THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2013
PAGE 5B
FOOTBALL
Sendish brings leadership, versatility to team
Junior nickelback Cassius Sendish. right. trains with redshirt freshman safety Tevin Shaw at fall camp on Aug. 16. Sendish transferred to Kansas from Arizona Western Community College.
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
Division I college football coaches are taking a calculated risk when they recruit players from the junior college ranks, as Charlie Weis has for his first two seasons at Kansas.
A player could have serious off-field issues that keep him from playing, or he could bring exactly what a program has been missing. Junior defensive back Cassius Sendish has proven to be a shining example of the latter for Kansas.
"You never know with juco guys," junior quarterback Jake Heaps said. "You hope they come in and are as talented as you think they are. And Cassius is one of those guys that's really been a leader for us and he's been a pleasure to work with. He's always just taking care of business and he's been there for the team."
Sure, Sendish brings leadership to the Jayhawk defense, but his experience and versatility also allow defensive coordinator Dave Campo to use the nickel as the base defense, playing Sendish as the fifth defensive back. Last season, the Jayhawks struggled to run defenses with extra defensive backs, due to a lack of depth at the position.
It's a role that Sendish, a 6-foot, 187-pound native of Walderf, Md., is excited about. He describes the nickelback as a hybrid.
"I'll have to play a linebacker role at times, I'll have to blitz. I'll have to be in coverage." Sendish said. "It's everything. It puts me in position to make a lot of plays."
And it puts Kansas in a position to be more effective against the passing-oriented offenses of the Big 12, which was the reason for the decision to play nickel.
"I think it was a very good decision," Sendish said, "I keeps us up to pace with those high-tempo offenses."
Coach Charlie Weis says the extra defensive back is likely there to stay this season, and if a change is made it would probably be adding
another defensive back rather than taking one away.
Weis is confident in Sendish ability, and will play him wherever the secondary needs him most. Sendish has already been mentioned as one of the star players of fall camp.
"It's pretty obvious when were on the field that one of the guys that stands out both as a leader and performer is Cassius Sendish,"
Weis said.
Kansas tight ends coach Jeff Blasko was in charge of recruiting Sendish out of Arizona Western,
Sendish says he always expected his athleticism to get him into a major university, but instead had to take the long road through two years of junior college before making it to the Division I level.
Though Sendish is honest about making the mistake of letting his
grades slip in high school, he's also quick to note that he was able to turn things around at Arizona Western. He said his grade point average his last two semesters was a 3.8 and a 4.0.
"I had to learn the hard way, but I've obviously learned my lesson," Sendish said.
and Blasko said it didn't take long to notice something different about him.
"We liked the way he plays the game, but the more of a relationship I built with him, the more that positive character started to come out." Blasko said. "It was very early on in the process that we saw there was something special about him from the way he carried himself."
Sendish was one of four players
that Weis brought to Big 12 media days in Dallas this summer to represent Kansas, and Sendish presented himself with maturity and professionalism as he spoke of getting in shape for the season.
"I'm ready to play at this level," Sendish said. "It's just been a dream of mine, so I'm ready to take advantage of it."
Edited by Madison Schultz
TRACK AND FIELD
FROM CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE 1
The University of Kansas women's track and field team now safely led the team standings by 15 points, thanks to Vollmer's win.
"It was one of the most surreal moments," Vollmer said. "I may have blacked out when the announcer said I had won. There was joy and excitement, and everyone was congratulating me. I wish everyone could experience that feeling."
The women were later crowned national champions for the first time in school history.
Coach Stanley Redwine spoke highly of Vollmer and the team's efforts at the championship, which took place June 5 through 8.
"We knew the points that it took
for the team to do well and everyone stepped up," Redwine said. "Lindsay's additional points were exceptional."
At the Indoor Championship in March, Kansas finished second. Leading up to the Outdoor Championships in June, the Jayhawks were ranked first, and they knew it would take a group effort to pull off a win in Oregon.
"More importantly, it was a team effort," Redwine said. "Everyone wanted to do their part."
The championship team included several seniors; a number of them placed in their respective events. This year the team will be without key leaders, such as Andrea Geubelle and Paris Daniels,
who graduated.
Redwine said that the women worked hard to achieve their goal by putting the team first.
Redwine said each one of them would be missed but the underclassmen, including Vollmer and Diamond Dixon, would be ready to step up to the challenge.
Vollmer said the national title was extra incentive following her personal win.
"It was the perfect week for the team," Vollmer said. "I think we surprised some people, and we knew it'd be tough in Oregon.
"There were nothing but smiles on everyone's faces," Volmer added.
Vollmer is open-minded for the next season.
"The sky is the limit."
Edited by Elise Reuter