SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
The start of the volleyball match between KU and Missouri changes from 7 p.m. to 3 p.m.in the Horeisi Family Athletics Center.The new time allows fans to catch the 6 p.m. football game.
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2007
SHORT, BUT NOT ON SKILLS
PAGE1B
Mangino mines underrated talent
BY ASHER FUSCO
afusco@kansan.com
Jayhawks make bigger schools regret overlooking players
By all accounts, Todd Reesing has turned in a five-star performance this season. The sophomore quarterback has scrawled his name all over the Kansas football record books in 2007 and earned Heisman Trophy hype from national and local media.
It seems odd that such an outstanding player would don a Kansas uniform. Before this season, the Jayhawks had not been nationally relevant in a decade and Kansas athletics had been synonymous with the hardwood rather than the gridiron.
Why did Reesing be a Jayhawk? He was a couple of inches too short.
Big 12 Conference powerhouses such as Texas and Nebraska overlooked the 5-foot-11 quarterback in favor of bigger, more highly-touted players. Texas A&M, the team Reesing and Kansas will face Saturday, at least showed enough interest to call the
ouarterback.
"I think they called me one time — I don't know who it was, one of their coaches or someone — and told me that I wasn't a bigger guy, a faster guy, so I was on their 'B-list of quarterbacks'," Reesing said. "I think that ended that recruited pretty fast.
"It's one thing if you don't want to recruit me, but to say that I'm on your 'B-list' is kind of a slap in the face. I didn't take it personal — I wasn't an Aggie fan growing up anyway."
At the time, Texas A&M seemed settled on their young quarterback, Stephen McGee, who the team recruited and brought in one year earlier. McGee, listed four inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than Reesing, was rated a four-star (out of five) recruit by Rivals.com. Since taking over as Texas A&M's starting quarterback last season,
the fourth-ranked quarterback in the high school class of 2004 has been inconsistent at best. MeeGee is ranked 11th in the Big 12 in passing efficiency this season, is only averaging 142 passing yards per ing and has led a middle-of-the-pack offense to a 6-2 record.
Reeing, labeled as a three-star performer by Rivals.com, has helped engineer one of the most phenomenal runs in Kansas football history. The Javahawks are 7-0 and ranked ninth in the BCS standings on the strength of Reeing's arm
from Rivals.com. One of those cornerbacks, junior Aigal Tobil, could be selected in the NFL Draft as soon as next April. The other, true freshman Chris Harris, could earn
"I never understood why I wasn't looked at by anybody like Oklahoma. I think it was because I didn't have that prototype body."
- fourth in the Big 12 in passing efficiency
- and improvisational skills (215 rushing yards).
CHRIS HARRIS Freshman cornerback
Kansas coach Mark Mangino looked past the measurables when he plucked Reesing from Lake Travis High School. When Reesing visited Kansas, Mangino saw a short but scrappy quarterback with game-changing potential.
"When he came here he had an engaging personality," Mangino said. "You could tell he was really talented and he knew what he wanted."
"I never understood why I wasn't looked at by anybody like Oklahoma"
Reesing's intangibles — his leadership ability, football aptitude and knack for escaping the pocket — may not have manifested themselves during Texas A&M's quick phone call three years ago, but the Aggies could catch a glimpse of what they passed up this weekend.
DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH
freshman All-America recognition at the end of this season. The 6-foot, 180-pound Harris only received offers from Tula, Iowa State and Kansas after high school because schools such as Arkansas and Oklahoma considered him too short to make an impact.
Reeing's story is not uncommon among Kansas players. Of the team's 22 offensive and defensive starters, only nine earned three
stars as recruits and none qualified as four or five-star players. In fact, Kansas' leading receiver, Marcus Henry, garnered only one star coming out of high school in Lawton, Okla.
as major contributors who were passed over because of supposed physical deficiencies. Sharp was deemed too short and Holt dubbed too lanky as high school seniors, but each has stepped into a starting role for the undefeated Jayhawks. Talent level and measurables influence the way Kansas recruits, but character is of the utmost importance, Mangino said.
"If you just recruit talented kids and you don't look at the intangibles, those kids aren't always the guys that help you win and they aren't always the best team chemistry guys," Mangino said. "I think we've been successful for the most part in the last few years here recruiting kids that some have great talent and some who are overachievers or hardworking kids that have those intangibles."
Harris said. "I think it was because I didn't have that prototype body"
Kansas' starting cornerbacks, who anchor the 10th-ranked pass defense in the nation, each earned two stars
Prototype body or not, Harris has made quite a splash as the Jayhawks' freshman star, joining junior linebacker James Holt and sophomore running back Jake Sharp
Whatever recruiting tactics Mangino has relied upon since arriving at Kansas in 2002 have worked wonders. The coach has elevated Kansas football from the bottom of the Big 12 standings to the top 10 in the BCS rankings with players who are out to prove talent evaluators and opposing coaches wrong each week.
— Edited by Luke Morris
All-American cross country team members Colby Wissel and Paul Heffernan have one year remaining with the men's cross country team. They both plan to return next year as graduate assistants.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
CROSS COUNTRY
Four legs are better than two Successful duo remains humble despite multiple honors
BY TYLER PASSMORE
tpassmore@kansan.com
As the end of the season approaches, Kansas' tandem of All-Americans Paul Hefferon and Colby Wissel are making a sprint toward the finish of their careers. With high expectations and the pressure of finishing vigorous careers, the duo continues to remain down-to-earth and team-oriented.
"I don't really have any individual goals, all of my goals are to put forth my best effort in preparation and in the actual meet to help the team." Wissel said. "I just want to give everything I have and have no regrets when I am done."
most likely be the starting line of the NCAA nationals for the last time. This has been an important race in both of their careers.
While the two have received numerous accolades, the pair retains the same persona as the first day they stepped on campus. While remaining selfless, they both have an upcoming date on the calendar circled. On Nov. 19th in Terre Haute, Ind., they will
"I would say Nationalists last year has been the best race in my career," Heferon said. "With the weather conditions, it was very adverse. It was cold and muddy all the time."
way through and it was the most mentally challenging race I have ever had to run."
"Colby is the most complete and well-rounded athlete I have ever run with. He doesn't have off days or off meets."
Whenever a team is graced with an All- American it celebrates, but when you have two at the reins; titles are won. Whenever
"When you start first recruiting a kid as a Senior in high school, you really end up spending 5 years with a kid and see them change for the better or the worse," Clark said. "I could not be happier with these two kids and all the things they have done. They have been doing things in their four year
Besides the growth they have made as people and students, Clark is also fond of them as runners. Upon reflection, a key to measuring success is comparing a per-
something comes to an end, a reflection period starts. Although three races remain, assistant coach Doug Clark commented on the All-Americans.
that have not happened in Kansas Cross Country history"
PAUL HEFFERON Cross country
COLBY WISSEL Cross country
"I have one more year of Track and Field left and I graduate next December," Wissel said. "Paul and I are going to be
"Paul is a very hard worker and is someone that is very good to have on your team."
Midwest Regional Championships and the NCAA Championships, the two can look to the future with the last four years of success on their shoulders.
son with peers in their field.
While the immediate future holds the toughest test of the year with the Big 12 Championships.
"Besides my opinion, I think their records speak for themselves," Clark said. "They are both All-Americans and that has only happened here once since the '50s."
graduate assistants next year and that will give us the ability to still train and coach. I would like to continue running and running is something that I am going to continue to do in the future."
While the two will coach together next year, this year they are teammates. As teammates, both respond in the same
way when posed the question, "Who is the best person they have ever ran with?"
"Colby is the most complete and well-rounded athlete I have ever run with," Heferon said. "He doesn't have off days or off meets and he would be a dream to coach with. He is a dream to train with and you don't have to worry about those inconsistencies with him."
Wissel said, "Most of my memories are just on the practice field during everyday runs. Paul is a very hard worker and is someone that is very good to have on your team. Benson and him are the best two people I have ran with and Paul has always been great to train with."
Although Wissel is the returning Big 12 Champion, Wissel and Hefferon's careers as Jayhawks are not quite over. They will take their first step at putting an exclamation mark on their careers when they compete at 10 on Friday morning in Lubbock, Texas.
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Edited by Amelia Freidline
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