KU Q&A with Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing

**Lzen** · 07-16-2009, 11:06 AM

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry
Todd Reesing has emerged as one of those overlooked recruits who has grown into a star in college. He might be the best argument against getting too caught up in size when it comes to recruiting. The Kansas quarterback is listed at 5-11, 200 pounds. Some say he's really just 5-9. Regardless, the kid who grew up in Austin as a huge Longhorns fan has torn up college football the past couple of seasons. This fall, Reesing is back with some terrific talent around him and leads the team that I think will win the Big 12 North. Last week I had a chance to visit with him.

Q: Besides Kansas, how many other offers did you have?

Reesing: The only other offer I had was from Duke. I was offered by Kansas State when coach [Bill] Snyder was there, but then he retired and that offer was rescinded. I had visited Kansas State before my senior year and had gone to one of their camps. But after that camp, I visited Lawrence and met coach [Mark] Mangino. And what really drew me to KU was he had seen my tape for the first time the day before he met me, and the next day he offered me. Obviously, I had to pursue a lot of schools for them to show any interest, but for him it didn't take a lot.

Q: So the lack of interest came down to one simple issue, your height?

Reesing: That was the absolute only reason. I knew that, but hey, there is nothing I can do about that. Stat-wise, I was up there with anyone else. I got Texas player of the year, which was the same award that Matthew Stafford won the next year, so I had beat him out for that his junior year. It obviously didn't have anything with my ability to play the game. It just came down to that number that's listed next to age.

Whenever football at the next level is brought up, [my height] is the first thing and really the only thing that's gonna be brought up. People will talk about how tall I am and their perspective on that. Your ability to play football and produce is almost pushed aside just because of your height.

Q: I was at the One-Back Clinic, where there were offensive coaches from almost every conference in the country, and when your offensive coordinator (Ed Warriner) spoke, one of the guys joked from the back of the room about his program signing a 5-10 QB, and if it turns out the kid stinks, he said he's blaming Kansas. You laugh when you hear something like that?

Reesing: The big thing is you get a guy who is not as tall and a lot of people feel like if he's not successful, well, that's the coach's fault for recruiting him. However, if you bring in a guy who is 6-3, people think 'Well, obviously he has the ability, so if he doesn't succeed it's his own fault.' I think that's putting too much pressure on the kid. Those guys who are shorter and are constantly being told they can't play have that chip on their shoulder like they have something to prove. That's what drives guys to success.

Q: Whether you're 6-2 or 5-10, aren't you still shorter than pretty much every lineman you have, meaning so much of what any QB does is about finding throwing lanes?

Reesing: That's the big thing that I wish people would understand. You take a 6-3 guy and you take a 5-11 guy -- neither one of those people is taller than a 6-6 tackle. You're not throwing over that guy. You still have to find throwing lanes and throw around people. I guarantee if you take all of the QBs out there that are 6-3 and above, I can tell you I didn't have any more tipped balls than they did last year. That should show that the height factor isn't such a big deal, especially when you're completing 66 percent of your passes.

Q: So much of the build-up for this season has been dominated by talk about the "Big 3" QBs (Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy). As a guy who has had a ton of success, won a BCS bowl game and put up huge numbers, how competitive are you with the Big 3?

Reesing: It's tough being in the conference with Sam and Colt, because no one wants to talk about anybody besides those two guys. They deserve everything they receive because they are as good as advertised. Now, say it's a different conference, where the passing numbers aren't as big, there are also a couple of other guys from our conference who might be getting a lot more attention. But I'm not too worried about how much hype I get, because ultimately, it's a team sport. That's all I'm really concerned about is how many wins we have, not how many yards I get or how many awards I win.

07-16-2009, 11:06 AM	Topic Starter
Lzen Supporter Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Jan Quadrant Vincent 16 Casino cash: $2130692	Q&A with Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing Wednesday, July 15, 2009 \| Feedback \| Print Entry Todd Reesing has emerged as one of those overlooked recruits who has grown into a star in college. He might be the best argument against getting too caught up in size when it comes to recruiting. The Kansas quarterback is listed at 5-11, 200 pounds. Some say he's really just 5-9. Regardless, the kid who grew up in Austin as a huge Longhorns fan has torn up college football the past couple of seasons. This fall, Reesing is back with some terrific talent around him and leads the team that I think will win the Big 12 North. Last week I had a chance to visit with him. Q: Besides Kansas, how many other offers did you have? Reesing: The only other offer I had was from Duke. I was offered by Kansas State when coach [Bill] Snyder was there, but then he retired and that offer was rescinded. I had visited Kansas State before my senior year and had gone to one of their camps. But after that camp, I visited Lawrence and met coach [Mark] Mangino. And what really drew me to KU was he had seen my tape for the first time the day before he met me, and the next day he offered me. Obviously, I had to pursue a lot of schools for them to show any interest, but for him it didn't take a lot. Q: So the lack of interest came down to one simple issue, your height? Reesing: That was the absolute only reason. I knew that, but hey, there is nothing I can do about that. Stat-wise, I was up there with anyone else. I got Texas player of the year, which was the same award that Matthew Stafford won the next year, so I had beat him out for that his junior year. It obviously didn't have anything with my ability to play the game. It just came down to that number that's listed next to age. Whenever football at the next level is brought up, [my height] is the first thing and really the only thing that's gonna be brought up. People will talk about how tall I am and their perspective on that. Your ability to play football and produce is almost pushed aside just because of your height. Q: I was at the One-Back Clinic, where there were offensive coaches from almost every conference in the country, and when your offensive coordinator (Ed Warriner) spoke, one of the guys joked from the back of the room about his program signing a 5-10 QB, and if it turns out the kid stinks, he said he's blaming Kansas. You laugh when you hear something like that? Reesing: The big thing is you get a guy who is not as tall and a lot of people feel like if he's not successful, well, that's the coach's fault for recruiting him. However, if you bring in a guy who is 6-3, people think 'Well, obviously he has the ability, so if he doesn't succeed it's his own fault.' I think that's putting too much pressure on the kid. Those guys who are shorter and are constantly being told they can't play have that chip on their shoulder like they have something to prove. That's what drives guys to success. Q: Whether you're 6-2 or 5-10, aren't you still shorter than pretty much every lineman you have, meaning so much of what any QB does is about finding throwing lanes? Reesing: That's the big thing that I wish people would understand. You take a 6-3 guy and you take a 5-11 guy -- neither one of those people is taller than a 6-6 tackle. You're not throwing over that guy. You still have to find throwing lanes and throw around people. I guarantee if you take all of the QBs out there that are 6-3 and above, I can tell you I didn't have any more tipped balls than they did last year. That should show that the height factor isn't such a big deal, especially when you're completing 66 percent of your passes. Q: So much of the build-up for this season has been dominated by talk about the "Big 3" QBs (Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy). As a guy who has had a ton of success, won a BCS bowl game and put up huge numbers, how competitive are you with the Big 3? Reesing: It's tough being in the conference with Sam and Colt, because no one wants to talk about anybody besides those two guys. They deserve everything they receive because they are as good as advertised. Now, say it's a different conference, where the passing numbers aren't as big, there are also a couple of other guys from our conference who might be getting a lot more attention. But I'm not too worried about how much hype I get, because ultimately, it's a team sport. That's all I'm really concerned about is how many wins we have, not how many yards I get or how many awards I win.
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