Big 12 Spring Game Rankings

Headed in the Right Direction

Though I'm frequently told that KU fans don't care about football, the 8,200 that showed up for this year's spring game represented another increase. That figure was good enough for eighth in conference with seventh clearly in sight. You have to give Mark Mangino some credit as the attendance has increased each year under his regime. The "sparse crowd" days of Terry Allen seem so long ago.

 1. Nebraska: 54,288
 2. Texas: 42,500
 3. Texas A&M: 24,212
 4. Oklahoma: 21,020
 5. Kansas State: 16,732
 6. Oklahoma State: 15,000
 7. Missouri: 10,000
 8. Kansas: 8,200
 9. Iowa State: 7,000
10. Colorado: 5,800
11. Texas Tech: 3,000
12.  Baylor: "A sparse crowd"

Post Spring Depth Chart

A Few Surprises Here and There

KU has officially released a depth chart. Everything pretty much adds up except the fact that wideouts Tertavian Ingram, Raimond Pendleton and Xavier Rambo are all absent from the two-deep. I really thought at least one of these guys would see significant playing time in 2007, and I was really shocked to see Angus Quigley lining up in the slot at the spring game. I still think he's a running back, but I hope it pans out. I will admit Raymond Brown looked pretty good as a receiver on Sunday.

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.

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

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.

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.”

Kansas Starts Spring Practice

KU Football News: Spring Previews

http://www.kmov.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8NRGSUG0.html
"We've had some quarterbacks back there who had time to read the newspaper and have a cup of coffee before throwing the ball," he said. "I think we need improvement in the secondary. Don't get me wrong. But the best pass defense is a good pass rush."
--Agreed. Set the dogs loose.

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/mar/14/retooling_begins_spring_practices/?football
“We have simplified some progressions and reads,” Mangino said. “We’re going to just put him in a situation where he has a couple of quick reads and an outlet. We won’t get into progression three, four or five. It’s futile. It doesn’t fit our personnel. It doesn’t fit my way of thinking, and it doesn’t fit Ed Warinner’s way of thinking.”
--I'll be interested to see how this and the route teaching method works out. Wide receiver play at KU has been solid, but never really All-Big 12 calibur.

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/mar/14/kansas_football_notebook/?football
Perhaps to most intriguing is Maxwell Onyegbule, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound freshman moving from linebacker to defensive end.
“He has really looked good at that position, based on a few practices we had prior to bowl selection,” Mangino said.
--Other moves include Olaitan Oguntodu from  safety to linebacker, Sal Capra from linebacker to offensive guard and Raymond Brown from cornerback to wide receiver. Running back D’Marcus Lang and cornerback Mike McCoy are no longer are on KU’s roster.

NY Times Points The Finger

Get Some Boys, Get Some

This type of subtle attack thinly disguised as objective journalism pretty much defines the the NY Times approach. The schools are cheaters and the NCAA is a bloated, incompetent bureaucracy, look at me I'm an investigative journalist, yippee!!! Next week, I'll explain how all of the athletes are criminals with no chance of graduating. The sky is falling, buy more papers!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/sports/ncaabasketball/04ncaa.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087%0A&em&en=c6f3911c21aa1e04&ex=1173157200

Muck Fizzou, Mike Mallory and Mangino

KU Football News Links from KUsports.com

ESPN Is Offended By Our Shirt
And I was offended by their decision to choose the NBA over the NHL. Consider us even Big Brother.

Linebacker Coach is Louisville Bound
Details are little sparse at this time, but if this is a lateral move, I'm not sure I understand it. Consider this a KSU trend I'm not interested in following.

Mark Mangino Expands His Empire
Congrats on the new addition, coach!

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.