The Game- Spring Version

(Insight Bowl poster in the stadium, with Briscoe scoring the fastest TD in history)

(Karma- 2 years ago Kelting and I slammed beers at Jet Lag and we went to the BCS so we went back on Saturday and I personally apologize for not going last year, that was my bad)

(Kale Pick telling the backups that they are lucky to be able to play with him)

(look at all the work those guys put into setting up the tent, MASSIVE)

(Todd with no mercy for the D)

Rewatching the game-

In this first quarter I'm really watching Hawkinson. He's got some quick toes, like he's got some hot socks and he's strong. T Hawk said after the game that he's at 269 and he needs to get to 290. Chris Dawson has proved that he can do wonders with guys in the weight room (and remember this is the first summer that they will have access to the new facility) so I think he'll add some good weight and keep his quickness.

Let's just mention both TR and KM- studs- nothing else needs to said.

J Wil (aka- Wilson- #81) might be ready to turn the corner as a really solid WR. He'd be a really good 3rd option, kind of like how the hoops team was when Tyshawn would do well, we were unstoppable.Wilson looks as if he got faster since last year. If he can give you 50 catches and Meier and Brisoce do what they do- watch out.

Wilson finished with 133 yards and a TD.

Jake Sharp is good, I mean I like him a lot. He's going to be a nice little back for us this year. (He averaged 9 yards per carry and took a couple shovel passes for big gains)And Deshaun Sands really does remind me of Jake Sharp- I think its because they are both small (but I haven't seen enough of Sands to know- I do know that he is on KO's hopefully returning I think he'd be good in that role)

How the hell about Rell Lewis. Who the hell is Rell Lewis (I was asked this today) he's a guy that came in from Oklahoma and was at WR and switched to RB and he seems to really have found a home there. He looked real solid catching the ball out of the backfield and was dangerous in space. He carried 14 times for 66 yards and caught 2 balls for 50 yards including a great play where Kale Pick found him bleeding out of the back field in the 4th quarter. (Went back and watched this play again and Lewis was really sprung free by Biere blocking someone down field 15 yards, its like a young Derek Fine)

The depth on the lines is baffling to me. Unreal.

You've got the 2nd string O-line blocking real well and the 2nd string D-line was getting some good push.I'm so excited about this because it let's you have fresh legs, it doesn't hurt if a guy gets dinged up and going against talent in practice will make you better come the fall.

Look at the DT's for example-

You got Richard Johnson Jr coming back, Darius Parish should be better as a sophomore (and worse case scenario he's unreal in short yardage situations and goal line) Caleb Blakesly is a senior and has always been solid. Jamal Greene ran with the 2's today but he started last year and he was solid. (He gets great penetration on a play in the 4th quarter and tackles Rell Lewis for a loss)

So you got 4 returners there. Plus add Redshirt FR Duane Zlatnik who's a mountain of a man. Travis Stephens from Blinn Community College who most think will play right away.
There's others that I am forgetting but that SIX- 6- guys that you can plug in there, so I'm really looking forward to that.

This 2 minute drill at the end of the half by Kale Pick is unreal. When he tucks it, its on.The first run he had on the drive was great he went through his progression the pocket collapsed and he got flushed out but he kept his head up and got a real nice gain. He had another good run on the drive and that TD pass- that's a special throw, 25 yard fade rout on the hitch and go and he puts in on him perfectly.

Going back and looking at the line play a little bit more closely, I was impressed with some of the following guys.

"Big" John Williams- probably going to be the LG next year, he's an absolutely huge human, and he's pretty athletic

Brad Thorsen- RG- I thought he might be the center this year before they moved Hatch, which was possible thanks to Hawkinson's quick improvement at LT. But Thorsen looks like a real solid guy at RG, and since Lueken got hit by a car he won't be playing any RG.

Hawkinson - as I mentioned in earlier but I like his game, all he needs is to get bigger. I really could see him making money playing that position.

I didn't see enough of Hatch, Spikes, Carl Wilson or Alex Smith to have an opinion on them either way. There was one play where Hatch looked real solid and Center is his natural position so he should be solid.

Here in the third quarter we're seeing a formation I don't remember seeing. Kale Pick is running with the 2's still and instead of having the back next to him in the shot gun formation Sands was about 4 yards behind him. They moved Sands out as soon as the ball was snapped in a blocking/ receiver option.The play wound up being a run by Pick for 6-7 yards but as vanilla as spring games are- this was a nice little wrinkle.

Very nice counter run by Rell Lewis in the 3rd- do mostly to Tim Biere and Jeremiah Hatch absolutely putting people to the ground.

I think a lot of people were curious to see what Angus Quigley would look like at LB. Well- he's fast- he looks a heck of a lot faster/quicker than he was at RB but can still hit as evidence by covering Rell Lewis inside the 10 and stayed with him in pass coverage and then laid a lick on him. I don't know if he'll be an every down LB but he could play Bandit today- for sure. (think Brandon Perkins with more hit power)

Kale Pick looks like he can make all the throws. In 4 straight snaps he threw a 30 yard fade, a 10 yard out, a swing pass to the WR and then checked down to the RB and completed all 4 of them. (And he's doing this with a thrown together WR corp. Further evidence of this is Ingram dropping a 20 yard corner route that Pick put on his numbers after stepping up in the pocket)

Jordan Webb is going to prove to be very capable at the QB position, he made a very Reesing like play when he tried to step up in the pocket it wasn't there, they he rolled to his right and got stopped so he went back to his left and made a 20 yard throw across his body that he put right on Ted McNutly, very nice play. (remember that if anyone even touched him during this play he was down due to spring game rules, so even more impressive)

Webb also showed some good feet on some running plays. I don't know if he'll overtake Pick this year to be the backup, but I think he'll give him a run for his money in 2010 and worse case scenario he seems like he'll be a very capable back up. (He ran an offense that is very similar to KU's in high school and put up some wild numbers)

At halftime- I ran into (walked right by) Donovan Vestal a DE out of TX, he's a package deal with Lavonte Wheeler. They are down to Ok ST and KU. So I made sure that I sold the program to him and told him how wack Ok St was, just doing my part to build a better KU football for everyone.

Ted McNutly might be a decent depth guy at TE.

Reece Petty was really not very good at WR

I like Willie O'Quinn quite a bit, he was really solid on special teams last year, sans the 15 yard penalty in the Insight Bowl where he got injured, he looked good at WR.

I liked Greg Brown quite a bit at CB but not as much as I like Anthony Davis, it looks like the light might have come on for him he was like glue on people and he looks like he might have gotten bigger and speed was never a question with him. He very well could be a nickle or dime back next year.

Starters at corner next year I would guess will consist of Daymond Patterson and Calvin Rubbles. I feel less confident about Rubles but he has the size, he just needs to make that adjustment from JUCO ball.

Props to Mangino for having Kerry Meier running as a QB, that as Lund pointed out was his way of telling Pick he hasn't earned shit. Pick is a bright kid and he is really competitive so I think that message got across real clear. Pick having a good spring and summer is so crucial for this program its not even funny.

Final thoughts-

I came away very encouraged with this team and the thing that should be noted is look who wasn't there.Dezmon Briscoe -1st team AA

Bradley McDougald- probably going to start at the slot WR.

Quinton Woods- will likely start at DE (he might not be at his full talent until conference play just due to adjusting to Div 1 ball

Julian Jones- will play at LB

Some other Juco LB that we got late, most reports are that he'll start and be studly (Jon Bon Watts is his name- that was a weird feeling not knowing a name for a second)

Travis Stephens - DT will be in the rotation.

Toben Opurum- RB - could be the big back we've been missing.

You've also got guys like Prinz Kande and Dextor Linton at the safety position that could push for some immediate time next year.

If you're a fan of KU football you should be stoked with the squad.

Rock Chalk

please free to leave any questions in the comment section or e-mail at - ryanbauer9@gmail.com and I'll answer / discuss them

Spring Game - Pre game notes

(Is that tent just glorious or what, we offered it to KUAC in case players need to get loose before rainy games, or play actual games underneath it) (this thing provided more fun that you know, especially when I sent it after a native american, just saying)

watching QB's and receivers get loose and I see TR5 just throw a perfect seem route to Kerry and I'm reminded how fucking good those guys are.

O-Line vs. D-Line drills-Laptad looked pretty good

Oyengbule looked huge (now wears number 90 instead of 47)

Darius Parish looks like he slimmed down a bit (I couldn't tell if he was any quicker because I wasn't paying that close of attention)

The O-line as a whole looks quick, not saying they aren't strong and big just saying they seemed quick.

DJ Marshall looks really quick at DE, but he is still little. I could see him as an option in obviously passing downs but not anything else at this point in his development(he'll be a RS FR in the fall)

QB / Passing drills-

Deshaun Sands looks really small he told the LJW he was 5-6 1/2 (which means he my height) but he seems like he has the ability to be the home run threat we need.

Jordan Webb looks taller than I thought (probably because KU has listed Reesing at 6-0 even though he's pushing 5-10, Webb is a legit 6-1)

Kale Pick has a nice easy throwing motion and can put some zip in the ball if needed

AJ Steward continues to be a physical specimen, he's a load and I think he could really create some matchups in the passing game.

Justin Springer (who was thought to be this years starting MLB, until he tore his ACL against K-st) was in pads today, didn't practice all spring and did not play in the spring game but the fact that he was in pads seems like a good sign.

You'll remember this blog spoke to him about his rehab in January.

The DB's were doing a drill where they back pedaled and the turned to catch a ball.

My takeaway from this drill was that they all seems to have good hips and change of direction (for the most part) and we might have some serious ball hawks.

(Daymond Patterson is fine even though he dinged his shoulder in the game)

Kevin Young and Tanner Hawkinson went head to head a couple of times in drills and it was a good match up both are quick and need to gain weight but both have bright futures (Hawkinson especially)

Justin Thorton and Greg Brown were running with the 2's at CB. (Greg Brown is a guy that we offered very early last year, so you know he's highly thought of and so far doesn't seem to be disappointing- he had 8 tackles in the game)

Rock Chalk

Not too bad for a b-day

So first of all I hate my birthday- as much as I love attention I hate my birthday kind of like how I hate weddings.

But this one wasn't so fucking bad.

As LJ said "we want that so bad and for it to actually happen is awesome"Or some facsimile of the above statement.

Obviously in reference to QT and Appleton.Both of them transferring allows KU to now have 1 available scholly for next year instead of being 1 over the limit (and Withey now has his scholly accounted for)

So if you are Bill Self and you have 1 scholly left, the best rebounder in the class of 09 and one of if not the most athletic combo guard in the class coming to Mt. Oread PLUS you have 2 All Americans coming back (most likely- almost certain) in Sherronatron and Cole's Block Party USA (Kudos to Roscoe for the nickname) well you go get the number 1 player in the land in Xavier Henry (according to Espn) (#3 according to Rivals).

Which it appears is closer to happening (not saying it will but where there's smoke there's firing and somebody might want to call the Fire Dept - SOON)

So we can say for sure that next year we'll have an improved Tyshawn Taylor, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris and returning Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed along with a healthy and one would figure substantially better Mario Little. Couple that shit with 2 top 30 players coming in and that looks like a nice little ball club.

Well we ain't gonna be nice- we're gonna be some mean mother fuckers who are totally unaware of other people's feelings. Because you should have the only player in Kansas history to record a Triple Double and a guy who's going to have his jersey in the rafters (if Sherron has the same year he did this year he's going to be up there)

Plus the aforementioned possibility of adding a stud at the wing position.

Focus on the Spring Game but be giddy about Self's next squad.

Rock Chalk

Gayest cover ever?

Props to the baseball team

KU swept Iowa this week in a midweek series as they continue to inch closer to getting in the big dance.

My professional teams both suck and I realized that I have a long summer ahead of me. Nothing better than shitty baaseball and skin irration in the cock region, fucking super.

Rock Chalk

Who will be at KU next year

Born Ready

or


Zaveeyah Henry


or


Both


or


Neither


-Well, a little over a week ago, I was watching BornReadyTV with the roomie and basically foaming at the mouth of him being at KU.
Then that fucker Calamari got the UK job and now X is fair game.

Then Born Ready was going to announce for KU and then he canceled his presser (for who knows why) then X was rumored to be going to KU and his loud ass dad keeps telling every tom dick and harry that he's gonna go to KU and here we are today.

No Born Ready

NO X

and I'm losing my hair and sanity.

please let this end soon and in a positive way for KU.

Rock Chalk

This week

Well there's quite a bit of shit going down this week.
(if you haven't read the football solutions blog, you should, its good)

First of all last weekend was brutal, watching the Final 4 sans KU was hard so I didn't watch much of it, not caring is fun.

Also had a chance to get an autograph from Gale Sayers, his buddy or agent or whoever was one of the few people to think Kelting was cooler than me, so that was hard to swallow, but all in all a very good time.

EDIT FOR STORY TIME-

So while I basically got really scared of Gale, Kelting drops that pic (see above) on him and his little buddy, says "who is that young man, look at him" (which is a gay thing to say but also a very easy way to hurt my feelings, guy) and so kelting snapped that photo, he couldn't take a pic of me getting the mini-helmet signed, because he signs those under the table, honestly, I couldn't even see him sign it, but when he gave me that helmet back it was signed, so that's good.

We have the on going soap opera that is X, CJ, Born Ready, Calamari, whoever Memphis hires, NCAA transfer rules, is an anyone transferring , Cole is rumored to be staying, Sherron has a kid so he'll go pro even if he might not make it - gate.
So that's fun!

This weekend we'll all get free magnet schedules and card schedules for the 2009 edition of the Fighting Mangino's (while supplies last per KUAC)

Then the much discussed Spring Game.

Rock Chalk

Football solutions

Last years offense on the gridiron set all mad records.
Kerry Meier and Dez Briscoe both had huge seasons combining for 2,500 yards and 170 catches.
TR was TR- outstanding.

BUT

There was one thing that has to be fixed and I've got 2 ways to do that.


What needs to be fixed-
The running game. Last year KU did not have a 100 yard rusher in the last 4 games of the season or the first 5 games of the year.

So obviously if I was playing devils advocate I could say but KU uses 2 backs.

Well the only back to go over 100 yards in a game was Jake Sharp and no one else really got close.

So how do we fix it and what will it mean for the 09 Fighting Mangino's?

How to fix it-
We weren't try to run the ball all the time, we were and still will be a pass first team. So you'd think we'd at least break a couple runs on surprise alone, but you'd be wrong.

So we need 2 things

1- better blocking
Will we get better blocking this year? I believe we will.Why do I believe that?

Because of experience and talent.
Our WR's blocking became exceptional as the year went on.

And I'd they continue to improve, we'll break some long runs.

Tim Biere at TE is only going to get better and I thought he did quite well last year.

But it all starts in the trenches.
And I LOVE this O-line and the potential they have.

You have Jeremiah Hatch who some who have seen him practice this Spring say will be a pro at Center and this is the position he was recruited at.

John Williams or Big John Williams as he's commonly referred to has the inside track and would be the easy guess for starter at LG and he's a mountain of a man and he's quick.

RG could be Sal Capra who got a lot of reps last year and played well.
It could be Ben Lueken who played as a true Frosh last year at Tackle and has since been moved inside.Brad Thorsen the transfer from Wisconsin who played some at Center and Guard next year.

And there's some good depth there too on the line at all positions.

At RT you'll probably have Jeff Spikes who did a lot better at RT than he did at LT. He should be real solid after starting every game last year.
Ian Wolfe could also see some time here / provide a breather.

LT- the most crucial spot on the line.Last year Spikes was so so (see not so good) and Hatch was better but he isn't long and tall so its better and easier for him to play inside.

Insert Tanner Hawkinson.Recruited as a TE and moved to DE where he excelled on the scout team and now he's owning the LT spot and getting bigger and better each day.He's up to 280 now and I'd expect him to be bigger than that by Sept 5th.I personally have not seen him play but from what I have heard his feet are super so that's good.

And since we don't have that swing game in the non-con this year he should be real salty when the Jayhawks get ready to "Win the North 2009"


2-The other thing needed to fix the lack luster running game is a buddy for Sharp.

Who might that be?
Well we know it won't be Quigley since he's been moved to OLB and I doubt it'll be Rell Lewis too not good enough or Deshaun Sands (yes I originally typed Tony and had to go back) he's too little right now but I think he'll make a positive impact in time.

So that leaves us with Joc Crawford and Toben Opurum.

Joc Crawford per a member of the team said "he looks a lot better than last year" other who have seen him this Spring say he's doing very well.If Joc can be the other or big back we need, watch the fuck out Big 12 and nation we're bringing heat.

Opurum is a highly rated recruit from Texas but he won't be on campus until the summer so its hard to say what he'll be able to do yet.

What will it mean?
It'll be mean that Todd will have more time to throw since teams won't be able to drop someone into coverage every play.

Most importantly it means we'll win a lot of games and that'll make a lot of people happy.

Rock Chalk

X - I'm sorry

Please come to KU. Don't visit Kentucky. I visited a school in Kentucky and I'm not sure what was worse the tour of the campus, my mom crying on the way home or when they showed me the gym and I thought it was a high school.
Come on home. There's lots of hotties at KU with real loose morals, trust me I know and I couldn't pull up and knock down treys or take cats to the rack so you'll do just fine.
Rock Chalk

Awesome

Look at this picture I got with these two tools from Memphis. Just 2 weeks ago they were so confident that they would be going to another Final 4, instead they are at home, without a coach and without recruits, whoops.

These guys called me a "SOB" because I wanted to get a pic with them since we rolled them last April. Hilarious

Rock Chalk