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MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Spring game shows defensive improvement
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
In one of the Kansas football team's 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.
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.
Reynolds, along with fellow line-backer 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.
"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.
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 backlack.
Weis likes 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 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 Stadi
COMMENTARY
The zero on the board beneath the white squad's name is an impressive feat, but it must be noted that the
KANSAS 69, TEXAS 6b
JANUARY 21, 2012
Weis'infl
Jayhawks escape Texas with victory
On a day when the University honored one o its football program's most significant figures, former coach Don Fambrough, it embarked on a new era.
New quarterbacks Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps showed off their extraordinary passing ability that Kansas fans haven't seen since Tod
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.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
TRAVIS YUUNG/KANSAN Junior guard Travis Reifeld gets fouled during the first half by University of Texas junior guard JC Brown Kansas won against the University of Texas 69-66.
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
AUSTIN, Texas — Down three points with one second left, the Jayhawk killer, Texas junior guard JCovan Brown, hurled a fadeaway three. The shot clanked off the rim, wide left and No. 7 Kansas (16-3, 6-0) escaped with a 69-66 victory.
"He still got a look that scared me," senior guard Tyshawn Taylor said of Brown, who was defended by junior guard Elijah Johnson and sophomore forward Justin Wesley on the final shot. "I thought it was going in when he shot it."
It was Kansas' closest victory of the season, with only the 67-63 victory over Georgetown in the Maui Invitational bearing any resemblance. For a team with aspirations of success in March. Self echoed the importance of games like these.
"Coach was saying how good this was for us in the time-out when we were down four points," Taylor said. "Games like this are always learning experiences. This is how teams get better, having close games and fighting on the road."
One year after his mother's death, and one year after Brown scored 23 points and ended Kansas' 69-game winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse, junior forward Thomas Robinson started slowly, logging just six points and one
rebound in the entire first half.
He said his mother wasn't on his mind when he was out there.
"No disrespect," Robinson said. "But that's something that I have to live with every day. For the media it's the anniversary."
"It's a regular day" Taylor said. "just coming out here and doing work."
Without Robinson's typical production in the early stages of the game, Taylor took charge, slashing to the hoop and knocking down three-point shots. He finished with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and perhaps more important than any other statistic, zero turnovers.
"Maybe it was that guy that said something bad about him on Twitter," Self said of Taylor's three-game streak of more than 20 points scored.
Robinson returned to his more typical, aggressive form in the second half, posting 11 points and eight rebounds. He grabbed four rebounds in the final 4:19 and squeezed a pass through Texas' interior defense to find junior center Jif Withey for a three-point play with 37 seconds left.
After missing his first three attempts, Robinson sunk his fourth shot from the free throw line, setting up Brown's final miss.
"I thought they were more active than us." Self said. "But we put the key ones later."
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TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Junior guard Elijah Johnson tosses the ball down court after fighting for ball possession against University of Texas defense during the first half of the game. Kansas won against the University of Texas 69-66.
"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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