S
SMUJhawk
Guest
I posted this to your other forum, figured I'd post it here, too, for any interested Gophers.
Offensively, as you know, we run the spread. Mostly 4 WR looks with a single back. While not as prolific as our 2007 offense, in 2008, the KU offense was pretty solid against almost everyone, averaging 431 yards and 32.7 points per game. The only team that we really didn't have much success against was Texas (only got 7 on them). We scored at least 21 on everyone else.
Our QB is Todd Reesing. Looks can be deceiving with Todd. He's small (they list him at 5-11, 200, he ain't no 5-11, more like 5-9). But his intangibles are off the charts. Tough. Gritty. A leader. Smart. Knows the offense extremely well. Has the trust of coaches and teammates. Stats on the year are 302 for 460 (65.7%), 3575 yards, with 28 TD's and 12 INT's. He also has good quickness, as he rushed for 186 yards and 4 TD's on the year as well. If there's a knock on him, while he is adept at sliding into passing lanes, he does tend to get balls knocked down a fair amount. He also has a tendency to force passes now and then. But he also has an uncanny ability to make something out of nothing. His 2008 numbers are actually not quite as good overall as 2007 (more yards but also more INT's and less TD's), mainly because our ground game and offensive line have not been as good and Todd has been running for his life a lot more. Here's a couple of highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOTTfupfp6o
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG_jHJ...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0EIJ3-tuFg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN3pg8...feature=related (from 2007)
On the ground, the featured back is Jake Sharp. Jake is also a bit undersized at 5-10, 190, but he is deceptively quick and tough as nails. He is pretty much a gap runner, if you give him a seam, he is very dangerous. Most of our running plays are either shotgun option read plays to Sharp or Reesing option pitches to Sharp to the edge. To give you an idea of his toughness, he broke a rib in our Texas game and played two weeks later in the Mizzou game (also running for a TD). He has 796 yards on 170 carries and 11 rushing TD's. He's also caught 25 passes for 283 yards and a TD (mostly on shovel passes). Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bab0IuV0uSk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypjbuI...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-hhUk...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUhon-...feature=related (shovel pass)
The other two RB's you might see are Jocques Crawford and Angus Quigley. Both are bigger than Sharp but not as effective. Crawford was the national Juco player of the year a season ago but has seemed too soft to play at the Big XII level. Quigley is a very hard runner and much more physical than Sharp at 6-2, 222, but he has had a case of fumble-itis this year and for that reason, he's been in Mangino's doghouse. Here's a highlight of him blowing up the Texas safety:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul4gz3...feature=related
Our WR's are probably the strength of our team. Dez Briscoe is a bit of a freak at 6-3, 200. He has good speed, excellent hands, and is amazing after the catch. He can use his size to break tackles and his quickness and change of direction to make guys miss. He can also go up and get it. He caught 78 balls for 1206 yards and 12 TD's this year. He's a match-up problem for anyone. Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuOiu-H-OQ4
The other top notch WR we have is Kerry Meier. He's a southeast Kansas kid who was recruited to play QB, and actually started at QB for most of 2006 until he was injured. Once it was clear Reesing would be the more effective QB, Mangino decided he couldn't stand having an athlete of Meier's caliber on the sideline, so he made him into a WR, and he's blossomed into quite likely a future NFL WR. He has size at 6-3, 220, pretty decent speed, and understands what his QB wants and needs. He also has remarkable hands. All he did this year was catch 87 passes for 932 yards and 7 TD's (and he was far less than 100% for about three or four games). Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUgcJxd59hc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uemzqL...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_8hFteOdMY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6MFwkw9KXA (this one's dear to our hearts)
Other WR's you are likely to see include Dex Fields and Johnathan Wilson. Fields actually led KU in receiving in 2007, but was hurt in the first week of 2008 and never really recovered. At 5-11, 208, he's a slot receiver purely, but he is capable of contributing and still made a couple of big plays this year. Wilson is a bigger receiver at 6-4 but is still pretty raw. He did catch 41 balls this year but had a tendency to have huge games one week and then vanish the next.
Our offensive line has had issues this year, although mostly early in the year. They have gotten better. We had trouble getting a ground game going early on, later in the year, we at least got Sharp rolling reasonably well. Still, we only rushed for 129 yards per game and just 3.7 yards per carry. We also allowed Reesing to be sacked 28 times for 213 yards of losses. So, we won't blow anyone away at the line of scrimmage. We lost an All-American tackle in Anthony Collins to the NFL after his junior year in 2007. We replaced him and another senior with Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes. While they have the size to play in the Big XII (6-3, 311 and 6-6, 314), they are still raw and inexperienced. But both got noticably better as the year went on. The interior of our line was supposed to be a strength this year but was a letdown. Adrian Mayes is one guard, a former walk-on at 6-3, 305. The other is a former Juco transfer, Chet Hartley, at 6-4, 315. On paper, our best lineman is center Ryan Cantrell, who was on some pre-season watch lists but was off of them by mid-season. Cantrell goes 6-3, 295 and is nevertheless a solid anchor and leader.
Defensively, we struggled this year. On the other hand, we faced a heck of a gauntlet of offenses and QB's. USF (Grothe), Texas Tech (Harrell), OU (Bradford), KSU (Freeman), Nebraska (Ganz), Texas (McCoy), Mizzou (Daniel). All of these guys can play, big time. Our secondary was not ready for this level of QB. Nor was our pass rush. And it showed. We allowed 402 yards and 29.5 points per game, 276 yards per game through the air. On the other hand, we did hold OU, Texas, and Mizzou well below their respective season scoring averages. So yes, we got torched, but we got torched by good QB's.
Our defensive line lost an all-Big XII performer in James McClinton from our 2007 unit, and we were just not the same in 2008. That said, we weren't awful against the run - we allowed 127 yards per game and 4.1 per carry. Our best d-lineman is Jake Laptad. He's a pass rushing DE. Laptad is 6-4, 250 and has good quickness. He had 8.5 TFL, 7 sacks, and two safeties this year. Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIA4BRXdMOE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPBowhR-MbQ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVTRsz...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwIvSmxk4AU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t17Os4yxZIM
Russell Brorsen is our other DE. He is a two-year starter, and a smart, serviceable player at 6-4, 240. The DT's are Caleb Blakesley, another two-year starter at 6-5, 292, and Jamal Greene. Greene is less experienced than the others but seems to have more upside. He goes 6-4, 301. He did have 6 TFL this year.
The linebackers were supposed to be one of the biggest strengths of our team this year (all three starters back from a good 2007 unit), but due at least in part to injuries and strong opposing offenses, they have not met expectations. They also have not been shielded by the d-line as much as they were in 2007. One who has done well this year is James Holt. Holt is a solid 6-3, 226, and led us in tackles with 97, including 15.5 TFL and 7 sacks, plus 6 forced fumbles. He has a nose for the football. Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LqiNYLG5pQ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnvqn1-Hhjo
Mike Rivera and Joe Mortensen, we expected more out of both of these guys this year. Rivera has been injured off and on. When he's on, he's big, physical, and nasty. He does have a tendency to try to make the big hit and whiff, though. He's 6-3, 255, and surprisingly fast. Watch him shed the RB's block in this clip:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbmFWSdXpr8
Joe Mortensen is another big, physical guy at 6-1, 250. Rivera had 7 TFL, Mort had 8. Mort was also credited with 9 QB hits. So he can get to the QB a little when he comes on a blitz.
Our secondary lost an All-American and a first round draft pick in Aqib Talib after his junior year in 2007. We thought we would be okay at corner still with freshman All-American Chris Harris and a physical corner in Kendrick Harper this year. As is, both of those guys have been benched, for some combination of poor play, injury, and just being the doghouse. Darrell Stuckey, at strong safety, has been a stud this year. He was all-Big XII, with 94 tackles and 5 INT's. He is also a hard hitter at 6-1, 205, he has good speed, and never gives up on a play:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwkPndLxY3Y (never gives up)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjDVSouGDrg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XCTPUE43Yg (looks like a WR)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX2DlSp6-d0 (never gives up)
Justin Thornton started the year at safety but moved to corner where we needed his size (6-1, 213) against the big, physical WR's of the Big XII. He performed admirably, leading the team with 11 passes broken up. Daymond Patterson now starts at the other corner. He was a WR early in the year and made some big plays there and returning punts, but his athleticism was needed at corner so he ended up there. He's a true freshman at 5-9, 175, so I suspect Minnesota may try to pick on him a bit. The other safety is Phillip Strozier, at 6-0, 196, he's basically a program guy who was not highly recruited by gets lauded by Mangino for his work ethic and slowly worked his way up the depth chart. He did have two picks and a blocked kick this year.
Special teams have been a problem for us (unlike 2007 when they were a decided strength). We've been near last in the nation in kick-off return average, although Briscoe brought that unit to life in the Mizzou game when he started returning kicks. Punt returns, we've had a couple of big plays with Patterson in there. Punting has been decent with Alonso Rojas, although he only averages 40.1, he seems to make a big kick when we need it, and is very adept at pinning other teams inside the 20 (13 times, versus just 4 touchbacks). Field goal kicking has been adequate, not great, Rojas and Jacob Branstetter have combined to make 11 of 14 with a long of 47 (by Rojas). The kick-off team has struggled, as in 2007 we seemed to always get a touchback, this year, we have only had 9 touchbacks in 72 kicks. Opponents average starting at the 28-yard-line on us and have been well beyond that quite a few times. Branstetter is a linebacker in a kicker's body, and it's fun to see him make a big hit on the opposing return guy, the trouble is, the kicker shouldn't have to make that many tackles (Branstetter has six on the year).
All in all, on paper, a 7-5 season after a 12-1 season with an Orange Bowl win and top ten finish looks like a disappointment. On closer inspection, three of our losses were to teams ranked in the BCS top seven (OU, Texas, Texas Tech), and the other two were road games against bowl-bound teams (Nebraska and USF). We beat both our rivals (KSU and Mizzou) and are going to a bowl for the second consecutive season for the first time in KU football history. I, for one, am excited, and hope to chat with more Gopher fans leading up to the game. As a fanbase, we are excited to be playing your up-and-coming team, but we hope and believe we should see a Jayhawk victory. Minnesota has won this year by forcing turnovers and by being stout in the red zone. If we execute in the red zone and have at least parity in turnovers, I think the final will be Kansas 35, Minnesota 24.
"Success is never final, failure is never fatal." - Mark Mangino / Winston Churchill
Offensively, as you know, we run the spread. Mostly 4 WR looks with a single back. While not as prolific as our 2007 offense, in 2008, the KU offense was pretty solid against almost everyone, averaging 431 yards and 32.7 points per game. The only team that we really didn't have much success against was Texas (only got 7 on them). We scored at least 21 on everyone else.
Our QB is Todd Reesing. Looks can be deceiving with Todd. He's small (they list him at 5-11, 200, he ain't no 5-11, more like 5-9). But his intangibles are off the charts. Tough. Gritty. A leader. Smart. Knows the offense extremely well. Has the trust of coaches and teammates. Stats on the year are 302 for 460 (65.7%), 3575 yards, with 28 TD's and 12 INT's. He also has good quickness, as he rushed for 186 yards and 4 TD's on the year as well. If there's a knock on him, while he is adept at sliding into passing lanes, he does tend to get balls knocked down a fair amount. He also has a tendency to force passes now and then. But he also has an uncanny ability to make something out of nothing. His 2008 numbers are actually not quite as good overall as 2007 (more yards but also more INT's and less TD's), mainly because our ground game and offensive line have not been as good and Todd has been running for his life a lot more. Here's a couple of highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOTTfupfp6o
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG_jHJ...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0EIJ3-tuFg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN3pg8...feature=related (from 2007)
On the ground, the featured back is Jake Sharp. Jake is also a bit undersized at 5-10, 190, but he is deceptively quick and tough as nails. He is pretty much a gap runner, if you give him a seam, he is very dangerous. Most of our running plays are either shotgun option read plays to Sharp or Reesing option pitches to Sharp to the edge. To give you an idea of his toughness, he broke a rib in our Texas game and played two weeks later in the Mizzou game (also running for a TD). He has 796 yards on 170 carries and 11 rushing TD's. He's also caught 25 passes for 283 yards and a TD (mostly on shovel passes). Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bab0IuV0uSk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypjbuI...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-hhUk...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUhon-...feature=related (shovel pass)
The other two RB's you might see are Jocques Crawford and Angus Quigley. Both are bigger than Sharp but not as effective. Crawford was the national Juco player of the year a season ago but has seemed too soft to play at the Big XII level. Quigley is a very hard runner and much more physical than Sharp at 6-2, 222, but he has had a case of fumble-itis this year and for that reason, he's been in Mangino's doghouse. Here's a highlight of him blowing up the Texas safety:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul4gz3...feature=related
Our WR's are probably the strength of our team. Dez Briscoe is a bit of a freak at 6-3, 200. He has good speed, excellent hands, and is amazing after the catch. He can use his size to break tackles and his quickness and change of direction to make guys miss. He can also go up and get it. He caught 78 balls for 1206 yards and 12 TD's this year. He's a match-up problem for anyone. Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuOiu-H-OQ4
The other top notch WR we have is Kerry Meier. He's a southeast Kansas kid who was recruited to play QB, and actually started at QB for most of 2006 until he was injured. Once it was clear Reesing would be the more effective QB, Mangino decided he couldn't stand having an athlete of Meier's caliber on the sideline, so he made him into a WR, and he's blossomed into quite likely a future NFL WR. He has size at 6-3, 220, pretty decent speed, and understands what his QB wants and needs. He also has remarkable hands. All he did this year was catch 87 passes for 932 yards and 7 TD's (and he was far less than 100% for about three or four games). Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUgcJxd59hc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uemzqL...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_8hFteOdMY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6MFwkw9KXA (this one's dear to our hearts)
Other WR's you are likely to see include Dex Fields and Johnathan Wilson. Fields actually led KU in receiving in 2007, but was hurt in the first week of 2008 and never really recovered. At 5-11, 208, he's a slot receiver purely, but he is capable of contributing and still made a couple of big plays this year. Wilson is a bigger receiver at 6-4 but is still pretty raw. He did catch 41 balls this year but had a tendency to have huge games one week and then vanish the next.
Our offensive line has had issues this year, although mostly early in the year. They have gotten better. We had trouble getting a ground game going early on, later in the year, we at least got Sharp rolling reasonably well. Still, we only rushed for 129 yards per game and just 3.7 yards per carry. We also allowed Reesing to be sacked 28 times for 213 yards of losses. So, we won't blow anyone away at the line of scrimmage. We lost an All-American tackle in Anthony Collins to the NFL after his junior year in 2007. We replaced him and another senior with Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes. While they have the size to play in the Big XII (6-3, 311 and 6-6, 314), they are still raw and inexperienced. But both got noticably better as the year went on. The interior of our line was supposed to be a strength this year but was a letdown. Adrian Mayes is one guard, a former walk-on at 6-3, 305. The other is a former Juco transfer, Chet Hartley, at 6-4, 315. On paper, our best lineman is center Ryan Cantrell, who was on some pre-season watch lists but was off of them by mid-season. Cantrell goes 6-3, 295 and is nevertheless a solid anchor and leader.
Defensively, we struggled this year. On the other hand, we faced a heck of a gauntlet of offenses and QB's. USF (Grothe), Texas Tech (Harrell), OU (Bradford), KSU (Freeman), Nebraska (Ganz), Texas (McCoy), Mizzou (Daniel). All of these guys can play, big time. Our secondary was not ready for this level of QB. Nor was our pass rush. And it showed. We allowed 402 yards and 29.5 points per game, 276 yards per game through the air. On the other hand, we did hold OU, Texas, and Mizzou well below their respective season scoring averages. So yes, we got torched, but we got torched by good QB's.
Our defensive line lost an all-Big XII performer in James McClinton from our 2007 unit, and we were just not the same in 2008. That said, we weren't awful against the run - we allowed 127 yards per game and 4.1 per carry. Our best d-lineman is Jake Laptad. He's a pass rushing DE. Laptad is 6-4, 250 and has good quickness. He had 8.5 TFL, 7 sacks, and two safeties this year. Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIA4BRXdMOE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPBowhR-MbQ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVTRsz...feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwIvSmxk4AU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t17Os4yxZIM
Russell Brorsen is our other DE. He is a two-year starter, and a smart, serviceable player at 6-4, 240. The DT's are Caleb Blakesley, another two-year starter at 6-5, 292, and Jamal Greene. Greene is less experienced than the others but seems to have more upside. He goes 6-4, 301. He did have 6 TFL this year.
The linebackers were supposed to be one of the biggest strengths of our team this year (all three starters back from a good 2007 unit), but due at least in part to injuries and strong opposing offenses, they have not met expectations. They also have not been shielded by the d-line as much as they were in 2007. One who has done well this year is James Holt. Holt is a solid 6-3, 226, and led us in tackles with 97, including 15.5 TFL and 7 sacks, plus 6 forced fumbles. He has a nose for the football. Highlights:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LqiNYLG5pQ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnvqn1-Hhjo
Mike Rivera and Joe Mortensen, we expected more out of both of these guys this year. Rivera has been injured off and on. When he's on, he's big, physical, and nasty. He does have a tendency to try to make the big hit and whiff, though. He's 6-3, 255, and surprisingly fast. Watch him shed the RB's block in this clip:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbmFWSdXpr8
Joe Mortensen is another big, physical guy at 6-1, 250. Rivera had 7 TFL, Mort had 8. Mort was also credited with 9 QB hits. So he can get to the QB a little when he comes on a blitz.
Our secondary lost an All-American and a first round draft pick in Aqib Talib after his junior year in 2007. We thought we would be okay at corner still with freshman All-American Chris Harris and a physical corner in Kendrick Harper this year. As is, both of those guys have been benched, for some combination of poor play, injury, and just being the doghouse. Darrell Stuckey, at strong safety, has been a stud this year. He was all-Big XII, with 94 tackles and 5 INT's. He is also a hard hitter at 6-1, 205, he has good speed, and never gives up on a play:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwkPndLxY3Y (never gives up)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjDVSouGDrg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XCTPUE43Yg (looks like a WR)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX2DlSp6-d0 (never gives up)
Justin Thornton started the year at safety but moved to corner where we needed his size (6-1, 213) against the big, physical WR's of the Big XII. He performed admirably, leading the team with 11 passes broken up. Daymond Patterson now starts at the other corner. He was a WR early in the year and made some big plays there and returning punts, but his athleticism was needed at corner so he ended up there. He's a true freshman at 5-9, 175, so I suspect Minnesota may try to pick on him a bit. The other safety is Phillip Strozier, at 6-0, 196, he's basically a program guy who was not highly recruited by gets lauded by Mangino for his work ethic and slowly worked his way up the depth chart. He did have two picks and a blocked kick this year.
Special teams have been a problem for us (unlike 2007 when they were a decided strength). We've been near last in the nation in kick-off return average, although Briscoe brought that unit to life in the Mizzou game when he started returning kicks. Punt returns, we've had a couple of big plays with Patterson in there. Punting has been decent with Alonso Rojas, although he only averages 40.1, he seems to make a big kick when we need it, and is very adept at pinning other teams inside the 20 (13 times, versus just 4 touchbacks). Field goal kicking has been adequate, not great, Rojas and Jacob Branstetter have combined to make 11 of 14 with a long of 47 (by Rojas). The kick-off team has struggled, as in 2007 we seemed to always get a touchback, this year, we have only had 9 touchbacks in 72 kicks. Opponents average starting at the 28-yard-line on us and have been well beyond that quite a few times. Branstetter is a linebacker in a kicker's body, and it's fun to see him make a big hit on the opposing return guy, the trouble is, the kicker shouldn't have to make that many tackles (Branstetter has six on the year).
All in all, on paper, a 7-5 season after a 12-1 season with an Orange Bowl win and top ten finish looks like a disappointment. On closer inspection, three of our losses were to teams ranked in the BCS top seven (OU, Texas, Texas Tech), and the other two were road games against bowl-bound teams (Nebraska and USF). We beat both our rivals (KSU and Mizzou) and are going to a bowl for the second consecutive season for the first time in KU football history. I, for one, am excited, and hope to chat with more Gopher fans leading up to the game. As a fanbase, we are excited to be playing your up-and-coming team, but we hope and believe we should see a Jayhawk victory. Minnesota has won this year by forcing turnovers and by being stout in the red zone. If we execute in the red zone and have at least parity in turnovers, I think the final will be Kansas 35, Minnesota 24.
"Success is never final, failure is never fatal." - Mark Mangino / Winston Churchill
