Volume 126 Issue 16
kansan.com
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
COMMENTARY Weis' chart changes are no surprise
1 this was inevitable.
It could be called an unintended consequence of sorts, or just a time to make changes, but either way Charlie Weis is shuffling his deck in hopes of giving Kansas football a better hand.
The majority of those changes, five to be exact, come on the offensive side of the ball, where the Jayhawks have struggled mightily in their first two games. While it's a small sample size, Kansas' scoring offense is currently ranked No. 91 in the country with 22.5 points per game.
On Tuesday, Weis announced four changes to his starting lineup for Saturday's game against Louisiana Tech and two additional changes with his second string players.
So Weis made some changes, starting with the team's problem position: wide receiver. Junior Rodriguez Coleman will start over Justin McCay, the heralded transfer from Oklahoma. On the opposite side, sophomore Tre' Parmalee, a shorter receiver, will start over Josh Ford, who transferred from junior college last season.
This was inevitable. It could be called an
This is what happens when a team full of junior college players and transfers come together over a spring, summer and fall to compete against groups who have played together for years.
This isn't Weis hitting the panic button in any sense. This is a coach who inherited a new car with trendy feature. He's still figuring out what buttons can actually make his driving experience, or the team, better.
When you have a high number of junior college players and transfers filling your lineup to start the year, changes like these are bound to happen. A guy like McCay, who appears to carry a load of potential, may not be ready to play at a high level yet. Or simply, that day may never come.
These are the risks one takes when recruiting junior college players. Sometimes it works well, like with safeties Isaiah Johnson and Cassius Sendish, and sometimes it doesn't.
For now, he's just trying to figure out who will give the lahawks their best chance to win. There will be more depth chart changes as the season goes on and the coaching staff further familiarizes itself with their personnel.
Weis' adjustments for week three reflect this ongoing transition period. What happens during training camp cannot match the intensity when the stands fill and the lights flick on for a fall Saturday. Some players, and apparently the Jayhawks' old receivers, don't respond well to the added pressure.
Until then, some patience is key. It's not worth getting worked up over... yet.
There's no way Weis could've known that to be true. Of the six depth chart changes, five involve a junior college player. The result for Weis and his crew for two weeks hasn't been aesthetically pleasing, and Weis knows that.
— Edited by Emma McElhaney
MAKING CHANGES
FOOTBALL FACELIFT
Weis updates player positions seeking victory against Louisiana Tech on Saturday
4
ADJUSTMENTS
Weis divides recruit class into players and redshirts
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
The plan was never to play all 19 of the junior college players that transferred to Kansas in the offseason.
The Jayhawks led the nation in junior college recruits this season, and those players were expected to infuse the program with talented players to fill the holes on the roster. But rather than adding so many new players this season, the coaching staff intends to stagger the junior college class between this season and next with redshirts.
"One of the things as a coaching staff that we wanted to do was try to hold a third of them and play two-thirds of them," Weis said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Those rankings, along with the media hype and fan excitement surrounding Combs, meant nothing to Weis and his coaching staff when they made the decision of who to play and who to redshirt.
One of the players that will sit out this season will be defensive lineman Maruel Combs, who was the top-ranked junior college recruit by ESPN.
Combs is not the only key name that was decided to have more value for the team after a season off the field. Andrew Bolton, another defensive lineman, was expected to help bring a stronger pass rush for the Jayhawks as well, but he will also likely redshirt this season.
"Everyone was more enamored with the names, and we're more enamored with what's best for the program." Weis said.
"We think Combs and Bolton have huge upside," Weis said.
"We're going to do our best for neither one of those guys to see the field this year."
"Their rationale was that because Kevin has a redshirt year available, it would be best spent solidifying his academics," Weis explained. "He will still have two years of eligibility remaining after this season."
Cornerback Kevin Short is already playing with the Kansas scout team in practice and will not be able to play this season because of an academic ruling by the NCAA.
That leaves 13 junior college players that will play this season. All of them are listed in the top two at their position on the depth chart, and seven of them are listed as first string.
Of course, there's always the chance of Weis being forced to play one of the two due to an injury or lack of production on the defensive line, but so far that hasn't been an issue. After two games, the layhawks have six sacks, compared to the 10 sacks all of last season.
Weis made a statement through a press release last week that said he was disappointed with the NCAA's decision.
MICHAEL STRICKLAND/KANSAN
"I wasn't counting on that situation with Kevin, obviously, but we were hoping to sit at least one of them." Weis said.
Players like Combs, Bolton and Short will be there if needed, but Weis would rather save them for a year if he can.
"Those guys are all waiting in the wings," Weis said. "That bodes well for the future of our program."
Edited by Emma McElhaney
LINEUP
Jake Heaps points to a receiver in the game against Rice last weekend. The Jayhawks hope to reduce the number of drops in the upcoming game against Louisiana Tech.
CONNOR OBERKROM
coberkrom@kansan.com
Coach Charlie Weis released a depth chart during his weekly presser on Tuesday that featured some new names in starting positions on offense in hopes that it may spark a stale offense who have dropped a total of nine passes, including Jimmy Mundine who dropped two in the Rice game including a possible TD. This, in turn, led to Weis playing Trent Smiley over Mundine in the number one tight end slot.
When you have the 116th total offense in the country after only two games, exploring alternatives certainly couldn't hurt.
When a reporter asked the reason for this, Weis conjured up a simple reason.
Trent Smiley, who has seen some snaps in the last two years with the Jayhawks, offers a different style of tight end and is a little more physical than Mundine.
"Did you watch the game? Is this a rhetorical question?" Weis said. "Right now we have to see if we can get any better there [in the tight end position]."
"You only have two choices, guys get better or you tweak and make a get move of moves." Weis said.
The offensive line saw a little change when Riley Spencer, a senior who missed 11 games last year after a knee injury, now replaces Zack Fondal at the right tackle spot.
CHARLIE WEIS
Football coach
"We weren't pleased with our
"You only have two choices,guys get better or you tweak and make a couple of moves."
Jake Heaps will start the game Saturday against Louisiana Tech
offensive line play in the last game ... coming off these knees he's been slow coming along, healthy, but slow ... he's gotten better and better" Weis said. "Riley is a big man and I think one of the things he will bring a little more physicality."
— two top wide receivers with Tre' Parmalee and Rodriguez Coleman
— replacing Josh Ford and Justin McCay as the drops continue to be a lingering problem and the physicality is not quite at the content stage.
With some receiving changes going on, Weis said that Brandon Bourbon and Tony Pierson, who both sit at the flanker position, will see an expanded role in Saturday's game as they look to connect more through the air.
Piterson has accounted for 177 of the Jayhawks 660 total yards so far this season and is currently the leading receiver for the Jayhawks.
Louisiana Tech's forceful defense tops the country in tackles for a loss with 29 and top five in sacks, having already amassed nine in just two games thus far. With league play on the horizon, another defensive test will be there, as a shakeup on offense looks to prompt them to be a little more potent.
"You can't win games when you're scoring 14 points. That just isn't going to be good enough," Weis said.
Edited by Chas Strobel
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