The article and video posted yesterday gives you a pretty good feel for how the new sports complex is going to play out. The claim has always been that no parking spots would be lost once the project was completed. Finally, we can see the approach they are taking with the lots on the west.
Another thought -- could this year's higher number of early verbal commits be attributed to the start of this project?
Here's a link for a video on recent TE verbal, Tim Biere:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6804753588969159081&q=tim+biere&total=40&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
A quick check of the Burnt Orange Nation site this week led to the discovery of a new Kansas State blog -- K-State Cat Zone. Considering that its hosted by Blogger as opposed to SBNation, it's already impressive that the site has landed a coveted link from the almighty BON site. Early indications are that you can expect some serious action at the Cat Zone. Looks like the posts are pretty frequent.
Overall, the enemy blog scene is a little sparse, but here are the best links retained at Hawk Digest if you've got a little spying to do:
Kansas State Blogs
Kansas State Football
K-State Cat Zone
Missouri Blogs
Earlier this week, Yahoo announced what is a minor aquisition in the big picture, but a move that could affect the internet college sports scene in a big way. Even the casual Kansas football fan knows that Rivals is where you go for recruiting information and Scout.com is the message board of choice. Will the backing of Yahoo give Rivals the infrastructure it needs to capture the KU forum audience?
Wow! For college football bloggers, this is supposed to be relaxing times, but the University of Kansas football program added it's seventh verbal for the 2008 class this past week with 6-2, 275-pound defensive tackle Zach Stadther. The two-star DT is from North Little Rock, Arkansas and reportedly chose KU over Arkansas St. KU had two commitments at this time last year.
PS STAR Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
TE *** Tim Biere/Omaha, NE -- 6-4/235/4.8 -- 6/18/2007
TE *** Tanner Hawkinson/McPherson, KS -- 6-6/230/4.8 -- 6/16/2007
WR *** Daymond Patterson/Mesquite, TX -- 5-8/165/4.43 -- 6/9/2007
DT ** Zach Stadther/North Little Rock, AK -- 6-2/275/4.9 -- 6/19/2007
WR ** Jamaal Johnson/Houston, TX -- 6-2/180 -- 5/25/2007
ATH ** Sean Ransburg/Harrisonville, MO -- 6-1/185/4.5 -- 4/10/2007
DT --- Ryan Glazer/El Cajon, CA (JUCO) -- 6-3/285/5.1 -- 6/3/2007
Rating Source: Rivals
The Jayhawks added another tight end to the 2008 class as Tim Biere, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound from Westside High in Omaha, Nebraska made a verbal commitment to KU earlier this week. The Lawrence Journal-World reported that Biere chose Kansas over Kansas State, Colorado and Ohio.
PS STAR Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
TE *** Tim Biere/Omaha, NE -- 6-4/235/4.8 -- 6/18/2007
TE *** Tanner Hawkinson/McPherson, KS -- 6-6/230/4.8 -- 6/16/2007
WR *** Daymond Patterson/Mesquite, TX -- 5-8/165/4.43 -- 6/9/2007
WR ** Jamaal Johnson/Houston, TX -- 6-2/180 -- 5/25/2007
ATH ** Sean Ransburg/Harrisonville, MO -- 6-1/185/4.5 -- 4/10/2007
DT --- Ryan Glazer/El Cajon, CA (JUCO) -- 6-3/285/5.1 -- 6/3/2007
Rating Source: Rivals
"The reality of it is there's not any separation at this point in time,'' said Mangino, "but when things heat up in August and they get the rest of the offensive system put in their lap and they have to perform, we'll see what happens.
"I'll say this right now. I feel we have two really good quarterbacks, but we'd prefer to play one guy. That's not to say we're absolutely handcuffed to the thought of playing just one, but that would be our preference.''
Here's a link to a NY Times article that lays out the battlefield for the Big 10 and big cable. This entire concept is something to watch carefully.
"Comcast’s position on the Big Ten Network is also partly a warning to other conferences not to expect broad distribution if they create similar channels. The Big 12 had been analyzing one until it made its new eight-year, $480-million deal with ESPN, but the Southeastern, Pacific-10 and Atlantic Coast Conferences have voiced various levels of interest in such ventures."
The LJW is reporting that KU will immediately add a little more depth to the offensive line as Jason Hind, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman from the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois will join the team this summer. He is transferring after just one year, so the young lineman will have three years of eligibility and could compete for playing time this season. The players keep rolling in -- will we see Aaron Mack this summer as well?
Rivals is reporting a verbal commitment from three-star tight end Tanner Hawkinson out of McPherson, Kansas. Hawkinson (6-6/230/4.8) made the commitment after attending KU's Super Jayhawk camp. He was reportedly a big target for the Kansas staff, which makes sense as both Derek Fine and Marc Jones will be seniors this year.
Ryan Wood Notebook Mentions the Hawkinson Commitment
PS STAR Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
TE *** Tanner Hawkinson/McPherson, KS -- 6-6/230/4.8 -- 6/16/2007
WR *** Daymond Patterson/Mesquite, TX -- 5-8/165/4.43 -- 6/9/2007
WR ** Jamaal Johnson/Houston, TX -- 6-2/180 -- 5/25/2007
ATH ** Sean Ransburg/Harrisonville, MO -- 6-1/185/4.5 -- 4/10/2007
DT --- Ryan Glazer/El Cajon, CA (JUCO) -- 6-3/285/5.1 -- 6/3/2007
Rating Source: Rivals
Rivals is reporting that three-star stand out wide receiver Daymond Patterson will become the fourth member of KU's 2008 recruiting class (at this time last year KU had one verbal). Things are moving pretty fast for Jayhawk football lately. The Hawks also recently got a commitment from Chea Peterman out of North Little Rock, Arkansas. The 6-foot-2, 217-pound linebacker will be a member of the 2007 class as a preferred walk-on and will join the team in August.
PS STAR Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
WR --- Daymond Patterson/Mesquite, TX -- 5-8/165/4.43 -- 6/9/2007
DT --- Ryan Glazer/El Cajon, CA (JUCO) -- 6-3/285/5.1 -- 6/3/2007
WR --- Jamaal Johnson/Houston, TX -- 6-2/180 -- 5/25/2007
ATH --- Sean Ransburg/Harrisonville, MO -- 6-1/185/4.5 -- 4/10/2007
DJ Goodwin