SB Nation - Damion Fletcher

Rebel Roundup - 11/24/09

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:38:01 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Do you think State has an answer?

Conerly Trophy finalists announced | The Clarion-Ledger
Dexter McCluster, Anthony Dixon, and Damion Fletcher are this year's three Conerly Trophy finalists. Red Cup Rebellion endorses Dex.

Tyrone Nix doesn't smile much... | The Clarion-Ledger
...But neither do the teams that face his UM defense, according to David Brandt.

Bowl Tickets Now Available To Season Ticket Holders | OleMissSports.com
According to the official Rebel athletics site, "Ole Miss football season ticket holders now have the opportunity to order their seat to the Rebels' bowl game by visiting the OleMissSports.com ticket office." As far as the rest of us are concerned, I dunno.

A Clear Win: The Real Story of the Ole Miss-LSU Game and Other Week 12 Action | Team Speed Kills
LSU's last-minute idiocy wasn't the only reason Ole Miss won Saturday's game. Per Cock 'n' Fire:

Make no mistake: For the second season in a row, the Rebels won this game along the line and were the better team on the field. It was not a fluke...Ole Miss outgained LSU 426-290, sacked Jordan Jefferson four times and averaged 4.3 yards per rush to LSU's 1.5. The Tigers were only in the game at the end of the first quarter, and for the rest of the game, because they blocked a field goal and returned it for a touchdown.

You see that, mainstream sports media?

"Well, That Was Basically Exactly What We Expected" -- Kansas 35 Southern Miss 28

rockchalk — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:53:52 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

2 months ago: Kansas coach Mark Mangino talks with a game official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Southern Miss in Lawrence, Kan., Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Browse more photos »

Going in, everyone kept on talking about how "scared" they were for Southern Miss. And for good reason -- the Golden Eagles have a very good offense, a passable defense and a really solid coaching staff. They are kind of like that one mid-major you never want to play in the NCAA Tournament. We all continued to say that it wouldn't be easy, that it would be a legitimately tough test and that it would be all okay as long as we won.

Well, that's pretty much what happened. Denver showed off his immense football predicting abilities, prognosticating a 38-28 Kansas victory, with the final score 35-28. So, yeah, it's basically exactly the type of game we expected.

Mostly filled with offense. Enough intrigue to get the Kansas fanbase nervous for the first time this year. Not in the bag until a minute-or-so left. Some national pundits calling for the upset, and acting like they were half-correct given the close game.

So, the point is -- it isn't a bad thing it was so close. The Golden Eagles know how to play football well. We aren't perfect. Don't freak out. I'm glad it was this close. It should be helpful to at least have some experience in close-and-late situations. The College Football Landscape is beginning to look like 2007 again -- it's our job to make sure we put ourselves in position just like two years ago. Except, yeah, let's win that game in Arrowhead.

Extra thoughts after the jump

Todd and the passing game looked better, which is comforting. I don't think anybody was seriously freaking out or anything, but it was nice to see him pick apart a not-terrible Golden Eagle defense. The pass to Kerry Meier on the first score was absolutely perfect, too.

Toben Opurum, I like what I see. I'm kind of miffed that Rell Lewis didn't get anything in the way of a carry, but obviously the staff feels there is a substantial gap between the two. And TO, or Toben, or whatever certainly didn't disappoint -- nearly 4 yards a carry on 28 carries is nothing to sneeze at. Of course, we still desperately need Jake Sharp and a 1-2 punch for future games, but Toben can be the man. Kind of.

Best part of the game was the dominating, suffocating run defense. The first three games, Clint Bowen and Company reared back their head and continually went after the quarterback. Repeatedly, we put in pass-rush specialists, sometimes even in non-passing downs, with the goal to get to Trevor Vittatoe or Thaddeus Lewis. With Southern Miss, though, the real danger is runningback Damion Fletcher -- he is going to play in the NFL, and he is as talented as any runningback we'll see all year. So, the defensive strategy changed. No longer was the primary goal to get to the quarterback, but instead to try and 2007 it, limiting the running game. And it worked beautifully -- 10 carries, 27 yards. That is fantastic. Probably the worst game Fletcher will have all season.

Of course, that still doesn't entirely excuse the embarrassing amount of pass rush on 3rd and long. Maybe it was turning back on the get-to-the-quarterback-at-all-costs switch or something, but even when the run wasn't a possibility, we really struggled in getting much pressure at all on Austin Davis. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if opponents have figured out that four defensive end front, so now it's time for Bowen and Bill Miller, with a bye weak, to throw in a new wrinkle.

We have four good players in the secondary. Four players who nearly everyone is confident in, at least on some level. Daymond Patterson, Darrell Stuckey, Justin Thornton and Chris Harris (who has struggled some since moving back to a pure corner, however). Of course, with our switch to a base 4-2-5 defense, we're left searching for that fifth member. Coming into the season, it was supposed to be Anthony Davis. He picked up three PI penalties in the first game. If he faltered, as he did, Calvin Rubles was the back-up option. He showed major JUCO rust. Then we re-arranged everything and tried out Phillip Strozier. He had middling results. He's still seeing the field, unlike the other two who are gone, but not as much. That would be because of Brian Murphy, who showed up in a big way yesterday. He was quite often tasked with defending the tight end on third down passing situations. And quite often, our secondary did a good job of forcing the ball to the tight end, short of the first down marker. And nearly every time, Brian did an excellent job of wrapping up, making the tackle short of the first down and getting the offense the ball back. Don't forget the interception, either. Being a hometown boy and all, it would be sweet if he can emerge as a RS sophomore and turn into a really solid player. He showed serious flashes of that yesterday.

Kerry Meier, do you really have to graduate?

But since you do, and it isn't negotiable, at least we have Bradley McDougald. Todd already trusts him to get open on third downs, and he is doing a pretty good job at it. As opponents key more and more on Kerry Meier, he is the guy who is going to benefit. He'll end up on a linebacker, and that just isn't fair.

Also -- Me likey McDougald at kickoff returner. For whatever reason, Briscoe hasn't been all that great. We're obviously looking at other options (Stuckey returned a kickoff too, IIRC), and McDougald had a good first audition.

That's all for now. Starting in Big 12 play, these will go up either Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. I promise x 1000. I'll get this whole thing worked out.

Hawk Talk: Southern Mississippi the Morning After

Denverjhawk — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:38:33 -0000

A look at News and Notes from Saturday's Game...

A Kansas DEFENSIVE stand holds of USM for the win.
Lawrence native Ryan Murphy makes his presence known for the first time in a Kansas uniform.
Toben Opurum more than ready to carry the load on Saturday.
Kansas shrugs of concerns of distractions and shows up ready to play.
A Special View on Game Day.
Mangino looks for Sharp to be back by conference play.
KC Star game story.

Denver's Take...

Honestly, this is exactly what Kansas needed. A tough non conference tune up where we would have to step up in some areas of weakness, expose some of our weaknesses and give us a good two weeks of something to work on before the Cyclones come to town.

Southern Mississippi is a good team. They are a very good team, with an offensive minded coach who comes straight from the Big 12. They're defense had been very solid through 3 games this season and in it's final 5 contests of 2008, and just in case you didn't catch it they did come in with the second longest winning streak in division one yesterday.

Sure there were struggles. The offensive line broke down at times and it always seemed to be in a major loss, drive killing kind of way. On the other hand they also looked very good at times, forming a pocket, picking up there blocks and giving Todd room to work. Not to mention Kansas ended up with 102 yards rushing against Southern Mississippi and Toben Opurum became the first 100 yard rusher they've allowed in some time.

On defense it looked ominous and as Kansas fans we're almost trained at this point to blame the defense anytime things aren't going well. When it mattered in the end though the Jayhawk defense stopped 3 consecutive drives to secure the win. What does that mean? Well, it means the offense had 2 chances to put the game away but failed to do so. It means our defense was the difference today. No, this isn't a great defense and they'll give up their share of yards, but I feel comfortable saying it's an improvement over last years group through four games.

There are two stats I like in this one. The first is the Southern Mississippi offense manages only 64 yards rushing and is held below their overall average on the season. Not bad when facing the number 18 offense in the country to date.

The second one is time of possession. I harped on this in the open thread and I absolutely think it will pay huge dividends in conference play if we are able to control the clock and run a balanced attack as we did yet again yesterday. Kansas finished this one with 36.21 in the TOP column while Southern Mississippi finished with 23.39. That's nearly a full extra quarter that their defense had to be on the field versus ours, and I'm not sure our defense has the gas in the tank to make three consecutive stops down the stretch if this is reversed.

35-28 is a win. Sure we'd like them to all be easy, but it's fun to face a challenge and see how your team responds. Kansas did what they had to do and came out with a win. Time to rest up, make some final improvements and head into two conference opponents where Kansas should be favored in Iowa State and Colorado.

Postgame Quotes and Notes after the jump...

Kansas Head Coach Mark Mangino

On Southern Miss:

"Offensively they did a good job of trying to keep us off balance today. They were a formidable offensive team to compete against. That's good for us because we're right up to conference play. The defense, when they had to in the fourth quarter, shut them down and made plays. That's the key. They gave us a lot of looks that we had not seen before. We had to adjust on the run, but our coaches on defense stayed with it and did a good job of getting our kids settled down and made the proper adjustments so that we could stop them in the fourth quarter."

On the play of senior receiver Kerry Meier who set a career high with 141 yards receiving:

"They both had great days no question. Kerry (Meier) just quietly does that stuff. He makes play after play. He's a tremendous playmaker for us. He gets open when a lot of receivers would struggle. He finds a way to get open and get the ball. He gets yard after the catch."

On the play of true freshman running back Toben Opurum in his first start:

There was a lot of pressure on Toben (Opurum) today. We down played that with him all week. He had to go in there and start as a true freshman and it's a difficult duty. He did a marvelous job. The only glitch all day was when he turned the ball over. He ran hard and ran smart. He got some good yardage after first contact. He pass protected well. We're really excited about his play today as a true freshman."

On how he feels the team has performed so far:

"I really feel good about our team in terms of attitude and fight they have in them, the competitive spirit that they have. Today for three quarters on defense it didn't look like it, but you have to understand when the game was on the line our kids fought for the ball on defense. We're far from a finished product. We have a lot of work to do. This off week will be very important. We have to get better in a lot of areas, but I like where we are right now and I like the direction of our ball club."

Kansas players

Junior Defensive End Jake Laptad

On the overall play of the defense:

"We knew we weren't playing our best game to start off. I feel like we stepped up in the fourth quarter and made plays when it counted."

On the emotional toll a game takes:

"We know that we're tired, but we know they are tired, too, so we always condition after practice. I feel like that was a helpful step to get the win today. I feel they were a little more tired than us."

On KU's only sack:

"The quarterback was getting rid of the ball really quickly and I was getting frustrated with not being able to get him down. But to step up at the end and get that was rewarding."

Senior Cornerback Chris Harris

On KU's defensive play:

"We had to try to make the stops. Some games, we'll be struggling and the offense will have to win for us, so we knew today we had to win for them."

On stopping Southern Mississippi's DeAndre Brown:

"It was a big challenge. You can see by today that he's a future first round draft pick. I give him credit for coming out today and playing really well."

On Southern Mississippi's Damion Fletcher:

"Our main goal was to stop him because he holds all of their records. We knew he would come in and try to run, so we felt that if we stopped the run and made them one-dimensional, we could come out with a win."

Senior Quarterback Todd Reesing

On his personal foul:

"I will make sure I hand the ball to the referee, so I don't get any unsportsman-like penalties. That was a rough one. I've never seen that one before."

On if he was surprised that it was a close game:

"Not at all. We knew coming in that they were a very good team. Looking back, we didn't really know how good they were. I have to give a lot of credit to them because they are a really good football team. They played hard and gave us some new looks that we weren't familiar with. I wouldn't be surprised if they are contending for their conference championship."

On the defense in the fourth quarter:

"They were huge. They had never gotten a team in all four quarters of the game, and that's what this was. They played hard from the first play to the last in the game. The defense came up huge at the end, and that's big for them. It's a confidence booster going into conference play."

Freshman Running Back Toben Opurum

On whether or not he expected Jake to play:

"They're looking at him everyday to see how he's doing. They just wanted to hold him out and let him get some rest. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was ready to play."

On Southern Miss:

"They are definitely by far the best team we've played so far. I feel like they'll do really well in their conference and it was definitely a test to see where we are. I think we handled it well."

On what he takes from this game:

"Basically we don't want to be satisfied. This game here came down to the last minute and you can't be satisfied with what you've done either in the first half or the first three quarters. You've got to play the entire game"

Sophomore Cornerback Ryan Murphy

On the progress that he's made:

"I know that I'm making progress. The coaches tell me I've been doing a great job and they've been trying to get me more action. The first couple of games I really didn't get a whole lot of playing time, but these last couple of games I've been trying to make the most of it."

On the improvement of the defense in the fourth quarter:

"Well we felt like we played well in the first half. We came out there in the second half and we knew we had to shut them down. In the fourth quarter it felt like we got stop after stop and it was just huge. One person after another was making plays and that's what we need to be successful."

Senior Wide Receiver Kerry Meier

On the game as a whole:

"Southern Miss came out and did everything we thought they were going to do. They did it well for four quarters and we found ourselves in a tough situation. We found just enough plays to seal the victory and we are happy to be 4-0 right now."

On his career day (141 receiving yards):

"If you push yourself and work hard throughout the week, Saturdays will be a lot easier. If you're pushing yourself hard and pushing your teammates, stuff comes easier on game day. It's a testament to our coaching staff, to our players and to myself for pushing each other."

On the feud with the basketball team:

"With all the stuff that went down, people could look at that stuff as a distraction. But I think we came out today and performed like nothing happened last week. What happened with the basketball team happened and we've moved on. We turned our attention and focus to Southern Miss. The basketball team turned their focus toward what they've got to do to get ready for their upcoming season. What's happened is in the past, it's behind us now and we are moving on to bigger things."

Poll

Who's your MVP of the Southern Mississippi Game

Todd Reesing 30/41 331 yards 3TD's 1Int

9 votes

Toben Opurum 28 Carries 109 Yards 1 TD, 2 Catches 21 Yards 1 TD

16 votes

Kerry Meier 10 Catches 141 Yards 2 TD's

36 votes

Kansas Defense - 3 Straight stops down the stretch

20 votes

81 votes | Poll has closed

Kansas Football Press Conference Quotes 9.22.09

Denverjhawk — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:00:28 -0000

This week coach recaps the Duke game both offensively and defensively. He discusses the upcoming opponent in Southern Miss. and the challenges the present and lastly talks a little about the progression of a few key performers on defense from last weeks game.

Coach also makes some great points when it comes to Todd's performance and how he has managed the game very well in the early going.

From a player standpoint, Kerry Meier, Toben Opurum, Todd Reesing and Daymond Patterson give their feedback on a variety of topics. What stands out most to me is there is a confidence yet an understanding that there is room to improve and work to be done from each of the players this week.

Note: Early Season Report Card on the Offensive Line and Week 2 RCT Fantasy Football Rankings later today...

Players of the Game

Offensive: Todd Reesing

Defensive: Jake Laptad

Special Teams: Alonso Rojas

Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week: Duane Zlatnik

Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week: Christian Matthews

Head Coach Mark Mangino

Recap of last week's game vs. Duke:

"After reviewing the tape, we feel like we had a good performance against Duke. We know there are areas we need to work on, but the key thing is we are better every week, which is what is most important for us."

On KU's offense vs. Duke:

"We had some young guys pressed into duty like Toben Opurum, who performed well and did a really good job. We think he is a guy who keeps getting better as we go along. He is a true freshman, so everyday is a learning experience for him. I like the way Todd Reesing played again. Todd threw the ball very well. He made good decisions; he ran the ball well and managed the game extremely well. So, he continues to play at a high level for us. Kerry Meier also did well on offense. Dezmon [Briscoe] also made some good plays, even though he dropped a few passes we would like to have back; he continues to play well."

On KU's defense vs. Duke:

"I like the way we are progressing. I think we are learning a little bit about ourselves each and every week. I really like the way we are playing up front. I think we can still be better fundamentally up front, but I like the kind of work we are getting out of people like Jake Laptad, Max Onyegbule and Jeff Wheeler, who's come on strong. All our linebackers continue to get better and our secondary is playing with great confidence and getting better as we go along. We certainly have some work to do in a few areas on defense, but we are getting better."

On this week's game vs. Southern Miss:

"Southern Miss is a good football team, who, as you know, is 3-0. They beat Virginia last week. On offense they give you a lot of looks. They are a wide-open offense. They have a lot of formations and a lot of different looks. They run the ball very well, in fact Damion Fletcher has averaged 115 yards a game. He is a very quick guy with good lateral movement and good explosion. Their quarterback manages the game very well. They have a couple of big receivers. One of them, by the name of DeAndre Brown, is young man who got hurt last year in the bowl game and has come back and played very well.

On the defensive side of the ball they play very well. Their defensive line is very active. They have some key guys on their front that jump the ball and make a lot of plays. They have a returning free safety who I think is a really good player. He was a Conference USA second-team player last year. This is really good team, who will come in here ready to go and we plan to have a good week here and be ready ourselves."

On this week's game vs. Southern Miss as a good test before Big 12 play:

"Certainly they are a good football team at 3-0. They beat a good ACC team or what we think is a good ACC team. There are quicker than what we have seen and have more skill than what we have seen. So, you bet they are a good challenge for us."

On facing a wide receiver with size like DeAndre Brown:

"You cannot change your structure for one guy; you just have to play well. You have to play good, sound fundamentals, understand what he is trying to do, and what his strengths are and how to play against those strengths. But he is a talented guy and really big guy at 6-5, 6-6, so he's not your average size receiver so to speak."

On progresson of Daymond Patterson from wide receiver to cornerback:

"He has had to work at it and it has really taken some time, but I think the key with him right now is he has really developed some confidence. He is playing the ball in the air pretty well. He plays bigger than his size, which I think is always very important. He does a good job of taking his feet with him. He doesn't leave his feet to play the ball very often and he doesn't reach for the ball. He understands what his responsibilities are in various zone-to-man coverages and he has adapted well. Those are all key components, but number one; he is playing with a lot of confidence."

On KU's efforts to stop the run game:

"I think it speaks for itself. I think we have played the run very well in the first three games when you look at statistically, but also when you look at it from a fundamental aspect. Based on the schemes we are running, I think we are doing a good job. I think we can be better. I think there is room for improvement in that area, like playing our fits a little better in the run game. I think we have to do a good job of pursuing and not overrunning the ball, which we have improved on, but we still have work to do in that area. However, in terms of progress, I am pleased."

On play and progression of Hulden Tharp:

"He is a true freshman and we wanted to ease him into the situation just so he could develop some confidence. We wanted to put him in situations where we thought he could succeed. We threw him in there because we needed his help and he is athletic, tough, smart and he knows how to play the game. He makes a lot of freshman mistakes, but as time goes on he is playing more and more and we think he is going to end up being a key guy for us out there. I can't say that when we recruited him we intended to put him on the field right away, but we thought he could play as a true freshman. We knew that our linebacking situation was going to need some immediate help. But we did not feel like we needed to throw him out there and we have been able to take him just about the way we would like; maybe a little bit ahead of schedule, but he has responded very well. As the competition gets better, he seems to improve. As the tempo of the games pick up, he improves as well and has a good grasp on that tempo."

Senior Wide Receiver Kerry Meier

On Southern Miss:

"Just taking a quick look at them yesterday, they've got some players. The past three teams have had some players too. But overall, the amount of players that they have on defense and the team speed and the coaching, it's going to be a great challenge to see where we're at. Southern Miss will come in ready to go and try and knock us off."

On the sluggish start versus Duke:

"I don't know what the reason was. I think we had a solid week of practice and we felt confident going into the game, but we found ourselves not as sharp as we'd like to be. We played decent, but we're excited to be 3-0 and we're as excited to move on."

On the satisfaction with the offense and being 3-0:

"We're satisfied with 3-0, but as far as the rest of the stuff that's out there, the stuff we haven't gone after and gotten, we're not satisfied. I don't think we'll be satisfied this whole season. I think at the end of the season if we're undefeated, that's when we'll be satisfied, but until that happens, we're going to keep working and keep pushing until we get to where we want to go."

Freshman Running Back Toben Opurum

On how he has performed on a personal level:

"It's funny, we will get a lot of praise from people outside the program, but I think it's easy to see when we come in here and watch film that I've got a lot of areas that I need to improve on. I feel like I can only get better from here though."

On the opportunity to play early:

"I saw the opportunity to play early, it was there. I felt like when the opportunity came, I'd be ready for it."

On the performance of the offense so far this season:

"I definitely like it. I'm impressed with what we've done and what the coaches have prepared us to do. But once again, we've got a lot of work to do."

On Southern Miss:

"It will definitely be a test to see where we really are. I think Southern Miss is an underrated team, I think they're one of the better teams in the country and we will definitely have our hands full with them."

Sophomore Cornerback Daymond Patterson

On how the defense has handled the run thus far the season:

"I think we've handled the run pretty well. We can always do better. But so far, all the linebackers have been playing pretty well playing downhill. We are going into this week really working on techniques and filling gaps to make sure we are ready for this game."

On taking steps as a defense each week:

"I think we have taken steps each week. The first week, we had an OK game but we felt like we weren't running to the ball fast enough. The next game, we came out and felt like we moved to the ball really well. We got some turnovers and made some big plays. Last week, we made some more big plays and some more turnovers."

Kansas senior quarterback Todd Reesing

On running back Toben Opurum being pressed into duty:

"Toben Opurum did a great job. He was asked to play a lot more snaps than he probably thought he was going to. He did a good job and made some big plays for us. He is a young guy. He is going to continue to learn and get better. We expect him to progress fast and make plays like that."

On the challenges of playing Southern Miss.

"They are the best team we will play so far. That's that challenge within itself. They have talented, athletic guys. They want to come in here and pull off the upset to make a statement for their season. There are a lot of things we have got to be ready for. They are going to bring their A game and we have to do the same."

Mid-Major College Football Week 3: Rocks, Papers, Scissors

umass09 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:38:36 -0000

Rocks: This group is for the players who did nothing to help their team or themselves. Their team would have been better off without them. The player did not play up to his potential and in the end hurt his teams chances of winning.

Paper: Coaches who stuck to their game plan throughout the week and it showed off on Saturday. These coaches made sure the players were focused throughout the game and made the appropriate decisions to put their team in a better position to win.

Scissors: Players who tore it up this week with big numbers all around. Thanks to these players, they give their team a shot of being competitive and give their team opportunity to win games.

Week 3:

Rocks:

Max Hall, QB, BYU- Hall really disappointed me this past week. I know FSU is a good team out of the ACC, but still Hall threw 3 INT, one which was ran back for a TD in the third quarter. Although Hall still threw 2 TD and over 300 yards, those three picks really hurt the Cougars and probably lost a shot at a BCS bowl game.

Paper:

Jerry Kill, Northern Illinois- With the programs first victory over a Big 10 opponent since 1988, Coach Kill and his staff had a huge victory at Purdue 28-21. The Huskies totaled over 450 yards on offense and an amazing lopsided time of possession stat of almost 42 minutes of the game. Late in the fourth quarter, Coach Kill called a shocking fake punt that ended up in the Huskies favor and allowed for the Huskies to eat up more time off the clock.

The Huskies are 2-1, with their only loss an 8-point loss to Wisconsin.

Scissors:

Damion Fletcher, RB, Southern Miss- Fletcher had arguably his best game of the season up to this point as he rushed for 115 yards on 26 carries, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Although the win was over an awful Virginia team, it is still a nice victory to have over an ACC opponent.

Fletcher found the end zone twice against the Cavaliers and also added six yards receiving.