MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2012
PAGE 8B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Spring game shows defensive improvement
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
At the end of practice, coach Charlie Weis called him out for it, trying to explain to him that they are going after him because he is one of the few players on the team who can make that play.
In one of the Kansas football teams' practices last week, sophomore linebacker Michael Reynolds had three different coaches talk to him about running the play full speed.
points per game in the NCAA Division I last season.
Reynolds, along with fellow linebacker senior Toben Opurum, played a hybrid linebacker/defensive end position normally seen more in a 3-4 defensive scheme than in the Jayhawks' 4-3.
what his role will be in the fall. Because of Jackson's bigger build, he has the ability to play in the traditional halfback position as well as a bulkier fullback.
"I'm very comfortable with it because it gives me the chance to stand up and rush the passer and also play in coverage," Reynolds said.
Wets like playing more versatile players at both positions because it
"He could very easily be at 230 with a couple of cheeseburgers," Weis said. "That's what we were going to have to decide, what weight we want him at, but you can see he has some natural running instincts."
Sophomore running back Tony Pierson noon's Spring Game at Memorial Stad
COMMENTARY
Weis'inf
The zero on the board beneath the white squad's name is an impressive feat, but it must be noted that the
On a day when the University honored one of its football program's most significant figures, former coach Don Fambrough, it embarked on a new era.
An estimated 15,000 Jayhawk fans caught a glimpse of the new Kansas football team under the leadership of new coach Charlie Weis during the spring game Saturday.
New quarterbacks Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps showed off their extraordinary passing ability that Kansas fans haven't seen since Tod
MARCH 29.2012
NEW ORLEANS
Students waiting before the NCAA Final Four Tournament inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Kansas shines bright where Bourbon Street's lights shine brightest
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
NEW ORLEANS — There's no question this is a business week for the Kansas basketball team, but even the Final Four couldn't keep the layahays away from exploring New Orleans and having a bit of fun.
Normally when fun and New Orleans land in the same sentence, that means one thing: Bourbon Street. Shortly after Kansas landed in New Orleans on Wednesday, the Athletics Department let the team learn what the city is all about.
"Last night we went to Bourbon Street," Travis Releford said "We had dinner, they gave us time to walk around, but that was
it. That's probably the most fun we're going to have while we're here until we start playing."
Releford said the experience was a daunting one, and rightfully so. The epicenter of fun in New Orleans begins right on Bourbon Street, where neon signs light the sky for a series of "fun-filled" blocks.
While it may be considered a distraction for the team to get away from their normal routine of hotels, gyms and domes, this was not. This is the first small reward these players can get for all of their hard work.
gives us all of their hard work.
Most college students, including the basketball team, have heard rumors about what Bourbon Street is really like from reputation alone, so instead of wondering, the team got
a small glimpse of the famous street.
They now know the people watching doesn't get any better as a number of different characters call the notorious strip home. They know those people are either stumbling back from a long night out, that there are tourists taking in the scene, or locals just trying to pass through.
They also know just how much attention they're going to be getting for the rest of the year, even outside of the Kansas City and Lawrence area.
"We couldn't walk two or three feet without taking a picture or anything like that." Releford said.
It reinforced the belief that what Kansas is doing this weekend is bigger than just basketball and for more than just themselves.
kerson and for more than just themselves. It was a smart move by the Athletics Department to let the team have a moment of fun. To let the team get that curiosity out of their minds. While there's no doubt that Kansas came to New Orleans focused and ready to play, the trip to Bourbon Street let the team unwind a little before getting down to business.
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"Overall it was fun, Releford said. "It was a fun experience, especially for the guys who have never been to New Orleans or been on Bourbon Street."
"William Faulkner was a Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) Member." What other English Literature courses and assigned novels were written by fraternity men and sorority women authors?
Which KU fraternity man was founding editor of the Book of the Month Club and ran for Kansas Governor on an Anti-Klu Kux Klan Ku Platform?
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