these people that live and die crimson and blue can celebrate together. “Two is going on the road somewhere where everyone thought you had no chance, and their fans heading for the rafters before the game is over, and those couple thousand Kansas fans that got tickets scattered throughout the stadium all end up behind your bench waving towels. I want this program to experience that this year.” In the wide-open Big 12, where offense begins at 40 points and defense is just a rumor, Weis plans to take an usual approach: “We’re going to run the ball. We’re going to run it a lot. At the end of the year, I’d like to be 50-50 (in run-pass ratio).” If Kansas State can win 10 games, Weis is convinced Kansas can, too — and relatively soon. And if he stays in Lawrence for five years, equaling his time in South Bend, or far longer, he wants to be remembered for all the right reasons. “I want recruits to say, ‘I want to go to Kansas. They win every year.’ I want the program to go from a team that’s used to losing to being a perennial winning program,” he said. “See, habits work both ways — good and bad. Winning, that’s a good habit. But losing, that’s a habit too. And that’s a habit we need to change.” Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-foo...#ixzz1p34uXwMd
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03-13-2012, 08:02 PM	#2813
ArrowheadHawk Rock Chalk! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Topeka, KS Casino cash: $8004961	Cool Story. I hope Weis lives up to the hype.
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03-14-2012, 10:04 PM	#2815
Bambi Banned Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New York City Casino cash: $10036993	TCU By David Ubben FORT WORTH, Texas -- Early in Tuesday's practice under an overcast sky, a fitting anthem blared. "You know where you are?" screeched Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose. "You're in the jungle, baby." Nevermind that the song's next line prophesied death for the newcomer. TCU is officially preparing to enter the Big 12. Welcome to the jungle, indeed. Hope you brought a machete. Preparations start now in the spring for Gary Patterson's Horned Frogs. As TCU transitions into an AQ conference, it must tackle the No. 1 criticism of any non-AQ team: depth. One of the questions facing TCU coach Gary Patterson is if he has enough depth to compete in the Big 12. "Twos and threes win championships. Everybody loses ones," Patterson said. "How do your twos and threes play?" He's already undergoing his third conference move as he prepares for his 13th season as TCU head coach. The program moved from the WAC to Conference USA after Patterson's first season and from C-USA to the Mountain West in 2005. Patterson already has every Big 12 game from 2011 for viewing on his home laptop. "Instead of watching 'CSI: Miami,' I’m watching Oklahoma State," Patterson said. "That’s what you have to do. There’s a lot of preparation. It’s not like we’ve been playing these teams 7-8 years and you know what they do. You’ve got to start preparing right now." The same is true on the recruiting trail, where TCU cracked the national top 25 with its latest class. The Horned Frogs could see those dividends multiply with its new home in one of college football's best conferences, where former Southwest Conference rivals Baylor, Texas Tech and Texas reside along with new foes Oklahoma and Oklahoma State from the former Big 8. "We’ve always recruited to play in the Big 12, because we knew if we could recruit to play in the Big 12, we could have a chance to win in the Mountain West," Patterson said. "So, the only big difference is now we’re recruiting kids and people can’t say, 'Well, you’re not going to go to TCU because you’re not in the Big 12.' Well, now we are in the Big 12." TCU looks ready to grow, and if prospects in the Metroplex don't want to come along? Well ... "We're like the girl next door. If they're not careful in the Metroplex, pretty soon they are going to go three hours down the road," Patterson said. "They are going to grow up and we are going to grow up and be beautiful and they are going to wish they would have went out with us because somebody else is taking them to the prom." Yeah, but it's not all boutonnieres and roses (or Rose Bowls). Those recruiting inroads come with a price: a schedule that's likely to feature five preseason top-20 teams. TCU can have its new stadium, undergoing a $164 million upgrade, including six $15 million suites 20 rows from the field (it will seat 45,000 when it's finished before the 2012 season). It can have its new locker room with pristine wood lining each player's space along with a cushy seat to park after long practices. That doesn't change the obvious truth. "All that doesn’t make any difference if you don’t win," Patterson said. "So my goal is to grow up the best football team I can and win. "That’s what we’re doing right now." We'll find out in the fall if Patterson is succeeding, but he's got the pieces. His Horned Frogs return an all-conference quarterback in Casey Pachall and his top three targets, along with an outlandish three 700-yard rushers from last year's team. The big job this spring is patching together a defense that took a step back in 2011. It fell on its face when three starters were arrested in a campus drug sting and have been consequently "separated" from the team until the legal process plays out. "The thing I like best about this team is they competed hard but they still like each other," Patterson said. "But for two hours, you’ve gotta hate each other. You’ve gotta learn." His team is learning, but the fall tests will be much more difficult. Will TCU pass or fail?
Posts: 17,810

03-15-2012, 08:39 PM	#2816
Braincase Banned Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Pond> Me <Barn Casino cash: $11298284	Link Report: Ragone headed to KU Once a four-star prospect and ranked the No. 2 tight end in the Class of 2007, Notre Dame senior Mike Ragone appears poised to join the Kansas Jayhawks in May, per a report in the South Bend Tribune, after the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility. South Bend (IN) Tribune beat writer Eric Hansen has issued a report that Thursday the NCAA granted Notre Dame tight end Mike Ragone a sixth-year of eligibility, and that the former four-star prospect out of Cherry Hill, N.J. will transfer to the University of Kansas this summer. The move to the Jayhawks would reunite Ragone with former head coach Charlie Weis and teammate Dayne Crist. The big tight end, once renowned for his outstanding athleticism, had an injury-plagued career with the Irish - missing the 2008 season entirely and virtually all of 2011 with torn ACLs. During his career, he registered 11 receptions for 109 yards. In later years, however, he was lauded by Notre Dame fans for his run-blocking skills. Stay tuned to Phog.net for more, as we work to get an interview with the 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end. __________________ BrainCase
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03-15-2012, 09:44 PM	#2818
Reerun_KC Rock Chalk Jayhawks! KU!!! Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $8301160	Ku football is going to be off the charts next year. I for one am freaking stoked.
Posts: 934

03-15-2012, 10:03 PM	#2820
ArrowheadHawk Rock Chalk! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Topeka, KS Casino cash: $8004961	I will be happy to just be competitive.
Posts: 15,672