SB Nation - Richard Johnson, Jr.

RCT Readers Choice Award; Newcomer of the Year

Denverjhawk — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:00:09 -0000

"RCT Readers Choice Awards"

Up next Newcomer of the year, and again there will be an other category for this one in case there is someone I missed. Remember if you vote other, we need the player name in the comments so the vote can count.

In terms of the nominees, eligible players included true freshman, redshirt freshman and junior college transfers.

With that in mind...the nominees for 2008 Kansas Football Newcomer of the Year are...

Poll

2008 Kansas Football Newcomer of the Year

Daymond Patterson

22 votes

Jeremiah Hatch

8 votes

Jeff Spikes

7 votes

Richard Johnson Jr.

1 votes

Tim Biere

1 votes

Other...add name in the comments...

0 votes

39 votes | Poll has closed

A Final Reflection; Insight Bowl and 2008

Denverjhawk — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:19:59 -0000

New Year’s Eve 2008 marked the end of an exciting Kansas football season as the Jayhawks wrapped up their first ever back to back bowl wins in school history. Already fans, media and players alike are looking toward 2009, but I thought I would take one last opportunity to look back at the 2008 Insight Bowl and discuss 2009 sometime next week.

Full story after the jump…

I myself landed in Tempe early the morning of the game. Weather was fantastic, there looked to be about 8 fellow Jayhawks arriving on the same plane with me. One shuttle to the hotel and one to downtown Tempe and my first bowl experience was underway. Now, before getting to much into the game I’ve got to say if you haven’t made the plunge and forked over the money to attend one of these, do so on your next opportunity. These events are special and going forward I will make every effort to attend in the future. I sat next to an older Jayhawk alum at a bar prior to the game. He had been to the Orange Bowl, Final Fours and many other events I as younger alum had not been able to attend at this point. His advice to me, “go to as many as you can, you’ll never say, gee I wish I hadn’t spent the money to go to that.” After the game and the good feelings you get being surrounded by that many Jayhawk fans in that environment, I think I’ll heed his advice going forward.

Onto the game…after a few beers in downtown Tempe I wandered over to the alumni tailgate and an ocean of blue shirts outside the stadium. Got my tickets at will call, snapped a few photos of the scene and just took it all in waiting for the doors to open. Now, I know this wasn’t the Orange Bowl or a BCS Bowl, but as someone who endured the Terry Allen era and realizes where this program has been, you take nothing for granted. I wandered over to the player will call area and all the parents and guest of the players were lined up for a very, very long stretch. I think my favorite was what I assume was Dezmon Briscoe’s mother. She had a shirt on the back that read Mrs. Briscoe, and on the front the phrase “you got Briscoed.” I wonder if she handed that over to Tim Brewster after the game.

The doors opened, fans filed in and moral was high as Kansas fans far outnumbered the Gopher faithful. My guess would be a good 6:1 ratio of Kansas to Minnesota. I don’t say that as a knock on the Minnesota crowd but more as a acknowledgement of the Kansas following. If you think about it this is a fan base that went to the Orange Bowl last year, the National Championship in basketball and now like everyone else is stuck in one of the worst economies of recent history. Combine all that it makes it very impressive that so many fans, students and family were able to make the effort and fork over their hard earned cash to make the trip. I think it speaks a lot to the potential this program has if the building continues.

Pregame was great, fireworks, precision parachuting and a flyover. One somewhat humorous moment was right before the national anthem started Todd Reesing and the captains came bursting out of the tunnel in a sprint. I think they were expecting a rowdy welcome but since everyone was showing respect for the flag, it remained quiet. Reesing quickly realized what was going on, removed his helmet and showed his respect. One other thing regarding the pregame, there was a Greg Ostertag sighting. Two rows in front of me a freakishly large man rolled in with his wife and kids, I quickly recognized him as the Big O and glad to see he could make it.

Kickoff came, Briscoe back deep and I had a good feeling about our special teams. One play later and we had scored. Jayhawk fans went wild and Gopher fans had that look on their face like they were already convinced Big 12 offenses were as good as advertised. As we all know the game would swing the other direction before Kansas took firm control in the third quarter and never looked back.

There were several player performances I was impressed with. The obvious of Todd Reesing, Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier is worth mentioning but there were others who seemed to save there best for last.

The offensive line, a much maligned unit early in the year pulled it together late and between the Missouri contest and this one allowed Reesing to step up, improvise and make plays. The tackles have come a long way and on one drive in particular Jeremiah Hatch played the whole series with a malfunctioning helmet. The thing must have fallen off three or four times, one time with Reesing picking it up and carrying it up to the line for the big guy. The interior Seniors have been great, going from a question mark in 2007 to the anchors of back to back bowl champions. One other worth mentioning here is Sal Capra. The redshirt sophomore came to Kansas as a linebacker from Rockhurst in Kansas City. He’s bulked up, put in the work and seems like he has the chance to lock down one of these spots next year. He might not be the most physically gifted but he seems to be a very smart gritty player that just gets it done.

The defensive line, another area that has been frustrating throughout the year also seemed to find its way late. The defensive tackle rotation of Blakesly, Greene, Johnson Jr, Wheeler and Parish seemed to really respond to the extra time off and opportunity to heal. The goal line stand showed a lot of what the future may hold for a very young, very raw Parish and with another year in the weight room this unit could be fairly effective. At the ends, Brorson was his usual steady self, but the guy that impressed me most was Maxwell Onyegbule. For the first time the guy with all the potential seemed to really understand the game. He may not have had his name called a ton but he did get pressure, sack the quarterback and showed a lot of athleticism and intelligence on some of the screens shovel passes, and running plays where he put himself in the right position to make the play.

Linebackers are a special group; special guys and they went out the right way. Kansas has shown a knack lately of developing this position and with the advent of the spread these three faced some tougher tests, but they always gave it 150%. Special mention to James Holt, should have had him on the occasional pass rush all year.

The secondary did what they had to do. No huge plays here but Daymond Patterson looks the part after half a season on the defensive side of the ball. Stuckey has a chance to be great next year. Finally, Kendrick Harper I know it hasn’t been a smooth ride but he made a big play on the goal line stand and he is a Jayhawk and for that I am grateful.

On the special team’s side of things, Branstetter again proved our best tackler on kick coverage. Alonso Rojas, this guy is brilliant at times and that punt at the 1 inch line was the most remarkable kick I’ve seen in my life. I’ve been to a lot of football games but I’ve never seen a fan base get that excited over a punt.

The coaching staff deserves some serious recognition as well. Watching the fine tuned, well oiled machine work on the sideline is impressive. The coaching staff orchestrates everything so well and smoothly and I think that is why we get the absolute most out of our players. Expectations are high, everything is taken seriously and all these guys have to worry about is making the play. You also see a real good cop, bad cop dynamic from these guys. Just due to pure personality there are coaches down there that strike fear into a player making the wrong move, but there are also those guys that really pick players up. Clint Bowen comes to mind as he shared a moment with each of the senior linebackers as the game wrapped up. Hugs all around for that group.

As the game wrapped up the Rock Chalk Chant was hear loud and proud. If Minnesota fans hadn’t heard it before they got one of the best versions I’ve heard. As I’ve mentioned before many stayed for the trophy presentation. Coach Mangino thanked the great fans of Kansas; we sang the alma mater, did the Rock Chalk Chant and sent the players off to the locker room I know this was a bit long, but I really think you do gain an appreciation for a team when they go through as many hard times as Kansas has and you witness an event like this. Jayhawks filled the streets of Tempe well past midnight to ring in the New Year. 2008 was a fun, wild ride. It maybe finished a little short of initial expectations but it was still a success, and now 2009 can’t come fast enough.

The Fog of '09 - North Defenses

Bill C. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:00:04 -0000

Yesterday, it was North Offenses. Today, North Defenses.

Defensive Lines

Nebraska (DT Ndamukong Suh, DE Pierre Allen)
Kansas (DE Jake Laptad, DT Richard Johnson, DT Caleb Blakesley)
Missouri (DT Jaron Baston, DE Brian Coulter, DE Jacquies Smith)
Kansas State (DE Brandon Harold, DT Daniel Calvin)
Iowa State (DE Rashawn Parker, DT Nate Frere)
Colorado (DE Jason Brace, ?)

That's right, Ndamukong Suh still has eligibility left--feels like he's been having an up-and-down season for Nebraska since about 2003--and he and Pierre Allen should make a pretty solid DL for the Huskers. KU returns a decent amount, and while their unit will be far from spectacular, it will be steady and reliable. Missouri has a lot of potential at DE with Coulter and Smith, but they still have to replace a lot of career starts.

Linebackers

Missouri (Sean Weatherspoon--for now, Luke Lambert)
Nebraska (Phil Dillard, Blake Lawrence)
Colorado (Jeff Smart, Shaun Mohler)
Iowa State (Jesse Smith, Fred Garrin, Cameron Bell)
Kansas State (Olu Hall, Ulla Pomele)
Kansas (?)

I think Sean Weatherspoon will return, but I could be wrong. If he doesn't...well, MU probably doesn't fall very far because NOBODY will have tremendous LBs in 2009. Jeff Smart is solid, but that's really all CU has. Smith and Garrin have had their moments at ISU, but...yeah, they're still only average. NU returns Phil Dillard and some youngsters with potential, and if 'Spoon is in the NFL in 2009, that should give NU the best unit.

Defensive Backs

Kansas State (CB Joshua Moore, CB Blair Irvin, S Courtney Herndon)
Iowa State (CB Leonard Johnson, S James Smith)
Nebraska (S Rickey Thenarse, S Larry Asante)
Kansas (CB/S Chris Harris, S Darrell Stuckey, CB Daymond Patterson)
Missouri (CB Carl Gettis, S Kenji Jackson)
Colorado (CB Cha'pelle Brown, ?)

Oy. If there's one reason why North offenses should still be pretty successful in 2009, it's because nobody in the North returns a quality secondary. I'm probably underrating the Missouri secondary here--Iowa State game aside, Castine Bridges hasn't been anything special in '08, and there won't be a huge dropoff to Kevin Rutland or one of the RSFrs. Meanwhile, Missouri fans are loving them some Kenji Jackson. But only Carl Gettis will be proven.

Also, I might be overrating Iowa State, but I love me some Leonard Johnson.

North Defenses, 2009

Nebraska (15)
Missouri (12)
Kansas State (11)
Iowa State (10)
Kansas (9)
Colorado (6)

As with the offenses, each North defense will have its strengths and weaknesses...but not a lot of strengths. Nebraska scores the best, and they're returning only about six starters. Missouri loses William Moore and most of its D-line, and they still might have the best North defense. Iowa State's D was brutal in '08, and they actually score pretty well here. Big-time tossup. A lot will come down to matchups and schedules...so after we look at special teams, we'll look at that.

Special Teams

Iowa State (K Grant Mahoney, P Mike Brandtner, KR/PR's Leonard Johnson, Devin McDowell)
Nebraska (K Alex Henery, KR/PR Niles Paul)
Colorado (KR/PR Josh Smith, P Matt DiLallo, K Aric Goodman)
Kansas State (KR/PR Deon Murphy, P George Pierson)
Missouri (P Jake Harry, K Tanner Mills)
Kansas (PR Daymond Patterson, K Jacob Branstetter, P Alonso Rojas)

Honestly, only ISU has a relatively complete special teams unit. I'm optimistic that Missouri's return game will still be decent with Gahn McGaffie or whoever ends up back there, but that's me projecting greatness on newcomers...so for now they're stuck low on the list. Colorado has a solid return man in Smith, but no kickers. KSU has a solid return man in Murphy, but no kickers. Kansas...yeah, same.

Coaches

Missouri
Kansas
Nebraska
Kansas State
Colorado
Iowa State

Mizzou could lose either or both coordinators, but I think this is where continuity pays off--the guys under the coordinators (Yost, Hill, Steckel, etc.) basically share the same brain as Eberflus and Christensen, so I'm not tremendously worried about losing the OC and DC. Then again, I'm a homer. KU took a lengthy step backwards after losing last year's DC, so who knows? All I know is this: in the last two years, Gary Pinkel has blown up the "Pinkel Effect". It no longer exists

So if we're going to add together all my admittedly arbitrary unit rankings (offense, defense, special teams, coaching), we end up with these standings.

2009 North Rankings

Missouri (40 points)
Nebraska (39)
Kansas (33)
Kansas State (30)
Iowa State (25)
Colorado (22)

Very loosely, there's a top tier (MU, NU, KU) and a bottom tier (KSU, ISU, CU). And obviously, there are question marks here. Is QB worth more than the other units? Then KU gets a bump up. Is there a "continuity of personnel" factor that will hurt Missouri (and possibly Nebraska)? Am I understating Colorado's potential with their solid recruiting classes? But we'll go with this for now.

-- Schedules --

Colorado

10/10 - at Texas
10/17 - Kansas
10/24 - at Kansas State
10/31 - Missouri
11/7 - Texas A&M
11/14 - at Iowa State
11/21 - at Oklahoma State
11/28 - Nebraska

South schedule: @ UT, @ OSU, ATM. That screams "1-2."

North home slate: KU, MU, NU. That's a good slate to have next year. I obviously don't expect much out of Colorado in '09, but they'll most likely go at least 1-2 in those games. I guess I'll say they beat KU, since KU's the lowest-ranked of the three.

North road slate: @ KSU, @ ISU. Not a good slate to have next year. Getting KSU and ISU at home would probably mean two wins, but on the road is a different story.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 2-6

Iowa State

10/3 - vs Kansas State (at Arrowhead)
10/10 - at Kansas
10/17 - Baylor
10/24 - at Nebraska
10/31 - at Texas A&M
11/7 - Oklahoma State
11/14 - Colorado
11/21 - at Missouri

South schedule: BU, @ ATM, OSU. If ISU's defense takes a step forward, then they'll probably beat Baylor and at least have a chance against ATM. Even though Baylor will be pretty decent next year, I'll say ISU wins that game and goes 1-2.

North home slate: CU. They lose the KSU game to Arrowhead. The ISU-KSU could very well be a "winner goes 6-6 and slips into a bowl" situation, and as you see, they could be pretty evenly-matched. For no reason whatsoever, I say ISU goes 2-2 in these games.

North road slate: @ KU, @ NU, @ MU. Ouch. 0-3.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 3-5

Kansas

10/10 - Iowa State
10/17 - at Colorado
10/24 - Oklahoma
10/31 - at Texas Tech
11/7 - at Kansas State
11/14 - Nebraska
11/21 - at Texas
11/28 - vs Missouri (still at Arrowhead, right?)

South schedule: OU, @ Tech, @ UT. I really hope KU fans enjoyed 2007. 0-3.

North home slate: ISU, NU, vs Mizzou. Assuming KU-MU is once again at Arrowhead, this once again hurts KU. Instead of getting both NU and MU at home, they get one on a neutral field. I say they beat ISU and NU, and naturally (ahem) lose to MU. 2-1.

North road slate: @ CU, @ KSU. They're not losing both of these, and since I already have them losing to CU, I guess that means they beat KSU. 1-1.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 3-5. It's amazing what scheduling can do.

Kansas State

10/3 - at Iowa State
10/10 - at Texas Tech
10/17 - Texas A&M
10/24 - Colorado
10/31 - at Oklahoma
11/7 - Kansas
11/14 - Missouri
11/21 - at Nebraska

South schedule: @ Tech, ATM, @ OU. ATM is a big game, but I say KSU wins it. 1-2.

North home slate: CU, KU, MU. It would not at all surprise me to see a young Mizzou team slip up on the road, so we'll arbitrarily say it happens in Manhattan. That makes KSU 2-1 here.

North road slate: vs ISU, @ NU. 0-2.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 3-5.

Missouri

10/3 - Nebraska
10/17 - at Oklahoma State
10/24 - Texas
10/31 - at Colorado
11/7 - Baylor
11/14 - at Kansas State
11/21 - Iowa State
11/28 - vs Kansas

South schedule: @ OSU, UT, BU. Gotta figure that's 1-2, though obviously Baylor will not be a pushover.

North home slate: NU, ISU. The NU game will be ha-yoooge. But tie goes to the home team, right? 2-0.

North road slate: vs KU, @ CU, @ KSU. Beat KU and CU, randomly lose to KSU. 2-1.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 5-3.

Nebraska

10/3 - at Missouri
10/17 - Texas Tech
10/24 - Iowa State
10/31 - at Baylor
11/7 - Oklahoma
11/14 - at Kansas
11/21 - Kansas State
11/28 - at Colorado

South schedule: TT, @ BU, OU. Hmm. No to BU and OU, but I think they'll take out Tech. 1-2.

North home slate: ISU, KSU. 2-0.

North road slate: @ MU, @ KU, @ CU. We'll say 1-2.

Waaaaaaay too early prediction: 4-4.

Standings

Missouri 5-3
Nebraska 4-4
Kansas 3-5 (brutal schedule)
Kansas State 3-5
Iowa State 3-5
Colorado 2-6

Summary

It won't surprise me if the preseason mags pick KU (because of Reesing) or NU (because they're Nebraska) to win the North, and with the loss of Daniel, Maclin, Coffman, etc., it would very much surprise me to see anybody actually picking Mizzou. But although I may be overrating Mizzou in the rankings, there's no question that getting NU at home and KU in KC gives them the scheduling advantage here. In a three-team North race, it could come down to home-field advantage, and there's now no question in my mind that a third straight division title, if not a gimme by any means, is within reach, even in a rebuilding year.

But don't hold me to any of that.

Hawk Talk...The Morning After Edition

Denverjhawk — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 14:40:53 -0000

A look at news and notes about Jayhawks and upcoming opponents...

KU athletics game recap
Game Notes
Press Conference Quotes
Kansas Senior Linebacker Corps wraps up a home career
KUSports recap
KC Star recap
Whitlock Column talks about keeping things in perspective.
KC Star Game Report
Great Article on some of the Seniors

My Thoughts...The unthinkable happened yesterday, Kansas lost a football game because its offense was inept. Todd Reesing appeared flustered and incapable of making the plays that we all know him for. The pass protection was more than acceptable in many cases and there has been a clear improvement over the year with Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes, yet Reesing couldn’t seem to pull the trigger and couldn’t seem to keep the ball out of the dirt. I say it again, the Kansas offense lost this game and it’s been awhile since I’ve had to say that.

A Senior day inspired defense came out and did everything they could in the first half forcing several punts by the potent offense of the Texas longhorns. The unit forced a turnover, the defensive backs seemed to continue to get more comfortable in their new positions, and even the defensive line put some token pressure on Colt McCoy. The problem this week was we couldn’t capitalize from an offensive standpoint. The longer the game went without us turning the stops into our momentum the more hopeless the cause and eventually it all broke down.

This was a frustrating game yet again for Kansas fans and it’s clear we still have work to do in the talent department before we take the next step and beat these big time opponents at home. I talked about it a little yesterday but it’s worth mentioning again, Kansas needs some more time to improve recruiting and development based on the recent success. This senior class committed to Mangino on the heels of a 4-7 year so while one of the greatest senior classes in terms of on field success ever at the University they probably weren’t the most talented to ever walk through the door. Hopefully that class is yet to come and when they do on a more consistent basis we’ll begin to turn the next corner. Nonetheless, we will see a 2^nd straight bowl, we are bowl eligible for the fourth straight year and I believe we’ve got a good shot at Missouri in Arrowhead.

A couple of guys on this team do deserve special mention after yesterday. Kerry Meier, this guy is a warrior and all hear, we need a few more healthy versions of him on the field. Dez Briscoe, amazing catch, another great game, and he continues to develop into a star. Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes, no they aren’t there yet and no they didn’t have the greatest game, but they have shown marked improvement and if we could play South Florida with this current version of these two I think we win the game. The defensive line, the unit that has been frustrating all year got some pressure and didn’t get pushed around against a usually dominate Texas O-line. Thornton and Patterson both seem to be developing and getting more comfortable at their new spots and while I hope we get Patterson back on offense, he looks like a serviceable corner.

Those are a few of my thoughts for positives looking ahead now it’s an extended Missouri week and maybe this team can put together their first full complete game in this one and make us all feel a little better.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

Kansas vs. Nebraska Team Analysis

Denverjhawk — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:00:37 -0000

1968, that was the last time a Kansas Jayhawk football team went into Lincoln and emegred with a victory. Could this year be different? Mark Mangino brings Kansas' best team in a long time to face the Cornhuskers and Bo Pelini and the Huskers are a team rebuilding. Make no mistake though beating Nebraska in front of 80,000+ rabid Husker fans will never be easy and Kansas certainly has it's work cut out for themselves.

So what should we expect when the Kansas offense takes the field? How about the defense? Special Teams? Here's a look at what team takes the ede in various scenario's on the field.

Why Kansas?	Edge	Scenario	Edge	Why Nebraska?
Kansas put together it's most balanced attack of the year last week and confidence appears to be at an all time high. I look for Kansas to again establish the run against a middle of the pack defense and that will allow Todd Reesing the room to make enough plays against the 11th ranked pass defense in the conference to win this game. The black shirts aren't back yet and Kansas get's the edge in this matchup.		KU Offense vs. Nebraska Defense		Nebraska can gain an edge here if they do two things. Reign in the rediscovered Kansas running game and then force Todd Reesing and the Kansas passing game into mistakes. The first one is possible but don't expect the Huskers who rank 96th in pass defense, 80th in scoring defense and 103rd in turnover margin to hold down the Kansas passing game
For several weeks this was an easy edge to the other team. However the defensive scheme and success last week have led to a little extra thought. I think as a whole at Lincoln the Nebraska offense which ranks 20th in the country does have the edge but I think if the James Holt move sticks, we get Richard Johnson back in the rotation and the revamped secondary shows equal improvement from K-State to Nebraska as it did from Tech to K-State, Kansas could cause Joe Ganz some fits and force a turnover or two to win this game.		KU Defense vs. Nebraska Offense		I'll give Nebraska the nod here as they do field the 20th ranked overall offense and 14th ranked passing offense. They also gave a Tech defense that shutdown both Kansas and Texas for a good chunk of the game trouble. I don't expect Joe Ganz to implode like he did last week and while Kansas should contain the running game I'm not yet sold on our ability to stop a pass happy quarterback. Edge here to Nebraska although the margin was slimmer.
While Kansas seems to have plugged the holes here to some extent they still rank last in Kickoff returns and without a couple touchdown saving tackles last week by kicker Jacob Branstetter things might have been a little different. Still not ready to say Kansas has an edge here.		Special Teams		Nebraska has put together a decent return game this week and an excellent piece on their return man on Gameday last weekend. At the same time they are average on coverage but that shouldn't be a factor against a KU team that doesn't return well. If anyone is going to change the game with this category it's the Huskers so in terms of special teams, edge Corn.
Mangino & Company accomplished a 180 following the Tech loss with a masterful gameplan against K-State. Oh yeah did I mention he took Kansas to the Orange Bowl last year		Coaching		Defensive minded Bo Pelini has a bright future in an offense happy Big 12. However his self professed anger problem shows he still isn't a polished head man.

Here's the thing...winning in Lincoln is never going to be easy, at the same time Kansas may never have this good a chance again. While looking at the analysis it seems split pretty evenly, but I expect where Kansas has an edge it is a bigger edge than where Nebraska has an edge. The matchup to me that ultimately determines if we Kansas handles business is when the KU defense is facing Joe Ganz and the Husker offense.

After the way the defense performed last week I am again confident in them and see a Kansas win by a close margin in the end. The hawks are not favored in this one anymore but again in staying with our election week theme. Yes We Can!!!

Hawk Talk...The Morning After(Sunflower Edition)

Denverjhawk — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:35:44 -0000

A look at news and notes about Jayhawks and upcoming opponents...

Jake Sharp runs wild behind the Kansas offense.
Russel Brorson turns in a memorable performance.
Notes including news on season ending injury to Justin Springer.
KU Athletics game recap.
Final Stats.
Game Notes.

My Thoughts...The morning after and the win feels just as satisfying as the day of. While it seems like our true football rivalry is Missouri this game was a big win for the Jayhawks and their fans. My only question is why the hell are there empty seats after halftime when we are handing our instate rival who we clearly have on the ropes an absolute beat down. Enjoy the journey and don't get so wrapped up in the destination Jayhawk fans.

Enough of that tangent how about a look at the game. There has been recent mention of Ed Warriner changing his offensive blocking scheme from a zone block to man. Clearly that is the right move. Yesterday, I saw our offensive line dominating man on man throughout the game. K-State players found their faces buried in the grass and I can count more than a few times where Jeff Spikes and Jeremiah Hatch our two newbie’s were on top. Jake Sharp used this to his advantage in a big way. Many of his big runs were off the right side behind Spikes and Sharp made the right reads hit the holes aggressively, got to the next level and then made guys miss. Not to mention his touchdown where he outran the Kansas State safety. Fact of the matter is Sharp proved a lot yesterday, and with consistent blocking he can be a very effective back for us. The shovel pass that he broke for long yardage was probably his best example of reading and cutting off blocks all year. Overall, kudos to the running game for being the focal point and not an afterthought this week.

Defensively it was hard not to be very happy with the scheme and effort. Josh Freeman is a very good quarterback with a pocket and with time. Under pressure he sometimes tries to do too much. Clint Bowen's zone blitzing along with the decision to utilize James Holt as an end was huge in applying pressure and allowing our secondary to provide solid coverage. The scheme also allowed Russel Brorson to pick off his 2nd and 3rd Josh Freeman passes adding to his one from last year’s game against Kansas State. In the backfield Justin Thornton and Daymond Patterson both looked much more comfortable in their positions this week, which might have something to do with not playing Texas Tech, but nonetheless both looked improved. Another crew that made a difference was our defensive tackles. Caleb Blakesly was a warrior in the middle, while Jamal Greene and Darius Parish did an excellent job filling in for Richard Johnson and tied up blockers allowing our linebackers to run free. Finally the leaders of this defense Joe Mortenson, Mike Rivera and Darrell Stuckey used their freedom to roam and stifle the running game holding Kansas State to a minimal 91 yards rushing.

Even the special teams were improved. Daymond Patterson had room to work on returns, Herford and Crawford looked more decisive on kickoff returns, Branstetter put a few in the end zone, knocked through a FG and made some great tackles. The only low point was the blocked field goal, but then again Kansas State doesn't lead the nation in that statistic for nothing.

From a mental standpoint Kansas definitely recovered from the haymaker that Tech threw their way a week ago. The players showed they aren't done yet and next week against Nebraska, the Jayhawks have a chance to break a streak, lock up a seventh win and probably creep back into the Top 25 before facing a tough Texas Longhorn team in Lawrence. Big win this week, another huge and difficult game next week but fans can rest easy as Kansas for the third year in a row defeated rival K-State in the sunflower showdown.

Press conference highlights after the Jump...some good stuff this week...

Image Source: KUSports.com

Kansas Head Coach Mark Mangino:

On things that stand out from the game:

“First of all, our defense played really well today. I liked the plan that we had on defense, but our coaches did a good job of getting our kids to bounce back and play really well. Our pass defense, including our pass rush, put some pressure on the quarterback for the better part of the day, we got some sacks, so I’m really pleased with that aspect. Offensively we noticed during the week that they were giving some opportunities to run the ball, and we felt that they played us on defense the way we expected. Our offensive line did a terrific job of getting off the ball and knocking the defensive line back a little bit, and gave Jake Sharp room, and Jake just had a great day. He not only ran the ball well in space, but he took some viscous hits today and he jumped back up, and like I said before, Jake Sharp is a hard-charger. He’s a tough guy.”

On the improvement of the program:

“Obviously we’ve made great improvement, but I still think it’s a great in-state rivalry (with K-State). This year and the last few years we’ve played very well and I’m proud of the way our kids have played. Our program has made a lot of progress. Our fans are elated that KU is winning some of these games in this Sunflower Series. Overall, the credit goes to the kids. They want to do it, they want to get better, and each and every year we seem to have kids that really play hard, play together, and have great resolve. They are resilient; they bounce back from tough days. I’m very proud of the players that play in this program.”

On the success of the defensive pressure playing a part in the win:

“We put a great deal of pressure on the quarterback, or at least didn’t give him as much time as he would like to have. He’s a talented guy, he can hurt you, he made some very good throws today, you can see that he’s really a talented player. He made some tough throws. There were a couple of times I thought we had good coverage. He put the ball in there. If you give him a lot of time to stand back there you’re going to have a long day, and we’ve learned some lessons about that in the past, so we didn’t want that to happen today.”

On Jake Sharp getting knocked around:

“He has proven to us he is exceptional. Most guys his size cannot. But you cannot measure a guy’s heart. You can measure how fast he runs, how high he jumps, the weights he lifts, but you cannot measure intestinal fortitude. There’s no real measurement for it, and he has it. He’s a tough customer, and he’s a great guy to be around. His teammates like him, he’s proven that he can play at the highest level of college football and be successful at it, and I think there were some people who questioned that at one point in time. I’m glad that we didn’t, because we’re glad to have him in our program.”

Kansas senior center Ryan Cantrell

On rushing for 280 yards:

“The results speak for themselves. Before I knew it, I looked up on the stat boards and saw that we had over 100 yards rushing before the end of the first quarter. It was a good feeling. I think we had the right schemes. Jake (Sharp) ran his butt off today. I can’t say enough good things about the way he ran today. I wanted 300 yards (rushing), but we didn’t get that. It’s a good feeling. It makes all the work you put into it, especially in the run game, worth it. It helps motivate you for the next time.”

On the progression of freshmen tackles Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes:

“Anytime you have young guys and they are both redshirt freshmen, you are going to go through some growing pains. Every week they mature more and more. We’ll go through film each day and see if they had any mistakes. And every week there mistakes get to be less and less.”

Kansas senior linebacker Mike Rivera

On winning three in a row against K-State:

“I can’t tell you how good it feels. It was a great game for us to win, and to win it handily. We did a really good job. Being from Kansas, it is one game that I mark on my calendar each year. I’m glad that we went out there and gave our best effort. We had an awesome game and we put it all together. It’s my second to last game at Memorial Stadium, so it was exciting.”

Kansas State Head Coach Ron Prince

Opening Statement:

“They were a good team; a team that needed a win. KU lost a game badly and came back well organized and very well coached and did a terrific job today. On the flip side, we were not well coached today and that is my responsibility and the people of Kansas State deserve better then this. It is about as bad of a loss that I have been associated with, particularly the way we played in the first half. A number of things come to mind. No. 1, the offensive line from an offensive standpoint. Number two on offense, the turnovers continue to plague us. When you look at the number of carries that Lamark Brown was able to get, he had the same carries that Jake Sharp had, but the outcome was tremendously different. KU did a terrific job and we failed to beat blocks and once again tackle. They got big plays and we had very few. Also despite some positive things that could have occurred in the kicking game they did a really good job of limiting any big plays. When you are on the road and fall behind it is very difficult to keep balance in the game from a run or pass situation. We had to get some quality stops in the second half in order to get back into it and we just never got those. So it was a thorough and complete defeat by a very good KU team and my hat’s off to them. It was a very poor one by myself and my coaching staff.”

On the Kansas running game:

“They did a really good job of running the ball inside and then they did a very good job taking the ball to the perimeter on the option. We had some very specific things that we wanted to do to handle the option and we didn’t get them accomplished so therefore we had some plays that really looked uncontested, but they weren’t designed that way. As a coach I have to take responsibility for those.”

On the significance of the game:

“This is a thorough and complete beating and defeat there is no question about it. I’m not one that’s going to try to mince words and try to spin anything. They did a great job, they were very well prepared for the game and it meant a lot to them. We were very well prepared coming into the game, but didn’t execute like we needed to and that’s my job to