Daily Archives: August 25, 2010

>College Football Previews: Kansas

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>   Two years after going 12-1 and getting an Orange Bowl win over Virginia Tech, the Jayhawks are looking to rebuild under new coach Turner Gill, who takes over for Mark Mangino after Mangino resigned amid mistreatment rumors.  Gill comes from Buffalo after having turned one of the worst teams in college football into a conference champion.

   Offense – Despite returning eight starters, it may be the four that they lost that will be the most crucial.  Gill will have to replace departed seniors quarterback Todd Reesing, wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier and running back Jake Sharp.  It will be interesting to see how the team responds to Chuck Long’s scheme.

   The loss of Reesing hurts the Jayhawks the most.  Reesing threw for 3,616 yards on his way to breaking numerous school passing records.  He leaves Kansas as the school leader in career passing yards (11,194), career attempts (1,461), career completions (932), career touchdown passes (90) and total offensive yards (11,840).  The returnees, however, only threw for a combined 38 yards in 2009.  That’s not to say that there won’t be any depth at the position tho.  Kale Pick was four of five passing for 22 yards, while adding 167 rushing yards on 14 carries as a backup in 2009. Quinn Mecham is a junior college transfer who threw for 3,091 yards and 40 touchdowns at Snow Junior College in 2009. He is already on campus and will participate in spring practice. A trio of quarterbacks redshirted as freshmen in 2009 including Christian Matthews, Jacob Morse and Jordan Webb.

   Toben Opurum led the team in rushing as a freshman, rushing for 554 yards and nine touchdowns in 2009.  Rell Lewis saw limited time running for 72 yards on 13 carries. Angus Quigley, a running back at KU until playing linebacker last season, returns to his original position after gaining a medical hardship. Quigley ran for 309 yards in 2008.

   The Jayhawks lost the two most productive wide receivers in school history in Dezmon Briscoe, who declared for the NFL draft after his junior campaign, and Kerry Meier. In 2009, Briscoe caught 84 passes for 1,337 yards and nine touchdowns, while Meier pulled in 102 balls for 985 yards and eight scores. Johnathan Wilson had been the third option in his career and pulled in 35 receptions for 449 yards in 2009. Bradley McDougald started six games as the fourth wide receiver and caught 33 passes for 318 yards last year. Tertavian Ingram saw action a year ago and had two catches.  Daymond Patterson, D.J. Beshears, Erick McGriff and Chris Omigie ,a pair of redshirt freshmen all could make an impact.

   Defense – A mix of experience and youth returns on the defensive side of the ball for Kansas, including seven starters. Among the returnees are All-Big 12 Honorable Mention players in defensive end Jake Laptad and linebacker Drew Dudley. Linebacker Huldon Tharp and safety Lubbock Smith earned Freshman All-America honors in 2009. Chris Harris has been a regular in the secondary for the past three seasons. In all, five of the top eight tackle leaders from 2009 return.

   All-Big 12 Honorable Mention players in defensive end Jake Laptad had 49 tackles, including a team-high 12 for loss and six and a half sacks. Quinton Woods, who saw limited time with four tackles, is the only other end with experience. Inside, John Williams started the final seven games of 2009 at tackle after moving from the offensive line. He replaced Richard Johnson in the starting lineup, but Johnson returns this season as well.

   Last season Kansas used two linebackers in its 4-2-5 alignment and two of the main three players in last year’s rotation return. Drew Dudley was second on the team with 88 tackles last year, while Huldon Tharp made 59 stops as a true freshman en route to earning some Freshman All-America honors. Justin Springer has been a key reserve and last year had 25 tackles.

   The 2009 secondary was a team effort as 10 different players started games during the season. KU lost two long-time regular safeties in Darrell Stuckey, who led the team with 93 tackles, and Justin Thornton, who registered 80 tackles in 2009. Chris Harris leads the returnees. Harris has played safety and cornerback in his career and last year was third on the team with 84 tackles, while leading the team with nine passes broken up. 

   Recruiting – The Jayhawks signed a class of 18 in 2010, including 10 on the offensive side of the ball.  Of those 10, four are wide receivers.  Of the eight defenders, four are on the line.  Kansas was able to pull Brandon Bourbon out of Missouri and boy did they get a player.  On his way to being named the 3A Player of the Year, he amassed a school record 2,531 yards and 34 touchdowns.  He finished his high school career with 5,551 rushing yards.  On defense, the stud is linebacker Ed Fink.  He registered 149 tackles and eight sacks as a senior. 

   Schedule – This year’s schedule is relatively tougher than last year’s as two of their four nonconference opponents qualified for bowls, including a BCS bowl game.  Three of the team’s nonconference games are in Lawrence, as North Dakota State and Georgia Tech come to Lawrence, before the Jayhawks

>College Previews: Iowa

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>   The final results of the 2009 season were an 11-2 overall record and a second place Big Ten (6-2) finish. The Hawkeyes finished in the Big Ten’s upper division for the eighth time in nine years. The 11 wins equal the most (2002) wins ever by an Iowa team. Iowa finished seventh in the final rankings of both major polls. It was Iowa’s highest season-ending rank since 1960 (third). And, Iowa has now won successive January bowl games after an Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech.

   Offense – Iowa brings back six starters from last year’s squad, including quarterback Ricky Stanzi.  The team averaged 23 points per game, eight more than their opponents.

   Stanzi has passed for 4,373 career yards to rank sixth on Iowa’s all-time list. Last season he was 171-304 for 2,417 yards and 17 touchdowns.  He will have to cut down on his interceptions, however, as he threw 17 in 2009.  Sophomore James Vandenberg (6-3, 212) replaced Stanzi following the ankle injury he suffered in the team’s first loss of the season vs. Northwestern. His performance in the overtime loss at Ohio State and
the season ending win over Minnesota were impressive as he completed 42 of his 87 passes and had two touchdowns.

   The Hawkeyes began 2009 spring practice with sophomores Jewel Hampton and Jeff Brinson the top two contenders for the starting slot. Hampton was injured during the summer and Brinson played sparingly, because of injuries, in three games (one rush for seven yards). The Iowa running back situation was thin the rest of the season with redshirt freshman Adam Robinson, true freshman Brandon Wegher and senior Paki O’Meara left to carry the load. Robinson and Wegher also suffered injuries during the 2009 season that forced each to miss at least one game. But, the result turned in by the two freshmen was impressive. Robinson rushed for 834 yards, scored five touchdowns and had a 4.6 yards per carry average. Wegher rushed for 641 yards and a freshman record eight touchdowns.

   Senior Derrell Johnson-Koulianos was a second team all-Big Ten selection last year. He, along with junior Marvin McNutt, will be Iowa’s number one receivers.  Johnson-Koulianos led the way with 45 catches for 750 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 16.7 yards per catch.  McNutt started five games, caught 34 passes for 674 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season as a wide receiver.  He had previously been a quarterback.  Listed behind McNutt are sophomore Keenan Davis and senior Paul Chaney, Jr. Davis caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman. Chaney was injured and missed the final seven games of the 2009 season. He caught seven passes for 50 yards before the injury.  They will be looking for a replacement at tight end after Tony Moeaki graduated.  He caught 30 balls for 387 yards and four touchdowns last season.

   Defense – As usual, the defense was quite good last year.  They surrendered a mere 15 points per game and had 21 interceptions, fifth-most in the nation.

   The defensive line looks to be the strongest unit on defense, as it brings back all four starters, including All-American candidate defensive end Adrian Clayborn.  He had 70 tackles last year, including 20 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. He also forced four fumbles.  Anchoring the starting end spot on the other side of the line will be junior Broderick Binns. He had 63 tackles in 2009.  Seniors Karl Klug and Christian Ballard are the returning starters at defensive tackle. Ballard has career tackles. Klug had 65 tackles last year, along with 13 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Ballard also had nine tackles for loss.

   Gone from last year’s linebacking unit is first team all-American Pat Angerer (258 career tackles) and all-Big Ten outside linebacker A.J. Edds (226).  Senior Jeremiha Hunter is Iowa’s lone returning starter at linebacker. The all-Big Ten candidate has 25 career starts and started all but the Minnesota game last year. He was Iowa’s second leading tackler in 2009, for the second straight year, with 89 tackles.

   The defensive backfield returns three of four starters in 2010.  The 2009 pass defense was rated first in the Big Ten after allowing only 153 yards a game. That figure ranked fourth in NCAA statistics. The team’s 21 interceptions ranked second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally.  Senior Brett Greenwood returns at the free safety position. A second team all-Big Ten selection, he had 55 tackles and three interceptions last year.  Tyler Sash returns at strong safety. He was named third team 2009 all-American by the Associated Press and first team all-Big Ten. Sash was Iowa’s third leading tackler with 85 tackles. He intercepted a team leading six passes.  One cornerback spot should be anchored by Shaun Prater. He totaled 41 tackles and two interceptions last year.

   Recruiting – The Hawkeyes bring in 21 student-athletes in its 2010 class, including four linebackers.  Only seven of the recruits are on the offensive side of the ball.  Linebacker Christian Kirksey comes in after having a monster senior season.  He finished his senior campaign with a whopping 163 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions.  Defensive back B.J. Lowery comes in after putting up impressive numbers in his senior season as well.  His senior season saw him in on 128.5 tackles and four interceptions.  Jim Poggi comes in as a linebacker after putting up huge numbers as a senior too.  His 2009 season saw him collect 137 tackles, 12 sacks, three fumble recoveries and three interceptions.  C.J. Fiedorowicz comes in trying to replace Moeaki at tight end.  Coincidentally, both are Illinois products.  He had 44 catches for 921 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior. 

   Schedule – The Hawkeyes face seven of their 12 opponents at home in 2010.  The Hawkeyes open with four of their first five games at home. Eight of the 2010 opponents appeared in bowl games last year. Three of the four non-conference games will be played in Iowa City.  They start out with home games against Eastern Illinois and rival Iowa State before traveling to Arizona.  The team then faces Ball State before starting Big Ten play by hosting Penn State.  The PSU game is followed by a bye week and a trip to Michigan.  The last six games of the year including road games at Northwestern, Indiana and Minnesota, while home games are against Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.  So the team’s three biggest conference games (Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State) are all at home.