SB Nation - Raimond Pendleton

Postgame Reaction: K-State vs. Massachusetts

TB — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:33:21 -0000

by Orlin Wagner - AP

Bill Snyder returned to the stadium that bears his name for K-State's opener with Massachusetts, a game the Wildcats won, 21-17. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. OK, obviously last night wasn't within several thousand light years of the best of times at K-State, and it also wasn't nearly the worst of times at K-State. But during the course of the game, I experienced emotions all over the spectrum. At halftime, with the score 21-3, I was cautiously optimistic about some things I'd seen in the game. In the fourth quarter, with the game at 21-17, I was in a near panic.

Color me as an insufferable optimist, but there are some positives we can take away from this game. Granted, they're not positives in the sense that they came out of one of our circa-2002 beatdowns of an FCS opponent, but there were some things I liked. Click the jump for what I liked, what I didn't, what it means, and the Big 12 roundup.

What I liked...

...Tysyn Hartman in the secondary. Overall a very good game by the young man who moved over from quarterback last season. He made some good plays coming up in run support to go along with his two interceptions and two passes broken up. A third interception slipped right through his hands in the second half.

...having a running game again. Daniel Thomas cracked the 100-yard mark, and Keithen Valentine nearly got there on half as many carries as Thomas got. For the night, the team averaged a solid 4.7 yards per carry. Not bad, considering that sacks are factored into that and that UMass packed the box in the second half when it became obvious we were going to run Thomas into the middle every play.

...seeing Attrail Snipes on the field as a wide receiver. As Pan noted in his position breakdown, this kid was a highly touted recruit, and Ron Prince completely wasted a season for him last year. Last night, he caught two touchdown passes. Also, Brandon Banks had a decent night as a receiver considering we didn't throw much, catching seven passes for 67 yards. An uncharacteristic drop was the only thing that marred his receiving night.

...the defense making a stop late when we really needed it. Apparently, the conditioning is paying off, as the defense didn't wilt as the night went along and stopped UMass late in the game when it had to. Also, UMass quarterback Kyle Havens was 10-34 passing in the game, with two interceptions.

What I didn't like...

...mistakes, penalties, conservative playcalling. I didn't catch a replay on either Coffman's interception or his fumble, so I couldn't tell whether they were his fault or not, but three turnovers against an FCS team is how you get beat. As BracketCat noted in the game comments, I was pretty encouraged at halftime that we hadn't racked up many penalty yards. I should have kept that thought from entering my head, because sure enough we drew yellow laundry left and right in the second half. Eight penalties for 71 yards on the night? Yuck.

As far as the playcalling, I understand that it's the first game, it's an FCS opponent, and Snyder will do the absolute minimum as far as putting things on video for future opponents to see. I'll also agree that Coffman wasn't spectacular, but he was serviceable in the first half throwing the ball, especially the drive right before halftime. Against an FCS team, we should be able to move the ball consistently even if we are just running it, but there was zero imagination even in that. We just ran straight into the middle of the line. No sweeps, no option, nothing. Early in the game, the straight-ahead running game was working fairly well because UMass had to account for the wide receivers outside and the possibility that we could run the option. But hey, we won and we didn't show any tricks or funky formations, so that's a positive, I guess.

...special teams miscues. It was positively shocking to see Brandon Banks fumble a punt. It was a tough punt to field, as he had to sprint about 20 yards to get into position to make the catch, but it still hurt. On the blocked punt that led to a touchdown, I'm still baffled as to why we were running a rugby punt. Ryan Doerr had been decent punting the ball, despite UMass getting some decent pressure on him. Given that UMass was getting close, I'm not sure why we decided it would be a good idea to have Doerr hold the ball longer on a punt.

What it means and where we're going...

Don't lose the forest for the trees. While last night's game was anything but spectacular, the final score doesn't show how thoroughly in control K-State was most of the night. We had 24 first downs to 13 for UMass, while outgaining the Minutemen 407 to 212. Note also that UMass never sustained a scoring drive, as their touchdowns came on an 18-yard drive following Banks' fumbled punt and on a return of the blocked punt. Maybe I'm chugging grape Kool-Aid here, but I honestly believe that if Snyder had wanted to pour it on in the second half, he could have. As I'll note below, Nebraska led FAU 21-3 at halftime and KU led Northern Colorado (a 1-10 FCS team last year) only 28-3 in the third quarter. While I haven't even seen highlights from those games, I'm guessing Bo Pelini and Mark Mangino played for an "appearance score" rather than running the ball straight ahead to keep other teams from seeing anything they might do down the road.

Next week, K-State is on the road in Lafayette, La., for a game with Louisiana. We'll have a lot more on the Ragin' Cajuns later this week, but this has to be a game that concerns K-State fans after last night's average performance. Although Louisiana lost its quarterback and running back from last year's team that gashed our defense, Vic Koenning and Chris Cosh will need to have their unit ready to play.

Around the Big 12

Due to traveling to the game, I didn't catch a lot of action from other Big 12 games. The observations below are gleaned from the bits and pieces I did see, as well as astute (or not) box score observation.

Iowa State 34, North Dakota State 17

A decent start for the Clones against a NDSU team that was 6-5 last season. I had heard through the grapevine that the Cyclone offense was looking very good in practice, but that the defense was a concern. Turns out that was a fairly astute observation, as Austen Arnaud led ISU to 442 yards total offense, including a 300-yard day for himself (227 yards passing, 78 yards rushing). Iowa State didn't really put the Bison away until the fourth quarter, as the score was 17-10 at halftime and 27-17 after three. The Clones had better get something figured out on defense, because giving up 5.5 yards per rush to NDSU does not bode well for upcoming games.

For more: Clone Chronicles

Next opponent: Iowa (Ames, Iowa)

Baylor 24, Wake Forest 21

Credit to the Bears for going out and getting a road win in Week 1 against a quality ACC opponent. The Demon Deacons lost a lot from last year's defense, but for the most part kept Robert Griffin in check. Griffin, who may be rivaling Jesus Christ for the position of "Savior" among Baylor fans, passed for only 136 yards and ran for only 41. Griffin's pedestrian game makes this an even more impressive win for Baylor, as it shows they can win games when Griffin doesn't go off for 300+ total yards. I have no idea what Wake is supposed to have on offense -- other than Riley Skinner -- but Baylor held them to 269 total yards. I'm still not on board the "Bears to a Bowl" train yet, but this was a good start.

For more: Blogger So Dear (Wake Forest)

Next opponent: Connecticut (Waco, Texas)

Oklahoma State 24, Georgia 10

Undoubtedly the biggest game in the Big 12, and Oklahoma State proved it belongs in the discussion for the Big 12 South race with a home win over Georgia. What's most impressive to me in this one is that the Pokes won without exploding on offense. We are all probably tired of the Big 12 Offense vs. SEC Defense debate, but in this game OSU showed it could go toe-to-toe with one of the premier SEC programs and come away with a solid win. Despite only gaining 307 total yards and seeing Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant limited to what will certainly be below-average numbers, the Pokes put up 24 points on the Dawgs. With OU's loss (see below), the Cowboys are the premier challenger to Texas in the South. But they better not let down their guard next week, as the high-powered Houston Cougars and quarterback Case Keenum pay a visit to Stillwater. Oklahoma State has to be in the running for the most difficult two-game stretch to open the season.

For more: Dawg Sports (Georgia)

Next opponent: Houston (Stillwater, Okla.)

Missouri 37, Illinois 9

Anybody who thought Mizzou was going quietly into the night with the departure of DanielMaclinCoffman had better deal with the reality that those were mistaken thoughts. I'm looking directly north at you, Husker fans. Blaine Gabbert was sensational in his first game, completing 25 of 33 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Damn. Further, Danario Alexander looks to be back to his pre-injury form, hauling in 10 of those passes for 132 yards. What's more, the much-maligned Mizzou defense held Juice Williams and the supposedly potent Illinois attack to single digits. Even though it's only one game, I feel pretty comfortable saying that Mizzou ain't going anywhere, folks.

For more: Rock M Nation

Next opponent: Bowling Green (Columbia, Mo.)

Texas A&M 41, New Mexico 6

If you believe in comparative scores, the Aggies are a lot better than last year, considering they snuck by the Lobos, 28-22, last season. Statistically, A&M was shockingly good, picking up 606 yards (not a typo) of total offense, with Jerrod Johnson passing for 349 yards and rushing for 57 yards. Maybe we're not quite ready to call them the Wrecking Crew again, but the Aggies defense made life miserable for the Lobos, limiting them to two field goals and only 231 yards total offense. Statistical oddity of the night: somehow, New Mexico QB Donovan Porterie connected on 29 of 40 passes, but only picked up 210 yards. The more obvious statistical oddity was that A&M covered the length of the field more than six times, had zero turnovers, and yet only managed to score 41 points. Oh wait, 14 penalties for 123 yards might have something to do with that. Interesting also that A&M still had Johnson in the game as late as the fourth-quarter scoring drive. With a 34-6 lead, I would have thought Mike Sherman would want to get his backups some snaps.

For more: I Am The 12th Man

Next opponent: Utah State (College Station, Texas)

Texas 59, Louisiana-Monroe 20

Ho-hum, Texas is really good and UL-Monroe is really bad. Colt McCoy shockingly threw an interception, but that seems to be about the only thing that went wrong for the Longhorns.

For more: Burnt Orange Nation

Next opponent: Wyoming (Laramie, Wyo.)

Texas Tech 38, North Dakota 13

Despite the fairly easy win, I'm guessing this is not what Captain Leach wanted to see in the opener. Heralded recruit and scurvy-bearded pirate Taylor Potts passed for a lot of yards and a high completion percentage and...threw three interceptions to only two touchdown passes. The Red Raiders outgained, by more than double, the Fighting Sioux, and yet Potts was still in the game with less than four minutes left to tack on another touchdown. I'm sure this is at least partly due to Leach's desire to get the new starter more snaps, but North Dakota is a Division II team, and was only 6-4 last season at that. Also, the Red Raider rushing game has apparently vaporized again, tallying only 40 (again, not a typo) yards against UND. Tech better improve in a hurry.

For more: Double T Nation

Next opponent: Rice (Lubbock, Texas)

Nebraska 49, Florida Atlantic 3

A very good start by Nebraska against an FAU team that won a bowl game last season. After a slow start, the Huskers exploded for 21 points in the third quarter to put the game completely out of reach. At quarterback, Zac Lee had a solid debut in Lincoln, completing 15 of 22 for 213 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Roy Helu gashed the Owls for 152 yards on only 16 carries. Interestingly, despite only giving up three points, the Husker defense gave up 358 total yards. The low score was probably aided by the fact that FAU fumbled the ball FIVE times (somehow, they only lost one of those) and threw two interceptions.

For more: Corn Nation

Next opponent: Arkansas State (Lincoln, Neb.)

KU 49, Northern Colorado 3

The Jayhawks played without four players, including Dezmon Briscoe and Raimond Pendleton, who were apparently suspended. At this point, do we start to question whether Briscoe is ever going to get out of Mark Mangino's doghouse? Never mind, that was a dumb question. He'll punish them by holding them out of an opener against a 1-10 FCS team so they learn their lesson before they actually have to play a team with a pulse. In the actual game, KU led only 28-3 after three quarters before piling on three touchdowns for appearances in the fourth quarter (backup QB Kale Pick was in for two of those).

For more: Rock Chalk Talk

Next opponent: UTEP (El Paso, Texas)

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.

Preseason Positional Breakdowns: Wide Recievers

Denverjhawk — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:00:10 -0000

Dezmon Briscoe will look to Brush his Troubles Aside and Become One of the Top Receivers in College Football.

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Today on our RCT preseason position breakdowns is the area of the team that is probably the biggest strength beyond the quarterback spot. There are proven starters, solid backups and some seriously talented newcomers when looking at the receivers and the position looks to be in good hands for years to come.

Starting things off we'll take a look at a Jayhawk who draws praise from nearly everyone for his team first attitude in Kerry Meier. .

Meier came on to the scene slowly in his redshirt sophomore season after Todd Reesing had won the quarterback battle and taken Lawrence by storm in 2007. The buzz amongst the fans was that this move to receiver would be a gimick role and one that had the potential to make for difficult game planning. What happened though was a different reality. His 26 receptions for 275 yards while never practicing at the position showed that Meier was more than a decoy or gimmick, he might just be a player at the position.

Fast forward to 2008 and you have a Bilitnekoff finalist that finished with 97 receptions for 1024 yards and 8 touchdowns, all of course while fairly badly hobbled much of the season. Meier became Mr. third down converting a extraordinary number of the Jayhawks third downs with key receptions and he also caught a pretty important 4th down pass late in November.

Next in line and the more flashy player in the receiving corps is Dezmon Briscoe. Despite some reported problems in the offseason you can expect Briscoe to make his way onto the field come opening day I would suspect. I can tell you with a great amount of confidence that this has a high probability of being his last season in a Jayhawk uniform and if the junior can put up numbers the way he has in his first two seasons, I can't say I blame him.

The 6'3" 200 pound junior played as a true freshman with the Jayhawks posting 43 receptions for nearly 500 yards and 7 touchdowns. He followed that up with a monster sophomore year of 92 receptions for 1407 yards including a 250+ yard outburst against national championship participant Oklahoma. Briscoe was near the top of the conference and the nation for that matter in several major recieving categories and set several Kansas bests in the process.

Finally Johnathan Wilson will look to continue his role as the somewhat forgotten starter on the Jayhawk team. Injury and position changes put him in the lineup as a sophomore last season and he had a solid season rotating through as the third recieving option. Wilson's sophomore campaign rounded out with total of 43 receptions for 573 yards playing in all 13 games. The 6'3" 190 pound junior to be also turned some heads after having a great spring.

Beyond the starters there are several upperclassmen that will by vying for minutes starting with Tetravian Ingram. Ingram has at times run with the first team to start of fall camp but he'll likely be one of the first of the bench when the season get's going. While Ingram only has a career total of 3 receptions, he did start the first two games as a redshirt freshman in 2007 and was considered a pretty big pickup in recruiting that year.

Another veteran in the mix is 5'11" 192 pound senior Raimond Pendleton. Made famous from his punt return celebration turned Mark Mangino youtube moment Pendleton has never quite been able to crack into the lineup on a consistent basis recording only 8 receptions. His most important contribution to the team would be on special teams at the beginning of 2007 as a punt returner averaging over 12 yards per return at the start of the season.

Rod Harris a 6'2" Junior who transferred in from Blinn County Community College is another name on the list of potential contributors at receiver. Harris has shown promise throughout his career on the scout team and in camp but injuries have kept him from getting the reps and seeing the minutes on gameday. He reportedly faced another setback during spring ball but nothing official is known.

Isiah Barfield a 6' 185 pound redshirt sophomore is a name to keep an eye on this season and in the future. He's bounced around in his first two seasons with the Jayhawks but early reports from 7 on 7's over the summer and fall camp are that he might finally be finding a role at the reciever slot. He's always been reported to have great athleticism and after spending time on defense last season it appears he may be finding a niche as an offensive weapon in the Jayhawk spread.

There are also a few true freshman that could make some noise at this position in 2009 starting with 4 star recruit Bradley McDougald. McDougald was originally an Ohio State commitment before ultimately ending up at Kansas. Measuring 6'2" 195 pounds he's known to be an elusive runner that is able to break tackles and make plays. Like Barfield early returns on this one are very positive.

Erick McGriff is another true freshman that reportedly showed up this summer and impressed. At 6'4" 205 pounds the freshman came into the summer physically ready to compete and turned heads in 7 on 7 and continues to do so as fall camp has begun. McGriff logged 44 catches for 730 yards as a senior in Florida.

The last of the freshman trio that could be in the mix on gameday is Chris Omigie. Labeled by rivals as one of the most underrated players last season Omigie is another big target at 6'4" 200 pounds. He's had one of the more memorable plays through the early days of camp with a behind the back, one handed catch on fellow freshman Tyler Patmon.

I would expect reshirts to be a strong possibility for all three of these given the depth at the position but early reports are leaving some doubt as it appears there is some belief that there might be an ability to contribute by some if not all of the incoming freshman.

Others on the list coming to the Jayhawks as preferred walk on's include Willie O'Quinn, Patrick Schilling and Reece Petty. As long as this preview is already I won't go into everyone of them, but I will say that Willie O'Quinn might just become the TJ Whatley of the football team. For those of you not old enough Whatley was a walk on for the basketball team that drew chants from the crowd in the mid 90's. He brought excitement late in games much the way guys like Terry Nooner, Matt Kleinmann and others have done after him.

O'Quinn as a true freshman walk on last season was good enough and impressed enough people to find his way on the field in special teams action. I personally noted some solid play in the Insight Bowl and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in games late as a reward for his efforts.

That wraps up our look at the reciever position. I've tried to keep it clean and concise but there are a lot of options here and this is by far the position I feel most confident about looking into the future for the Jayhawks.

Poll

What Receiver would you like to see be the first off the bench in 2009?

Tetravian Ingram

7 votes

Raimond Pendleton

6 votes

Isiah Barfield

3 votes

Rod Harris

5 votes

Chris Omigie

5 votes

Erick McGriff

8 votes

Bradley McDougald

31 votes

Willie O'Quinn

0 votes

65 votes | Poll has closed