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Entries by DJ Goodwin (750)

Saturday
Feb242007

2007 Preview: KU Offensive Line

Replacing the Core


One of the bigger concerns for Kansas in 2007 is replacing the core of the offensive line that graduated center David Ochoa and guards Bob Whitaker and Travis Dambach. On paper there's an answer for each of those losses, but the o-line has become notorious for starting out each campaign slow. In fact, looking back the last time the O-line really hit the ground running was the 2003 season when KU started 5-1. Going into year six, it would be a great time for the guys up front to establish themselves in September and October. There is reason for optimism as Anthony Collins has developed into a rising star at the right tackle position. The guy has the size, speed and fire to be dominant in the trenches. His best moment for 2006 was the domination of KSU mouthpiece Ian Campbell (rated by Rivals.com's Olin Buchanan as the best D-lineman in the Big 12 for 2007).

The other tackle position appears to be a battle between veteran Cesar Rodriguez and redshirt freshman Ian Wolfe. Both are capable tackles so either way things are looking up on the exterior of the line. Moving to the inside, junior Ryan Cantrell has big shoes to fill in replacing Ochoa at the center position. Fortunately, Cantrell saw plenty of action in 2006 and could transition easily. Of course, its still an unknown and the line will only be as good as Cantrell, so this will be the position to watch early. Things are a little more open at the two guard positions. Rameses Arceo is predicted to lock down one position, but the other one could go to three-star JUCO transfer Chet Hartley. There are plenty of other guys who could step up as well. Junior Adrian Mayes should figure into the mix as well as redshirt freshman Carl Wilson.

The three linemen that KU picked up with the 2007 class all have the potential for a big upside. As mentioned above, Hartley probably will snag one of the guard positions as he is already on campus. Jeremiah Hatch is a big-time Texas recruit and was rated as the 14th rated center in the nation. Hopefully, he'll redshirt, but it wouldn't be shocking to see him work his way into the line-up for 2007 as he already has the size at 6-3/301. Jeff Spikes was a last minute addition from Ohio that new O-coordinator Ed Warriner scored. At 6-5/316, he's already got the size, but he's had limited football experience due to injury. He figures to be a little bit more of a project, but he should work into the tackle rotation in the future. It should also be noted that Illinois and Ohio State both showed interest in Spikes.

Quick Note -- Long snapper Zach Hood graduated and Kayl Anderson is slated to take over the duty in 2007. He'll be a sophomore and this will be a transition to keep an eye on as well. Scott Webb is a solid kicker, but KU has had some difficulties in the past implementing new long snappers.


In House


Center


50 Ryan Cantrell  Jr. 6-3/297 -- Sugar Land, TX (William P. Clements HS)
Recruited: 2004 **
 
55 John Marshall Fr/RS 6-2/285 -- Mt. Vernon, TX (Mt. Vernon HS)
Recruited: 2006 ** 5.51


Guard


67 Rameses Arceo Jr.  6-4/310 -- Whittier, CA (St. Paul HS)
Recruited: 2006 ***

66 Adrian Mayes Jr. 6-3/300 -- Manhattan, KS (Manhattan HS).

68 Carl Wilson Fr/RS 6-4/290 -- Redlands, CA (East Valley HS)
Recruited: 2006 ***

75 Marcus Anderson Sr. 6-4/290 -- Oakland, CA (Skyline HS)
Recruited: 2005 ***

73 Justin Pessetto Fr/RS 6-3/285 -- Shawnee, KS (Shawnee Mission Northwest HS)
62 Alex Smith Fr/RS 6-0/275 -- Basehor, KS (Basehor-Linwood HS)
 

Tackle


78 Anthony Collins Jr. 6-6/310 -- Beaumont, TX (Central Senior HS)
Recruited: 2004 ** 4.9 as a DE

63 Ian Wolfe Fr/RS 6-5/290-- Fort Collins, CO (Fort Collins HS)
Recruited: 2006 *** 4.9

65 Cesar Rodriguez Sr. 6-7/290 -- La Puente, CA (Bishop Amat HS)
Recruited: 2003 ** 5.0

70 Matt Darton Jr. 6-6/310 -- San Diego, CA (University City HS)
Recruited: 2004 **

60 Jose Rodriguez So. 6-6/300 -- LaPuenta, CA (Bishop Amat HS)
Recruited: 2005 *** 5.2

Long Snapper


46 Kayl Anderson So. 6-2/225 -- Tulsa, OK (Bishop Kelley HS)

Incoming


*** Chet Hartley -- G -- 6-4/310/5.07 -- El Dorado, KS
*** Jeremiah Hatch -- C -- 6-3/301 -- Dallas, TX
**  Jeff Spikes -- T -- 6-5/316/5.77-- Painesville, OH

Friday
Feb232007

Football Complex Drawings Released

A Sign of Progress


The Kansas Athletic Department released final drawings of the new $31 million football complex slated to open in July of 2008. That's good news as progress on the project coupled with a strong on-the-field performance in 2007 should make for a strong recruiting class in 2008. As we all know by now, the complex will sit just south of the stadium toward the east so as to not block the hill.  Warren Corman, University Architect made the following statement about integrating the building into the scenic setting:

"The new football facility will embrace the hillside southwest of the football stadium in a manner that will not detract from the beauty of campanile hill.  It will nestle into the hillside where an asphalt parking lot now exists and the roof over the underground weight room will be covered with natural grass turf."

Drawings of the complex posted in the LJW story are a little easier to access than the ones held in a PDF on the KU site.


Angus Quigley Profile


It was exciting to see that KUsports.com posted a lengthy profile on Angus Quigley and the freak injury that wrecked his 2006 season. Definitely a weird deal and from here on out, I'd like a daily report on how Angus is doing.


Big News Day


With all the KU football news today, the offensive line preview will be delayed another day. I don't want it to be buried three stories deep.

Friday
Feb232007

Big 12 Preview

Several Jayhawks Mentioned Among the Big 12 Best


Olin Buchanan from Rivals.com has a preview of the Big 12 on Yahoo Sports this morning. He's picking Kansas as fourth in the north division, though his selections are pretty much by the book. He also listed the top five players by position and mentioned several KU players. Anthony Collins may actually be ranked too low.

Link to the story and full list

Defensive linemen   
1. Ian Campbell, Kansas State
2. James McClinton, Kansas
3. Nathan Peterson, Oklahoma State
4. Chris Harrington, Texas A&M
5. Frank Okam, Texas  

Linebackers   
1. Bo Ruud, Nebraska
2. Alvin Bowen, Iowa State
3. Jordon Dizon, Colorado
4. Joe Pawelek, Baylor
5. Mike Rivera, Kansas

Defensive backs    
1. Aqib Talib, Kansas
2. Reggie Smith, Oklahoma
3. Zackary Bowman, Nebraska
4. Terrence Wheatley, Colorado
5. Marcus Watts, Kansas State 

Tight ends 
1. Martin Rucker, Missouri
2. Chase Coffman, Missouri
3. Martellus Bennett, Texas A&M
4. Jermichael Finley, Texas
5. Derek Fine, Kansas

Kickers   
1. Garrett Hartley, Oklahoma
2. Jeff Wolfert, Missouri
3. Alex Trlica, Texas Tech
4. Scott Webb, Kansas
5. Jason Ricks, Oklahoma State 

Offensive linemen  
1. Duke Robinson, Oklahoma
2. Cody Wallace, Texas A&M
3. Matt Slauson, Nebraska
4. Yemi Babalola, Texas A&M
5. Anthony Collins, Kansas 

Wednesday
Feb212007

KU Tight End Preview

Meet Derek Fine


Let's hope that new OC Ed Warriner has been introduced to #85. Although Derek Fine did manage to find the endzone five times on 28 catches in 2006, it still feels like he was under-utilized. With Jon Cornish as the focus of opposing defenses and the nature of the spread offense, it looked like Fine was set up for a big year at tight end. Yet there were times when KU seemed to exclude him from the gameplan. He had a few key drops in the Nebraska game, but other than that he has proven to be a reliable option in the passing game. In order to be successful, our young QBs are going to have to learn to check down to the tight ends and hopefully the staff will focus more on the tight end getting Fine into the attack. Our offense seemed a lot more efficient in 2006 when Fine was in the mix.

Mark Mangino and his staff obviously feel comfortable with the depth at the position as no tight ends were included in the recruiting class. Both Fine and back-up Marc Jones will be seniors this year, so expect redshirt freshman Bradley Dedeaux to see the field more often in 2007 to make for a smooth transition in 2008. Marc Jones came in as a JUCO transfer last year but was mainly utilized as a blocking tight end. It'll be interesting to see if he is asked to catch the ball in 2007. I'd expect KU to sign at least two tight ends in the 2008 class and possibly use one of our limited JUCO scholarships for the position.

The Breakdown


In-House

85 Derek Fine Sr. 6-3/245 Sallisaw, OK (Sallisaw HS)
2006 Stats: 28-355/12.7 5 tds

83 Marc Jones Sr. 6-4/265 Norfolk, VA (Norfolk HS)
Recruited: 2006 *** 4.6

87 Bradley Dedeaux Fr/RS 6-3/250 Midwest City, OK (Midwest City HS)
Recruited: 2006 *** 4.78
 
96 Marc Dierking Sr. 6-2/225 Overland Park, KS (St. Thomas Aquinas HS)

95 Mathew Matte So. 6-2/230 Albuquerque, NM (St. Pius X HS)

49 Derek Spears Sr. 6-3/215 Osborne, KS (Osborne HS)

Tuesday
Feb202007

Gator Didn't Last Long

Building Up the Site


A recent visit to College Football Resource turned up a link to this little video on a student challenge between Ohio State and Florida. I use College Football Resource whenever I need to check in on the national scene, and I highly recommend stopping by. I've added a link on the lower left. In addition, with the success of the Jayhawk Network Page, I thought I might try a few of the traditional powers. So, Ohio State Network is now open if you need a quick look at the news feeds for the Buckeyes and a spot to jump off on an Ohio State internet binge.


Phase By Phase Schedule


Last week, we covered the Quarterbacks, Running Backs and Wide Receivers. This week the Tight Ends, Offensive Line and D-Line are on deck.

Saturday
Feb172007

KU Wide Receiver Preview

Who’s Gonna Step Up


Despite the loss of Charles Gordon, it looked like 2006 would be a breakout year for the KU wide receivers. The 2005 season ended with a Brian Murph explosion during the Fort Worth Bowl and Dexton Fields making a huge TD catch near the end of regulation vs ISU to send the game to OT. Jayhawk fans had reason for optimism with a talented crew on deck that included Murph, Fields, Marcus Henry and Marcus Herford. For whatever reason though, no one really stood out for the wideouts in 2006. Sure, there were a few big plays, but there really wasn’t a guy out there inspiring fear for opposing defenses. We know Murph was drawing quite a bit of attention and that should have really opened up for the field for the rest of the crew. Jonathan Lamb thrived as a possession receiver and TE Derek Fine benefitted, but the other speedsters were pretty quiet. Quiet enough that we started seeing DB Aqib Talib line up as a receiver (after his jaunt against Mizzou, he will certainly draw some attention if he takes downs as a wideout in 2007).

There were some good signs out of Fields though late in the season. He worked the short game nicely against KSU when he had 7 catches for 72 yards. I put him at the top of the list when ranking the wideouts going into 2007. Overall, I’m still bullish on the crew as Henry and Herford are too talented to not excel at the position. I suspect that Jeff Foster can take over that possession receiver role that Jonathan Lamb provided last year. The other thing is there are so many receivers on the roster and in the incoming class that I have to believe the competition is going to force someone to the top. Tertavian Ingram, Raimond Pendleton and Xavier Rambo are all players that have been talked about on the message boards. Somebody out of that crew is going to figure into the mix this year. Ingram and Rambo reportedly have 4.4 type speed, so they could possibly help out with the vertical approach that Mark Mangino has openly discussed regarding 2007.

In addition, Kansas signed four more wideouts for the current recruiting class. Ryan Murphy is the top-rated prospect in the class and could see the field in 2007 (although there was a poster on this site that said Murphy had an injury and would redshirt in ’07 – I’ve found no other confirmation, so we’ll keep an eye on that). At 6-3, both Dezmon Briscoe and Johnathan Wilson can help out as the big targets. Rell Lewis is a smaller speedster (5-10/185/4.5) who was the type of athlete that Mangino said he just couldn’t pass up.

Other than the competition at the position, I would also think that the experience Fields, Herford and Henry gained in 2006 will start to translate to game day success next season. Plus, another year working with the young quarterbacks should make for a more cohesive passing game overall. A breakout year is overdue for this unit -- can they pull it off?

Breaking It Down


In House

88 Dexton Fields Jr. 6-0/200 Dallas, TX (South Oak Cliff HS)
2006 Stats: 45-455/10.1 5 tds
Recruited: 2004 ** 4.4
 
86 Marcus Henry Sr. 6-4/200 Lawton, OK (Eisenhower HS)
2006 Stats: 25-316/12.6 3 tds
 
13 Marcus Herford Jr. 6-3/210 DeSoto, TX (Cedar Hill HS)
2006 Stats: 8-137/17.1 1 td
Recruited: 2006 *** 4.46
 
82 Jeff Foster Sr. 6-2/195 Cedar Rapids, IA (Jefferson HS)
2006 Stats: 1-31/31.0 0 tds

89 Tertavian Ingram Fr./RS 6-0/185 Tampa, FL (Jefferson HS)
Recruited: 2006 *** 4.4
 
9 Raimond Pendleton So. 5-10/180 Garland, TX (South Garland HS)
Recruited: 2005 *** 4.55
 
18 Xavier Rambo Fr./RS 6-0/185 Dallas, TX (South Oak Cliff HS)
Recruited: 2006 ** 4.4

Plus:
16 Hassan Johnson WR Sr. 6-0/175 Kansas City, KS (Washington HS)
37 Micah Brown WR So. 6-0/190 Kearney, NB (Kearney HS)
17 Jack Swab WR So. 6-1/185 Tulsa, OK (Cascia Hall HS)

X-Factor
3 Aqib Talib Jr. 6-2/190 Richardson, TX (Berkner HS)
2006 Stats: 1-42/42.0 1 td
Recruited: 2004 ** 4.5

Incoming
**** Ryan Murphy -- 5-11/180/4.4 -- Lawrence, Kan. (Free State HS)
***  Dezmon Briscoe -- 6-3/200/4.7 -- Dallas, Texas (Cedar Hill HS) 
***  Rell Lewis -- 5-10/185/4.5 -- Muskogee, Okla. (Muskogee HS) 
**   Johnathan Wilson  -- 6-3/185/4.6 -- Houston, Texas (Klein Forest HS)

 

Friday
Feb162007

Collin's Opening is Filled

Two Promotions are Announced


Kansas announced Je'Ney Jackson as the new Cornerback Coach. Jackson had been an assistant strength and conditioning coach at KU for the past two years. Mark Mangino had the following comment about the promotion in the Lawrence Journal-World:

"Je'Ney is a high-energy coach with vast knowledge of cornerback play. He will elevate the level of play at that position."

In addition, wide receiver coach Tim Beck was named the passing-game coordinator.


Wide Receiver Highlights


We'll be getting into the wide receivers this weekend. Here are some great catches from the past for inspiration:

Mark Simmons vs Nebraska 2005 -- Greatest Play not included on the 2005 Highlight DVD

Ashaundai Smith vs OU 1995

Charles Gordon vs Wyoming -- Not such a great catch, but we had to include the man.

Thursday
Feb152007

Around the Net: Spring Game -- April 15

KU's Spring Football Schedule is Announced


Kansas is set to start spring practice on March 14 and will hold the annual spring game at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. Two other practices will be open to the public -- March 16 and April 4.

From the Boards


Nationalchamps.net is listing a home-and-home football series with Duke in 2009 and 2010. Kansas would travel to Duke in 2009 and the Blue Devils would visit Lawrence the following year. The grid also serves as a reminder about our challenging road trip to South Florida in 2008. Maybe that'll help us prepare for our rotation back to Texas, Tech and OU.

Check out the Big 12 Coaches as South Park characters from the gridiron board. Posted by gspot15 -- there are more conferences in the thread.

Wednesday
Feb142007

Life After Jon

Unit-By-Unit: Running Back


The end of an era. Sure Jon Cornish was the starting RB at Kansas for just one year, but in retrospect Cornish, Clark Green and the troubled John Randle represented an era of sorts in the backfield. Clark Green battled it out for four years between the tackles while Randle, then Cornish came in and provided the flash. The Canadien Comet had the spotlight mostly to himself in 2006 and delivered on the promise, but even Jon could see that life was different as an everyday back. We didn't see the 72-yard streak for a touchdown ala Nebraska '05 (heck, Jon even toasted the Longhorns during that rout in Austin in '05). Fatigue and injuries are part of the deal when you carry the load in the backfield. This year, it was Jake Sharp providing the flash while Jon was the workhorse. Setting the career rushing record is a fitting end to the era.

Time Marches On
Despite the relative in-experience in backfield and the loss of Cornish, Kansas football fans are actually excited about the prospects in the backfield. Fullback Brandon McAnderson (6-0/235) will be a senior next year and has been a solid contributor. This should be the year that KU features B-Mac a little more. The one positive I took out of the Terry Allen era was that mixing in a big back (see Moran Norris) that likes to punish defenders and can catch the ball in the flat is something that can really put a defense off balance. Get the guy to the line of scrimmage with a little momentum and the fun begins. Especially when you mix it up with some lightning quick speed and moves -- enter Jake Sharp (5-10/190, Soph in 2007). Though McAnderson isn't nearly as big as Norris (6-1/254), he is a punishing runner. I'd love to see him get early carries to soften up the "D" then start hitting them with Sharp late in the first quarter. Sharp just gave us a tease in 2006, but his 6.1 yards per carry average says it all about this speedster.

The Unknowns
We only got a glimpse of Angus Quigley (6-2/210, RS Soph in '07), but what we saw in last year's spring game was pretty awesome. He displayed a combination of speed and power that had KU fans salivating. Unfortunately, Quigley went down for the season in August with some sort of muscle tear and based on the following quote from Mark Mangino in a recent KUsports.com article it looks the recovery is still in progress:

“Every indication is right now that he will be available (for spring practices),” Mangino said of Quigley. “But he’s still getting intense rehabilitation work and treatment. We’ll wait until we get a little closer, but it’s our hope that he will be able to participate. Even if it’s in a limited manner, we’ll be excited about that.”


From there, KU fans are pretty much in the dark. Donte Bean (5-9/195, RS Fresh in '07) came in as a three star recruit in 2006 and all the talk is that he has the potential to be explosive. I guess the question is how does he move ahead of Jake Sharp? KU fans will be watching #34 closely this spring. Sam Archer (6-1/225) is the back-up at fullback which means pretty limited playing time in this offense. He should start to factor in more in 2008.

Incoming
The Jayhawks feel like they got a big-time player at running back with three-star recruit Carmon Boyd-Anderson (6-1/200/4.5) out of Jacksonville, Texas. He is rated as the 33rd best prospect at running back in the nation and it's a possibility that he will contend for playing time as a freshman. Steven Foster (6-3/230/4.68) out of Sedgewick, Kansas joins the fray at fullback and already has good size and speed for the position. Brian Murphy (5-8/163/4.57) out of Lawrence will join KU as a non-scholarship player.

Projected Two-Deep


RB
Angus Quigley
Jake Sharp

FB
Brandon MacAnderson
Sam Archer

Kansas Running Backs


35 Brandon McAnderson -- FB/Sr. -- 6-0/235 -- ***
(2006 stats: 31-124 yards, 3.9 ave, 5 TDs -- rec: 6-70 yds, 0 TDs)

1 Jake Sharp -- RB/So. -- 5-10/190 -- ***
(2006 stats: 21-131 yards, 6.1 ave, 0 TDs -- rec: 6-73 yds, 0 TDs)

On the Roster:
28 Sam Archer -- FB/So. -- 6-1/225
34 Donte Bean  --  RB/Fr. RS  -- 5-9/195  -- ***
43 Nick Kurtenbach -- RB/Sr. -- 5-10/208  
22 Angus Quigley -- RB/So. RS -- 6-2/210 -- ***
30 Brian Roulhac -- RB/Sr. --  6-0/215

2007 Recruits:
HS Carmon Boyd-Anderson -- RB/Fr. -- 6-1/200/4.5 -- ***
HS Steven Foster -- FB/Fr. -- 6-3/230/4.68 -- ***
HS Brian Murphy -- RB/Fr. -- 5-8/163/4.57 -- **

Ranking Source: Rivals.com

Tuesday
Feb132007

Know Your History

Prepping for the Running Backs


In preparation for the next capsule on running backs, let's take a look back at a couple of historic plays by KU running backs:

Monte Cozzens vs OU, 1992

Jon Cornish vs Nebraska, 2005

Monday
Feb122007

QB Battle on the Horizon?

Unit-by-Unit Look: Quarterback

 

Now that we know all of the pieces to the recruiting puzzle, we can take a look at each unit on the team and throw out a little speculation as to how things will shape up for the 2007 season. We'll roll those out as capsules and start off today with the quarterbacks.

By the end of 2006, Kerry Meier (6-3/210) wasn’t playing with quite the same fire or zip on the ball that we saw early in the season. It’s interesting that a lot of casual Kansas football fans already want to write him off as just another mediocre KU quarterback after one injury-plagued season. For fully-engaged KU fans, it was clear to see that his shoulder was a pretty big issue late in the year. Why was he playing? Clearly, Mangino and Quartaro have their reasons, but from what we see as fans, Todd Reesing’s (5-10/190) explosive talent was countered by his rapid turnover ability. It appears he could use more reps to focus on learning how to minimize those mistakes. Veteran Adam Barmann was a little one-dimensional to be effective. Occasionally (see Nebraska 2006), he excelled enough at that one dimension, but in the end, that level of play surfaced rarely for Barmann. So, Meier probably gave us the best opportunity to win. He did go 2-1 as an injured starter to finish the season.
Heading into spring practice, Meier will start off with a lead, but it will be interesting to see how Reesing comes along. If the turnovers decrease, he’s a legitimate Big 12 QB despite his short stature. On the other hand, Meier did operate this offense effectively for good stretches during the 2006 campaign. He had some legitimate turnover problems as well, but he was also learning on the fly. There will always be questions about his durability, but a fully-recovered Meier could be a real weapon for KU.

That durability concern makes the development of Tyler Lawrence (6-3/205) and A.J. Steward (6-4/210/4.6) a critical factor. Lawrence was a surprise signing in 2006 out of Shawnee Mission West in Overland Park. Everyone will have a close eye on him during spring ball. He’s the incumbent third-string QB, which means he’s a Meier injury and a couple Reesing INTs away from seeing the field in 2007. Of course, he may get a challenge in August from a 2007 recruit that has the message boards humming – A.J. Steward out of Riverview Gardens High School in St. Louis, MO. Take a look at his high school stats and as one message board poster noted he pulled down seven interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. What does that mean for QB? Hey, it tells me he is a football player. The dual-threat athlete has great size for the new-era type college QB and ran the ball quite a bit at the high school level (1,087 yards, 11 TDs in 2006). Lawrence will have a full year in the program by the time Steward arrives on campus, so hopefully he should be able to secure that third spot to allow Steward to redshirt. At KU though, the QB soap opera plot changes week to week, so no one will be shocked if he is pressed into action in 2007.

One reminder – Jason Swanson proved at the end of the 2005 season that you don’t have to be a great QB to make this offense effective. Whoever the starter is, they just need to minimize the turnovers and spread the ball around and maybe mix in about five runs per game to keep the opposing “D” off balance. Of course, things get really interesting if one of these guys can step up to the level of a Bill Whittemore. Hopefully, the Big 12 game experience has paid off for both Meier and Reesing and they’re ready to take us there.

Predicted Depth Chart -- QB:

1) Kerry Meier (RS Sophomore)

Stats Att/Comp/PCT/YDS/TD/INT
2006 184/104 56.5% 1193 13/10
Recruited: 2005 Stars: *** Forty: 4.6

2) Todd Reesing (Sophomore)

Stats Att/Comp/PCT/YDS/TD/INT
2006 24/14 58.3% 204 3/3
Recruited: 2006 Rating: *** Forty: 4.70

3) Tyler Lawrence (RS Freshman)

Recruited: 2006 Rating:  ** Forty: 4.69

4) A.J. Steward (Incoming Freshman)

HS Stats Att/Comp/PCT/YDS/TD/INT
2006 209/129 61.7% 1549 21/8
Rushing: 176 att/1087 yards, 6.2 ave, 11 tds
Defense: 36 T, 1 FR, 7 INT
Punting: 2 att, 105 yds, 52.5 ave
Recruited: 2007 Rating: ** Forty: 4.6

 

Saturday
Feb102007

Fantasy Island

MissouriIsland.jpg

The Alternate World of Gary Pinkel


I caught a little bit of Kevin Keitzman interviewing Missouri coach Gary Pinkel during the five o'clock show on signing day. Keitzman asked if it was a little more difficult to recruit in the Kansas City area just over the state line, noting that a few of the 2007 MU commits came from the Johnson County area. Pinkel said no and that they considered all of Kansas City part of Missouri. In fact, they had a kid from Illinois sign as well just on the other side of St. Louis and he considered that part of Missouri as well. He considers all of them in-state recruits. Sure its minor, but after the "victory" over Iowa State, I'd recommend frequent check-ups. It seems Gary might be slipping away to an alternate reality. It's probably nothing, but the warning signs are there.

GP - Blurring the lines of reality