Volume 124 Issue 130
kansan.com
Monday, April 9, 2012
COMMENTARY
Campo's job won't be easy
Dave Campo, Kansas' new defensive coordinator, may have the toughest job in college football.
His task, in a nutshell: Revitalize a defense that was very likely the worst in BCS conferences last season.
Just six starters return, none of whom started regularly before last year. Two of the three best defensive players — seniors Toben Opurum and Bradley McDougald — came to Lawrence for play offense.
In 2011, the Jayhawks gave up more yards per play and yards per game than any other FBS team. Only 1-11 New Mexico gave up more touchdowns.
Kansas was one of seven teams in the country to average less than one sack per game and one of six teams to allow opponents to convert more than 50 percent of third downs.
Finding positives is like finding a winning Mega Millions ticket. Campo has a relatively clean slate, though, and his job is to make this unit acceptable. It won't be easy, but he has the right mindset.
In a press conference Thursday, Campo made it clear that he realizes just how much work his defense needs to do to start being competitive.
But what Campo is really saying is definitely encouraging. He knows he doesn't have a ton of talent, so his players must improve on a daily basis. No starting jobs are guaranteed, so you can bet every player will be gunning on play on Saturdays.
"They weren't very good defensively last year, so to think that we're just going to walk out there and dominate everybody defensively, it's just not going to happen," Campo said, according to KU Athletics. "What we are going to do is make everybody accountable; the guys that we count on are the ones that will play four quarters of football."
Most teams in the Big 12 are looking to fill a couple holes in spring practices, not rebuild an entire unit from the top down.
If Campo can remain zeroed in on his task — making the defense somewhat tolerable and able to keep Kansas in ballgames — the Jayhawk faithful will reap the rewards in a couple of years.
Don't grade Campo on the defense's successes or failures in 2012. Any kind of improvement on last year would be an accomplishment.
Edited by Max Lush
None of what Campo said Thursday is all that encouraging on the surface. No player is a lock to start, which means that there aren't any players with superior talent. Campo talked about players needing to treat spring practices like a trvout.
"A leader can be a lot of things, but usually it's a pretty good football player that everybody has a lot of respect for," Campo said. "At this point, your guys - Toben and Greg Brown - that have played some have more people looking at them, but I don't think anybody feels like they can step up right now because they're fighting for their own lives."
The defense needs a leader or two. Campo said one has yet to emerge.
TRACK AND FIELD EARNS VICTORIES The Jayhawks shine at the Emporia State Relays PAGE 7
BIG 12 WOES
Freshman pitcher Drew Morovick pitches the ball to his opponent during Tuesday evening's game against Creighton at the TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha Neb. The Jayhawks
ASHIFIGH IFF/KANSAN
SWEPT AWAY
lost 3-7
ANDREW JOSEPH
ajoseph@kansan.com
The Kansas baseball team fell victim to a series sweep at Oklahoma State, dropping the final game of a three-game set 4-2 on Sunday.
The loss drops Kansas to a 2-7 record in the Big 12 and 12-19 overall. A strong showing against Oklahoma State would have given Kansas a spot in the top half of the Big 12 standings, but the Jayhawks failed to take advantage of the opportunity in Stillwater after losing the first two games 7-6 and 11-1.
Kansas currently sits last in the Big 12 standings, and the next conference series begins Friday in Lawrence against top-10 ranked Texas A&M.
Junior pitcher Thomas Taylor took the mound on Sunday, but his bid to salvage the series final game got off to a rough start. Taylor allowed two runs in the first on three hits, but he settled in until the sixth and seventh innings. Taylor allowed four runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings. The loss dropped Taylor's record to 3-4 on the season despite the quality start.
Although Kansas never trailed by more than two runs on Sunday, the Jayhawks were unable to draw even as they struggled with the pitch variety Oklahoma State pitcher Vince Wheelan cruised for 6.2 innings.
"They did a really good job of bearing the breaking ball," coach Ritch Price said. "Their pitchers had been really solid all weekend."
The Jayhawks cut the lead to 2-1 with an RBI groundout from senior catcher James Stanfield, and he supplied Kansas with one of two extra-base hit of the game,
coming on a double in the sixth inning. The heavy dosage of off-speed pitches gave the KU hitters trouble all weekend.
"To their credit, they did a good job with their off-speed pitches," Stanfield said. "They were throwing curveballs and sliders for strikes early, and they would throw fastballs on off-speed counts. It was very difficult to pick up on."
Sunday's loss had its share of
controversy as senior third baseman Zac Elgie and Oklahoma State center fielder Jarrett Higgins were both ejected after a scuffle in the seventh inning. Elgie will receive an automatic one-game suspension, but Price said that Elgie was fortunate the incident did not escalate.
"The guy tried to steal third, and I guess he thought Zac was too hard on the tag with the glove." Price said. "Higgins stood up and
shoved Elgie, and Elgie shoved him back. It'll be a one-game suspension for both players, and had they thrown punches, it would have been a four-game suspension."
Oklahoma State was leading 3-2 at the time, and the Cowboys tacked on a run right after the incident to make it the eventual final score of 4-2.
The Jayhawks' focus now shifts to this week as in-state rival
Wichita State comes to Lawrence on Tuesday for a home-and-home. Stanfield said that the team has to put the weekend behind them and come ready to play against a rival.
"We're ready to get back going again," Stanfield said. "Wichita State has always been a rivalry for us, and we should be more comfortable playing at home."
Edited by Nadia Imafidon
SOFTBALL
Freshman's grand slam seals victory
Sophomore indefender Ashley Newman celebrates with her teammates after rounding the bases on Thursday evening's game against the Butler Wildcats. Over the course of the game the Jawhaws sent seven hitters over the home-base plate.
LALEC TILSON
For the second weekend in a row, the Kansas softball team entered the third game of its series looking to avoid a sweep in conference play
atilson@kansan.com
CLAIRE HOWARD/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
This time, unlike last weekend, Kansas rallied.
The Jayhawks (24-12, 3-9)
jumped on the No. 22 Baylor
Bears (26-13, 3-7) for six runs in
the first two innings and won the
third game 6-1 on Saturday.
Freshman infielder Chanin Naudin, who was moved up in the lineup from eighth to fifth after Friday's 3-0 defeat in the series' first game, hit a grand slam in the second inning on Saturday.
"That was huge," coach Megan Smith said. "She battled that at-bat and she just killed the ball. It was a no-doubt."
Her first career grand slam followed a four-hit, two-run first inning and gave Kansas a firm grip on the game.
The early lead provided plenty of breathing room for freshman pitcher Alicia Pille (12-6).
Pillle pitched seven innings, allowed one unearned run and struck out six in her second appearance of the series. Pillle said the run support took pressure off her job in the circle.
"It really sets the tone," Pille said. "It shows that we are here to play and shows everyone we weren't there to get swept."
The Kansas lineup also featured freshman infielder Maddie Stein batting in the third spot for the first time this season. Stein started all three games throughout the weekend after earning her first start of the season last week.
Smith admired the poise and calmness of both Stein and Naudin and expects both freshmen to continue to bat toward the top of the lineup.
"They're both clutch hitters," Smith said. "They're very calm, they come through, and they're really good at working hard and making adjustments."
Saturday's victory came after
Despite pitching well through-
In both games, Baylor scored a lot of runs late in the game that Kansas could not overcome.
a disappointing doubleheader opened the series on Friday. Kansas scored just one run in the two-game set, losing the second game 6-1.
SEE SOFTBALL PAGE 7
FOOTBALL
Junior running back arrested Sunday
University of Kansas Police arrested Kansas running back James Sims on charges of operating a vehicle under the influence at 2:19 a.m. Sunday according to the booking recap.
Sims
An official in the athletics department said they are aware of the stua-
handling it internally as of now.
Sims was arrested on the 1300 block of Jayhawk Boulevard, which is on the University of Kansas campus, near the Kansas Union.
The records show that the $500 bail was posted shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday.
Sims led the Jayhawks in rushing in each of his first two years. His freshman year he ran for 742 yards and scored 10 total touchdowns for the Jayhawks. His sophomore year, Sims started every game for the Jayhawks and ran for 727 yards and nine touchdowns.
-Ethan Padway