Aqib Talib and KU secondary could explode in 2007 | photo: www.annependleton.com
Shell-Shocked or Experienced?
How can a secondary with Aqib Talib manning one corner finish dead last in pass defense in the Big 12? It's quite a riddle, but it starts with the loss of leader Charles Gordon. Add to that a graduation here, an injury there and maybe an academic casualty and all of the sudden you've got a true freshman starting at corner and major inexperience spread across the unit. Sure Jerome Kemp was a senior, but he played with some injuries and never really became the leader we expected. So, the result was a brutal year for the secondary and a lot of fourth quarter losses. Now the question is whether or not guys like Justin Thornton and Anthony Webb learned from the trial-by-fire campaign.
My guess is that Webb will turn out to be a first-rate corner by the time he is done at KU. By the end of the 2006 season, his fundamental play was showing a steady improvement. Thornton actually showed pretty good coverage in a lot of situations last year. He needs to improve on making the tackle after catch and playing the ball in the air. Darrell Stuckey is a solid safety and was really missed after going down with the injury in August. If he can have a healthy year, that alone will get the unit going in the right direction.
What can you say about Aqib Talib? With all due respect to the previous #3, Aqib is the best DB of the Mangino era. He's got the size, speed and most importantly instinct. Oh and throw in some major swagger. Aqib will play on Sunday and you could predict about 13 picks for Talib in 2007, but I suspect teams will finally stop throwing in his direction. Oddly though, teams still tested him all through 2006. Please continue that trend.
That pretty much takes care of the known commodities, but another reason to expect some improvement is that KU is throwing a lot of bodies into the unit. Former LB Arist Wright is now listed as a safety and the word is that Gary Green II is a corner (although today's LJW article confuses the issue mentioning him at RB during Friday's practice). Senior safety Sadiq Muhammed got some playing time last year and should provide depth. Phillip Strozier was a highly-touted recruit who could also figure into the mix.
KU went hard after DB's on the recruiting trail and the experts say they landed a couple of good ones. Rivals is projecting that corner Kendrick Harper will take Anthony Webb's job. I think Webb will beat him out, but I expect Harper to get plenty of playing time. Safety Patrick Resby on the other hand does look like a shoe-in to start at one of the safety positions. He was rated as a four-star recruit by Scout.com.
With all of the competition on the unit, it looks like we should get some improved play. The other factor is the promise of a better pass rush for 2007. A little more pressure on opposing QBs early in the season could help the secondary build some needed confidence before they head into the Big 12 wars.
One note -- both JUCO corner recruits from 2006 are no longer with the team: Blake Bueltel and Mike McCoy.
In House
Cornerbacks
3 Aqib Talib Jr. 6-2/195 Richardson, TX (Berkner HS)
Recruited: 2004 ** 4.5
20 Anthony Webb So. 6-0/175 Dallas, TX (South Oak Cliff HS)
Recruited: 2006 **** 4.5
4 Gary Green II Jr. 5-9/175 San Antonio, TX (James Madison HS)
Recruited: 2004 *** 4.4
14 Maurice Henry Fr. 5-8/175 Lawton, OK (Eisenhower)
45 Stanley Redwine Jr. RS 5-10/175 Lawrence, KS (Free State HS)
Safeties
25 Darrell Stuckey So. 16-1/202 Kansas City, KS (Washington HS)
Recruited: 2005 *** 4.49
46 Justin Thornton So. 6-0/185 St. Joseph, MO (Central HS)
Recruited: 2005 *** 4.78
41 Arist Wright So. 5-10/205 Houston, TX (Alief Taylor HS)
Recruited: 2005 ** 4.4
26 Phillip Strozier Fr. RS 6-0/200 Kansas City, MO (Rockhurst HS)
Recruited: 2006 *** 4.55
27 Sadiq Muhammed Sr. 6-0/190 Kansas City, MO (Hickman Mills HS)
28 Chris Clawson Fr. 5-10/180 Montgomery, TX (Montgomery HS)
19 Brian Seymour Sr. 6-1/190 Lawrence, KS (Lawrence HS)
Incoming
*** Anthony Davis DB -- 5-11/184/4.5 -- Tulsa, OK
*** Kendrick Harper DB -- 5-10/187/4.45 -- El Dorado, KS
*** Patrick Resby DB -- 6-2/195 -- Corsicana, TX
** Isiah Barfield ATH -- 6-0/175 --Haven, KS
** Chris Harris ATH 6-0 180 4.4 5.2 Bixby, OK
|-----------Tackles--------------| |--Pass Def--|
2006 Secondary Stats GP Solo Ast Total TFL/Yds Int-Yds BrUp
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 Kemp, Jerome 12 53 29 82 3-12 . 4
46 Thornton, Justin 12 35 11 46 1-3 1-0 4
3 Talib, Aqib 10 35 7 42 2-5 6-82 22
20 Webb, Anthony 12 35 7 42 . 3-45 6
25 Stuckey, Darrell 7 19 13 32 1-1 . 3
41 Wright, Arist 12 15 12 27 1-2 1-28 2
23 Bueltel, Blake 5 15 2 17 . . 4
27 Muhammed, Sadiq 10 12 4 16 . 1-2 1
30 Roux, Dominic 12 6 6 12 . . 2
38 Brown, Raymond 12 10 1 11 . . 1