Wednesday, October 16, 1975
7
Emerson fights patsy tag
By ALLEN QUAKENBUSH
Associate Sports Editor
Football players are expected to be tough, aggressive, almost belligerent people.
But James Emerson, the starting noseguard at the University of Kansas, is a quiet, gentle, almost passive person. He belies the image of a football player in almost every respect. That's an image that has been made popular, just doesn't act the way coaches think a football player should act.
"PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS
said that I was too nice to play football." Emerson said. "At the first of the year, even coach Kobe Bryant took me. I was aggressive enough."
"But I can't help it that it I'm not aggressive off the field. That's just the way I am. Once I go to school, I'm as aggressive as anybody."
Through five games,
Emerson has been aggressive
enough to log 25 tackles, in-
creasing his scrimmage
scrimmage for 20 yards in
losses. With his success has
come confidence.
University Daily Kansan
Photo by CORKY TREWIN
Jayhawk noseguard James Emerson
"AT THE FIRST OF the year, I probably wasn't as aggressive as she should have shown. Emerson is better. But the season goes on and I gain confidence, I have become more aggressive. The thing I love most about her is her energy."
Aggressiveness wasn't Emerson's biggest problem when he reported to football practice here a year ago. It was his weight that disturbed the coaches the most.
"MY SENIOR YEAR, I had a bone operation during the basketball season," Emerson said. "I was on crutches for seven weeks, and I couldn't do much of anything.
When he was recruited,
Emerson weighted 260 pounds.
By the time he reported to
Kansas, he had ballooned to 315.
"I have always had a big appetite. But I was always working out so it didn't bother me too much. When I had the operation I kept the appetite, but couldn't work out."
Because of the added weight, Emerson was badly out of shape when he reported to KU. He remained that way for most of his career until a limb action in three freshman games at defensive tackle.
"THE BIGGEST problem I had," Emerson said, "was that I couldn't go too long. I was still pretty quick for my size, but I couldn't last any longer than a quarter."
With the arrival of a new coaching staff, Emerson knew that to have a chance, he would have to lose some weight—in fact, a lot of weight. So he went on a crash diet.
To Emerson, a crash diet consisted of not eating at all. For a week, he said, he lived on nothing but water.
"That got me started," he said, "and I kind of scaled it down from there."
BY THE TIME spring practice started, Emerson was down to 280. And it didn't take long on the new coaching staff.
"I figured I needed to be impressed," Emerson said. "I was virtually a new start for me. I knew the coaches knew I had some ability, but I also knew that I had to show it."
Emerson was already familiar with defensive coordinator Lance Van Zandt and defensive line coach Wade Phillips from their days at Oklahoma State when they recruited him. Emerson credits Phillins for much of his success.
"HE HAS WORKED real hard with me." Emerson said. "He's real patient and he's pretty understanding. It's a lot easier to understand him than ones who understand you than ones who are always yelling at you."
"It took a lot of work to get used to it," Emerson said. "I hadn't played it since high school."
Emerson started spring practice at offensive guard, a position completely foreign to him. But it wasn't long into spring drills before he was moved to noseduard.
WITH FRESHMAN Dennis Balagao on the injury list with a game that ended in a played virtual whole game at Nebraska. And to make matters even tough, he was hit by an American-center game in Rik Boness.
"I thought I had a pretty good game," Emerson said. "I just couldn't afford to let his reputation bother me.
"You just have to think that you're the best at your position and not worry about the guy across from you. You have to know what it that way and then do what you have to do to beat him."
There is probably still some mumbling about Emerson and his own views on anti-aggressive, but his play is slowly silencing the critics.
KU's women's tennis team had an easy time Monday, dispatching of Washinburg with singles and doubles matches.
Tennis rips Washburn
Tryouts for the women's basketball team will be conducted beginning at 4:30 p.m. today through Friday in Allen Field House. The team's coach is Marian Washington.
Basketball tryout
In singles matches, KU winners were: Coccelia Leopaz-6; 1-1; Airstid Dakas-6; 0-1; Gustav Bjerkens-6; 0-1; Broadside Gill-6; Linda Hill-6; 3-0; and Karen Hense-6; 1-0. Kansas winners in doubles play were: Dokla-Dakas-6; 1-6; Gustav Bjerkens-6; 0-1; Hill-Huse-6; 0-1.
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