Volume 126 Issue 28
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
COMMENTARY Support grows for players' rights
kansan.com
Charlie Weis can plead ignorance, but the All Players United movement is alive inside his locker room.
On Saturday, Kansas team captain and defensive lineman Keon Stowers had the letters "APU" written on his equipment. Good for Stowers, he's standing up for what he believes in.
At the same time, the APU movement is a very small, seemingly unorganized step for college football players and athletes trying to protect their own rights. It's still a step, notetheless.
At the moment, it's a small ripple in the tide to change college athletics. Football players around the country have put the letters on their gear during games. If you blink, you might miss it. If you look closely, the message is there.
Some players want change. They want protection. And they feel they're being used. It's an ongoing debate and hot topic that stayed away from Lawrence until Saturday, Kansas captain Keon Stowers, along with Austin Barone, a redshirt freshman kicker, both wore the letters: APU.
After the game, Weis was asked about APU, and he said he didn't know what it was. On Tuesday, once again, an APU question was asked. Weis once again said he doesn't know what it is and that he hasn't seen any evidence of his players taking part in it.
"I'd have to know what it is, who's doing it, for me to even make a comment," Weis said. "I'd have to call ignorance on that one, because I really don't know"
Stowers spoke openly to the Kansan about his participation in the movement and Barone tweeted a picture with the three letters written on his arm tape. The evidence is most certainly there.
The National College Players Association is the facilitator of the movement. The NCPA is a nonprofit advocacy group for college athletes. On its website, ncpanow.org, 11 goals are listed along with its mission: "To provide the means for college athletes to voice their concerns and change NCAA rules."
The goals listed, including minimizing brain trauma risks and a higher scholarship amount, cover a wide range of topics — and that's part of the problem. The APU movement needs a specific goal and plan to rally around.
Most importantly, it needs a polarizing figure at its center to help spread its message. A group of irritated college students writing letters on their wrists won't accomplish anything. A group with a leader, a prominent figure in college football, will be able to get its message across much more efficiently. Could a guy like Johnny Football be that figure? Possibly. But a more stable, levelheaded figure could do wonders for a movement with good intentions.
For now, the movement has spread, even to Lawrence, and that's a start.
- Edited by Chas Strobel
Weis rearranges players after loss to Texas Tech
DEPTH CHART
Charlie Weis responds to the loss against Texas Tech on Saturday by rearranging player positions and evaluating the depth chart for future improvements
IMAX GOODWIN
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
After Saturday's 54-16 loss to Texas Tech, Charlie Weis decided he needed to change his depth chart once again, along with his schemes, in order to simplify things on the field for his players.
"We have an obligation as coaches, especially me, to explore every alternative we can to make things better," Weis said.
Weis said he watched the loss to Texas Tech early Sunday morning and at night as he sat in his office.
"Unlike you guys, when you go to bed at night," Weis said in his weekly press conference, "I'm sitting in the office trying to figure out how am I going to fix these problems."
Just as he romised Monday in
his teleconference with the Big 12 media, Weis made considerable changes to the offensive depth chart. In his career of more than two decades, between the college and professional level, Weis has never made this many changes to a depth chart so early in a season.
"This is a large volume of changes." Weis said. "But really, we only have so many alternatives."
Center is the position that Weis said the team has been "held hostage" by.
There were obvious problems with the center-quarterback exchanges in the spring, so Weis moved left tackle Pat Lewandowski to center. Aslam Sterling was moved from right tackle to left
tackle.
Lewandowski had no experience snapping the ball before he began training as the center in the
"We have an obligation as coaches, especially me, to explore every alternative."
CHARLIE WEIS
Coach
"Intelligence is not the issue," Weis said. "The issue is as soon
offseason. Before long, Dylan Admire was given the position again. Admire struggled to cleanly snap the ball to the quarterback and handle blocking duties.
as you snap the ball, you've got a guy, 300-plus pounds, ready to hit you in the mouth. That's the issue. No other position do you have to do that, there's only one, center." Gavin Howard was announced as the new starting center Tuesday. Lewandowski is back at left tackle and Sterling is over on the right side again.
Weis called the running game a disappointment, but said it wasn't
simply the fault of the linemen.
The issues on the offensive line are part of the reason that the jayhawks have not had a solid foundation in the running game — something Weis expected going into the season.
"We're at the point now, we're not just going to start throwing names in a hat and pick out five and that's where we go." Weis said.
James Sims has not had the type of senior season that was anticipated, Against Texas Tech. Sims ran for nine carries and just 28 yards — the fewest in a game since his freshman year.
Weis said that with eight games left on the schedule, he thinks Sims has a lot of time left to grow with the offensive unit around him, but first that line has to solidify.
"I think James is going to have plenty of time to grow along with this group and see if we can't get things improved," Weis said. "If we don't, it's not going to be pretty around here."
Edited by Chas Strobel
BASKETBALL
Highly lauded recruit Oubre to don a Jayhawk jersey
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
Andrew Wiggins has yet to play a regulation game for the Kansas Jayhawks, but Bill Self has already completed the search for his replacement.
Five-star ranked shooting guard Kelly Oubre of Findlay Prep committed to the Jayhawks just days after visiting Lawrence for Late Night in the Phog. Oubre announced his decision on Twitter following reports that he had cancelled his visit to Kentucky.
ESPN's national college basketball reporter, Jason King, said should Wiggins make his likely leap to the NBA at the conclusion of this season. Oubre will be his successor.
Rivals.com lists Oubre as the 12th best player in the class of 2014. The 6-foot-5-inch, 200-pound wing chose Kansas over offers from Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Louisville, Oklahoma State, Texas and Kentucky.
"We know Wiggins is going to be gone," King said. "It sounds like [Self] went out and got the best player he could get."
Oubre is the first commit Self
has received for 2014. His early decision to join the Jayhawks can pay even greater dividends with Kansas still in play for other top ten recruits such as Myles Turner, Tyus Jones, Cliff Alexander and Jahil Okafer.
"Oubre committing to Kansas is just going to make other guys more interested." King said. "Hopefully he has an influence on these other guys. He may be able to swing a couple other recruits who may be on the fence."
King says the biggest factor in Outre's decision is Andrew Wiggins' presence within the program. For a period of time Self was known as a great recruiter, but lacked the status of coaching one-and-done guys like John Calipari at Kentucky.
The idea of Wiggins draped in crimson and blue for at least the next few months seems to be rapidly changing that perception.
"For so long, Self had a reputation for being a guy that wasn't great with one-and-done players," King said. "Kentucky was kind of the school for that. With Wiggins signing with Kansas we may only get to see him for one year, but the benefits of him being in this
him being in this
When Kansas lost assistant coaches Danny Manning and Joe Dooley, Self chose to replace them with highly touted recruiters Norm Roberts and Jerrance Howard.
program are going to be felt for a long time."
"They're probably two of the top five in the nation," King said of Roberts and Howard. "You don't want to say anything negative about the recruiting of Joe Dooley or Danny Manning because they won a national title but I certainly think you're seeing Kansas win a few more of the Kentucky battles than we've seen in recent years."
the other part of the equation is a little more subtle.
With the top players remaining in the 2014 class, King says it's vital for Self to go after high-level point guard Tus Jones.
Kansas hasn't had great stability at the point position since the graduation of Sherron Collins in 2010.
"If they were able to go out and get Tyus Jones," King said. "That'd certainly be the cherry on top."
— Edited by Emma McElhaney
Top 12 Players in the class of 2014 (According to Rivals.com)
1) Jahill Okafer, Center.
considering Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, Baylor, Illinois
2) Emmanuel Mudiay, Guard committed to SMH
3) Stanley Johnson, Forward:
considering Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Duke, Arizona
Volux
4) Cliff Alexander, Forward:
considering Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville
5) Tyus Jones, Guard:
considering Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, Baylor, Minnesota
6) Mylys Turner, Center.
considering Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Duke, Ohio St.
7) Rashafo Vaughn, Guard,
considering Kansas, North Carolina, Arizona, Baylor, Iowa St.
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8) Trey Lyles, Forward:
considering Kentucky, Louisville
9) Justice Winslow, Foward,
considering Kansas, UCLA, Duke, Florida, Texas A&M
10) Justin Jackson, Forward: committed to North Carolina
(11) Karl Towns, Center: committed to Kentucky
12) Kelly Oubre, Guard; committed to Kansas
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