Joe Mortensen for the Bronko Nagurski Watch List

KU linebacker Joe Mortensen was one of 88 players named to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award. The award is given annually to the best defensive player in the nation by the Football Writers Association of America. Big 12 players that made the list include:

Ian Campbell, DE, Kansas State
Auston English, DE, Oklahoma
Nic Harris, DB, Oklahoma
George Hypolite, DT, Colorado
William Moore, S, Missouri
Joe Mortensen, LB, Kansas
Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri

Bill Young vs the Spread Offense

It's a non-issue this versus Virginia Tech, but I found it interesting that Bill Young and Mike Rivera were quoted on the spread offense in this morning's KC Star article. As good as Bill Young is, KU has struggled to slow down spread teams. It's a little surprising that we are now willing to state that in the media. It will be critical during the off season for Young to solve this riddle, considering that we have both Mizzou and Texas Tech on next year's schedule. Perhaps all of these big d-line recruits will solve the issue.

From the KC Star:

Young found out more about the Tigers’ unbalanced line. They had lined up the center in the spot normally reserved for a guard, and two tackles flanked one side of the line.

“They had a good scheme that was different than anything we’ve seen,” Young said. “Virginia Tech has a different style of offense. They are a power running team. Powers, counters, leads. We have our plate full.”

Brandon Rideau Signs with the Bears

http://www.khqa.com/sports/sports_story.aspx?id=79548

It's always nice to see one of the Jayhawks in the NFL news. The fact that Rideau is still in the mix with the Sunday league is a good sign for Marcus Henry. A big Orange Bowl performance would certainly help out as well.

Tim Beck: Will He Stay or Will He Go?

I have some sources that actually know Tim Beck and unfortunately they are not helping to clarify the situation. Obviously, there is a friendship with Bo Pelini that comes into play; however, my sources are speculating that Beck is likely not interested in a lateral move position-wise. Please note the word "speculating."

If Beck leaves, what is the biggest impact? One word -- recruiting.

Sebelius On Mizzou

It's a whole new attitude in Kansas:

"I think there is a life lesson for Missouri in this whole situation, which is: Don’t mess with Kansas. They beat us; they end up going to the cotton-pickin’ bowl and we’re going to the Orange Bowl.

Gold and black are Topeka High School colors, so I still have a lot of “Topeka (High School) mom” stuff that I may just dig out again. They didn’t say I had to dress like a tiger. They just said gold and black."

Kathleen Sebelius in a KC Star Interview

Jayhawks and the NFL Draft

With players across the country filling out paperwork for the Sunday league, it makes you wonder how many Jayhawks have a shot to be drafted -- especially with the recent non-history KU has with the NFL draft.

Aqib Talib (6-2/195) -- So far it looks like he projects as a late first rounder.

Anthony Collins (6-5/320)-- As a junior, he's not listed much on the draft sites, but now that he's filled out the paperwork, the buzz might grow. Actually, his matchup with Chris Ellis in the Orange Bowl might be the make or break factor for becoming a potential #2 pick.

Brandon McAnderson (5-10/235)-- He won't be a high draft pick, but someone should take him. Before becoming KU's featured back, he was an outstanding fullback. I think there are still some NFL teams that could use a standard fullback. Not naming names or anything. B-Mac is listed on the walterfootball.com draft site as one of the top fullbacks.

Marcus Henry (6-4/210)-- His size and the numbers he put up this year make him a possible pick. If nothing else, I'll say that he'll get a free agent contract. He's listed as the 27th best receiver at walterfootball.com.

James McClinton (6-1/285)-- C'mon. I didn't see him listed on any sites, but this guy has a motor and is the rock of KU's defense. He may be a little under-sized, but this guy can play football. Maybe a big Orange Bowl will help get the word out.

Jayhawk Fans Deliver -- Orange Bowl Allotment Sold Out

Nice work by the KU fan base. After all of the criticism, it definitely feels good to see the fans step up.

http://kuathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121707aaa.html 

Talib Rates the Freshman

Aqib Talib gave an evaluation of freshman corner Isiah Barfield in a Sunday Wichita Eagle article. Here's Aqib's quote:

"Isiah really jumps out at me. He never played corner in high school, but he looks real comfortable doing it. He's one of the quickest, fastest players on the team. I think he'll be pretty good once he learns the defense."

Quickest and fastest? I like the sound of that. Hopefully, Talib is correct and with Chris Harris, Kendrick Harper and Barfield (will redshirt) we'll get some stability at the corner position. If AT comes back for 2008, it could get real frustrating for opposing wideouts.

Good Stuff From Mangino

Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks came out with an intensity for 2007 that obviously contributed to the 11-win regular season. Mangino was considerably more brief with the media this season. Who can blame him since they spent the summer and a good part of the September predicting his demise while criticizing his schedule? Except for the schedule nonsense, that's all ancient history now and it's good to hear Mark joking it up a little during the "intermission" before the big event. He's got a great sense of humor that some people just don't appreciate. I do. From the Kansas City Star today:

"This is a program that has not been able to sustain success in football for nearly a century," Mangino said. "When we do something good, our (sports information director) tells me after the game, 'This is the first time since Christopher Columbus landed here that KU did this.'"

AP All American Jayhawks

Big Time

Aqib Talib and Anthony Collins pull down first-team AP All-American status. James McClinton makes the second team. I like the sound of Consensus All-American for Aqib Talib.

Link to LJW Story

Full List of KU All-Americans

1947 — Ray Evans

1947 — Otto Schnellbacher

1951 — George Mrkonic

1952 — Gil Reich

1952 — Oliver Spencer

1960 — John Hadl

1961 — John Hadl

1963 — Gale Sayers

1964 — Gale Sayers

1968 — Bobby Douglass

1968 — John Zook

1973 — David Jaynes

1983 — Bruce Kallmeyer

2007 — Anthony Collins

2007 — Aqib Talib

(lifted from KUsports.com)

Mark Mangino Sent Me an E-Mail

WIth this link: http://www.orangebowlbound.com/

Can I just say that not only is he a great coach, but he also has mad video editing skills! 

2007 KU Football -- End of Regular Season Report

With four eight twelve games down and as a follow-up the 1/3 season report and 2/3 season report, it's time to once again check in on my 2007 Wish List published back in July.

--As hyped as he is, it'd be refreshing to see Aqib Talib actually exceed expectations
1/3: Done
2/3: Double-check
3/3: The entire D got toasted pretty good at Arrowhead, but AT is still popping up on All-American lists. Mission accomplished.

--A full house for opening day
1/3: 46,815. Let's call that about 93% of the goal and award an A-
2/3: Roughly 43k for the Baylor game, but I think the weather had a little to do with that
3/3: KU averaged 46,784 for 2007 with advance sellouts against Nebraska and Iowa State. Are we ready to sell out non-con games?

--The front seven rises to the level of the 2005 crew
2/3: Starting to believe -- Jeff Wheeler looked a little like Charlton Keith on that pressure of McGee (A&M) that nearly resulted in a James McClinton INT. Plus:

“I think it rivals what we had in 2005,” Mangino said. “We probably have an edge on that group. So yeah, I’d say it’s the best.”
LJW Link

3/3: Not quite to that level. We have to replace James McClinton but most of these guys will be back for 2008. Improvement is likely.

--Kerry Meier or Todd Reesing make me forget all about Bill Whittemore
1/3: 5 is one more than 4, right? So far so good, but the Rocket is still young and the Brentwood Bomber was pretty damn good. Looks like the season TD record is going down though. Record = 18. Reesing is currently at 11.
2/3: The most impressive thing about Todd is that he's complimenting that gunslinger attitude with smart play. He's taking a few more sacks than he used to but he's not making the critical turnovers. With this offfense, you just need to live to move on to the next down. Spread the ball around to your weapons.
3/3: Had a rough game against Mizzou in the first half, but again demonstrated that he's never out of it. Fought hard to get KU a shot at the end. Plus, 32 touchdown passes versus 6 INTs! I remember saying in 2005 if we could have had Bill Whittemore with that defense that we would've had a serious contender ... Reesing proved that theory to be true.

--Derek Fine catches 60 balls
1/3: It projects to be 56 right now over 14 games. The seven reception effort against FIU helped, but we're going to need a little extra effort. There have been a few dropped balls.
2/3: Fine has 30 catches for 279 yards and three TDs which projects out to 52 catches. He's dropping at least one pass per game. Still a great tool for the offense, but he can improve. During the stretch would be a great time.
3/3: 44 receptions, 380 yards and four TDs. He could hit 50 with a good game in Miami. To be fair, I did think he would get 14 games this year, but we obviously missed out on the Big 12 Championship.

--Ed Warriner makes the exact right play call on every down
1/3: Check
2/3: Other than the first series of each game -- check.
3/3: Ed started to play a little more conservatively in the final games, but with Reesing limping around can you really blame him? A truly impressive performance.

--We don't go for the two-point conversion ever (excepting of course for the win against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game)
1/3: Grade-F
2/3: Grade-Triple dog F
3/3: This seemed to improve in the final third mainly because it didn't come up.

--The offensive line doesn't have to go through the usual 7-8 game growth process and is dominant for all 12 games
1/3: So far, very good. Looking forward to testing this against the Wild Felines on 10/6
2/3: One of the main reasons we are 8-0
3/3: No one noticed when Anthony Collins missed the Iowa State game, but the line wasn't quite as effective against Missouri in the first half.

--Pass defense goes from the bottom D1 to top 10 in the nation
1/3: No problem
2/3: Fully recovered from the loss of Charles Gordon and looking prepared to send Talib to the NFL without wrecking the 2008 crew
3/3: 59th in average pass yards given up. Nebraska and Mizzou toasted us. Expect more improvement next year.

--Marcus Herford plays to his talent level and KU uses him all over the field
1/3: It looks like Kerry Meier is filling this role. A nice kick return for TD for Marcus though.
2/3: This is adjusted to "become a solid wideout." The kick returns are enough though. He's a threat to score each return.
3/3: One more year to become a true threat at wide receiver. Led the Big 12 in kick return average.

--Jake Sharp -- at least one TD per game 30 yards out or more
1/3: Well, he's got three TDs, so let's just revise this to one TD per game. I think he can make up the one TD deficit
2/3: Jake's got six TDs on the year, but his partner has another nine. The combo backfield rocks. I'd still like to see Jake rip one about 60 yards this year.
3/3: He never did rip the big one, but he was solid. With the experience Jake aquired, KU fans again feel like we'll be able to transition after graduating another great running back. 788 yards and 7 TDs for the year.

--Marcus Henry -- 18 TDs, 1300 yards
1/3: Hmm, it's only projecting out to seven TDs at this point. Perhaps, he's saving it up for conference play. However, the current 98.25 ypg gets you 1,375 yards for 14 games
2/3: He's got three TDs. I don't think he's going to make it. He's got 585 yards so he may need a breakout game to get to 1,000.
3/3: 994 yards and 9 TDs to date. He wasn't going to make the 18 TD goal, but the 1300 yards would have been in the ballpark if we could have added that Big 12 Championship game.

--50,000 plus Jayhawk fans wearing blue at Arrowhead
1/3: We'll probably need an impartial KSU attendance expert to stop by and make the call, but it looks pretty good so far.
2/3: The latest rumor is that they split the KU/MU fans on the fifties. If true, that is a severe mistake. Also, interested to see how it worked out with the Chiefs season ticket holders getting first crack. If KU season ticket holders don't have seats as good as they have at Memorial, the experiment will end in 2008.
3/3: We may never know the real numbers. No matter what, it felt like 50/50 and that is a failure on the part of our fan base. The experience was not enjoyable for the KU fans that attended. Getting 40k back next year will take a nifty trick by Lew Perkins and the KU marketing department. By the way, it didn't work out well giving Chiefs' fans first crack at tickets.

--14 wins
1/3: Still on target
2/3: As expected, 8-0
3/3: So close. Next year, when we open with 11 wins, we won't have to hear about our schedule.