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SPORTS
The University Daily KANSAN
Gottfried: Predictions won't lessen team's load
After battling during the pre-season with junior Mike Orth, senior Mike Norseh is expected to start at quarterback when the Javahawks open their 1985 season Aug. 31 in Honolulu against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
Polishing is one goal for offense
By Chris Lazzarino Sports Editor
The Kansas Jayhawks were one of the surprise teams of last season. They finished in the top four of the Big Eight Conference and pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year, a 28-11 thrashing of the powerful Oklahoma Sooners.
Academic casualties tore the team apart at the beginning of the season, but the Jayhawks didn't let that stop them. They also didn't let the predictions of doom and destruction stop them from believing in themselves.
"We are only one year away from bottoming out," Gottfried said last week. "We are still a rebuilding football team."
The rebuilding may be slightly rushed with a starting date of Aug. 31 against Hawaii in Honolulu, but that should be everted out because the Rainbow Warriors also must do a bit of hurried rebuilding.
This year, head coach Mike Gottrief isn't going to let predictions of bountiful wins and bowl games cause players to take a season too lightly.
Hawaii has not had a losing record over the past seven years, but has been hit hard by graduation losses.
"We are both starting at the same time, so we aren't at a disadvantage because of the early game," Gottfried said. "It has caused us to speed up, and it is nothing drastic. We have everything in place. We just need to refine it."
The complicated, passing-oriented Kansas offense will need all the refining it can get. The mechanics are there, but some rust needs to be
Gottfried is counting on a slew of receivers to be rotated throughout games, but five are slightly ahead of the rest.
Gottried said junior Johnny Holloway, senior Sandy MeeGee, senior Skip Petee, Richard Estell and freshman Willie Vaughn appeared at this stage of the preseason to be his ten wide receivers.
Of that five, only Peete and Estell played a full season at wide receiver in '84. Holloway suffered an ankle injury in the third game of '84, McGee was redshirted and Vaughn was a high school quarterback.
Murphy Ray, a sophomore wide receiver, has not played football since his senior year in high school in 1982. After high school, he signed with Ohio State but was not there when he was redshirted at KU last season.
Wide receiver Sal Lewis played
Along with the wide receivers, KU's top tight end, Sylvester Bird, is returning from a year's layoff as a redshirt.
"When you sit out for a year, it affects you," Gottfried said. "You get rusty when you haven't played."
The problem is noticeable in all sports, but Gottfried said it hurt most in football.
"You just can't practice football like you can baseball or basketball."
Gottfried said. "You can go out and shoot jump shots, or take batting practice for baseball. But with football, you need 22 guys to line up with you."
Just as it was for most of last season, getting the ball to the receivers will be the job of senior quarterback Mike Norseth. Last season, Norseth started 10 of 11 games.
Kansas will have one of the toughest road schedules in the country with games at Nebraska, Oklahoma and Florida State. Gottfried knows that those teams will be difficult to beat, but he isn't relying
on luck to get the job done.
"To beat teams like that on the road you just have to be better than they are," Gottfried said. "You've got to be better than the people you are playing, you've got to be better than the crowd, and you've got to be better than the officials.
"You have to be able to handle those three areas to win on the road."
Norseth knows KU has a tough schedule, but he says, "Everyone said OU was too damn tough last year, and we still beat them. I think we can beat everyone we play."
Returning players help ease pressure
Bv Sue Konnik
Associate Sports Editor
How does a team replace a career leading passer, an All-America place-kicker and four-fifths of its offensive line?
How does a team come back after 10 players are declared academic casualties, NCAA probation prevents the league from hiring and predictors dumit it in the cellar?
It does what the Kansas football team has done: Hop on a roller coaster and go for a ride.
The ride at the beginning of last season started slowly with the Jayhawks losing three of their first four games and five of their first seven. A 28-11 shocker over Oklahoma bumped the team in high gear and even a 41-7 loss to Nebraska couldn't slow the high-spirited ride.
Kansas refueled and won three of its last four outings to finish 5-6 overall and 4-3 in the conference. With 46 lettermen returning, including all but two regulars from last season, head coach Mike Gottfred probably will be breathing easier this year.
That is, of course, if he can avoid another injur- plougged season.
"It's something we can't afford," Gottfried said this week. "We can't afford an injury. Last year we were lucky because when we got hurt someone else always came through."
Youth and inexperience hampered the Jayhawk defense last season, and injuries during the season forced numerous adjustments, which Gottfried would like to avoid this season.
Along with the 22 lettermen — in including 11 starters — returning or defense, Gottfried welcomes back several performers who were not eligible last year. Among those are linebacker Darnell Williams, the team's second leading tackler two seasons ago, and nose tackle Jake Bornblood, both sophomore who started for the Jayhawks as a freshman.
"Defense is an improved area, and come game time we'll be even better on that side of the ball," Gottfried said
If the Jayhawks can afford even one injury, it had better not be to Willie Pless.
"You hardly ever see a drop-off from him," Gottfried said of the player he called "the best I've ever coached."
Pless" built-in radar aided him in his quest for glory last season. The 6-foot, 215-pound senior broke the KU career track record formerly held by Kyle McNorton with 442 career tackles.
Pless' 206 tackles last season was
tops in the Big Eight for the second consecutive season. He was an All-Big Eight selection for the second year in a row and also earned second-team All-America honors from the Associated Press.
Backing up Pless will be freshman Carlos Barrows from Homestead, Fla., who was a first-team All-State choice, and behind Barrows will be sophomore Mike Long.
The first-team defense includes Jon Stewart, who emerged midway through last season as a standout tackle for KU, at No. 1 rushbacker. Two years later he smashed Griffin with the email after a year's layoff as Stewart's backup.
John Randolph, a juco All-American at Coffeefly last year, is the No. 1 dropbacker, with sophomore Warren Shields, with lettered last season as backup fullback, in the No.2 position.
Second-team all-conference selection Phil Forte, who operated at both tackle and nose tackle last year, has been stationed at end. Forte, slowed by a hamstring pull, probably will be sidelined for the remainder of the week. Backing him will be 6-4, 250-pound, juco transfer Robert Goff and sophomore letterman David Smith.
Senior Robert Tucker, one of the most impressive defensive regulars the final four games of the 1984 season, will provide needed size and strength at tackle. Senior Guy Gamble and sophomore David Smith, both regulars last year, will be on hand to back up Tucker.
Avery, one of the top defenders in the spring, is listed in the starting role at nose tackle along with red-shirt junior Steve Nave.
One of the team's strongest spots will be at inside linebacker where the trio of Pless, Williams and Rick Bredesen will patrol. Bredesen ranked second behind Pless in total stops with 108 as a freshman last year.
Williams, returning after a year of ineligibility, was second on the team and in the league in tackles with 64 unassisted tackles and 83 assists for 147 stops.
Probably the most improved area of the defense is the secondary, led by junior free safety Wayne Ziegler. Backing him will be sophomore Derek Berry, who Gottfried said would "push Ziegler heavily for a starting role."
Senior Travis Hardy, who was named most improved defensive back in the spring, is the No.1 strong safety.
Senior Alvin Walton is the most physical secondary performer at left cornerback.
Big Eight teams shaping up for conference fight
By Chris Lazzarino
Sports Editor
As always, the Big Eight Conference will be tough. Oklahoma should be a contender for the national title, and Nebraska and Oklahoma State have legitimate shots for top-20 finishes and bowl bids.
Following is an analysis of KU's conference schedule:
Which of the five other teams will emerge to prominence remains to be seen, but Kansas and Missouri seem to be the best shots at first-division finishes.
Iowa State
Game six, Oct. 12
Ames, Iowa
IOWA STATE — Few tornado warnings will sound when the Cyclones appear on the field this season. Iowa State finished last in the Big Eight last year and has done little to improve.
was one of Iowa State's few bright spots last season, but head coach Jim Criner cut Henderson after a series of personal problems.
Wide receiver Tracy Henderson
Quarterback Alex Espinoza returns to lead the Cyclones after finishing the 1984 season with a broken ankle. Espinoza's five starting offensive linemen return, but those six players are Iowa State's only returning offensive players.
The Cyclones have big gaps at receiver, but bigger problems exist in their running game. Iowa State's
top two returning tailbacks together
have only 239 vards.
On defense, senior Lester Williams, who led the Big Eight in tackles by a defensive end, returns to anchor the squad. Williams will get his back up with superior defensive end Jim Luebbers and middle linebacker Braswell.
A plus for the Cyclones is the six consecutive home games that open their season. The team has only three road games. The Cyclones can be tough in Ames, and they could catch someone napping. They must take
advantage of their home schedule and win a couple of home conference games, or it will be a long, dry season.
Kansas won last year's game 33-14 in Lawrence, but ISU won in 1985, the team's most recent win.
ISU finished 1984 at 2-7-2, and 0-5-2 in the conference.
KANSAS STATE — The Wildcats are making changes to put more spark in their offense, but it appears that they may be battling Iowa State to stay out of the Big Eight doghouse.
Kansas State Game seven. Oct. 19 Lawrence
K-State wants to switch over to a pass-oriented offense, but must rely on last season's backup quarterback, Randy Williams. The Wildcats won't have any better receivers than last season, when they finished 104th in
Tallback Keith Majors hustles around right end during a practice last week south of Anschutz Sports Pavilion. So far this pre-season, the Jayhawk rushing game has lived in the shadows of the much-hyped "KU Air Force."
John Lechliter KANFAN
See BIG EIGHT, p. 3, col. 1
Non-conference fall schedule filled with tough opponents
By Chris Lazzarino
Kansas will step into the ring for round one of the Big Eight Conference fight thoroughly tested and quite possibly boasting a winning record after a five-game non-conference schedule.
Sports Editor
The keys to KU emerging with a winning record through non-conference play will most likely be the Hawaii and Vanderbilt games.
The opener against iainail should be a tough game. A victory for the Jayhawks would give them great confidence, which would help in the games against Vanderbilt and Indiana State. A loss to Hawaii certainly would not be shameful, but it would hurt.
The third game is against Florida State at Tallahassee, and will be KU's toughest game until the team travels to Alabama State Oct. 26 in Lawrence.
The following is an analysis of each of KU's non-conference opponents:
HAWAII — Football Action magazine loads praise on the Rainbow Warriors. In the September issue, Football Action says, "When considering the nation's top college
The last non-conference game is at home against Eastern Illinois.
"The Rainbows, while not receiving the same recognition as the others, should be mentioned in the same breath. Hawaii is one of 12 Division 1-A teams that has not suffered a losing season over the past seven years."
Hawaii
Game one, Aug. 31
Honolulu, Hawaii
The Rainbow们 may have a tough time living up to such praise because of graduation losses, the biggest of which was quarterback Raphel Cherry. Cherry broke most of the school's passing records and led the team in rushing. But Kansas head coach Mike Gottfried said last week that junior Greg Tipton should fill the vacant spot well.
football programs, names like
Nebraska, Ohio State, Washington,
BYU and Florida State usually come
to mind.
Hawaii returns only five starters
Leading the Rainbow Warriors will be wideout Walter Murray, a legitimate All-America candidate. Murray has national-class speed and averaged almost 17 yards a catch last season.
Head coach Dick Tomey even had his team walk across hot coals as a motivational and mind-control exercise, which may show something the players need to win. Hawaii also plays nine of 12 teams, including its first five, at home.
from last season's defense, but those five are considered to be some of the best on the team.
Gottfried has been impressed by Hawaii while studying films. Opening the season with a victory would have been an odd one to give, but a win won't come easy.
Gottfred said the players would have no free time to tour the beaches until after the game. The beaches have been a convenient trap for visiting teams, and the KU coaches don't intend for the Jayhawks to fall into it.
Vanderbilt
Game two, Sept. 14
Lawrence
d1
VANDERBILT — Vanderbilt crushed the Jayhawks 41-6 in Nashville last season, but the Commodores 'outlook for 1985 isn't bright.
PAT NOR-CONFEREENZ in 4, col. 1
See NON-CONFERENCE, p. 4, col. 1