Marcus Henry Takes Charge

Memorial Stadium 45 minutes prior to the start of the 2007 Spring Game

Spring Fling

Blue 48, White 0 -- I'll let you determine which one was the first team.

Official KU Athletics Coverage Link

"Geez look at Meier's hair. Sharp's got a pretty good mop going as well -- are we a football team or Lynyrd Skynyrd?"

• 8200 attendance -- continued improvement.
• There's quite a range of opinions on the Gridiron Board, but I give a slight edge to Reesing at QB. That's based on the fact that when he throws he really seems to deliver the ball. If he's throwing at an open receiver, he gets it in his hands. His escapability is also a big plus. Needs to hold onto the ball. Again, it's only a slight edge as Meier has his strengths as well. Either one of these guys can lead us to nine plus wins.
• Marcus Henry -- 6 rec  150yd  3 TD -- yes!
• B-Mac 15/80 and 2 tds.
• Talib played quite a bit at wideout. He is an awesome talent, but I like him focused on defense.
• Rivera played with the white team, possibly to balance things out (8 tackles). Mortenson (10 tackles, 1 sack) looked good -- he's got a mean streak as he even had a questionable hit on Meier. (Checking the local media today it looks as though Mortenson has edged Rivera at the moment for the starting spot)
• The quarterbacks were live in the first half. I like it. I think we're developing a real football attitude across the board.
• The O-line looks strong, I really don't think our back-up d-line is quite that bad.
• Looking at Marc Jones, I'm kind of wanting to go to the old Washington Redskins/Riggins two-tight end offense.
• We saw a lot of passing today, but I'd guess that we saw the very basic version of this offense. I'm also thinking Sharp's carries were limited strictly to keep him off of the opponents radar (wrong-tweaked foot injury).
• Interesting that KSU made our poster.
• Justin Thornton played defense.
• Angus Quigley played at wide receiver.
• Jake Sharp did play with a tweaked ankle. Dexton Fields and Tertavian Ingram did not play due to minor injuries.

Spring Is Here

Jayhawk's Have Spring Game Envy

While other Big 12 schools have put up gawdy numbers for spring games, Kansas will expect to see about 5,000 at today's game. The crazy thing is that is about five times the attendance from my first spring game early in this decade. Despite steady growth during the Mangino era, I'm still not sure how roughly 25,000 season ticket holders can pass on free admission, a free-t-shirt and the relaxed, festive spring atmosphere. No matter, the school is working on it -- KUsports.com link. My suggestion is to unveil a new mega-board to rival the Texas and Nebraska standard at the 2008 spring game. Surely such an aquistion is in our near future to keep up in the recruiting battles.

For your best preview of the today's game, I recommend today's KC Star article. For your recap/analysis, I recommend tomorrow's edition of Hawk Digest.

KU Plays Football

Of course there are some risks with actual scrimmage, but I like the idea of more scrimmage during the spring and even in August that the LJW recently reported on. Reps are good prep but actually playing football helps as well. Plus, as a player that's the kind of program that I would want to be in. Think of the freshman that redshirts -- it can be a full two years before you get to play actual football. If you want to advance, you've got to take some chances and I like the atmosphere coming out of the program right now. Perhaps, the program has been a little too much by the book. That worked to get us competitive, but now innovation could be the key to kicking down that door that we've been knocking on the past few years.

Ryan Wood On Staff

Count of posters during today's chat with Ryan Wood that think he is on the coaching staff = 2.

http://www2.kusports.com/chats/2007/apr/13/ryan_wood/

Bowl Bid For Navy

Are we allowed to make our own bowl deal like Navy?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/04/11/bc.fbc.poinsettiabowl.n.ap/index.html?eref=si_ncaaf

Brandon Duncan Out?

It's Starting to Look Official

Now that the LJW world is reporting on it, it's probably safe to say LB Brandon Duncan will leave the team. He came in as a big-time recruit out of Texas that the Longhorns kind of bailed on in the final recruiting stages. We saw some glimpses on the field, but never got to see the full potential. Mainly, it looks like it may affect depth at the position. However, you can debate the overall meaning here:

http://forums.scout.com/mb.aspx?S=172&FIX=1#S=172&F=2485&T=382502

Big 12 Blog Media

Big 12 Resource Page

Hawkdigest.com has added a page for the most critical blogs of the Big 12. The link is on the left or you can also get there from here:

http://hawkdigest.squarespace.com/big-12-blogs/

Jake Sharp Getting Bigger

Add the Weight, But Keep the Speed

The recent reports on the lightning quick Jake Sharp are intriguing. Evidently, he's putting on a little bit of weight to withstand the rigors of the D1 game. Obviously, the staff knows what they're doing, but I do hope they alter that plan if Sharp even loses a millisecond of his speed. His cut and acceleration are his game and I don't want to see that diminished from both a competitive and entertainment standpoint. I think we've learned from experience though as Clark Green was allowed to bulk up too much in the middle of his career. Do not let Sharp make that mistake.

The early feedback is that it's paying off. He's already becoming a good pass blocker and that means he'll be on the field more. Also, his body fat is still at 7.5%. Looking forward to watching #1 in the spring game next Sunday.

Story Link: http://www.topix.net/content/kri/4185963869369407963035468383183988921121

KU Football Open Practice Articles

QB Battle Plus Position Changes

Ryan Wood's Notebook today mentions that Justin Thornton was working strictly as a wide receiver and Bradley Dedeaux was working with the d-line. Both moves do make some sense, but I am a little surprised about Thornton, considering our need for depth in the secondary. He does have a good frame for wideout though, so I'm anxious to see the results of this experiment during the spring game.

In another LJW article, the competition at QB is discussed. I found this quote on Todd Reesing to be interesting:

"Reesing, meanwhile, is just 5-11 and 190 pounds and doesn’t have the running ability Meier has. Reesing’s best moments in 2006, though, came when he was flushed out of the pocket and was forced to improvise. Instead of tucking and running, Reesing kept his head up and found receivers for big gains multiple times."

I guess I would agree that Reesing continues to look for a receiver, but I think he's a pretty good runner. I would describe him as having a few open field moves where as Meier is more straight up speed. I also see Reesing making guys in the backfield miss him, whereas Meier needs a few steps to get going.

Downtown Lawrence: Move Forward

City Continues To Live in the Past

I haven't even finished the LJW World anti-Arrowhead article yet, but this caught my eye and I had to post it right away ...

"That money — which would have gone for everything from bratwurst for barbecues to beer in bars and holiday gifts to be purchased on Massachusetts Street — will be spent in Missouri instead, said David Darling, a retired Kansas State University economist hired by the newspaper to assess the effects of shifting the game to Arrowhead Stadium."

I'll have more on this later.

Update on Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 10:51AM by DJ Goodwin

Get On Board

The whole attitude adopted by the Lawrence City Merchants provides a concrete example of the cynicism that tends to hold back Kansas athletics. First off, my stance has always been that I enjoy the game and the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. I had no interest in a move to Arrowhead. However, Lew Perkin's and crew have taken a look at this game and identified it as possibility to advance the program to the next level. With the steps taken thus far, I have no reason to question that judgement. Plus, consider that we are competing with well-entrenched football programs like Texas, Texas A&M, OU and Nebraska with the expectation to rise to the top. So, the decision has been made and I'm on board and in no way does it take a genius to understand the potential that this opportunity presents for both KU and Lawrence. Of course, it's immediately a financial win for the program, but for the city of Lawrence it is more of a long-term proposition.

Unfortunately, the Lawrence merchants have set an expectation of failure for our football team. Try to understand the possibity of KU getting just two hard fought wins on the road against a few mediocre Big 12 squads. Of course, we expect to win every game at Memorial Stadium. So maybe the Hawks head into Arrowhead with a 9-2 record. Maybe the Tigers are playing the same and the game will decide the north representative in the Big 12 title game. Maybe 45k KU fans show up and MU brings 35k to make a huge atmosphere and ABC is televising game and the entire midwest is tuned in along with a good part of the nation. And of course, KU will win.

The game is a monster success and Lawrence loses the Border War forever. How does this benefit downtown Lawrence? Let's try this:

• KU averaged 44k in 2006. If the Arrowhead game goes big-time, the fanbase grows and KU is easily on it's way to playing seven home games per year at full capacity. At seven times 6k, you've pretty much added an additional game worth of attendance to the equation.
• Go even farther -- the track/lower field equation is ironed out and the new configuration gives us a capacity of 60k. The potential for another 70,000 in attendance. It's not out of the question. The appetite for sports in the region is massive. We average 16k for basketball and there is no reason to believe that is possible based on the population in the region. Build a winner and the fans will come.

Questions

The LJW World financed the study for the one-year impact. What was the cost of that? Did they study future years and account for the possible success scenario portrayed above? If not, it's questionable whether or not the paper invested that money wisely.

Consideration

This has been noted before, but again envision the game as big-time national level rivalry. In two years, does Blake Lawrence chose Nebraska over playing in the game? How many area football prospects will be able to pass on playing in the big game at Arrowhead?

Doubters

They say that the KU/MU rivalry can't reach that Army/Navy, Texas/OU or Ohio State/Michigan level. Maybe it can't, but it should be tested. There is a reality out there and that is that a lot of KU fans do not like to visit Columbia for the game. The same is true for MU fans and Lawrence. Both sides may be more comfortable at a neutral site. We know the rivalry is passionate, but can KU and MU fans work together to rightfully place the Border War among the major college football rivalries. It seems very possible and it benefits both schools. When you look at those big games like Ohio State/Michigan, as fierce the rivalry is, you can tell that fans take pride in the actual game itself. KU and MU fans need to tap into that pride for the Border War and expect to take the national stage.

In the News: Henry, McClinton and the New O

Marcus Henry Is The X-Man

Ryan Wood's been busy over at the Journal World this week. Linkage and quotes:

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/mar/30/receiver_henry_hassle_defend/?football

“He has good foot speed. That’s his biggest threat,” Stuckey said. “But he can break down and come back (toward the quarterback), too.”

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/mar/29/ryan_woods_ku_football_notebook/?football

“I’d say probably no more than 50 percent of it is new stuff,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “There’s a lot of stuff we retained. It’s not a completely overhauled offense.”

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/mar/29/mcclinton_hopes_prove_he_has_game/?football
  
“James has done a good job,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “We don’t ask our inside guys to be sack guys, but stop the run, push the pocket up, get your hands up and take away some throwing lanes. We’re OK in that situation with James.”

NHL Playoffs Are Coming Soon

To Good To Pass Up

Okay, this will be my first non-KU football related post. I just couldn't pass it up. This scene from Swingers will get you in the mood for the Stanley Cup Playoff Wars if you're an ice fan:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=owk4S0GGDbU

In addition, I've opened up a KC hockey site at www.kchockeylink.com. Still developmental, but definitely functioning. And yes, don't worry, KC will get an NHL team.