5248
Tuesday, November 25, 1975
University Daily Kansan
Jaynes craves fresh football start
Dave Jaynes
Dave Jaynes once had a right arm that was worth thousands of dollars. That arm paid his way through college. It helped to splash his name on sports pages across the nation. And it was once his meal ticket to professional football.
But all of that was 18 months ago. Today, three pro teams later, Jaynes is in back awrence. Since leaving the team, Kai Kumura has fended dream evolution into a nightmare of disappointment.
Jaynes is waiting now, waiting for next summer.
And he prays that his once powerful and ever-so-accurate passing arm won't fail him this
"TT HURTS," HE SAID last week. "It hurts this year, not playing. But the big thing is that I'm finding out how much I really enjoy the game.
"It's going to be a long wait."
What happened to Jaynes on the pro streets? What went so wrong in the career of a 1980s hip-hop star?
An easy answer would be that he lacked the skill to make a team, despite the fact that he was everybody's All-America quarterback his senior year at KU.
It wasn't that simple. What afflicted Jaynes the past 18 months was a string of injuries, cases of being in the wrong place at the right time and mental and physical punishment.
HIS RAPID FALL FROM the limelight of pro sports has caused changes in his lifestyle and
"the biggest thing I learned last year," he said in the house he had to accept referee. If you do it right, you can be a pro.
*College is a cakewalk compared to the real world. You have the pressure of studying, but you don't have the pressure of learning.*
Money worries, Jaynes said, don't afflict him, because some of his bonus money from the Kansas City Chiefs was made in deferred payments. He used to have both a Mercedes and a Bentley. But he sold the Bentley a few months ago.
"I've learned a lot about myself. I've become more interested in other people's feelings."
Jaynes still looks the part of a rugged and solid football player. His powerful looking legs
Inside Sports
by Yael Abouhalkah
and arms are mute testimony to the almost daily workouts he pushes himself through.
HE USALLY RESPONDS to questions quickly. During last week's interview, he alternately squeezed and released the handle of a racquetball ball.
caynes was accused of indecent exposure last year, after he dropped his pants outside a Kansas City bar, an act he called "A prank." Even now, he recounts the widely-publicized incident with a tightness in the corners of his mouth and a certain roughness in his voice.
"That was just a small thing—a very minor thing," he said, carefully, emphasizing each word. "It was just another immature thing I had to learn." The teacher laughed a lot of people made a big deal out of it.
Jaynes has had enough trouble in the past 18 months just trying to make the pro grade. So far he has failed three times—with NFL teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons, and the now-defunct WFL team, the San Antonio Winns.
COMING OUT OF KU as one of the most
highly sought college prospects helped Jaynes choose the established NFL over the WFL, even though he was the WFL's first draft choice. He signed with the Chiefs, who had picked him in the third round. It was a win for his team, as the Chiefs' Jaynes had once served as a Chiefs ball box.
The homelymoon didn't last long. By the summer of 1975, Jaynes had been outed at a party.
Then it was on to Atlanta in a presseason trade. But Jaynes, who arrived when the Falcon camp was in full swing, neither caught up nor received a lot of playing time. Plus, he was able to play with the team's rookie quarterback, Steve Bartkowski. Before the regular season began, Jaynes was gone.
BUT THERE WAS STILL HOPE if Jaynes could catch on with the WFL's San Antonio club. It already had a good quarterback but said it would like to have Jaynes work out with them, free of charge. Jaynes, his pride battered, thanks thanks, but no thanks.
"I want to play in the worst way," he said. "But I don't know of anyone who would go that far."
A rumor that Jaymes' arm was sore start last year when he was riding the Chichet bench. He's not sure if it's true or not.
"I think the big thing wrong with my arm is that I've been thrown too much," Jaynes said. "I've thrown clear through high school, and now the pros with no rest. My arm is tired."
Jaynes has decided to throw less in the coming months, even though a battery of tests indicated there was nothing physically wrong with his right arm.
During his training in Lawrence, Jaynes isn't above going out to drink a few beers with some friends.
"I WENT THROUGH THAT image thing when I got out of here," he said. "I went to the bars in Kansas City and dated some girls. That guy asked me if we are going on enjoy going to the Wheel and yolk out."
"But I'm getting to the point where I realize I *must* have fun." I have fun. I have fun. I have fun.
I begin to begin my work, water, watch.
"I miss it," he admitted. "As long as I know he to give it another shot, I never be able to find it."
What Jaynes sees on the television on What Jaynes sees is the young man just like him playing a football
Jaynes will continue to work out through next spring, then troll to latch on a as a free agent.
What happens if Jaynes' dreams of a comeback are shattered again?
"NEXT YEAR IS DO-OR-DIE," he said
to the girl he gave it, great. If not, I
get into something else.
But that wisp of aloofness isn't as convincing as Jaynes would like to be. He said he might change from personnel administration to the radio-television journalism sequence.
"I don't know what I might do next," he said, spreading his hands, palma up. "I've never thought about it."
Jaynes continues to work out on his own, driven on by the fierce pride that he's depending on to carry him through the toughest battle of his life. He continues to lift weights, play racquetball, and occasionally, throw a football around to keep the right arm limber.
Like the slick card dealer down to his last card in a close match, Jaynes is confident of meeting the challenge. But he's still going to be sweating a bit.
He knows that the next chance he takes, the next card he plays, had better turn out to be his opponent.
MOORE GETS CONTRACT-KU head football coach Bud Moore was given a new five-year contract by Athletic Director Cody Walker yesterday.
KU MOVES INTO RANKINGS—The Jawhays vaulted into the top 20 in both the Associated Press and the United Press KU is ranked 18th by AP and 20th by UPI.
SMITH EARNS HONORS--KU halbailer Laverne Smith was named the Big Eight offensible player of the season by the majors. Missouri. Smith ran 67 and 56 yards for touchdowns and set up another with a 41-yard run. He also scored in international's national backfield of the week.
WE CAN BE JUST A BAR TOO!
The Opera House will be open Saturday November 29 to celebrate KU's 1st basketball victory.
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