SPORTS
August 22,1984
The University Daily KANSAN
Football ranks thinner this season
Gottfried is surprised by team losses
By GREG DAMMAN Sports Editor
Throughout fall practice, Kansas football coach Mike Gottfred has had much to say about his 184 Jayahawk football team, on subjects ranging from the talents of certain players to the opponents his team will face this year.
But one subject has been mentioned more than all the others:
- "The thing that concerns me most about this team is a lack of depth." *
- "We've lost three receivers in the last week without even practicing."
- "This is the thinnest I've ever been. I can't ever remember being this thin with a football team."
- "You usually hear coaches say they can't afford any injuries. Well, this year we can't afford an injury."
GOTTTERIED KNEW DURING spring practice that his 1984 Jayhawk team would not have a lot of depth, but some late/developing problems this fall have left this year's team — definitely a rebuilding team — with even fewer players.
The first blow came when four players — wide receiver Sandy MeeG, defensive guard Marcus Bond, linebacker Len Gant and cornerback Kevin Pointer — were declared academically ineligible for 1984.
McGee, who caught 20 passes last season, and Pointer were listed No. 1 on the depth chart and were expected to be starters. Bond was expected to see considerable playing time.
the second blow occurred when No 2 split end Steve Cole decided not to come out for football in order to concentrate on studies.
See PREVIEW, p. 2, col. 1
THE REDSHIRT
Sylvester Byrd, faced with playing his senior season during Kansas's final year of football probation, has decided to redshirt the 1984 football season. Byrd, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound tight end, was listed No. 1 at tight end on the Kansas fall depth chart and was the only letterman at the position.
Because of Byrd's decision, Kansas coach Mike Gottfried has indicated that the Jayhawks might play without a tight end at times this season.
THE VETERAN
Bennie Simecka, a three-year letterman at center, is the veteran of the Kansas offensive line this season, and the only lineman from Kansas' 1983 team. A fifth-year senior, he will be counted on to lead the offensive line, and is a co-captain of this year's team.
co-captain of this year's team. Simecka has expressed confidence in this year's offensive line, and said that he expects it to be just as good as last year's line, from which four players were drafted by pro teams.
THE NEWCOMER
Mike Norseth, a transfer from Snow Junior College in Ephraim, Utah, is battling for the starting quarterback position on the Kansas football team this fall.
Last season, he passed for 3,010 yards; he had 4,030 passing yards in his two years at Snow. ...
11 Norsewiths win the quarterback job, he will attempt to fill the shoes of departed quarterback Frank Seurer, and will have the reins of Kansas' pass-minded offense.
By PHIL ELLENBECKER Associate Sports Editor
After last year's KU football season, the tight-end position seemed to be in good hands for this season. The top three players at that position in 1983 remained eligible for the 1984 season.
season.
But the Jayhawks may take the field this year without an experienced tight end, perhaps without anyone at the position, and because of that, they may have to make some adjustments in their offense.
Shortage of tight ends may reshuffle offense
adjustments in the course of his college. Sylvester Byrd, last year's starting tight end, says he has chosen to be redshirted this season because of the National Collegiate Athletic Association probation. Ernie Wright, last year's back-up tight end, has a history of injury problems and has chosen to pass up his final year of eligibility.
pass up his nub year after
And Jeff Anderson, last year's third-string
tight end, was moved this spring to defensive
tackle, where he earned a starting position.
ku head coach Mike Gottfried said, "We may not play with a tight end. We'll have four wide receivers. We'll see how Mark Parkes does first. We'll take a good look at him."
does first. We it 6 foot-5, 225-pound redshirt Parks, a 6 foot-5, 225-pound redshirt freshman from Hiawatha, is listed No.1 on the depth chart now. Brad Wedel, a 6-5, 195-pound freshman from Canton, Kan., is No.2.
Gottfried has ruled out moving Anderson back to tight end from the defensive line. "He's too valuable over there," he said.
the team reported this morning.
Byrd said, "Nothing's final, but the way things are right now I've expressed the desire to redshirt."
He's too calm. Byrd, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior, told the KU coaching staff this spring that he was interested in being redshirted, but no official announcement was made on his status until the team reported this fall.
"At first they (the coaches) were hesitant to let me redshirt, he said, "but they told me
the decision was mine and I would have to live with it."
Gottried said, "If you have somebody who really wants to redshift, then there's no sense in playing them if they don't want to play. He's going to sit it out and practice and get a year closer to his degree."
Gottfried has said he hoped that Byrd would change his mind.
"We've still got a couple of weeks left before we play our first game," he said.
Hyrd said the main reason he wanted redshirt was KU's NCAA probation, which prohibits the Jayhawks from appearing on television or playing in bowl games this season. Those sanctions will be lifted next season.
Parks, who was named by the coaching staff along with tackle Jim Davis as one of the most improved offensive lineman on the KU team this spring, said Byrd's decision hadn't changed his situation that much because he knew all summer that Byrd was considering redshirting.
"It puts more pressure on me, but I prepared the same way," he said. "Even if Sly wouldn't have redshirted I would have gotten some playing time. I feel very fortunate. I would have had a tough time beating out Sly because Sly's a great one. I'm real excited."
Parks said the possibility of using an offense with four wide receivers and one back did not concern him.
"You can't eliminate the tight end altogether, but we will be using more four-receiver sets," he said.
tom RECEIVE a four-wide receiver set, FKU goes to a four-wide receiver set, Gottfried said, the team's running game could be affected, possibly making the Jayhawks more passing-orientated than they are now.
"You'll lose that double-team block (on a defensive lineman) without the tight end," he said.
NU to win Big 8 title again; KU to struggle
Sports Editor
By GREG DAMMAN
Since the "Red Dawn" in the 1960s — better known as the emergence of Go Big Red and Boomer Sooner — predicting the final Big Eight Conference football standings has involved a yearly coin flip to decide whether Nebraska or Oklahoma would take the crown.
CROWN.
But in 1984, the "Red Dawn" might take a step toward high noon, as the gap between the traditional league-leading Cornhuskers and Sooners is set to be narrowed by strong teams at Missouri and Oklahoma State.
Unfortunately, the other four conference teams, Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas State and, yes, Kansas, are not showing signs of a first division finish in the near future.
first division.
To put the situation in simple terms, the Big Eight has four evenly matched teams fighting for the top spot, and four evenly matched teams battling for the fifth spot. Or should I say eighth spot?
That's reasonably better than in recent years, when Nebraska and Oklahoma usually found themselves alone at the top with two or three games remaining in the conference schedule. Nevertheless, it's a far cry from the Big Eight of the mid-70s, when at times five conference teams could be found in the nation's top 20.
nation's top 20.
An easy way to predict the finish of the conference would be to call a four-way tie for first and a four-way tie for second. But wimps are satisfied with ties. Just ask UM coach Tom Osborne, who after last year's Orange Bowl has probably spent many sleepless nights thinking about ties.
sleepiness might then be My scientific method of predicting the Big Eight football finish can't be disclosed, but I assure you it has nothing to do with high tides or the position of the stars on the eve of the conference openers:
NO.1-NEBRASKA
Sure Nebraska lost 1983 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier, the TGIF combination of Turner Gill to Irving Fryar, fullback Mark Schellen, Outland Trophy winner Dean Steinkuhl and most of its offensive line. But the Cornhuskers have THE top football program in the country, and will simply pop a few more players out of the mold and plug them into the machine.
The Big Red Machine rolls on.
them into the basement.
Wichita Southeast product Jeff Smith is set to step into Rozier's shoes, after playing backup last year. He averaged 5.6 yards a carry and scored two touchdowns in the Orange Bowl last year.
Gill's replacement, Craig Sundberg, has thrown only 14 passes at NU and doesn't have Gill's mobility, but he is an adequate replacement. So are Shane Swanson, who replaces Fryar, and Tom Rathman, who is replacing Schellen.
PASSING SCHEME
On defense, Nebraska will have to improve, especially in the secondary, which Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar shredded in last year's Orange Bowl. Look for it to improve, as all the 1983 starters return
To make matters worse for the rest of the conference, Nebraska will play the three main challengers to its 1983 Big Eight title, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Oklahoma, at home.
NO.2 - OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State was the hard-luck team of the Big Eight last year, losing to Nebraska. 14-10, and Oklahoma. 21-20. The Cowboys also lost to Kansas State by a point, and Missouri by six points. This year, OSU will get even.
On offence. Oklahoma State has two of the best receivers in the conference in Malcolm Lewis and Jamie Harris, and a veteran quarterback in Rusty Hilger. At running back, the Cowboys have 1983 starters Shawn
Jones at tailback and Arthur Price at backlash, to solidify the running game.
The offensive line has three returning starters, while the defensive line did not lose a single starter. Also returning will be place-kicker Larry Roach, who has been mentioned on several preseason All-America teams.
On defense, the Cowboys are returning eight starters from what was the fastest defense in the conference last year. Oklahoma State was the second best team in the conference against the rush in 1983
One possible drawback for the Cowboys is the departure of Head Coach Jimmy Johnson, who replaced Howard Schellenberger at Miami. Pat Jones, an assistant
under Johnson, was promoted to head coach, and will attempt to make a smooth transition.
The Cowboys will have a tough schedule, playing Oklahoma and Nebraska away, but they should be able to win the rest of their games. An upset of Oklahoma or Nebraska could get them a tie for the title.
NO.3 OKLAHOMA
The football drought will continue in Norman — if you can call three consecutive four less seasons a drought. Oklahoma fans will be putting the pressure on the Sooners and Coach Barry Switzer, especially after whetting their appetites by watching Wayman Tisdale lead the basketball team to the conference title last season.
Kansas head coach Mike Gottfried gives a few pointers to wide receiver Richard Estell.
Indecisiveness is the biggest problem for the Sooners. They've tried the wishbone, the I-formation and a hybrid called the I-bone in their search for a return to offensive explosiveness, when their real problem was just a slight drop in talent.
This year, the Sooners — without Marcus Dupree — will return to a straight wishbone. They will also attempt to add a passing attack, formed by new offensive coordinator Mack Brown. Will it work? It depends upon the quarterback of quarterback Dan Bradley, who completed 61 of 143 passes for 1,125 yards last season.
As always, Oklahoma has a stable of running backs, including Spencer Tillman, last year's conference newcomer of the year with 1,047 yards. Steve Sewell, Jerome Lebedt and Earl Johnson also return.
Defensively, the Sooners lost All-American Rick Bryan but return preseason All-American Kevin Murphy from what was the best defense in the conference last year.
The Tigers were impressive in 1983 and have fielded a team this year that is just as good or better. But the schedule is definitely against them.
Offensively, quarterback Marlon Adler will lead the Tigers, if he can win the job back from Topekan Warren Seit. Missouri's biggest task will be rebuilding an offensive line to pave the way for backs Jon Redd and Eric Drain.
Last year, Missouri faced Oklahoma,
Nebraska and Oklahoma State at home.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, that means
they will play all three away this year.
NO. 4 — MISSOURI
Missouri was second in total defense last year, and is led by linebacker Tracey Mack and safety Jerome Caver.
NO. 5 — COLORADO
NO. 5 - Colorado
Colorado is at the top spot in the second division only because of the return of three important offensive performers. The Buffaloes were last on the conference total defense charts in 1983.
Quarterback Steve Vogel, who passed for 1,385 yards last year, will have his top receiver, CU record-setter Lexander, back as a target. Also returning is tailback Le Rouson, who has rushed for over 2,000 yards in his career.
If Colorado is to hold onto the No. 5 spot, the defense, with six returning starters, will have to improve. It finished last in the Big Eight in total defense last year, and 100th out of 105 NCAA division 1 teams.
The Wildcats returned to the Big Eight cellar last year, after a trip to the Independence Bowl in 1982. But Jim Dickey's redshirt program can't be called a flop yet.
NO. 6 — KANSAS STATE
Kansas State has three returning starters on the offensive line, along with quarterback Stan Weber, fullback Charles Crawford and tight end Eric Bailey. However, they will suffer from the loss of last year's leading rusher, Greg Dagefeor, who was declared academically ineligible.
See BIG EIGHT, p. 4, col. 4