SB Nation - John Williams

The North in 2010

Bill C. — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:00:31 -0000

The 2009 Big 12 North race is, to say the least, intriguing heading into November, but the way my brain works, I can't help but keep an eye on the future as all of this plays out. And since it's in my head, I might as well type it out too, huh? As November 2009 begins, let's take a look at...2010.

What we're going to do is simple: we're going to take the most recent two-deeps listed on each team's website, remove the seniors, and see what's left. Obviously there will be plenty more analysis to come, but this will be a nice, preliminary peek. I can't help myself.

Missouri

Projected 2010 Depth Chart
QB	Blaine Gabbert (Jr) Jimmy Costello (So)	DE	Jacquies Smith (Jr) Marcus Malbrough (So)
RB	Derrick Washington (Sr) De'Vion Moore (So)	DT	Dominique Hamilton (Jr) Marvin Foster (RSFr)
WR	Jerrell Jackson (Jr) Brandon Gerau (Jr)	DT	Terrell Resonno (Jr) Bart Coslet (Sr)
WR	T.J. Moe (So) Rolandis Woodland (So)	DE	Aldon Smith (So) Brad Madison (So)
WR	Wes Kemp (Jr) Michael Egnew (Jr)	WLB	Zaviar Gooden (So) Donovan Bonner (So)
TE	Andrew Jones (Jr) Beau Brinkley (Jr)	MLB	Will Ebner (Jr) Luke Lambert (Sr)
LT	Elvis Fisher (Jr) Justin Britt (RSFr)	SLB	Andrew Gachkar (Sr) Tyler Crane (Jr)
LG	Austin Wuebbels (Jr) Travis Ruth (So)	CB	Carl Gettis (Sr) Trey Hobson (Jr)
C	Tim Barnes (Sr) J.T. Beasley (Jr)	CB	Kevin Rutland (Sr) Robert Steeples (So)
RG	Jayson Palmgren (Jr) Travis Ruth (So)	FS	Jasper Simmons (Sr) Munir Prince (Sr)
RT	Dan Hoch (Jr) Jack Meiners (So)	SS	Jarrell Harrison (Sr) Kenji Jackson (Jr)

K	Grant Ressel (Jr)	P	Matt Grabner (Jr)
PR	Carl Gettis (Sr)	KR	Jasper Simmons (Sr)

I've got to say, this is the most complete team heading into 2010. Blaine Gabbert will be the most accomplished North QB heading into 2010 and Derrick Washington the second-most accomplished RB. The improved secondary will return just about everybody of importance, and a deep LB corps could be well-positioned to absorb the loss of Sean Weatherspoon with as little drop-off as possible.
Two major question marks: a) who replaces Danario Alexander, and b) who replaces Jaron Baston? Multiple candidates exist to replace Spoon, so that's actually less of a worry, but the WR situation is at least a bit worrisome. Wes Kemp has shown flashes, and if he continues to grow, he could be the deep threat this team needs, but what is it I always say? Until you actually prove it, it's a question mark. Beyond Kemp, guys like Jackson, T.J. Moe (remember him?), Rolandis Woodland, and one of the redshirting freshmen (L'Damian Washington, Jaleel Clark, Kerwin Stricker) will fill out the depth chart, and at least one of them will need to take a step forward.
Of course, you know who else could absorb the loss of Danario? Tight ends. Novel concept, I know.
I really like what I've seen out of Dominique Hamilton recently, but Terrell Resonno seems to have disappeared. Either he or one of the underclassmen (Marvin Foster, Jimmy Burge, George White) will need to raise their game. If somebody competent steps up at WR and DT, this team is loaded.

Colorado

Projected 2010 Depth Chart
QB	Tyler Hansen (Jr) Cody Hawkins (Sr)	DE	Marquez Herrod (Sr) Josh Hartigan (Jr)
RB	Rodney Stewart (Jr) Darrell Scott (Jr)	DT	Curtis Cunningham (Jr) Nate Bonsu (So)
FB	Ryan Deehan (Jr) ?	DT	Will Pericak (So) Conrad Obi (Jr)
WR	Scotty McKnight (Sr) Jason Espinoza (Jr)	DE	Forrest West (So) Nick Kasa (So)
WR	Markques Simas (Jr) Will Jefferson (So)	WLB	Jon Major (So) Tyler Ahles (Jr)
TE	Ryan Deehan? (Jr) ?	MLB	Michael Sipili (Sr) ?
LT	Nate Solder (Sr) Ryan Dannewitz (So)	SLB	B.J. Beatty (Sr) Doug Rippy (So)
LG	Ethan Adkins (Jr) Blake Behrens (Jr)	CB	Jimmy Smith (Sr) ?
C	Keenan Stevens (Sr) Mike Iltis (Jr)	CB	Jalil Brown (Sr) Arthur Jaffee (Jr)
RG	Matthew Bahr (Jr) Max Tuioti-Mariner? (So)	FS	Ray Polk (So) Anthony Perkins (Jr)
RT	Ryan Miller (Jr) Bryce Givens (So)	SS	Travis Sandersfeld (Jr) ?

K	Aric Goodman (Sr)	P	Aric Goodman (Sr)
PR	Jason Espinoza (Jr)	KR	Brian Lockridge (Jr)

I mentioned this past offseason that while Colorado was going to stink in 2009, they might actually be positioning themselves to actually fulfill the role of sleeper that has been foisted upon them for most of the last half-decade. Ironically, they might actually emerge as a sleeper just as everybody finally gives up on them.
Of course, there will still be some major question marks. You know I'm not at all impressed with Rodney "Another Short Gain By" Stewart, and while Scotty McKnight (how is he still an underclassman???) is a great possession guy, he'd be a helluva lot better as a #2 or #3 threat than a #1. Unless Markques Simas finally starts to live up to the potential everybody says he has, this team is still severely lacking at WR, and they're losing both of their top tight ends. (I'm going out of my way not to mention Darrell Scott here, as he...whatever. I have no expectations whatsoever for him at this point, and I'm going to let him surprise me.)
I really like Jimmy Smith at CB, but CU's going to be searching for some replacements in the secondary. Jalil Brown has potential, and Ray Polk is young, but depth could be an issue.
Same can be said for the LB corps. Luckily for CU, they should have a strong D-line to maybe deflect some of the concerns.
If CU really does live up to its annual sleeper reputation, it will be in the trenches, where a struggling O-line will at least have experience on its side, and the D-line could be strong. Then again, after watching CU's O-line attempt to handle MU's improving-but-not-amazing D-line, maybe returning a bunch of these guys might not be a good thing.

Iowa State

Projected 2010 Depth Chart
QB	Austen Arnaud (Sr) Jerome Tiller (So)	DE	Patrick Neal (Jr) ?
RB	Alexander Robinson (Sr) Beau Blankenship (So)	DT	Bailey Johnson (Jr) Stephen Ruempolhamer (Jr)
WR	Jake Williams (Sr) ?	DT	Austin Alburtis (Sr) ?
WR	Sedrick Johnson (Jr) ?	DE	Roosevelt Maggitt (So) Cleyon Lang (So)
WR	Josh Lenz (So) Darius Darks (Jr)	SLB	Jacob Lattimer (Jr) ?
TE	Collin Franklin (Sr) ?	MLB	Matt Tau'fo'ou (Sr) A.J. Klein (So)
LT	Kelechi Osmele (Jr) Brayden Burris (So)	WLB	Jake Knott (So) ?
LG	Alex Alvarez (Sr) Mike Bangston (So)	CB	Leonard Johnson (Jr) Jeremy Reeves (So)
C	Sean Smith (Sr) ?	CB	Jacques Washington (So) ?
RG	Ben Lamaak (Sr) Trey Baysinger (Jr)	FS	Michael O'Connell (Sr) ?
RT	Scott Haughton (Jr) Zack Spears (Jr)	SS	David Sims (Sr) Zac Sandvig (Sr)

K	Grant Mahoney (Jr)	P	?
PR	Leonard Johnson (Jr)	KR	Leonard Johnson (Jr)

So Paul Rhoads' second year in Ames will potentially see a downright strong offense and a thin, depleted, inexperienced defense. I don't want to overstate the offensive potential (the WR situation is iffy, to say the least), but ISU might have the best O-line in the North blocking for what is at least decent skill position talent.
Arnaud vs Tiller. Could be interesting to watch this competition.
Really, if ISU returned just a couple more decent playmakers on defense, I could talk myself into them being a darkhorse contender. But while I do like what Rhoads has done with the talent on hand this year, I just can't figure they'll be that great next year. They will need another year or two of Rhoads developing his own recruits before I feel a lot more comfortable about the potential of their program.

Kansas

Projected 2010 Depth Chart
QB	Kale Pick (So) ?	DE	Jake Laptad (Sr) ?
RB	Toben Opurum (So) ?	DT	Jamal Greene (Sr) ?
WR	Dezmon Briscoe?? (Sr) ?	DT	John Williams (So) Richard Johnson (Jr)
WR	Johnathan Wilson (Sr) Tertavian Ingram (Sr)	DE	Quintin Woods (Sr) ?
WR	Bradley McDougald (So) Chris Omigie (So)	SLB	Justin Springer (Sr) ?
TE	Tim Biere (Jr) Ted McNulty (Jr)	MLB	Drew Dudley (Sr) ?
LT	Tanner Hawkinson (So) Ian Wolfe (Sr)	WLB	Huldon Tharp (So) ?
LG	Brad Thorson (Sr) Carl Wilson (Sr)	CB	D.J. Beshears (So) Daymond Patterson (Jr)
C	Jeremiah Hatch (Jr) Brad Thorson (Sr)	CB	Chris Harris (Sr) Calvin Rubles (Sr)
RG	Sal Capra (Sr) Trevor Marrongelli (So)	FS	Lubbock Smith (So) ?
RT	Jeff Spikes (Jr) Michael Martinovich (Jr)	SS	Phil Strozier (Sr) ?

K	Jacob Branstetter (Sr)	P	Alonso Rojas (Sr)
PR	Daymond Patterson (Jr)	KR	Bradley McDougald (So)

So KU's biggest question mark (offensive line) will return completely intact next year, while most of the known skill position talent disappears. I listed Dez Briscoe on the two-deep above, but I've got to be honest: I'm about 92% sure he's going pro this year. His stats are ridiculous, he's got decent NFL size, he's been suspended for academic reasons, and supposedly he was tied to those football-vs-basketball brawls earlier in the year. That's not a recipe for someone who's going to go out of his way to stick around campus for another season.
Without Briscoe, I have to figure this is going to be a run-heavy offense next year. Kale Pick's got a lot to prove, but with Toben Opurum and an experienced line, they might (might) be able to rely on the run. Then again, they'll still need some sort of passing attack, and...who will be the #1 receiver? Johnathan Wilson, I guess? Color me unafraid.
I'm not even going to try to figure out if KU's D is going to be any good. They've improved recently, but they lose Darrell Stuckey and two linemen, and the depth from LB corps vanishes. I assume this will be a decent unit, and really you can start to maybe see the identity KU might be going with--defense first, run-heavy, grind it out.

Kansas State

Projected 2010 Depth Chart
QB	Carson Coffman (Sr) ?	DE	Brandon Harold (Jr) ?
RB	Daniel Thomas (Sr) ?	DT	Prizell Brown (Sr) ?
FB	Braden Wilson (So) Lucas Hamm (Sr)	DT	Raphael Guidry (Jr) ?
WR	Lamark Brown (Sr) ?	DE	Antonio Felder (Sr) Joseph Kassanavoid (So)
WR	Collin Klein (So) Chris Harper (So)	LB	Kevin Rohleder (Sr) ?
TE	Travis Tannahill (So) ?	LB	Alex Hrebec (Jr) ?
LT	Zach Hanson (Jr) ?	LB	Troy Butler (Sr) Thomas Ferguson (So)
LG	Zach Kendall (Sr) Trevor Viers (Sr)	CB	Joshua Moore (Sr) Darious Thomas (So)
C	Wade Weibert (Sr) ?	CB	Stephen Harrison (Sr) David Garrett (Jr)
RG	Kenneth Mayfield (Sr) Colten Freeze (Jr)	FS	Emmanuel Lamur (Jr) ?
RT	Clyde Aufner (Jr) Ethan Douglas (So)	SS	Tysyn Hartman (Jr) Torrell Miller (So)

K	Josh Cherry (Sr)	P	Ryan Doerr (So)
PR	Tysyn Hartman (Jr)	KR	Daniel Thomas (Sr)

Like Kansas, this looks to be a pretty run-heavy, can't-pass-on-them team, with Daniel Thomas running behind a super-experienced line and a well-coached defense that is iffy in the front seven but stout in the secondary. In other words, this looks like a Bill Snyder team (sans the All-American linebackers). We've made a big deal out of the fact that they're losing about 35 seniors this year (and that's only a slight exaggeration), and that will absolutely murder their depth, but if they stay reasonably healthy, the Snyder identity might be able to take shape a bit more.
Now, I say they'll have a good secondary...I'm still unsure about how good the secondary is now, but returning all four current starters certainly suggests decent improvement for next year.
I believe I heard that Chris Harper is moving to WR instead of competing at QB, right?

Nebraska

Projected 2010 Depth Chart
QB	Cody Green (So) Zac Lee (Sr)	DE	Cameron Meredith (So) Josh Williams (So)
RB	Roy Helu, Jr. (Sr) Rex Burkhead (So)	DT	Baker Steinkuhler (So) Terrence Moore (Jr)
FB	Tyler Legate (So) Mike Hays (Jr)	DT	Jared Crick (Jr) ?
WR	Niles Paul (Sr) Antonio Bell (So)	DE	Pierre Allen (Sr) ?
WR	Curenski Gilleylen (Jr) Khiry Cooper (So)	Will	Blake Lawrence (Sr) Matthew May (Jr)
TE	Mike McNeill (Sr) Dreu Young (Sr)	Mike	Will Compton (So) Micah Kreikemeier (So)
LT	Mike Smith (Sr) ?	Buck	Sean Fisher (So) Eric Martin (So)
LG	Keith Williams (Sr) ?	CB	Prince Amukamara (Sr) Dejon Gomes (Sr)
C	Mike Caputo (Jr) ?	CB	Anthony West (Sr) Alfonzo Dennard (Jr)
RG	Ricky Henry (Sr) ?	FS	Eric Hagg (Sr) Austin Cassidy (Jr)
RT	Marcel Jones (Jr) D.J. Jones (Sr)	SS	P.J. Smith (So) Courtney Osborne (So)

K	Alex Henery (Sr)	P	Alex Henery (Sr)
PR	Niles Paul (Sr)	KR	Niles Paul (Sr)

How the hell is Pierre Allen still an underclassman? I was completely convinced that both he and Barry Turner were seniors, but I guess not.
Next question: how much of Nebraska's defensive identity is grounded in Ndamukong Suh? He and Turner depart, but will Allen and the stout Jared Crick be able to keep the great D-line play coming? And how much of Crick's success is due to offenses' fear of Suh?
The shine is quickly wearing off of Roy Helu, Jr., but he does return next year (lord knows he's not going pro), and with yet another experienced O-line, NU should be able to run the ball pretty well. That will obviously take some pressure off of Cody Green if Green is not, after all, ready to be NU's savior.
I really like what NU has returning at CB, but...safety? I think I like their second-string CBs more than their first string safeties. Will be interesting to see if there's some position shifting when all is said and done.

As a Missouri fan, I look at this information and quickly conclude that Missouri will be the 2010 favorite, and really I'd say I have pretty good basis in fact for that opinion. That said, Nebraska is intriguing, and even though K-State is not a stat-friendly team (I've already accepted that they're better than the stats say--I just can't figure out how much better), Bill Snyder really might get them back into the hunt despite the youth and lack of depth. Colorado could be interesting depending on who the head coach is (ahem), Kansas has recruited well and will see plenty of talented-but-young players hitting the field, and Iowa State might have the best offensive line in the division. I'd like to think Missouri might run away with this thing, and I'm sure it could happen (the trip to Lincoln aside), but with five of six North teams (all but Kansas) looking potentially better next year than this year, we might have another fun race on our hands.

Hawk Talk: Kansas vs Texas Tech Tailgate Edition

Denverjhawk — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:00:20 -0000

News and Notes leading up to this weekends matchup...

The Good Guys...

Jake Sharp battles injury in attempt to continue to contribute.
Everyone's a little puzzled when it comes to the Big12 North.
Jayhawks land a commitment this week in St. Louis area linebacker Ed Fink.
Kansas looks to refocus on the running game.
Reesing and the Kansas offense fighting to get out of a rut.
Opurum the Equalizer?
Tech no pushover.
Reesing retains his confidence.
Kansas v Tech preview.
Young secondary in for a serious test in Lubbock.
A look at Jayhawk strength coach Chris Dawson.

Denver's Take...

Well I'm done guessing scores and outcomes as this season has gotten pretty crazy and it's hard to draw much from a team's performance week to week because it appears to have no bearing on the current week.

All I know is Tech is a winnable game but the Jayhawks are going to have to do something different than they have in recent weeks. The Red Raiders will look to turn this in a shootout because quite honestly their defense has nearly as many concerns as the Jayhawks.

Kansas needs to avoid the early mistake and ensure themselves the chance to actually execute a gameplan for the first time in three weeks. Problem with both CU and OU is that the moment you go down early with a defense that you don't have a lot of confidence in the tendency is to scrap whatever you wanted to do and try to go with your strengths. Problem is those strengths haven't been as much of a slam dunk as we once thought.

Run the ball, keep the offense balanced and on defense avoid the big play. Sorry Labba I'm with Bowen on this one. Tech has a young quarterback and some inexperienced offensive lineman. Let's give these guys a little room to work underneath and try and pressure the QB into mistakes. This one for a variety of reason very likely could be the shootout you'd expect and the one who blinks first might just lose.

Rock Chalk Jayhawks, let's get this train back on the tracks.

More Notes and Things to Look for After the Jump...

KU-TT SERIES -- Texas Tech leads the all-time series 10-1, including a 4-1 advantage in games played at Lubbock. The Red Raiders have won three straight in the series, including last season's 63-21 victory at
Lawrence. KU's lone win the series was a 34-31 double-overtime victory at Lubbock in 2001. The teams played four times (1965, 66, 69 and 70) before the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.

KU-TT LAST YEAR -- No. 6 Texas Tech's offensive firepower was too much for No. 19 Kansas as the visiting Red Raiders posted a 63-21 victory at Lawrence on Oct. 25. Texas Tech scored touchdowns on nine
of its first 11 possessions, while stopping KU's 13-game home field winning streak. The teams were tied at 14 after the first quarter. However, the Red Raiders scored 49 unanswered points before KU scored a touchdown with 3:52 remaining in the game. Texas Tech ran up 556 total yards, while KU managed just 315, its fewest in the previous 27 games. KU turned the ball over five times on the day, including on three straight possessions to start the third quarter.

KU-TT LAST TIME AT LUBBOCK -- Texas Tech built up a 20-0 halftime lead en route to a 30-17 victory on Oct. 1, 2005 in the last meeting at Lubbock. The Red Raiders had 380 yards of total offense, while KU managed just 271. Jon Cornish ran for 111 yards for the Jayhawks, while Brian Luke threw for 109 yards and Adam Barmann threw for 45 more. KU fumbled six times, but only lost one in the game.

KU'S ONLY WIN IN THE SERIES WAS A THRILLER -- As mentioned earlier, KU's only win in the series was a 34-31 double-overtime victory at Lubbock on Oct. 6, 2001. The teams traded rushing touchdowns in the first overtime before KU's Johnny Beck nailed a 37-yard field goal on the first possession of the second overtime. KU LB Marcus Rogers intercepted B.J. Symons in the second overtime to seal the victory for the Jayhawks. KU trailed 24-13 before Beck hit a 44-yard field goal with 4:11 left in the game. KU forced a Red Raider punt and then drove 63 yards for a touchdown pass from Mario Kinsey to Termain Fulton with :21 left. The two-point conversion (a Reggie Duncan rush) sent the game into overtime. Duncan rushed for 227 yards for KU, which put up 310 rushing yards and 404 total. Texas Tech had 358 yards.

KU-TT CONNECTIONS -- KU Head Coach Mark Mangino and TT Head Coach Mike Leach were on the offensive staff at Oklahoma in 1999... Kansas boasts 35 players on its roster from the state of Texas.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AGAINST TEXAS TECH

WR Kerry Meier (1,958) needs just 42 receiving yards to become the fourth Jayhawk in school history to record 2,000 career receiving yards.
Meier (16) needs one more touchdown catch to tie for second on the KU career touchdown receptions list.
Meier has caught at least four passes in 10 straight games, at least two in 28 straight and at least one in 29 consecutive games.
Reesing (9,782) needs 218 passing yards to become the fifth player in Big 12 history to record 10,000 career passing yards.
WR Dezmon Briscoe (2,634) needs 189 receiving yards to break into the Big 12 top 10 for career receiving yards (Jordy Nelson of Kansas State had 2,822).
Briscoe has caught at least four passes in 10 consecutive games and at least two in 25 straight games.
Since missing his last two field goal attempts at UTEP, PK Jacob Branstetter has made six consecutive field goals.
DB Ryan Murphy has been in on a turnover in two straight games and in three of the last four (two interceptions and a fumble recovery).

DID YOU KNOW? -- PK Jacob Branstetter's five longest field goals of his career have come in his last five attempts. Against Colorado he made a 37-yarder to establish a career long. That did not last long as later in that game he made 43 and 42-yarders. Last week against Oklahoma, he drilled a 39-yarder and then booted a 57-yarder. His previous long was a 34-yarder vs. Missouri in 2008.

DID YOU KNOW? -- LB Justin Springer made a career-high nine tackles against Oklahoma, while three freshmen - D.J. Beshears, Lubbock Smith and Huldon Tharp - were the next leading tacklers for KU with seven each.

YOUTHFUL DEFENSE -- In its last game against Oklahoma, the Jayhawk starting defense included four freshmen, one sophomore, three juniors and three seniors. The freshmen starters included DT John Williams (two season starts), LB Huldon Tharp (three starts), CB D.J. Beshears (one start) and FS Lubbock Smith (two starts).

DID YOU KNOW? -- The Kansas defense has just four players who have recorded 100 career tackles in SS Darrell Stuckey (256), FS Justin Thornton (202), CB Chris Harris (174) and LB Arist Wright (115).

DID YOU KNOW? -- Twenty different players have started on defense this season.

Kansas vs. Texas Tech Matchup Breakdown

Denverjhawk — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:00:28 -0000

Why Kansas?	Edge	Scenario	Edge	Why Tech?
I'm at a bit of a loss on this one. Kansas is one of the top ranked offenses in the country but the last few weeks have held some struggles for the unit. Kansas needs to avoid mistakes early so they aren't forced to abandon the run. From there take a little hint from A&M and commit to the run. In the passing game Briscoe and Meier are studs but it's time guys like McDougald, Biere and Wilson see more balls. Balance is the key to keeping teams off guard. It's almost as if the Jayhawks have become to predictable. One other thing, if the other team wants to throw an giant umbrella out there against this tough recieving corps, check down to the running backs. They've been open regularly.	Edge Still goes to the Jayhawks here but after the last two weeks it's by an ever slimming margin. Todd and the O have earned the benefit of the doubt due to past success, let's just get this thing back on track so doubt doesn't continue to trickle into the picture.	KU Offense vs. Texas Tech Defense		Texas Tech is a middle of the pack defense after some key losses from last season. However if they can force some mistakes and make Kansas one dimensional it becomes a different game. The blueprint is out there on how to stop this Jayhawk attack, it's just a matter of executing and capitalizing on any miscues.
The changes from a few weeks back look to be upgrades. John Williams is solid up front, Justin Springer and Huldon Tharp look to be the best linebacking combo Kansas has fielded this year. Finally, Lubbock Smith, Ryan Murphy and even DJ Beshears despite his struggles have looked very good at times. Throw into the mix a rejuvinated Darrell Stuckey and this defense has been respectable since Iowa State and had Kansas been firing on all cylinders was likely good enough to beat Oklahoma. The Kansas defense needs the offense to put the team ahead and let the Jayhawks tee off, mix things up and try and force more mistakes by the Raiders, beyond that...bend but don't break whenever possible.		KU Defense vs. Texas Tech Offense		Believe it. Once again Mike Leach has the top passing team in the nation. The only tricky thing is their running game has struggled and their most efficient quarterback in this years musical chairs is out. Take advantage of a youthful Kansas secondary and put them on their heels and Tech's wild ride, shootout style could make for some serious problems for the Jayahwks.
Allright, Kansas needs to keep McDougald as the kick return man, find a way to get Daymond Patterson better blocking and special teams might be moving in the right direction. I mean hell Jacob Branstetter bombed one in and Alonso Rojas is still our punter extraordinaire. All Kansas needs to do is play with a little more fire and be a little less timid on the special teams units and this might one day be a strength again.		Special Teams	I'll give Tech the edge because they have a solid return game and the last thing Kansas can afford to do is give Tech a short field.	Exploit the Kansas kick coverage and make Jacob Branstetter show why he's the best tackling kicker in the country. Other than that, Mike Leach doesn't believe in field goals does he? Still the Tech special teams unit can win field position with their return game and coverage.
Kansas coaching staff will come up with a gameplan of their own and I'm still confident in the group. If it's me though, I'm going to commit to the run, keep things simple on offense and find ways to spread things around more. On defense, channel whatever you did against Oklahoma in the first half and things will look allright. Mix it up, disguise coverages and blitzes and make it difficult on whoever lines up behind center for the Red Raiders.	I say push on this one but let's be completely honest that the Jayhawk staff as got to find a way to get things back on track. Like the offense they've earned a little bit of goodwill, but it's time to earn some money again.	Coaching		Tech's coaches need to find a way to get the run defense back under control. Find a way to plug and play yet another quarterback in the offense, and put Kansas behind early. Leach is a mad genius and he certainly didn't disappoint last year in Lawrence. Can he do the same?

It's tough to look at this one and say Kansas has a chance. At the same time, isn't it tough to look at this one and say they don't? Kansas and Tech have been all over the board this year in terms of how they've played and the state of the team. Kansas is coming off two weeks with losses to Colorado and OU where they hurt themselves to the point of putting themselves out of the game.

Things at Tech were looking up after throttling Kansas State and beating Nebraska behind an impressive defensive performance. Then lowly Texas A&M came to town and ran up and down the field to the tune of 50+.

So who wins this thing? In Lubbock with the offense the Raiders put on the field they'd look to have a decided edge. At the same time the Kansas defense is playing better now and at some point this offense has to get back on track, right?

With all the uncertainty I think it's safe to say this one comes down to coaching. Which coach has his team more prepared, refocused and ready to go. The great thing about football is there's always next week, well next week is here Kansas fans and the North is still there for the taking.

Hawk Talk: Kansas v. Oklahoma Tailgate Edition

Denverjhawk — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:00:20 -0000

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

The Good Guys...

New faces emerging on the KU defense.
Defensive backups pushing Jayhawk defensive starters.
Coach Mangino wants to see improvement on special teams.
Kansas offense looks to get things going earlier.
A wild race for the north is on.
More on the Kansas defensive changes.
McDougald will see minutes on both sides of the ball for Kansas.
Sharp struggled with time away from the field.
OU Defense to be a tough test for the KU offense.
Kansas needs to capitalize against a hobbled OU squad.
KU v OU Preview

The Bad Guys...

OU at Kansas: Breaking down the matchups
How the Oklahoma offensive line turnover led to Sam Bradfords injury woes.
Landry Jones has learned through trial by fire this year.

Denver's Take...

Well after last week pretty much everything I thought to be true is out the window. Kansas dropping one on the road to Colorado wasn't part of the plan at the beginning of the season, it just wasn't supposed to happen. Kansas needed to sweep the North with the expectation that there was just no way they would be able to pull of either Oklahoma or Texas, right?

Well Oklahoma wasn't supposed to be 3-3 either. They weren't supposed to lose Jermaine Gresham, Sam Bradford, possibly Demarco Murray and they weren't supposed to have this much trouble replacing such a dominant offensive line from a year ago, right?

A lot has changed since August and while Oklahoma is still a damn good team and has a defense that will challenge the Kansas offense as much as anyone this season, it isn't the same Oklahoma we thought it would be.

The Jayhawks are coming off a loss the Sooners are coming off a loss and something has to give in Lawrence. Is this the year Kansas get's over the hump? Is this the year that Mangino finally wins one against his former employer?

I'm having a hard time picking Kansas after the last two weeks, but for some reason, possibly just hope...I think they can do it. Back at home and coming off a major wakeup call the Jayhawks are going to surprise some folks and play as well as they have all year. The defense will begin to settle in after the changes that were made following Iowa State and the offense get's things going a little earlier than expected. While I certainly don't expect the Kansas offense to run wild or the Kansas defense to stiffle a tough OU offense, I think we get just enough to make this one interesting.

No final score prediction this week but I have to remain loyal to my team and say Kansas wins this one in a squeeker. Some might see this as optimistic, but if I'm not a believer, who will be. Rock Chalk, enjoy the game and let's turn the Big 12 North race upside down once again, but this time in the right way.

COUPLE QUICK NOTES: A few notable changes this week on the depth chart. John Williams is listed 1st at DT over Richard Johnson Jr. Huldon Tharp has jumped Arist Wright at the WLB spot.

Also, that unfamiliar face we all saw in the backfield with Reesing last week should be at it again. Possibly even flying solo. Another quick question...if Kansas were to run something like the wildcat, what would you call it?

More Notes and Things to Look for After the Jump...

1-2-3-3-3 -- WR Dezmon Briscoe is leading the nation in receiving yards per game (134.20), WR Kerry Meier is second in receptions (9.00) and QB Todd Reesing is third in passing yards (330.00), completions (27.17) and total offense (340.17). In all, Jayhawks are in the top 10 nationally in eight different individual statistical categories.

KU-OU SERIES -- Oklahoma leads the all-time series 67-27-6, including a 30-14-3 advantage in games played at Lawrence. The Sooners have won five straight in the series since KU won three straight from 1995-97. Oklahoma is making its first trip to Lawrence since 2001 as the teams played in Norman in 2004 and 2008 and in Kansas City in 2005.

KU-OU HISTORICAL NOTE -- The 96 straight games KU and OU played against each other from 1903-97 ranks as the nation's fifth-longest uninterrupted series. The streak was stopped for Big 12 scheduling. This year's meeting is the 101st in the series.

KU-OU LAST YEAR -- Despite a record-breaking performance by KU WR Dezmon Briscoe, No. 16 Kansas lost 45-31 at No. 4 Oklahoma on Oct. 11. Briscoe caught what was then a school record 12 passes for what still is a school best 269 yards and two touchdowns. The 269 yards were the most in a game in the NCAA last year. QB Todd Reesing was 24 of 41 for 342 yards and two touchdowns. RB Jake Sharp ran 12 times for 103 yards and a touchdown. KU put up 491 yards of offense, but the Sooners ran up 674, including 468 passing. KU trailed just 31-24 early in the third quarter before Oklahoma scored two touchdowns to lead 45-24 with 12:02 left.

KU-OU LAST TIME AT LAWRENCE -- As mentioned Oklahoma has not played at Lawrence since the 2001 season. Kansas opened the scoring with a Johnny Beck field goal in the first quarter before the Sooners ran up 38 consecutive points before KU scored on a 77-yard pass from Mario Kinsey to Roger Ross with five minutes left. The Sooners won 38-10 behind 151 passing yards and 117 rushing yards from Jason White. Kansas gained just 223 yards, while Oklahoma accumulated 403. KU LB Leo Etienne recorded 18 tackles in the loss.

KU'S OKLAHOMANS -- Kansas has 11 players from the state of Oklahoma including LS Kayl Anderson (Tulsa/Bishop Kelley), PK Jacob Branstetter (Lawton/MacArthur), CB Anthony Davis (Tulsa/East Central),
TE Bradley Dedeaux (Midwest City), CB Chris Harris (Bixby), OL Gavin Howard (Owasso), DE Jake Laptad (Tulsa/Jenks), LB Dakota Lewis (Sulphur), RB Rell Lewis (Muskogee), OL Michael Martinovich (Tulsa/Cascia Hall Prep), and DT John Williams (Tulsa/Washington).

MORE KU-OU CONNECTIONS -- KU Head Coach Mark Mangino was an assistant coach at Oklahoma from 1999-2001, serving as the offensive coordinator in 2000 and 2001... KU TE Coach Brandon Blaney was a GA at Oklahoma in 1999 and 2000... KU Director of Strength and conditioning Chris Dawson was a LB at Oklahoma from 1992-94 and was a GA at OU in 1995 and an assistant strength and conditioning
coach from 1996-2000

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AGAINST OKLAHOMA

KU has scored at least 30 points in eight straight games dating back to last year.
KU has produced at least 400 yards of total offense in eight games in a row.
Reesing has thrown for 400 yards in two straight games.
WR Kerry Meier has recorded at least 10 receptions and 100 receiving yards in three straight games.
Meier has at least one touchdown catch in four straight games.
Meier (1,904) needs 96 yards to become the fourth KU player to record 2,000 career receiving yards.
Briscoe has recorded at least 100 receiving yards in eight of the last nine games.
S Darrell Stuckey has recorded double-digit tackle totals in two straight games.

WR DUO IS COUNTRY'S BEST -- The wide receiver duo of Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier is the most potent in the country.

Combined 18.34 receptions per game lead the NCAA.
Combined 230.87 receiving yards per game lead the NCAA.
Combined 42 career touchdown receptions are most among active duos in the NCAA.
Briscoe leads the NCAA in receiving yards per game (134.20).
Meier is second in the NCAA in receptions per game (9.00).
Through six games the two have combined for eight 100-yard games, four double-digit reception games and 10 touchdown catches.
On the KU career record charts they rank first (Briscoe) and fifth (Meier) in yards, first (Meier) and second (Briscoe) in receptions, first (Briscoe) and fourth (Meier) in touchdown receptions, first (Briscoe) and second (Meier) in 100-yard games.
On the KU single-game record lists they own the top seven single-game receptions marks (Meier holds top mark of 16 vs. Iowa State this year) and two of top five single-game yardage marks (Briscoe is first and fifth).

MID-SEASON BREAKDOWN

Here are a few notes about Kansas at the midway point of the season:

Kansas owns a 5-1 record, winning at least five of its first six games for the third straight year and third time in its Big 12 history.
KU's 503 total offensive yards per game are on pace for school record (479.8 in 2007).
KU's 347 passing yards per game are on pace for school record (305.6 in 2008).
KU's 156 rushing yards per game are 30 more per game than last season.
KU's 38 points per game are second only to the 42.7 scored in 2007.
On defense KU is allowing 346 total yards per game, 50 yards fewer than last season.
KU has recorded 19 sacks after getting 29 in 13 games last year.
QB Todd Reesing should become the first player to lead KU in passing in three straight years since Chip Hilleary in 1990-92.

Kansas Football Notable Quotables 10.20.09

Denverjhawk — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:16:28 -0000

Coach Mangino weighs in on much of what we've been discussing around here this week. Bradley McDougald going both ways, John Williams at defensive tackle and putting Colorado behind them.

On the player side of things we hear from Todd, Kerry and Jake as well as Bradley McDougald himself.

I also thought the special teams player of the week was a little bit interesting. Not who I expected.

Players of the Game (at Colorado)

Offense: Todd Reesing

Defense: Darrell Stuckey

Special Teams: Kayl Anderson

Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week: Nick Plato

Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week: Randall Dent

Head Coach Mark Mangino

On last week's game vs. Colorado:

"Once again, I felt like Todd Reesing played really well, and he had a lot of help from his receivers. We did not run the ball well, which is something that we need to get back to doing. On the defensive side of the ball, Darrell Stuckey played a strong game. Also, Drew Dudley played extremely well. He is really settling in there at linebacker and we like the way he is progressing. The defense played pretty well, or at least improved. There were some new faces and some personnel changes that I think have boosted our defense. As those players continue with experience, they will get better and better. It has really helped our defense both against the run and the pass."

On Oklahoma's defensive unit:

"It is a good defensive unit; there is no question about it. It is the same aggressive style that OU always plays on defense. They are up front. Their front four are very talented and very quick guys who jump the ball. You have guys like Gerald McCoy, Jeremy Beal and Austin English, along with others who are quick, athletic and run to the ball. The linebackers are always good players. Ryan Reynolds in the middle kind of anchors it down. Their secondary is very quick, very athletic and are good tacklers, as usual. You have people like Dominique Franks back there with a lot of experience. So, yes it is a very, very good defensive unit."

On a player's (i.e. John Williams and Bradley McDougald) ability to learn a new position in a week:

"It is difficult, but sometimes out of necessity, you have to do it. What you need is a young guy who is willing to do it, willing to understand the frustrations and disappointment early on, but I think if you have kids who are mentally tough, you can do it. We have had kids in the past make those kinds of moves and be very successful. For John Williams, it has been a sudden change, but not for Bradley McDougald, because we have worked him on defense for several weeks now in practice. We have given him work each and every day on the defensive side of the ball. He is still not ready to play every down and we do not expect that. He will be helpful."

On both teams (KU and OU) coming off a tough loss:

"Well I can speak mainly for us, obviously, it was disappointing to lose, but that is long gone out of our system. It is behind us. We can't change it, we can't do anything about it, but we can do something about the games we are about to play and our next game is against Oklahoma. Now, I can't speak to them, but I have been a part of their program and they will not have any problem getting their players ready to play. I know that."

On players playing on both offense and defense:

"Our philosophy here has always been ‘try to put our best guys on defense.' There are some guys who are extremely talented, but they are not made for defense. Dezmon Briscoe is not built for defense. That is not what he does. Kerry Meier is not built for defense, he is an offensive player. He and Dezmon are so strong in what they do on offense; it would be ridiculous to have put them on defense. But there are some kids who have the skill sets for both and Bradley McDougald is one of them. We have tried to put our most athletic guys and our guys that can play a physical-style ball on defense, as well as trying to recruit to that. Everybody is throwing the ball around and spreading the ball around, so I don't care who you have on defense, in the Big 12, there are just not a lot of low-scoring games anymore because the style that is being played is utilizing the entire field."

On recruitment of John Williams:

"We recruited John to be a defensive tackle, but then his freshman year he had an injury that kept him out the whole year. So, we he thought to get him back, he would be better suited on the offensive line to take some of the pressure of the injury that he had suffered. He was doing well on the offensive line, but I kept looking at him and seeing a defensive lineman. The more I watched him in practice, the more I kept saying ‘this guy is a defensive lineman.' He has quickness, explosion and a low center of gravity. He plays the game with power in his lower body. He can jump the ball. He is extremely quick for a guy his size. So, I finally decided to pull the trigger and said ‘we are going to do this.' And I really think it is for the better. There is no question he will help us on the defensive line. I think he is very talented."

On Oklahoma's current quarterback situation:

"Well Landry Jones is a pretty talented kid. He is a good player. One of the things I see in him is he understands their offense really well, so that tells me he is paying attention to what they are doing. He has the ability to throw the ball very well and with accuracy. He has enough escape ability from the pocket to give you trouble. He looks poised to me and looks like a very intelligent player. He is a quality player. Obviously, I understand that when you lose a guy of the caliber of Sam Bradford, there is going to be a drop-down to some degree. But it is not a horrific drop; they are not falling off a cliff after Sam Bradford."

On Oklahoma's offense this year vs. last year:

"They are still a productive offense. They are in the top 20 in total offense in the country. They have a lot of weapons. If you look at their running backs in DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown; those are good running backs. Murray is a tough, hard running guy who is a veteran guy. Brown has a lot of speed and is really a handful back there. OU's receiver, Ryan Broyles, has to be one of the fastest receivers in the league. They have some other kids who can receive too, like Brandon Caleb, who are just playmakers. Their offensive line is probably not what they had a year ago, but it is still a big, physical offensive line. They are not putting up the kind of numbers as they did last year. But you lose a Heisman trophy quarterback and maybe a top-five player in the draft in Jermaine Gresham; obviously you are not going to have the same production you had a year ago, but they are still pretty doggone good."

On added pressure when playing as good a defense as Oklahoma's:

"It puts a lot of pressure on your entire offense, not just your offensive line. Now, let me tell you, they will blitz. They are going to dial up blitzes, I know that for a fact, but they play a zone defense very well. The key is, they will mix it up and we have to understand the difference and be able to play with both. Anytime you have a pressure defense, it puts pressure on the quarterback, on the offensive line and on the receivers. They [receivers] have to understand the checks and call for the ball and get ready to make a play. The running backs have to protect as well."

On coaching philosophy employed by Bob Stoops and himself [Mark Mangino]:

"It is a pretty simple philosophy that I have carried here, but is something that I believe, and that I did really get from Bob. You cannot change what is done. You lose, you lose. The sun is going to come up the next day. There is no sense in crying or pouting about it, because you cannot do anything about it. The things that give me pause in life are the things that I know that I can control; the things that are in front of me. The things that have happened behind me do not bother me. Am I disappointed we lost? Yes, but I got over that disappointment at about 2 p.m. on Sunday because I watched the tape, graded it and then started look at Oklahoma, our next challenge. And I have not looked back. Life is too short to worry about things you cannot control. I tell our players all the time, ‘the next play is the most important play, what you did a play ago, whether it was good or bad, is gone, the next game is the most important game'. I think Bob did a great job of that with the kids at OU when we were there. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the kids follow the head coach's lead. If the head coach is going to walk around with his head down and pout and feel bad for himself, so will the players. If the head coach runs out on the practice field ready to go, then the kids will do that. They will follow the lead of the coaches. Being around Bob for a long time, he would always say ‘hey, we are not going to let anybody beat us twice.' And that is the way we are too, so hopefully this will be a great matchup for us Saturday."

On his years coaching in Oklahoma:

"Well, they were important years in my career, but they were also a lot of fun. The best way to explain it is we had a really good coaching staff. Bob put together a really good staff of people that had known each other for a lot of years. There was a sense of family and community when we got there. The people of Oklahoma welcomed us with open arms. The first year we went to the Independence Bowl and they were thanking us. Now, there is nothing wrong with the Independence Bowl, but Oklahoma and the Independence Bowl? And the fans were still thankful. Then we won a national championship and the football program got its swagger back. The fans were energized about their football program. You know, even if you do not go to school at OU, if you live in Oklahoma, all the people there call it ‘their football program'. So, I was comfortable there and I liked the folks there. They reminded me a lot of western Pennsylvania people, where I grew up. They are hard working, not pretentious and just love football. It was an exciting time for my family and me and because of the success there, I had the opportunity to come here to Kansas. It was an important time of my life. I enjoyed it and I'm glad to hear I am still popular there even though I wear Crimson and Blue now."

Senior Wide Receiver Kerry Meier

On the slow offensive starts in games this season:

"A lot of times it's what the defense is doing. Stuff we plan for and stuff we think we're going to see in the opening drive and looks we think we're going to get-the defense then comes out with an entirely different look. A lot of times a team does that. What we've prepared for and what we thought we were going to see and then we come out on the first drive and they're not in the same defense. When a team does that it might take a couple drives, or a couple series, or maybe even a half to try and figure it out and beat them at what they're doing."

On how good the offense can be when it gets going:

"Once we get one, we get hungry and are looking for another one. Once we get another one, then we get that momentum going. What's crucial for us is to get into the flow and get started early. That's what we're going to have to do this week straight from the get-go. As soon as we get the ball, we're going to have to put points on the board."

On the difference between OU's defense this year and last year:

"It's crazy; we watched them on film last year and thought they were really good. Then they come out this year and their stats are even better. They've got some different faces, but there are a lot of familiar faces on that defense and they have the same coordinator. It's going to be a stiff challenge. There's no beating around the bush, these guys are good at what they do."

On the loss at Colorado

"Once we got the day going and got through lifting and practice all thoughts were gone. We watched the film and learned from it, but we knew it was time to get ready for Oklahoma. We took the right steps to work out the kinks and dings from last week's game."

On winning the Big 12 North

"It is very much within our reach. Every goal that we set for ourselves in the off-season is still right there and that's the good part. There were a couple of other teams in the Big 12 North that didn't quite take care of business like we did, which is good for us. That leaves our goal right in store for us. It is going to be a long and tough race for the Big 12 North title, and it is going to come down to who ever wants it the most."

Senior Quarterback Todd Reesing

On the loss at Colorado:

"That's behind us. We've moved on. We're not thinking about last week's game. We are more focused on the game this week ahead of us."

On OU's defense this year:

"They're more experienced and they've got a lot of guys back. They're extremely talented, extremely athletic and big and physical and their coach has given them great schemes. They are ready to play every week and that side of the ball has definitely not been a reason why they've had their close losses. Their defense is playing about as well as anyone else in the country."

On OU's defense being the best defense they've faced thus far:

"I think it is (the best defense). I think from top to bottom on their defensive personnel size-wise, athleticism and the way they play, I think we've got the biggest challenge ahead of us. They do a lot of things really well that we have to get ready for. They played Texas really well and pretty much shut that team down and they are one of the better offensive teams in the country. We have a big challenge ahead of us this week to get ready for them."

On what it would mean to the program beating OU:

"Well it's big anytime you beat a team like Oklahoma regardless of how they're doing or how people think of them. OU is a great team year after year and they have been for a long time. They're recognized nationally as a team that puts out a great team every year. To get a win over a team like that, no matter what year it is, is big. We've got a great opportunity ahead of us and hopefully we'll get prepared this week and get ready for it."

Senior Running Back Jake Sharp

On the difference between the second and first half against Colorado:

"I think collectively, as a team, we kind of felt different in the second half. Things kind of got rolling for us and we started doing what we expected to do."

On putting the loss behind them:

"There's no question we've got to put it behind us. This is a whole new week and anything can happen and our focus is on Oklahoma."

On getting the running game going:

"I think we all need to get on the same page and keep working and we're going to do that this week. We just need to keep working at it and keep improving it."

Freshman Wide Receiver / Defensive Back Bradley McDougald

On seeing playing time on defense at Colorado, while also starting at wide receiver:

"Coach Mangino called me into the office, asked me what I thought about playing a little on the defensive side of the ball. He said the offense was going well and he didn't want to take anything from me from the offensive side of the ball, but he wanted to maybe add on a little bit of defense and see how that worked out for me."

"I think playing both ways will be exciting. It's going to be a lot. I have to make sure I'm on top of everything because mistakes are very costly in Division I and now that we're in conference play, they're going to become even more costly, so I just have to make sure I know what I'm doing."

Hawk Talk: Kansas vs. Colorado Tailgate Edition

Denverjhawk — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:00:45 -0000

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

The Good Guys...

Jayhawks Focused on Changing the Defensive Problems.
Coach Mangino Thinks Todd Should be in the Discussion for Heisman.
Is the Defensive Scheme Overwhelming Kansas' Defenders.
Players Notice the Halftime Student Exodus...Seriously Students, this is Messed Up.
Ryan Murphy Setting an Example.
Reesing has been A Buffalo Hunter from Day One.
Kansas Receivers Expecting a Tougher Test Against Colorado.
Kansas v Colorado Preview.
The Old Elevation Argument Whenever Anyone Travels to Colorado.

The Bad Guys...

Denver's Take...

One Paper this one is easy. Then again on paper so was Iowa State. Good news is the weather is gorgeous here in Colorado and I'm off to Boulder to enjoy some fun in the Colorado sun. The good weather should be a benefit to the Kansas offense and I'm curious to see what the coaches have in store for the defense this week.

A few quick items of note. I've been told Jake Sharp will be playing, and also keep your eyes open for a new face in the backfield on Saturday. Big John Williams should push for minutes at defensive tackle this week and from the sounds of things the guy might even push for major minutes by late in the season. Lastly on defense keep your eyes out for Lubbock Smith in the defensive secondary and true freshman DJ Beshears appears to be making a little bit of noise. Beshears might not appear on Saturday but it sounds like he's had the staff taking notice of late.

Back to the game Colorado put out an excellent first half against Texas last week. If their defense can be equally effective against the Jayhawks through four quarters this might be a tough one. In terms of the Colorado offense, it's anybody's guess what we'll see there just as it's anyone's guess what we'll see from the Kansas defense.

My opinion is this is a game that will play tough early but Kansas will pull away. The Kansas offense is riding high and confident as ever. A few stops for the Kansas defense whether by their own account or the self destruction of the Buffaloes and this will eventually get out of hand as things did for CU with Texas.

I'm not discounting the Buffaloes and this game has scared me from the beginning but I'll hop in my car and head to the Darkhorse confident but cautious. CU has put together one shocker nearly every year with Coach Hawkins. I don't think it's Kansas this year and Todd runs out of Boulder with a 4-0 record against the Buffs.

Final Score: Kansas 42 Colorado 24

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

KU-CU SERIES -- Colorado leads the all-time series 41-24-3, including a 23-9 advantage in games played in Boulder. Kansas has won three straight in the series since CU won five consecutive from 2001-05.

LOOKING TO MAKE HISTORY -- With its current three-game winning streak, Kansas is looking to win four straight against Colorado for the first time in the series which dates back to 1903. The Jayhawks
won three straight from 1962-64. KU posted a five-game unbeaten streak from 1906-1948 with two wins, a tie and two wins.

KU-CU LAST YEAR -- RB Jake Sharp rushed for 118 yards on a career-high 31 attempts and scored three touchdowns to lead then No. 16 Kansas to a 30-14 victory at Lawrence on Oct. 11, 2008. Kansas limited Colorado to just 233 yards of total offense, nearly 100 yards shy of its 325 yards per game average. S Darrell Stuckey and CB Kendrick Harper both came up with interceptions. KU meanwhile produced 407 yards of total offense as QB Todd Reesing completed 27 of 34 passes for 256 yards. KU led 16-14 going into the fourth quarter before Sharp scored on touchdown runs of eight and seven yards to put the game away.

KU-CU LAST TIME AT BOULDER -- Behind the leadership of QB Todd Reesing, then 15thranked Kansas held off Colorado 19-14 at Folsom Field on Oct. 20, 2007. Kansas built up a 19-7 lead after scoring on a 15-play, 94-yard drive with 10:23 left in the game. Colorado scored a touchdown to pull within 19-14 at the 3:42 mark. After Colorado forced KU to punt, the Buffaloes took over at their own 42-yard line with 2:16 remaining in the game. Kansas stopped the Buffs on four plays (CU lost eight yards on the possession) and the Jayhawks won their seventh straight game of the year. Reesing completed 20 of 29 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown while also rushing seven times for 84 yards. KU's defense registered seven tackles for loss, including three sacks, and came up with three turnovers.

JAYHAWKS VS. COLORADO -- Here is a look at how some Jayhawks have done vs. Colorado:

QB Todd Reesing made his collegiate debut in the second half against Colorado in 2006 completing seven of 11 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 90 yards and another score to rally the Jayhawks from a 9-0 deficit to a 20-15 win... In two and one half games against the Buffaloes he is a combined 54 of 74 (73 percent) for 515 yards and four passing touchdowns... The top two rushing games of his career have come against Colorado with 90 in 2006 and 84 in 2007 (his third-best rushing game was 79 vs. Northern Colorado this year).
WR Dezmon Briscoe did not have a catch at Colorado in 2007, but has recorded at least two receptions in his 23 games since then... He was shutout on receptions just one other time in his career (zero vs. SE Louisiana in game two of his freshman year.
TE Tim Biere had his previous career bests in both receptions (two) and yards (26) against Colorado last year. He is coming off his new career game with three catches for 53 yards against Iowa State last week.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AGAINST COLORADO

KU has scored at least 30 points in six straight road games.
KU is looking to post its first ever four-game winning streak in the series with Colorado.

500 CLUB -- For the third time this season Kansas produced 500 total offensive yards in game with its 551 against Iowa State last week. In the 31 games since the start of 2007, KU has produced 400 yards in 25 games, 500 yards in 12 games, and one 600-yard game.

DEFENSE DOING WELL IN THE FOURTH QUARTER -- In the last two games, with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, the KU defense has managed to come up big when it needed to. Against Southern Miss. with the game tied heading into the fourth quarter, KU forced USM into an interception, two punts and a drive which ended on downs. Last week against Iowa State, KU trailed 30-27 before holding ISU to a punt, a touchdown and a drive ending on downs in the final period en route to the victory.

REESING LEADS NATION -- KU QB Todd Reesing has the nation's longest active streak of games with a touchdown pass at 23 consecutive contests. Colt McCoy of Texas is second at 22, while Case Keenum of Houston is third at 21

Offensive Line Early Season Report Card

Denverjhawk — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:00:17 -0000

In the preseason we looked at several areas that would play a major factor in how the Jayhawks season would turn out. The offensive line, running back depth, defensive front seven pressure, the linebackers and the backup quarterback to name a few.

Three games in now and as sad as it may seem we are already a quarter of the way through the Jayhawks regular season. So how does everyone grade out so far? Taking into account experience at the position, maturity in the system and even player expectations here's a bit of a subjective look at how the offensive line has graded out by position?

Tanner Hawkinson LT - B+

Starting with the left tackle position we have what many considered the biggest question on the offensive line headed into the season with Tanner Hawkinson. A redshirt freshman who isn't even a full year into playing the position has bounced from tight end to defensive end, tacked on 40+ pounds and moved to the toughest and most scrutinized position on the offensive line. Granted the competition hasn't been the stiffest but he's still performed admirably through 3 games at a brand new spot.

Tanner does have all the tools as we've been led to believe from day one, possessing quick feet, athleticism and he seems to be settling in to his new found frame. Tanner has protected the backside of Todd Reesing, gotten off a solid first block in most running situations and has done so with limited help from the tight end position.

Now it's possible if expectations were higher Hawkinson could be graded lower. However, for a guy that as of one year ago joined the Jayhawks as a 240 lb. tight end, one can't help but feel optimistic for what's to come. There will be bumps in the road as conference play begins, but Hawkinson should have a bright future with the Jayhawks.

B+ for Hawkinson, he's handled the transition well and with time he looks like he could very well be a big time talent at the left tackle. Things will get much tougher from here on out though and the bar has been set a little higher after the first 3 games.

Brad Thorson LG - A-

Brad Thorson's move to left guard in the offseason may well prove to be one of the most important of the year. Kansas likely knew the fate of one of the guard spots all along but the left side was a bit of a question mark. Kansas had several talented redshirt freshman fighting for the role, but consistency can always be a concern with youth.

Thorson has brought stability and consistency to the left side much the same way his counterpart on the right provides the interior. Entering his fourth season of major college football after two with Wisconsin and now one with Kansas, Thorson knows what it takes, he is extremely intelligent and brings an aggressiveness and athleticism to this spot that is important in Kansas' offensive game plan.

Thorson can get out and move, make a hit, finish a block and has been reliable through three in terms of being at the right spot at the right time.

A- for Thorson, not a lot of expectations at this spot going in and he's provided a solid upperclassmen on the interior. Thorson's addition changed us from a potentially very young offensive line, to one with a little more maturity.

Jeremiah Hatch - B-

With Hatch it's not that he's doing anything wrong, it's that he's just not quite to the level that many expected yet. Now that may have a whole lot to do with his reported illness as teammate Jeff Spikes noted him vomiting in the locker room prior to the UTEP game and then apparently all over the Sun Bowl field as well. Now that's the only game we have him reported to be ill, but odds are if he's like the majority of the world he wasn't 100% the next game either.

The other concern with Hatch has been the consistency in his snaps. Obviously one of the most important roles for a center in the spread is to get the quarterback the ball cleanly so he can make his reads quickly and make the throw. It's been discussed that Todd hasn't always looked in sync this year and at times high and low snaps could be too blame.

Still Hatch deserves the benefit of the doubt as he was Kansas' best lineman by the end of last season and he should come along this year as he get's into a groove. Low grade on this one primarily due to expectations, but by no means has Hatch been a MAJOR weakness to this team.

B- for Hatch, because he's better than we've seen. Hatch has been billed as a future All Big12 center and both his game and leadership will step it up to make that happen.

Sal Capra RG - A

Not a whole lot to say about this one other than Capra is steady as they come so far. Going back even to last season it was apparent that Capra had the football IQ and work ethic to be a player in this program and those qualities have put him in a position to succeed as a junior.

Capra is probably the first guy on the list who came in with expectations of being solid and has performed to those expectations. Capra has graded out very well according to his own coaches and in watching the game it's clear he is getting the job done in his spot whether it be the right side or the occasional stint on the left.

Capra's story has been well documented and while he may not have been a well hyped recruit or an immediate impact player, he has turned himself into a formidable offensive guard in the Kansas system.

A for Capra, he's been reliable, consistent and when's the last time a guard received offensive player of the week honors.

Jeff Spikes RT - B-

Jeff Spikes is a bit of a mystery at times, he has the physical tools and was once hyped by the coaching staff as the next great left tackle of Kansas football. Sure that's a lot to live up to but Spikes hasn't even been afforded the opportunity to fulfill that role as he's been "downgraded" to right tackle.

Spikes is however only a redshirt sophomore and it was always known he was very raw coming in. I for one am also of the opinion that the right tackle is as important in many instances as the left, but due to the NFL millions that great left tackles command it's a position that can be overlooked.

This season the expectations for Spikes were stepped up a notch, he's performed well at times and he's also looked like a matador in the bull ring at times. Spikes has looked fairly solid in terms of run blocking and it seems that comes easier to him which isn't a huge surprise as it often is for many. However, in a pass blocking scheme he's improving but still not quite there.

This isn't a knock on Jeff Spikes as I do see him as a player in progress and someone that from a football IQ perspective isn't making as many mistakes as last season. The issues at this point are fewer and with time he'll get there. My concern is this, if anyone watched the Texas v Texas Tech game and saw Sergio Kindle destroy Taylor Potts coming off the right edge it had to make you cringe a little bit because Spikes can have those same struggles as the competition level picks up over the next three quarters of the season.

B- for what he's done so far, simply because I was hoping for more. Still happy with his potential in the long hall and he does seem to be "getting it" a little more every game.

Bench - B-

Off the bench thus far we've seen Thorson move to center, Trevor Marrongelli fill in at right guard and John Williams on the occasional jumbo package. What we haven't seen is what we have depth wise at tackle.

Thorson can make the move to center if needed despite the concerns with his snap early on. Good news is, if he is forced to make that move Capra is just as reliable on the left and Trevor Marrongelli is a firey, angry, solid replacement at right Guard.

Throw in the mix John Williams who the staff has given some snaps to early and Kansas has enough on the interior to feel confident.

At the tackle spots it's an incomplete at this point and truthfully there are a lot of things that could be done if one of the tackles needs replacing. With the depth on the interior Kansas could move Hatch back to the outside, or bring in Ian Wolfe off the bench. Neither is ideal but it can be done.

B- grade for this group right now. Interior get's an A, while the tackle spot it incomplete. Hopefully it won't matter anyway.

Overall this is a situation of being good but not great and the Kansas staff would likely say the same. This unit has done well against the talent level it's been playing but it will need to step up their game in the coming weeks to perform against the top of the Big12.

One thing working in their favor is Kansas does have the benefit of breaking in so many new faces with such an experienced group on the field at the skilled positions.

It's clear the Jayhawks are improving the talent they are putting on the field up front, it's only a matter of getting the experience and developing their skills at this point. If the development continues in the right direction, Kansas will likely look at this area as a position of stength in 2010 as they break in a whole new set of skill position players.

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.

Kansas: Beyond the Box Score Preseason Offensive Preview

Bill C. — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:00:09 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

"I'd say the burrito was about this big." (Sorry, have to win back some goodwill after posting an unharmed Jayhawk logo yesterday.)

Browse more photos »

Confused? Catch up with the BTBS Primer.

We now take a look at a team that, talent-wise, seems to be most well-established for making a North title run in 2009. At least, a team well-established at skill positions and in the secondary, with some pretty good-sized question marks in some units.

2008

Record: 8-5 (4-4 in the Big 12)
S&P+: 230.0 (20th in the country, 6th in the Big 12)
Scoring Margin: 434-375 (+59)
Conference Scoring Margin: 251-293 (-42)
Wins (S&P+ Ranking in parentheses): #10 Missouri (dammit), #63 Minnesota, #82 Colorado, #79 Kansas State, #86 Louisiana Tech, #93 Florida International, #104 Iowa State, 1-AA Sam Houston State
Losses: #3 Oklahoma, #5 Texas, #15 Texas Tech, #21 Nebraska, #23 South Florida

Two atrocious quarters of offense from Missouri prevented me from being able to cleanly say that KU was 0-6 versus Top 60 teams and 7-0 versus everybody else, but alas...the 40-37 win over Mizzou at Arrowhead was KU's single crowning win in 2008. And yet...they managed to rank 20th in the country anyway. It all depends on how you frame it, I guess. You could also say that they were 1-5 versus the Top 25 and 7-0 versus everybody else, which makes #20 sound about right. Regardless of how you frame 2008, in 2009 KU returns all of their skill position talent and some key cogs in the secondary, but faces major holes on the O-line and at linebacker.

Coaching

Head Coach: Mark Mangino
Record at Kansas: 45-41 (conference: 22-34)
Career Pythagorean Record: -1.15 wins (-0.1/year)

Mark Mangino enters his eighth season in Lawrence having brought Kansas pretty steady, if a little two-steps-forward-one-back, success. He has yet to finish ahead of Gary Pinkel in the Big 12 North standings, yet he is consistently ranked ahead of GP when Big 12 coaches are ranked. At some point, actually, you'd think KU fans would become rather offended by this, as it pretty much suggests that KU was such a bad job that he's done an amazing job just to win some games while never finishing ahead of PInkel.

Mangino's moving average of wins shows just how methodically he has brought success to Lawrence:

2002-04: 4.0
2003-05: 5.7
2004-06: 5.7
2005-07: 8.3
2006-08: 8.7

And while we're at it, let's look at "Adjusted Win %." If you remember this from previous use, this is where we adjust a team's record for quality of opponent, equally weighting the record against teams based on win %.

Mark Mangino's Adj. Win %
	vs .000-.250	vs .251-.500	vs .501-.750	vs .751-1.000	Adj. Win %
Year 1-4	7-1 (0.875)	6-10 (0.375)	6-12 (0.333)	0-5 (0.000)	19-28 (0.396)
Year 5-7	9-0 (1.000)	8-2 (0.800)	8-6 (0.571)	1-4 (0.200)	26-12 (0.643)
Total	16-1 (0.941)	14-12 (0.538)	14-18 (0.438)	1-9 (0.100)	45-40 (0.504)

Just as a means of comparison, here's Gary Pinkel's Adjusted Win %, broken out the same way:

Gary Pinkel's Adj. Win %
	vs .000-.250	vs .251-.500	vs .501-.750	vs .751-1.000	Adj. Win %
Year 1-4	6-0 (1.000)	12-8 (0.600)	3-10 (0.231)	1-7 (0.125)	22-25 (0.468)
Year 5-8	7-0 (1.000)	15-2 (0.882)	14-8 (0.636)	1-6 (0.143)	37-16 (0.665)
Total	13-0 (1.000)	27-10 (0.730)	17-18 (0.486)	2-13 (0.133)	59-41 (0.583)

So Gary Pinkel has performed slightly better across the board, but clearly both have done wonderful jobs turning iffy programs into winners. And as with Gary PInkel, Mangino will lose quite a few impact players after his eighth season, so he'll be starting Year #9 with a somewhat fresh slate just the same.

Looking at Pythagorean wins suggests that KU should have actually done a bit better overall, but the improvement has been easily measurable, and Mangino clearly is a pretty good coach. He's just not better than Pinkel.

Offense

Overall Stats

S&P+: 118.1 (#19)
Success Rate+: 115.8 (#16)
PPP+: 121.5 (#28)

Standard Downs S&P+: 110.0 (#33)
Passing Downs S&P+: 128.0 (#16)

Redzone S&P+: 125.1 (#12)

Q1 S&P+: 126.7 (#18)
Q2 S&P+: 108.6 (#44)
Q3 S&P+: 105.2 (#53)
Q4 S&P+: 126.6 (#10)

1st Down S&P+: 114.5 (#26)
2nd Down S&P+: 110.9 (#42)
3rd Down S&P+: 124.0 (#21)

Rushing Stats

Rushing S&P+: 118.8 (#21)
Rushing SR+: 120.9 (#7)
Rushing PPP+: 116.4 (#42)

Standard Downs: 106.3 (#48)
Passing Downs: 130.3 (#24)

Redzone: 120.0 (#30)

Line Yards+: 115.0 (#19)

Passing Stats

Passing S&P+: 115.2 (#25)
Passing SR+: 111.6 (#24)
Passing PPP+: 119.7 (#27)

Standard Downs: 113.0 (#24)
Passing Downs: 122.5 (#24)

Redzone: 131.3 (#13)

Sack Rate+: 103.3 (#61)

Kansas stepped backwards by four games from their 12-1 season in 2007 to 8-5 in 2008. A lot of that dropoff was schedule-based (as mentioned above, they didn't actually lose to a team ranked below 23rd in S&P+), but was it measurable in the numbers too? Not really.

2007 vs 2008

S&P+: 39th in 2007, 19th in 2008
Success Rate+: 40th in 2007, 16th in 2008
PPP+: 41st in 2007, 28th in 2008
Rushing S&P+: 35th in 2007, 21st in 2008
Passing S&P+: 41st in 2007, 25th in 2008
Standard Downs S&P+: 30th in 2007, 33rd in 2008 (regression!)
Passing Downs S&P+: 54th in 2007, 16th in 2008 (a-ha!)

That they actually improved offensively in 2008 despite the regression in record says two things: 1) they could be pretty damn good in 2009, and 2) not to beat a dead horse, but...their schedule was so freaking weak in 2007!!

While the 2009 KU offense really could improve a bit more in 2009, it's a red flag to me that all of their improvement in 2008 came on Passing Downs. They were actually worse on Standard Downs but overachieved in passing situations (which, if you watched last year's MU-KU game, shouldn't surprise you). As I've mentioned before, disproportionate achievement on Passing Downs doesn't seem totally sustainable from year to year, and while a lot of that Passing Downs success was due to both Todd Reesing and the chemistry that Reesing has with Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe, they still may have been a little too successful, unsustainably so.

Lord knows that with their schedule, they better be at least as good in those situations because...well, they're going to face a lot of those situations.

Quarterback

Forever and ever.

2008 Unit Ranking: #27 in the nation (#7 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
Todd Reesing (5'11, 200, Sr.)
Kale Pick (6'2, 200, RSFr.)
Chase Knighton (6'1, 195, So.)

If this team is relying on Passing Downs success to win their first North title, then they're going as far as Todd Reesing can take them. He was at his improvisational best against Oklahoma and Missouri, scrambling and seemingly inventing routes on the fly on his way to a combined 717 passing yards and 6 TDs (and, to be fair, 4 INTs). The Brett Favre comparison gets overused these days, and while Reesing doesn't quite see the Favre-esque extremes that someone like Matt Grothe does (he's only thrown more than 2 picks in a game twice), it's definitely in him, much moreso than with Chase Daniel, who was also given that "gunslinger" label (even though Chase was, in the end, about as robotic as a QB can be).

While he completed 66% of his passes at 7.8 yards per pass against OU and Mizzou, Reesing proved his all-or-nothing tendencies by completing just 54% at 5.4 yards per pass against Texas and Texas Tech (with a 3-3 TD-INT ratio) at home. In the end, most would love to have a "gamer" like Reesing leading your team, but his confidence in his abilities to make plays ends up being, at times, his biggest flaw. He posted a QB rating right at 149 each of the last two years, but he also took 56 sacks in that time, and his interceptions rose to 13 in 2008, not a bad figure per say, but not as in control as the seven he threw in 2007. That's why Kansas only finished 25th in Passing S&P+ and not higher--we remember the great plays, but we forget the sacks he's taken and the occasional atrocious throws he's made.

Which, in the end, is about as Favre-esque as you can get.

Running Backs

2008 Unit Ranking: #69 in the nation (#8 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
Jake Sharp (5'10, 195, Sr.)
Reil Lewis (5'10, 201, So.)
Deshaun Sands? (5'9, 182, Fr.)
Toben Opurum? (6'2, 239, Fr.)

Jake Sharp is the least-scary good running back in the country. He was the main cog in a rushing attack that was 7th in the country in Success Rate+, he's scored 19 touchdowns, caught 44 passes, and put up a combined 1,143 yards from scrimmage the last two seasons, yet his lack of explosiveness got him ranked 198th among 269 eligible running backs in POE, the rushing performance measure I created for Football Outsiders. He's good for a couple of huge games a year, usually against bad defenses (he destroyed Kansas State for 181 yards and 4 TDs last year and went for 118 and 3 TDs against an OU defense adapting to the loss of Ryan Reynolds), but in all he's a steady but so-so runner. You could do worse than starting Jake Sharp, but you could certainly do better.

For better or worse, Sharp is the horse of this unit. Their two other POE-eligible running backs, Angus Quigley (165th) and Jocques Crawford (153rd), are either no longer playing running back (Quigley moved to LB) or no longer on the team (Crawford left Lawrence after, uhh, some drama). What remain are Reil Lewis and a couple of brank, spanking new options in Deshaun Sands and big Toben Opurum. Expect either or both of the freshmen to play this year, though you never want to rely too much on freshmen. Barring injury, Sharp will still carry a majority of the load.

One more thing: if Sands, ~~brother~~ son of the one and only Tony Sands, sees the field at Arrowhead this November, somebody should take precautionary measures and break his freaking kneecaps. Nothing personal, ahem.

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends

2008 Unit Ranking: #23 in the nation (#4 in the Big 12)

Projected WR Depth Chart
Dezmon Briscoe (6'3, 200, Jr.)
Kerry Meier (6'3, 220, Sr.)
Johnathan Wilson (6'3, 189, Jr.)
Raimond Pendleton (5'11, 192, Sr.)
Tertavian Ingram (6'0, 200, Jr.)
Isiah Barfield (6'0, 184, So.)
Reece Petty (6'2, 195, Jr.)
Willie O'Quinn (6'0, 190, So.)

Projected TE Depth Chart
Tim Biere (6'4, 246, So.)
Bradley Dedeaux (6'3, 252, Jr.)
Nick Plato (6'6, 242, RSFr.)

I'll be the first to admit that I need to figure out a better method of ranking WR/TE units. Both Kansas and Missouri ranked in the 20s in this category, but...well, until I figure out a better way, this is what we've got. KU definitely has the scariest 1-2 punch in the North. Briscoe and Meier combined for 189 catches, 2,452 yards, and 23 TDs in 2008, simply insane numbers. Johnathan Wilson (43 for 573, 3 TDs) is a solid third option, but...well, talking about anybody but Briscoe and Meier as the headliners is like saying Wilt Chamberlain and I have combined to sleep with over 10,000 women...it's very impressive, but it completely takes away from the real accomplishment.

KU executed a risky but perfect gameplan against Mizzou in 2008. They continued to dink and dunk, stretching the field horizontally with Meier and Briscoe, relying on the KU defense to fend Mizzou's offense off for as long as possible. If Mizzou sustains some drives in the first half, then the Mizzou defense doesn't completely wear out in the fourth quarter, but alas, that's what happened. When all was said and done, Briscoe and Meier combined for 23 catches, 221 yards, and 3 TDs (two of which came in Q4), and an exhausted Mizzou secondary saw its communication fall apart down the stretch. Again, dink-and-dunk is always risky because it takes a lot of plays to sustain a drive and opens up more opportunities for mistakes. But if you can pull it off, it works brilliantly, and it worked against Mizzou in 2008.

I am working on the assumption that 2009 will be Briscoe's last season in Lawrence--he's got good NFL size and speed, plus grades appear to be an issue, which sometimes pulls people toward the pros a little sooner than otherwise--meaning the KU receiving corps will take on a completely different look in 2010. But we'll talk about that in 2010. For now, this is the best WR unit in the North, and any production they get from the tight end position (which, last year, was almost nonexistant--Tim Biere and Bradley Dedeaux combined for all of 8 catches and 74 yards) is just icing.

Offensive Line

2008 Unit Ranking: #32 in the nation (#6 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
C Jeremiah Hatch (6'3, 311, So.)
T Jeff Spikes (6'6, 314, So.)
G Sal Capra (6'3, 292, Jr.)
G Carl Wilson (6'4, 292, Jr.)
T Tanner Hawkinson (6'6, 260, RSFr.)
G John Williams (6'4, 338, RSFr.)
G Trevor Marrongelli (6'4, 285, RSFr.)
C Brad Thorson (6'3, 290, Jr.)
T Ian Wolfe (6'5, 295, Jr.)
T Darius Parish (6'4, 341, So.)

Consider the offensive line Major Kansas Question Mark #1 (the second will come when we talk about the defense). They have the fewest returning career starts in the conference (lower than even OU), and of the ten names I was able to dig up for a depth chart (question for KU fans: is senior Jose Rodriguez still with the team? He's not on the 2009 KU roster, but I saw him mentioned at RCT), there are no seniors and only four juniors. This bodes well for 2010, when a solid, experienced line is trying to set the table for an almost 100% new set of skill position players, but for now it's a giant red flag for this offense. Todd Reesing is one of the best when it comes to improvising and creating on the fly, but that doesn't mean you want him doing it every play. For KU to win the North (which means either taking a game against Texas, Oklahoma, or Texas Tech, or running the table in the North), converted tight end Tanner Hawkinson will likely need to quickly become the real deal at left tackle, and Jeff Spikes (or whoever wins the RT job) will need to become pretty stable, pretty quickly. The ends in this conference are more athletic and experienced than in recent years, and...again, this team needs Reesing healthy and upright.

Summary

Todd Reesing's interesting offseason workout plan was introduced to the country recently...and well, I just needed a place to reference that, so here you go. Now to the real summary:

It cannot be emphasized enough just how much this team relies on Reesing for success. They have an efficient but average running game and the greenest offensive line in the conference. Reesing has two explosive and heady options in Briscoe and Meier, but the Jayhawks will need things to click better than they did last year to navigate through the most brutal schedule in the North and win their first North title (no, 2007 does not count). The more Reesing has to rely on his great improvisational skills, the more likely KU is to fail, not because Reesing's talent will fall off or anything, but because you're simply setting yourself up for failure with the more Passing Downs you encounter.

The running game must click at least as well as it did last year, when a seemingly raw O-line produced very respectable line yardage totals, and KU must avoid relying on Passing Downs success because they will likely fall off in that regard in 2009. Missouri did from 2007 to 2008, and I think with the more data I get, the more common I will find these occurrences to be. I still think that, talent- and experience-wise, KU is the most proven overall team in the North, but they will need to be better than they were in 2008, and with that offensive line and their '08 over-reliance on Passing Downs success, it's far from a given that they actually will be better.

Kansas Postional Previews: Offensive Line

Denverjhawk — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:00:12 -0000

Jeremiah Hatch will be expected to lead a fairly inexperience group of Kansas offensive lineman in 2009.

View full size photo »

Once again an area of change in the 2009 season will be the offensive line. With that in mind change isn't always a bad thing. 2008 saw its struggles for the Jayhawks in the trenches. Two redshirt freshman tackles and an interior that didn't quite anchor things the way they were expected to.

With a new year only one position will remain the same although two of the names in the starting lineup will. Jeff Spikes a redshirt sophomore out of Ohio will retain his position as the right tackle after making the move from the left side to the right during the middle of last season. During the preseason of 2008 Spikes was praised for his footwork, size and potential to be the next great Kansas left tackle. Obviously that didn't pan out for the time being as he was moved to the right where he was serviceable but will be looked upon to step it up in 2009. At 6'6" 314 Spikes did earn himself 3^rd team freshman all America honors so others see it in him; it's just a matter of consistency at this point.

Jeremiah Hatch will be the other familiar name on the offensive line starting the season, and after playing fairly well out of position at left tackle he'll move back to the interior and his natural position of center. At 6'3" 311, center is where Hatch played in high school earning all state honors at Carter high school in Dallas Texas. While he was a 2^nd team selection on the freshman all America team at tackle, his leadership and talent will be a welcome boost to the interior and hopefully an improved running game.

Moving beyond these two familiar faces, we'll be seeing a whole lot of new ones and while some positions are up in the air others seem to be a little more decided.

Complete Positional Breakdown After the Jump...

Continuing the preview, we'll look at the contenders for the starting spots in the trenches. Starting from the left side where a converted tight end in Tanner Hawkinson will look to make an astronomical leap from freshman tight end redshirting and earning his stripes on the scout team, to starting at one of the most important positions on the field left tackle. One thing is clear about Hawkinson and that is that he is a pretty good football player. As a junior he was an all state tight end and as a senior he was an all state defensive lineman. He tried out both as a redshirt freshman at Kansas. In the spring the decision was made to move him to tackle and he's done a job in adding weight and getting up to 6'6" 285, so size is not as big a concern as it once was. I have also been told by a peer of his that the footwork and athleticism everyone talks about with him are very legit strengths, but he still will have to polish up on the fundamentals of the position. This is definitely a big area of concern for some and hopefully this year we aren't making a switch four games in as we did last year.

Moving to left guard currently listed on the depth chart is Carl Wilson. Wilson is a 6'4" 292 pound junior out of California. Wilson was a fairly highly regarded recruit and has the size to go along with three years in the system as an advantage.

The guy that will be pushing him in a big way is "Big" John Williams. If you haven't seen pics of this guy yet, look for them because he's a large man. Williams is listed at 6'4" 309 but he looks even bigger. He was an all state selection in Oklahoma as a senior and redshirted last fall. For a guy his size Williams is reported to have good agility and excellent flexibility and strength. In spring ball he as apparently fairly dominant on the offensive line and I think there is a strong possibility we see him take the starting role at some point.

Jumping to the right side the listed starter at the moment is another junior in Rockhurst high school product Sal Capra. Capra is an interesting story in my opinion because he arrived in Lawrence as an unheralded linebacker recruit but has tacked on 60 pounds and made himself into a contributor on the offensive line. Last season Capra filled in as the first man off the bench at both guard spots and saw action in every game proving a very reliable presence at times. I think there is a strong possibility Capra pulls this spot out due to his experience and the fact he has earned the trust of the staff, but he will be pushed for time.

The other contender on the right side is another redshirt freshman Trevor Marrongelli. If any of you remember the movie "The Program" back in the 90's, he reminds me of "moose" without the squirrely hair. Standing 6'4" 285 pounds Marrongelli was said to have a nasty streak by one of the assistant coaches when he was recruited. Now after a season in the system, word is he is pushing for that starting spot at right guard.

One other player that may be in the mix on the interior is Brad Thorson. Thorson is a 6'3" junior who transferred in from Wisconsin last season. He was the backup center at Wisconsin as a redshirt freshman and is a very solid option as a potential backup or even starter on the Jayhawk offensive line this year.

Another interesting story on the offensive line this season is the move of Darius Parish from defensive tackle to offensive line. Early on he has been working at tackle but it wouldn't surprise me to see him at guard as well. Parish is a 6'4" 314 pounder who again like Williams looks much bigger. He definitely has trimmed down a bit this season and looks much stronger but I'd still think he might end up playing larger than 314. This is an intriguing move in a lot of ways and as we learned from media day coach Mangino has felt Parish is an offensive lineman all the way.

Other upperclassman competing on the line beginning with the tackles are Jose Rodriguez a 6'6" 293 pound senior who has seen limited action in his career. Ian Wolfe a 6'5" 295 pound junior who I think everyone keeps wondering what's going on here. Interestingly a transfer in Mike Martinovich is running second team at left tackle behind Hawkinson and the 6'4" 270 pound transfer from Air Force last season must be impressing somebody to be able to suplant 2 guys who have a much more prototypical tackle size.

Others competing at guard include Alex Smith a Kansas product who as a junior has played primarily a scout team role throughout his career. Also returning is Joe Semple a walk on out of Illinois who had several division one offers but chose a preferred walk on slot with the hawks.

Newcomers to this unit are Gavin Howard, Riley Spencer and Tom Mabry.

Spencer is a local product out of Hesston Kansas and has done a tremendous job of physically preparing himself working his way up from a fairly low playing weight his senior season in high school to a listing at 6'7" 290, although I've heard he has surpassed 300. Spencer has tremendous size, is a smart player and has great work ethic. I'd imagine we'll see a redshirt but in the future he could anchor one side or the other as a very viable option.

Gavin Howard is another big kid standing 6'6" 295 pounds and while not much has been said at this point in regards to his progress he is an agile guy with size and would also project as a tackle somewhere down the line with the Jayhawks. I think it's a strong possibility that before it's all said and done both Howard and Riley could be bookends for a pretty good o-line group someday with the Jayhawks.

Last but not least is Tom Mabry who is a bit of a mystery at this point. The 6'5" 280 pounder comes to Kansas from Illinois where he was recruited personally by Ed Warriner. This is someone he was reportedly very high on and recruiting very early on so you'd have to believe there is something to him. Much like the others I don't expect him to be an immediate impact as it is very difficult for any offensive lineman to do, but I do think he'll be a valuable player on the roster 2-3 years from now.

That wraps up the hogs in the trenches. Lot's of new names, new positions and not a lot of answers yet. However, as I've contended from the beginning, while we are replacing a lot it is being replaced with guys who have a higher ceiling. I know the saying goes potential means you haven't proven anything and I agree completly, but there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of this unit. I just hope it comes together for the present.

Poll

Who would you like to see starting at the Guard positions in 2009

Capra, Wilson

11 votes

Capra, Williams

14 votes

Marrongelli, Wilson

1 votes

Marrongelli, Williams

18 votes

Other, please explain in the comments

4 votes

48 votes | Poll has closed