SB Nation - Trevor Vittatoe

Snap Shots: Sergio Kindle's Speed Rush

Peter Bean — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:41:33 -0000

When after two games Sergio Kindle had failed to de-helmet a single quarterback, let alone record a sack, there was some COME ON CONCERN! amongst some that Kindle needed to pick up his play. Truth be told he was creating pressure, but he didn't do anything against ULM or Wyoming to make SportsCenter.

That, of course, did not last. So why did Kindle get to the quarterback against Texas Tech and UTEP? "Because he's an athletic freak?" Yes indeed, but let's take a frame by frame look to see how he did it and why he's going to get paid to play Sundays. (FYI you may click any image to enlarge.)

FINISHING TREVOR VITTATOE

UTEP is four wide, no tight end, tailback alongside Vittatoe in the gun. Texas is in its standard nickel package, four-man rush with Muck aligned over the RB, Robinson sliding down to cover the slot receiver, and Sergio highlighted on the end of the line, down in 5-technique (outside the right tackle)

As Sergio explodes out of his stance you can see a couple things. First, he is in fact exploding. Big, quick first steps. Second, look at the big ol' gap created between the right tackle (sliding out to Kindle) and right guard (engaging Houston). Third, we were wondering pre-season if we had a tackle who could occupy two blockers -- Kheeston Randall (hidden here behind the "Play" button) has been terrific in giving us just that.

In the frame below you now see Sergio start to make his move. Note Kindle's body angle, aimed towards the quarterback and squared with the right tackle, who appears well positioned to handle a bull rush or shoot Kindle up the field of play where he'd have to circle back down to get to the quarterback.

A split second later, you can see much of the same, though from this angle it looks as though Kindle's engaged. All appears well, but keep this frame in mind -- we'll come back to it after a bit.

Uh oh.... Not engaged, it seems. And in no time at all Kindle has shifted his positioning from being aimed at the QB to being perpendicular to the sideline, creating space between himself and the slower-footed RT.

And now we get the money shot.... literally. The difference between a good collegiate defensive end and freaks like Sergio Kindle is what you see below. There just aren't many men his size who can plan their right leg two feet out from under their center of gravity, staying upright and squared in the upper body with their target destination.

Kindle not only stays upright but is able to propel forward off the plant, at which point it's game over. The right tackle must either hold/tackle Kindle or wave as he goes by. (Two other things to notice here, by the way: First, this is a nice angle of what we're getting from Randall taking on two blockers. Second, note that right after the snap Muck ran up and across the LOS. Here, the tailback decided to pick him up, but if the RB had stayed in to help with Kindle, the Texas linebacker has an unblocked path to the quarterback.)

And just like that, Kindle's there. As Muck knocks the tailback six feet back on his ass, Kindle unloads the turnover blow.

Okay back to earlier and the frame I told you to keep in mind. Here's another angle of Kindle when he appeared to be engaged with the right tackle. You can see clearly from this angle his excellent use of quick and strong arms to push away the tackle's attempt to engage him.

The separation allows him to continue his move without being slowed by what's now a one-arm reach from an offensive tackle...

And the athletic freakdom allows him to plant and go, go, to Vittatoe, a sack at this point inevitable.

(Watch video of the Vittatoe sack here.)

FINISHING TAYLOR POTTS

Of course, this was the second straight week that Kindle unloaded on the QB, so let's take a look at the replay from a week prior. Same situation as before, only Tech's tailback is on the strongside of the field. Kindle is again highlighted below, again in a 5-technique outside the right tackle.

Once more, Kindle appears aimed towards the quarterback, squared and engaged with the right tackle.

Once again, he is not. He's used his quickness to keep the tackle off him while continuing his motion upfield, shifting his body perpendicular to the opposite sideline to create the separation.

Another off-balance, one-armed reach by the tackle means bad, bad news for the quarterback.

He's now one step away from the freaky plant....

Yup, here it is...

And to Potts he goes...

It's curtains for Texas Tech.

(Watch video of the Potts sack here.)

Texas Football By The Numbers: 64-7 Win Over UTEP

Peter Bean — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:00:53 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

A rare appearance by the Mythical Fozzy Creature, as part of a rarely seen boxscore beatdown.

Browse more photos »

Having just returned from a weekend trip that kept me from viewing the game, I can't comment much on the 'Horns 64-7 slaughteration of UTEP until I settle in to watch the tape. However, Saturday's outrageously lopsided game deserves an immediate By The Numbers post...

After the jump: both Texas vs UTEP and the 2009 season, by the numbers.

Texas vs. UTEP By The Numbers

47 -- Texas first half points, the most in a half since 2005 when VY and Friends took a 52-0 lead into the half against Kansas.
304 -- Yards rushing by Texas, 244 of which came on 27 second half caries.
335 -- Yards passing by Texas, making Saturday's game just the second in school history with 300+ yards rushing and passing (vs Houston, 1990).
639 -- Total yards by Texas, the 20th 600-yard game in school history, ranking 6th on the single-game record list.
10 -- Number of those 20 600-yard games in the Mack Brown-Greg Davis era.
53 -- Total yards by UTEP.
9 -- Yards rushing by UTEP.
3 -- Total yards rushing allowed by Texas over the past two games (Tech, UTEP).
7.7 -- Average yards gained per play by Texas.
1.0 -- Average yards gained per play by UTEP.
32 -- Texas first downs (16 rushing, 14 passing, 2 penalty).
7 -- UTEP first downs (4 rushing, 1 passing, 2 penalty).
1 -- Third downs out of 12 converted successfully by the Miners.
4 -- Interceptions of UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe.
6 -- Interceptions on the season by Texas, matching the team's 2008 season total.
3 -- Fumbles forced by Texas against UTEP, raising to 11 the team's season total (18 forced fumbles in all of 2008).
1 -- Number of players in Texas history who have returned two kickoffs for a touchdown during ~~one season~~ their career (D.J. Monroe, who returned one for a 91-yard touchdown on Saturday three weeks after his 90-yarder against ULM).
6 -- Receptions by flex-TE Dan Buckner, his third consecutive game with 6 catches.
4 -- Receiving touchdowns by Buckner on the season after hauling in 2 on Saturday vs UTEP.
3 -- Receiving touchdowns by Texas tight ends in 2008 (2 by Irby, 1 by Smith).
108 -- Yards rushing by Vondrell McGee against UTEP, his first career 100-yard game.
6.4 -- Yards per rush by McGee on the season, tops among Texas rushers with 10 + carries (Newton 5.0 ypa, Monroe 5.3 ypa, McCoy 3.2 ypa).
4 -- Carries by the Mythical Fozzy Creature on Saturday, his first game of the season. The redshirt sophomore picked up 38 yards (9.5 per attempt), including a 13-yard rushing touchdown, the first of his career.
4.9 -- Yards per rush by the Horns through 4 games this season, up from 4.3 a year ago.
4 -- Rushing touchdowns scored against UTEP, by 4 different players (McGee, Newton, Whittaker, Johnson).
13 -- Rushing touchdowns scored by Texas on the season, second-most in the country (Cal, 15). Were Texas to maintain the current pace, they would score 42 rushing TDs on the season (33 in 2008).
3 -- Colt McCoy touchdown passes against UTEP, extending his school-record streak to 21 consecutive games with a TD pass.
5 -- Interceptions thrown by McCoy this season (1 Saturday vs UTEP), after throwing just 8 all of last year.
10 -- Number of quarterback hurries created by UT's opponents through four games this year.
12 -- Number of quarterback hurries created by UT's opponents in all of 2008.
12 -- Number of players in NCAA history to have amassed more career total offense than Colt McCoy. His 301 yards of total offense against UTEP raised his career total to 12,161, elevating McCoy above Brady Quinn, Byron Leftwich, and Chris Redman to 13th place in the NCAA record book.
71.0 -- Completion percentage by McCoy in 2009, not much below his NCAA-record 76.7 completion percentage in 2008.
78.6 -- Completion percentage by Garrett Gilbert in 2009 (11 completions in 14 attempts).
10 -- Receptions by Jordan Shipley on Saturday (122 yards, 1 TD), on the heels of an 11-catch effort versus Texas Tech last week (73 yards, 0 TD).
12 -- Tackles for loss by Texas against the Miners, raising the UT defense's season total to 38 (100 TFLs in 2008).
3 -- Tackles for loss by Emmanuel Acho against UTEP, bringing his season total to 5, tied with Lamarr Houston for most on the team.
2 -- Interceptions by Earl Thomas on Saturday, raising his season total to 3, one more than in all of '08.
1.7 -- Yards allowed per rush attempt by Texas in 2009 (3.1 last year).
5.1 -- Yards allowed per pass attempt by Texas in 2009 (6.9 last year).
9.2 -- Yards allowed per completed pass by Texas in 2009 (12.2 last year).
0 -- Sacks by the Texas defense in the season-opening wins of both 2008 (FAU) and 2009 (ULM).
16, 12 -- Sacks by the Texas defense in the next three games of each season (16 last year, 12 this year).
12, 16 -- Number of turnovers created by the Texas defense after four games this season (12) and the entire 2008 season (16).
10 -- Number of Texas defenders who have recorded a sack this season.
20 -- Tackles recorded by Curtis Brown on the season (27 in 2008).
9 -- Passes broken up by Brown on the season (9 last year).

UTEP Game Preview

dimecoverage — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:37:39 -0000

Thanks to Bret Bloomquist, sports writer for the El Paso Times and UT grad, for the preview of the Miners.

Last year the Miners offensive line averaged 406.5 yards and 32.9 points per game. Do you expect the same type of output from the four returning starters? Discuss the line personnel. Who will replace center Robby Felix, who left for the NFL?

UTEP is experienced all through their two-deep on the line. They were mauled by Kansas but excellent in the other two games. They are certainly good for Conference USA, though I imagine Texas will see better on a regular basis in the Big 12 South. Center is the only position they had to replace last year and the new guy is Tanner Cullumber, who did start the final two games last year after Felix had his stroke. The guards are Cameron Raschke and Rod Huntley, the tackles Will Osolinsky and Mike Aguayo. Most of the backups started at one time or another last season when they had injuries.

Trevor Vittatoe has achieved outstanding numbers as a freshman and as a sophomore - 6,375 yards passing, 58 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. What are his strengths as the team leader? Where does Vittatoe need to improve?

He is exceptionally calm and takes great care of the ball. He held it a little long against Kansas, probably because he wasn't used to seeing receivers so well-covered. He also needs a bit more touch, particularly on short passes. But he has an NFL body and arm and consistently makes good decisions. He's a good guy to have in a close, late game because of his poise.

Jeff Moturi and Kris Adams are Vittatoe's main receiving weapons. What makes those two so effective? Who are the other receivers?

Adams is tall and Moturi is fast. Moturi's also a good route runner. When they get open -- and it's hard to double both of them -- Vittatoe is good at spotting them. Adams might have a shot at the next level, though he needs to put on weight. Evan Davis and Tufick Shadrawy are the next two guys. Like most Price receivers, they have good size.

In 2008, it seemed as if the Miners used a committee approach to the running game. Is there a go-to back/s this year?

Donald Buckram has suddenly emerged this year after they assumed it would be by committee again. They will use three tailbacks but Buckram is now a clear No. 1. This will be my story for Wednesday's paper. He ran better against New Mexico State than he has in his career here.

What are the overall strengths of the offensive unit? What are the overall weaknesses?

Strengths are the line, quarterback and receiver. That line, though, looked a lot better against MAC and WAC competition than it did against a Big 12 team. UTEP hasn't shown much explosiveness yet this year, which is supposed to be a team strength and probably will be down the road. The offense will be one of the best in Conference USA but they may not be big enough up front to handle Texas.

UTEP has a veteran group of defensive linemen heading into the 2009 season, a unit that produced 23 sacks last year. Who are the personnel on the line?

It's a revolving door, though Aaron King is off to a good start at end after getting a late start last year (wasn't even on campus until the second week of the season). An inability to find good linemen is part of the reason they went to a 3-3-5. Steve Riddick is having a good year at noseguard and Robert Soleyjacks is the other end. They will rotate in three groups. They are undersized but do have some quickness.

(Music NSFW)

Linebackers Adam Vincent and Nu'uese Punimata were solid performers last year. Who will replace those two this year? Who is the projected starter on the right side?

Anthony Morrow is the right side starter. The middle linebacker, Jeremy Springer, was a quarterback until this spring and hasn't played defense since seventh grade. That he is now starting in his first season on defense says something about both him in a positive way and the quality at linebacker in a negative way. But he has played well and should get better. His twin brother is the staring middle linebacker at Kansas. Royzell Smith started last year as a freshman and is the other starter. Linebacker and defensive line are the biggest questions on the team but they have been pretty solid this year.

Kansas running back Toben Opurum, front left, collides with UTEP defender Clarence Ward (1) during the third quarter of their NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Victor Calzada)

UTEP coach Jim Clark was disappointed with the safety play last season. Has there been improvement in the first three games of this season? There is an experienced cornerback rotation this year. Have they lived up to the preseason expectations?

Massive, massive improvement, which will be my Friday story. That unit had two interceptions last week. Braxton Amy, one of UTEP's best players, missed last season to injury but is now back and as good as ever. Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith is the national co-leader in tackles. Clarence Ward (there are three safeties in the 3-3-5) had an interception last week. All the backups are new from last year and all are playing well. The cornerbacks are also much improved. Cornelius Brown and Melvin Stephenson are having good years. The secondary as a whole is vastly, vastly better than last year.

What are the overall strengths of the defensive unit? What are the overall weaknesses?

Strengths are the backs, particularly safety and an increased familiarity with their second-year system. It can be a confusing system for offenses because it's such an uncommon defense. The front six are undersized and there are no real NFL prospects on it. The defense is much better than when it ranked 115th nationally last year but still has a ways to go.

What are the key match ups for this game?

Obviously UTEP doesn't match up on paper on the two lines. For them to have any chance Aaron King will have to have a huge game against much more touted offensive tackles. I'm interested to see if Brown and/or Stephenson can cover Jordan Shipley. That should give a feel for just how improved they are.

What else should we know about the Miners?

UTEP hasn't give up a first-quarter touchdown this year and also shut out Texas in the first quarter last season. They have been terrible in second quarters this year. They rank 117th nationally in both penalties and penalty yardage per game, but on the plus side they are tied for 12th in turnover margin.

Hawk Talk: UTEP Tailgate Edition

Denverjhawk — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:01:00 -0000

A look at news and notes from this week about the Jayhawks and their upcoming game....

The Good Guys...

Steven Foster may have found a home at defensive end.
The Springer Twins, Justin and Jeremy, will face off this week.
Jake Laptad a coaches dream.
Tanner Hawkinson successful through one game at protecting Todd Reesing's blind side.
The Jayhawks look for a better result in their first road game of the season in 2009 vs. 2008.
UDK piece on everybody's favorite head hunting kicker, Jacob Branstetter.
Bill Miller brings experience to a young defensive staff.
Change has been a good thing for Brad Thorson.
UTEP's passing game will look to test the Jayhawk secondary.
Chris Harris looks to have regained some of his 2007 confidence.
KC Star Game Preview

The Bad Guys...

UTEP looks to cut down on penalties after a tough first game with the zebra's.
QB Trevor Vittatoe looks to be a threat through the air and on the ground.
Miners focused for this years biggest home game.
El Paso Times piece on Reesing and the rise of the Jayhawks

Denver's Take...

Last week the Jayhawks put together a convincing win against an inferior opponent. A new found running game and a more balanced attack met the Jayhawks to start 2009 although much of that might be attributed to Northern Colorado's focus on limiting the pass. Regardless of how well things looked though, the Bears did expose some potential chinks in the armor.

On the other sideline, on all accounts UTEP played pretty poorly for at least half a game last week and ultimately it ended up costing them. The question is whether they can rally against a big time opponent and make things difficult in their own backyard.

My thought is this, Kansas defense will still be looking to find itself a bit but I just don't think that alone will be enough for UTEP to upset the Jayhawks. This one might get up and down but Kansas' offense has now shown they will be very difficult to stop. Throw Dezmon Briscoe back in the mix and it will take a pretty big UTEP defensive effort to stop the Jayhawks attack.

In terms of the Kansas defense, I don't look for things to settle here and I'm expecting a few changes on the depth chart in this one across the board. With that said, we'll get closer but the Jayhawks will still be vulnerable. In the end though Kansas stops UTEP more than the UTEP stops Kansas and the Jayhawks will win the turnover battle with some fairly savvy defenders running around and making plays.

My final thought is this, look for Kansas to go for the jugular early with a big play on the opening drive. From there Kansas keeps their foot on the gas and surprises many with a relatively easier win than expected.

Final Score: Kansas 42 UTEP 24

Supplemental Notes and more things to look for after the jump...

DID YOU KNOW? -- While Kansas has never played UTEP, the Jayhawks have played in the school's home stadium - the Sun Bowl. The Jayhawks met Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl on Christmas Day to cap the 1975 season. The Jayhawks lost 33-19 to the Panthers as Tony Dorsett rushed for 142 yards for Pittsburgh. Kansas was led by Laverne Smith, who rushed for 118 yards and Nolan Cromwell, who added 99 yards on the ground. Nearly 4,000 KU fans made the trip to El Paso for the game and were part of a then-Sun Bowl record crowd of 30,272.

DID YOU KNOW? -- Sure its only after one week, but Kansas is tied for the national lead in four NCAA offensive statistical categories including fewest tackles for loss allowed (1.00), fewest sacks allowed (0.00), fourth-down efficiency (100.0 percent) and red-zone efficiency (100.o percent). KU was two of two on fourth downs and scored on all six of its trips in the red zone against Northern Colorado last week.

This Week's Game
KU-UTEP SERIES -- Kansas and UTEP will be meeting for the first time in school history. In fact, each of KU's four non-conference games this year are first-time meetings.

KU VS. CONFERENCE USA -- Kansas owns a 16-9 record against current members of Conference USA all time. The last time the Jayhawks played a member of the league was its 42-13 victory against Houston
in the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl. The last regular season meeting against a Conference USA opponent was a 21-3 victory against Tulsa to open the 2004 campaign.

KU AND THE STATE OF TEXAS -- This will be the first of three trips to the state of Texas for the Jayhawks, who will also play at Texas Tech on Oct. 31 and at Texas on Nov. 21. KU's last trip to the state was
a 19-11 win at Texas A&M in 2007. KU is 2-5 in the state in the Mark Mangino era with a win against Houston in Fort Worth in 2005 and the win at Texas A&M in 2007.

TEXAS JAYHAWKS -- Kansas features 35 players on its roster from the state of Texas. That figure is the most of any state as KU has 23 players from its own state, 11 from Oklahoma and eight from Missouri for its biggest areas. KU starters from the lone star state include WR Dezmon Briscoe (Dallas), LB Drew Dudley (College Station), OC Jeremiah Hatch (Dallas), DE Maxwell Onyegbule (Arlington), CB Daymond Patterson (Mesquite), QB Todd Reesing (Austin), LB Justin Springer (Los Fresnos) and LB Arist Wright (Houston).

KU-UTEP CONNECTIONS -- KU LB Justin Springer's twin brother Jeremy is a LB at UTEP... In addition to the 35 players KU lists from the state of Texas, several KU coaches have ties to the state: KU LB coach Bill Miller played at Texas-Arlington and coached one year at his alma mater... KU WR coach David Beaty was a successful high school coach in the state at several schools before coaching wide receivers at Rice in 2006-07... KU RB and special teams coach Louie Matsakis was on staffs at Texas Tech and Texas State-San Marcos.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AGAINST UTEP

KU is looking to start a season 2-0 for the sixth consecutive season.
KU has won three straight games dating back to last season.
KU has recorded three sacks in each of its last three games dating back to last year.
QB Todd Reesing (8,392) needs 30 total yards for ninth on the Big 12 career total offense list.
Reesing has thrown a touchdown pass in 19 consecutive games.
RB Jake Sharp (1,933) needs 38 yards to move past Kerwin Bell (1,970) for 10th on the KU career rushing

list.

Sharp (20) needs one rushing touchdown to tie three others for sixth on the KU career rushing touchdown list and two to tie David Winbush (22) for fifth.
Sharp (54) needs three receptions to pass Robert Miller (56) for third on the KU career receptions by a running back list.
WR Kerry Meier (129) needs five receptions to pass Willie Vaughn (133) for third on the KU career receptions list.
Meier (10) needs one touchdown reception to tie for ninth on the KU career touchdown receptions list.
Meier has caught at least two passes in 22 consecutive games.
S Darrell Stuckey (7) needs one interception to tie Richard Bertuzzi (8) for 10th on the KU career interceptions list.
DE Jake Laptad (12) needs three sacks to move past Nick Reid (14) for ninth on the KU career sacks list.
WR Dezmon Briscoe has produced four straight 100-yard receiving games.
Briscoe (7) needs one 100-yard game to tie Willie Vaughn for first on the KU career 100-yard receiving games list.
Briscoe has caught at least two passes in 19 consecutive games.
Briscoe (1,903) needs 95 yards to pass Richard Estell (1,997) for third on the KU career receiving yards list.

DID YOU KNOW? -- The Kansas at UTEP game features two of the nation's top active passers in Jayhawk Todd Reesing and Miner Trevor Vittatoe. Vittatoe ranks fourth (264.3) and Reesing fifth (259.5) among active quarterbacks in career passing yards per game. Reesing's 70 career touchdown passes are sixth among active players behind Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Tim Hiller, Dan LeFevour and Nate Davis, but ahead of such seniors as Tim Tebow, Max Hall, Zac Robinson, Matt Grothe and Juice Williams.

FIRST-TIME STARTERS -- Seven Jayhawks made their first career starts in the season opener including LT Tanner Hawkinson, LG Brad Thorson and RG Sal Capra on offense and DE Maxwell Onyegbule, DT Patrick Dorsey, LB Drew Dudley and CB Anthony Davis on defense.

FRESHMEN SEE PLAYING TIME -- Against Northern Colorado 11 freshmen saw action including three true freshmen in WR Bradley McDougald, LB Huldon Tharp and RB Toben Opurum. Redshirt freshmen who played for the first time included QB Kale Pick, S Lubbock Smith, CB Greg Brown, OL Trevor Marrongelli, OL John Williams, OL Tanner Hawkinson, DE D.J. Marshall and DT Duane Zlatnik.

OFFENSIVE NOTES -- KU rushed for 334 yards vs. Northern Colorado, the first 300-yard rushing game for the Jayhawks since 2001... KU produced 553 yards of total offense vs. UNC, its most in its last 15
games... KU did not commit a turnover against UNC (had two games last year without a turnover - Louisiana Tech and Colorado)... KU scored touchdowns on all six of its trips into the red zone... Three Jayhawks scored two touchdowns each against UNC including QB Todd Reesing, RB Jake Sharp and RB Toben Opurum... KU had two 80-plus yard scoring drives against UNC... KU had two 10-plus play drives against the Bears... KU scored on seven of its 10 possessions and punted just twice against UNC... KU converted eight of 12 thirddown
attempts against UNC... Four different Jayhawks had runs of 20 or more yards, including both quarterbacks... KU had only one play that lost yards against Northern Colorado, a team rush that lost six yards.

DEFENSIVE NOTES -- KU allowed just three points, the fewest its allowed since shutting out Louisiana Tech in the second game of last year... UNC's 246 total yards were the fewest allowed by KU since limiting Colorado to 233 in the sixth game of last year... KU allowed two 10-plus play drives by UNC, but neither resulted in points (both punts) and the two drives combined for only 51 yards... UNC reached KU's 20-yard line just twice in 10 possessions and scored one field goal... KU allowed only two plays of more than 20 yards by UNC.

Five Questions with Jay Koester of the El Paso Times

Denverjhawk — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:12:22 -0000

View full size photo »

Well this week Rock Chalk's little "deeper look" piece drew the ire of some UTEP fans over on "Turn up the Orange" a UTEP sports blog connected with the El Paso Times.

After doing a little peaking around the site I realized that there was in fact a KU journalism graduate that worked for the El Paso Times and was a contributor to this UTEP blog. In an effort to learn a little more about this matchup I thought this had the opportunity to provide some insight from an individual who has a working knowledge of both programs and teams. Jay Koester was kind enough to grant my request and answered five questions regarding UTEP, Kansas and the upcoming game.

Before we get started though I wanted to give everyone a quick background on Jay. Jay Koester has been working for the El Paso Times since 2003. He's been an online editor, asst. city editor and copy editor at the newspaper. He is also a contributor to the "Turn Up the Orange" UTEP sports blog. A Lawrence, Kansas native, he graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Kansas in 1994.

His wife is a copy editor at the El Paso Times, and he spends most of his free time running around the playground with their six-year-old daughter.

Jay's wife is a UTEP graduate, but he assures us the ratio of Kansas gear to UTEP gear in their house is at least 5-to-1 in favor of the Jayhawks.

5 Questions with Jay Koester after the Jump...

1.) Starting off, what are the expectations for UTEP football this season for the fanbase, the players and the coaching staff.

I think the expectations were reasonable enough, at first. Another year hovering around the 6-6 mark, and let's hope they slip into a bowl game. Then Sports Illustrated came along and turned everybody crazy.

Sports Illustrated came out predicting a 10-2 year for Miners, with a Conference USA championship. Several other places picked the Miners high, as well, but that Sports Illustrated prediction is when fans really started shooting for the moon.

So the loss Saturday is stinging fans perhaps a little more than usual. When you are thinking of a 10-2 finish, with both Kansas and Texas on the schedule, you know one of those two losses shouldn't be to Buffalo.

I think the players and coaching staff were probably a little more realistic. (Price would only say one thing about the SI prediction: "Don't believe anything you read in Sports Illustrated.") But they do think they should be in a bowl game this year, and they think they have the skills to beat Kansas.

2.) Week one for UTEP, what surprised you about the team? What did they do well and where did they leave room for improvement?

What surprised nearly everybody is just how bad they played, especiallly in the first half. Of the five of us who participate in the Turn Up the Orange podcast, I was the only one to predict Buffalo to win. But deep in my heart, I was hoping the other predictions were right, and this was the year UTEP would show up.

They didn't. What did they do well? Well, they didn't give up, and they mounted a furious comeback, playing a great fourth quarter, with quarterback Trevor Vittatoe throwing a winning touchdown pass with about 30 seconds on the clock ... except it was called back for holding. But without that holding penalty, we might be talking right now about how great UTEP played in the second half to win. And Kansas fans would be a little more nervous than they probably are.

Where did they leave room for improvement? Well, that's the good news for UTEP fans. They looked very bad in the first half and cost themselves the game. But it was all things that are easily fixable, and it seems like they had them fixed by the second half. UTEP had three bad snaps that really cost them the game; hopefully, that is easy to fix. Vittatoe and his receivers missed on some wide-open plays, including what should have been an easy fourth-down make. That seems harder to fix, but the coaches seem sure Vittatoe was just a little off that first half.

So, it's a tale of two halfs. That first half has fans preparing for the worst. But that second half has a few remaining hopeful of great things.

3.) Being that you are a Kansas grad I'm going to assume you catch the occasional game with the Fighting Mangino's. What problems might UTEP pose and where might they exploit a Kansas weakness?

Kansas had some struggles in the defensive secondary in week one, and that is where UTEP attacks everybody. So that is certainly a concern. UTEP is all about offense and should be able to score points on Kansas. But I have faith Reesing and crew can keep up.

If UTEP's offense has a problem it is that Vittatoe sometimes tries to go for too much, going deep on too many plays. If the Kansas secondary realizes that weakness and stays back, controlling the big plays, I think they'll find UTEP error-prone in the end. Long, painful drives are not UTEP's cup of tea.

4.) This will be the second year in a row Kansas has gone into a hostile environment for a non conference road game, does the Sun Bowl and the UTEP crowd present a problem and can it be enough of a factor to rattle Kansas this early in the season?

Yes, the Sun Bowl certainly can be a hostile environment that causes problems for teams. The Miners played Texas pretty strong last year in the Sun Bowl, just down 28-13 at the half before getting blown out. And back in 2006, Texas Tech came to town and should have lost, but they snuck out with an overtime victory, 38-35.

But WILL it be a problem for Kansas? Maybe if UTEP had beaten Buffalo, then sold out this game, there would be reason to worry. But fans are pretty discouraged now, and I don't expect a sell-out crowd, especially with the game on TV.

The Sun Bowl is a special place, tucked into the mountains about 500 yards from Mexico. If the crowd shows up, it gets loud with the mountains keeping all the sound in, so it could offer a test.

5.) How do you see this game playing out? Who wins, how and what factors into it?

Both teams have the capibility to score a lot of points. But UTEP is error-prone, and I think Kansas takes advantage of those errors to score the win. They main factor I see is that UTEP never touched Buffalo's quarterback. Anybody who watched Kansas against Northern Colorado knows Reesing is a magician. If UTEP couldn't get Buffalo's quarterback, they are even less likely to get a hand on Reesing. Reesing should be able to light it up.

Final score, Kansas, 45 UTEP, 31.

Big thanks to Jay for giving us some of his time this week and here's hoping he represents KU come Sunday and ignores all his journalistic urges to remain neutral.

Kansas Football Press Conference 9.8.09

Denverjhawk — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:33:35 -0000

Week one is in the books and it's time to turn the page. Coach Mangino give his final thoughts on the positives of Northern Colorado as well as some areas for improvement. Coach also looks ahead to Saturday's opponent in UTEP.

From the player side we get to hear from regulars in Darrell Stuckey and Todd Reesing. One of the impressive performers from week one in Chris Harris. Freshman contributor Bradley McDougald and Justin Springer who returns to Texas and will see a familiar face in a UTEP uniform.

At the beginning of the presser the players of the week are released and Tom Mabry a freshman offensive tackle was awarded scout team player of the week honors which is certainly a positive sign in terms of the continued development of depth on the offensive line.

Players of the Northern Colorado Game (voted by KU coaching staff):

Offensive Player of the Game: Jake Sharp

Defensive Player of the Game: Chris Harris

Special Teams Player of the Game: Jacob Branstetter

Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week: Chea Peterman

Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week: Tom Mabry

Head Coach Mark Mangino

Opening statement on this week's game vs. UTEP:

"We are preparing now to play UTEP. UTEP just lost a very tough ball game to Buffalo. As we prepare for UTEP, we understand they have a lot of talented players. They are very well coached by Mike Price, who is very well respected in the coaching profession."

On the offense of UTEP:

"Their quarterback, Trevor Vittatoe, is very productive. He throws the ball well and is an all-around good athlete. They have a bunch of receivers who run very well and can catch the football. They have a young man named James Thomas, who they kind of use as an all-purpose player. You can see him lined up at quarterback, running back; he is very speedy and very talented. Donald Buckram rushed for a little better than 100 yards last week. They have a very good offensive line. I am very impressed with their offensive line. They are physical, athletic and very talented."

On the defense of UTEP:

"On the defensive side of the ball, they have several good athletes. Their defensive ends are quick guys, athletic and play very well. Their linebackers are pretty decent and one of them is Justin Springer's twin brother. They moved him from quarterback to linebacker and you can tell he is still learning, but he is just like Justin in that he plays hard, he makes plays and he is a good football player."

On UTEP's special teams:

"Their punter really booms the ball well, a guy by the name of Greg Hiett. He really gives them an added dimension on special teams."

On road game so early in the season:

"This is an early road game for us, so it is a good challenge. We will find out a lot about ourselves. I think we are well prepared to play on the road and our players are looking forward to it. Our players are looking forward to getting on the road, because as you know, if we want to have success in the conference, we have to be able to win on the road."

On the UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe:

"He has a little bit of a low delivery, but he gets the ball there. I can't say mechanically he reminds me of anyone in our league, but he sure can compete with quarterbacks in our league."

On UTEP vs. Buffalo game:

"Buffalo is a very sound, fundamental football team. They do not make many mistakes on either side of the ball. They pay attention to detail. That is two years in a row now Buffalo has beat UTEP; last year in Buffalo and then this year in El Paso. UTEP got off to a slow start and then things started to click for them in the second half. They had an opportunity to win the game, and then they made some mental mistakes, so for me, the game was sort of a toss-up."

On progression of KU defensive end Jake Laptad:

"He is a serious student of the game. He puts a lot into what he does. He is big in the weight room. He works hard on his fundamental drills on his on time, as well as what we do together. He is really getting better and he is a lot of fun to coach because he is in to and it is real important to him."

On correcting and improving on pass interference calls:

"We have to look at them from a technical standpoint on why they happen. Then we break it down and our coaches sit with the players and go over it. Then we work on it on the practice field - what fundamentally broke down to create those situations. They are not accidents, they don't just happen; there is a reason why. It is usually a lack of being sound fundamentally - doing what you are supposed to being doing in those situations against those routes."

On the rehabilitation of KU linebacker Justin Springer:

"Being injured is a lonely world. You are not practicing with your teammates and you want to be out there, but you are not. And as much as the coaches and players embrace you and want you to feel a part of it, because you are not participating, it is lonely. But he has had good rehab. He has come back slowly and he has had a few roadblocks, but he is coming around now and we are easing him in to it, but he will be full speed before you know it."

On UTEP's wide receiver Jeff Moturi:

"Moturi is a solid, dependable guy. He reminds me a lot of our Tertavian Ingram. David Beaty knows him because he coached him in high school for a while. But he is a quality player, a really good football player."

Junior Cornerback Chris Harris

On what he has to improve:

"(I need to work on) tackling better and reading my reads a little bit faster so that I can make better plays. I left a lot of plays out there that I should have made."

On the defensive performance against Northern Colorado:

"We still have a lot of improvement to make on tackling and fundamentals and just reading stuff better. The biggest improvements always come from game one to game two. We are hungry right now and we are just ready to improve."

On what makes it difficult to win on the road:

"We have been practicing at our home stadium for so long that we just get used to that environment. Going on the road, we are going to see the character and makeup of this team. It is a pretty hard step to go on the road, so we will see the makeup of this team."

Freshman Wide Receiver Bradley McDougald

On what the offense can do to improve:

"We all have our different areas. Each position has different areas they want to work on. For wide receivers it is probably holding onto our blocks and looking the ball all the way in. (Against Northern Colorado) we had a couple of drops and a couple of miscues when we were running different plays and blocking schemes that we can correct. That is probably going to be the main focal point this week."

On UTEP's game against Buffalo:

"Coaches have been telling us a lot that they are a great team and we can't use that game to hold against them. Buffalo just got them, so we have to still prepare like it is a whole new game on Saturday."

On facing a hostile environment:

"I haven't thought too much in depth about it. I know I have my team at my back and my coaches at my back. As long as I can distract the crowd as much as possible and just play football and worry about what is happening on the field, that will help me a lot."

Senior Quarterback Todd Reesing

On the game against Northern Colorado:

"I thought guys were ready mentally and I think we showed up focused and ready to play. I think we executed very well on offense and defense. I don't think we had a lot of mistakes out there, so I am very pleased with the first game."

On his initial impression of UTEP's secondary:

"They are athletic. They have guys that can make plays and they are talented. They have athletic guys all over their defense. It is definitely going to be a challenge for us. We have to get ready and prepared, especially knowing that they are probably going to score some points with the reputation their offense has. It will be a good challenge for us."

On taking the team's momentum on the road to UTEP:

"We definitely want to build upon what we did this last week. It was definitely a good start for us. But, obviously, going on the road, it is a whole new environment. We have guys that are young that are going to have to learn to play on the road and deal with the hostile environment. Any time you play on the road, it is tough - it doesn't matter if it is conference or non-conference. It is going to be a big game for them and it is a big game for us. We are going to have to have even more focus this week in practice and get ready and prepared the best we can. We want to start our first road game on the right foot."

On the Texas heat:

"I don't think it should be a problem. We have been working hard the last eight months conditioning. We worked out all summer in the heat and had two-a-days. I think the guys are in good enough shape and everyone is well-conditioned enough, any heat should not be a problem. We had a little heat this past Saturday, and everyone was all right. I don't see that being a problem for us at all."

Junior Linebacker Justin Springer

On the importance of getting a win on the road:

"It is very, very important, especially UTEP. It is going to be a crazy atmosphere over there with the Sun Bowl and it is going to be fun, but it is very important for our team and I think we are going to do that."

On cheering for his brother (Jeremy, a starting linebacker at UTEP) and UTEP:

"Big time. Last week I was watching that game and I was really disappointed they lost. But of course this game I'm not."

On talking to his brother after the first weekend:

"I just told him a couple of things he needed to work on like staying lower and wrapping up. Sometimes he didn't wrap up and he missed like three tackles and should have had 13 tackles, but he missed three."

On knowing UTEP better than anybody on the team:

"I know a lot of their players. I know their quarterback personally, I know their linemen. I know everybody on that team. They are going to be a lot better than they played against Buffalo. I promise that. They are really good offensively. They have very fast receivers, a very good quarterback and they are confident, real confident that they can beat us and we have got to play hard."

Senior Safety Darrell Stuckey

On Chris Harris:

"He is getting more comfortable. Whether it is playing nickel, corner or safety or whatever position we need him at. He is pretty athletic and he has got a lot of confidence and we help him a lot and support him. He is just a player who will go out there and do whatever it takes to help his team and I think that is what motivates him the most."

On seeing improvement from game one to game two:

"There is always so much more improvement from game one to game two because the fact it is game one you get all those different doubts out about playing at the level, especially when you have got a lot of young players. Whether it is offense or defense, they get a lot of those nerves out."

On UTEP's offense:

"They are pretty talented. They have a pretty balanced offense in passing and running the ball too. It is one of those things where we are going to have to read our keys and stick to the fundamentals and read our assignments and carry them out."

Opponent Profile: UTEP

Peter Bean — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:52:34 -0000

Irony: When everything in your life is going well you have no free time; conversely, when you're in a horrible rut you've got all the time in the world. Which is why we all look forward to that one time in life when the curse is broken... retirement.

Better late than never: A few words on UTEP.

2007 Season Cap

2007 Record: 4-8 (2-6 - Conference USA)
2007 Home Record: 3-3
2007 vs Winning: 2-5
2007 vs. Ranked: 0-1
2007 Bowl: N/A
Last year vs TX: N/A
All-Time vs. TX: 0-2

2007 Key Stats

OFFENSE
Yards/Play, Offense: 5.9 (#23, nationally)
Scoring Offense/Game: 33.6 (26)
Rush Yards/Att: 4.26 (45)
Pass Yards/Att: 7.5 (27)
3rd Downs Conv-Att: 70-174-40.2% (53)
Red Zone Scores-Chances: 38/44 (31 TD / 7 FG)
Turnovers lost: 20 (22)

DEFENSE
Yards/Play Defense: 6.2 (105)
Scoring Defense/Game 37.1 (113)
Rush Yards/Att: 4.84 (99)
Pass Yards/Att: 7.7 (97)
3rd Downs Conv-Att: 91-186-48.9% (114)
Red Zone Scores-Chances: 55-66 (42 TD / 13 FG)
Turnovers gained: 29 (20)
Turnover margin: +18 (3)

SPECIAL TEAMS
Yards/Punt Return, FAU: 13.6 (14)
Yards/Punt Return, Opponent: 7.9 (47)
Yards/Kickoff Return, FAU: 20.4 (82)
Yards/Kickoff Return, Opponent: 21.9 (73)
FG Att-Made: 17-20

Personnel

Returning Starters: 12 (5 offense, 7 defense)
Best Player, Offense: Trevor Vittatoe, QB (224-407-55%, 3101 yards, 25-7 TD-INT as rFR)
Best Wide Receiver: Jeff Moturi (65 rec, 891 yards, 13.7 avg, 13 TD)
Best Running Back: Terrell Jackson (Injured in last year's opener; PrepStar All-American in HS went to Oregon before transfer)
Best Player, Defense: Adam Vincent, LB (75 tackles in '07)
Best D-Lineman: Andre Jones?
Best Linebacker: Vincent
Best DB: Cornelius Brown (46 tackles, 4 INT, 9 PBU)
Sleeper: Vernon Frazier, RB (Those who watch UTEP closely sense a breakout if opportunity is given)

2008 To Date

8/28 L 17-42 at Buffao
Box Score
Recap

PB Commentary & Prediction

Heading into this season, quarterback Trevor Vittatoe's memorable redshirt freshman season was enough to regard UTEP's offense as 'respectable,' though the situation looked bleak again on defense. Now, after the Miners' humiliating season-opening loss to Buffalo in which the offense scored just 17 points and Vittatoe threw 3 interceptions, what little hope existed UTEP might hang with the Longhorns in some kind of wild, West Texas night game shootout seems especially fantastical.

To be fair, the Bulls have played increasingly better football under rising star Turner Gill, but the Miners were so thoroughly dominated on the stat sheet there's simply no imaginable scenario in which they can compete with Texas even for a half. Consider:

Buffalo finished with 263 yards rushing on 5.3 yards per attempt
Bulls quarterback Drew Willy completed 10 of his 16 passes for 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, picking up 13.8 yards per attempt, double last season's average of 6.8.
UTEP tailback Terrell Jackson was limited to 67 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.7 ypc), which looks good next to the 13 yards on 6 carries by other UTEP rushers. And that doesn't count Vittatoe's 13 yards lost on 2 sacks.

On and on we could go, but there's no point: If this is UTEP's Super Bowl, Saturday night is going to resemble Pasadena '93.

PB'S PREDICTION: TEXAS 51 UTEP 6

Who you got? Guess the exact score and win a BON t-shirt.

By The Numbers

Peter Bean — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:50:02 -0000

96 -- Season opening wins in Texas program history.

5 -- Times in the last 6 seasons Texas has scored 50+ to open the year.

29 -- Yards covered on John Chiles' first career touchdown pass to James Kirkendoll.

33 -- Consecutive games Quan "Velcro" Cosby has caught a pass.

40 -- Yards on Hunter Lawrence first career field goal.

3 -- Scholarship kickers on the Texas roster (Lawrence, Tucker, Bailey).

4 -- Times out of 4 Colt McCoy has punted and pinned the opponent inside the 20.

98,053 -- People in attendance Saturday night, the largest crowd to watch a football game in the history of the state.

47 -- Consecutive games sold out at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

51 -- Number of minutes shorter this year's season opener (2 hours, 23 minutes) was than last year's (3 hours, 14 minutes). [Or not. --ed]

2 -- Trips inside the red zone out of 4 which resulted in points for Florida Atlantic.

0 -- Sacks recorded by Texas and Florida Atlantic.

5.2 -- Yards per carry by Vondrell McGee, 20% above last season's average.

15 -- Blaine Irby receptions predicted by Kirk Bohls in 2008.

7 -- Blaine Irby receptions in the season opener.

54 -- Career touchdown passes for Colt McCoy, moving him past James Brown (53) for 3rd all-time at Texas.

60 -- Career touchdown passes by Major Applewhite, tops all-time at Texas.

13 -- Consecutive completions by McCoy during the opener, two shy of the school record.

1.6 -- Yards allowed per rush by Texas Saturday.

67 -- Yards rushing (2.6 per attempt) by UTEP in their season opener against Buffalo.

3 -- Interceptions thrown by UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe against UB.

14 -- Points UTEP was outscored by in each of the 1st and 4th quarters against UB.

0 -- Tickets still available for Saturday's game in El Paso.