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Wednesday, August 20, 1975
University Daily Kansan
Bill Campfield
Dennis Wright
Running back crop thin
By YAEL ABOUHALKAH
Bud Moe knows he has a gold mine and at least a silver mine at running back positions this fall. But how many of the other players in the gold 'oil'杯不是 known for, some time.
"You've got to have depth in the running attack," he insisted. "And that obviously is going to cause us some problems this year and don't - right now at least - have that done."
The rushing hopefuls are led by KU's "gold mine," junior Laverne Smith. Next in line is sophomore flash Bill Campfield, the silver in the running back lining. After that, though, the Jahayk candidates are mostly unknown quantities.
Sports Editor
Clif Doran
LIKE MOST WISHWONE coaches, Moore said it would take at least six solid running drills.
Dennis Wright, Skip Sharp, Jim Manning,
Clay Bomy and Max Ediger all were junior
varsity players last fall, while Cif Doran
saw limited varsity action. Finally, Skip
With Moore insisting that the University of Kansas is going to try to run from the wishbone offense this fall, the running backs join the quarterbacks as the most vital cogs in a successful offensive operation.
Johnson sat out the year with a leg injury.
Freshmen could help the Jayhawks, Moore said, but their contributions can't be gauged until workouts. A junior college transfer, Norris Banks, will be closely
SMITH, OF COURSE, is expected to carry the main rushing load for Kansas. Fresh from his record-setting sophomore year, the 6-foot, 190 pound enters the season with credentials befitting one of the top running backs in the nation.
"There's so doubt about it—Laverne is a super running back." Moore said. "He's got all the ability in the world. I like his moves and his ability to run in a crowd. It's just going to depend this year on how badly he wants to work."
Smith rushed for a school record 1,181 yards in 1974, ranking him second in the Big Ten. Smith ran another 268 yards Washington. Smith possesses blazing 4 speed in the 40, and proved his durability by grabbing 12 passes last year. He also scored more than 100 vards in seven games.
AT SMITH'S SIDE in the fall backfield is Campfield, who also has swift 4.4 speed. The team also had a majority of KU's games last year, as a backup for graduated Robert Miller. He
showed promise by gaining 207 yards with an average carry of 5.3 yards.
"You've got to respect Campfield because of his speed," Moore said. "From what Ive seen of him, he'll show he's shown potential to do things that are dependable as Smith in our backfield."
Much more is expected of him this year,
especially if he keeps the halfback slot
After Smith and Campfield, however, a potpourri of running backs will be shooting for the fullback position and backup half against him, either the gold or silver mines get injured.
Dennis Wright, 6-foot-2, 210 pound junior, hangs in a somewhat perseverant perch as the number one fullback. A junior varsity performer his first two years, Wright suddenly emerged as a fallback of quality in the spring football drills. He capped the spring with 77 yards and two touchdowns in the Spring game. Moore was impressed.
"BELIEVE HE has the necessary tools to do the job for us at fullback," Moore said. "He constantly gives you excellent determination and effort."
Questions abound . . .
From page 1
going to quarterback and flanker positions,
respectively. this fall.
But Moore smiled and said, "We should be strong in the sec. deacary. In Kurt Knopf, we've got all the experience in the world. Taylor has shown a lot of progress."
Kniff, in fact, is sure to be selected All Big 8 for the third straight year. The 6-2, 200 pound senior also has a good chance to post-season All America teams.
Fighting Wright for that fullback slot will be junior Doran (6-foot-1, 203), sophomore Bony (6-foot-1, 190) and freshman redshirt Johnson (6-foot-1, 210). Banks could move into a contending spot, depending on the situation at the halfback slots.
Offense
It's still up in the air whether KU's offensive showcase will operate from the wishbone (Moore's first choice), last year's Houston Venet or another set formation.
"We're going to do what our people can do best," Moore maintained. "I haven't declared anything. As it is situated now, we can so go to almost all offense we want."
That's not by choice, he might have added. The Alabama ties run deep—the wishbone-bruning Crimson Tide won 82 of 33 games in Moore's three years there.
Unfortunately, there are a few problems with installing a KU wishbone.
Foremost is that the Jayhawks don't have a definite quarterback yet. There's also the fact they may not have enough quality running backs to make the offense work
QUARTERBACK-- The dogfight for the quarterback spot between juniors Cromwell, Scott McMichael, Tom Kratt and Jeff Stephens on sophomore Mike Loyd is explored on page 1.
RUNNING BACKS—At the running back positions, where Moore said at least six good athletes are required to make the super junior Laverne Smith, although sophomore Bill Campfield is highly regarded. The backfield situation is fully
"We've got to build around them, it
means," Moore said. "They both are going
to be counted on to give us some leadership
and support," he need it most,
especially if we run a lot."
OFFENSIVE LINE—Mooré is looking for line strength from returnees senior center John Morgan (6-1, 253 pounds) and senior tackle Dave Scott (6-4, 270).
"We've got some young people who lack quickness and experience," Moore admitted. "We're hoping that some of them go to impress us very quickly this fall."
Seniors Leonard Schmidt and Ace Boydson and junior Morris Pippin and Dave Shelne will divide two guard positions between themselves.
FLANKER-With the losses of Emmett Edwards and Bruce Adams, receivers
Prime contenders for the other tackle are juniors Blake Thompson and Dave Hewlett.
TIGHT END—The tight end position baths in luxury, with two experienced players back. Junior Jim Michaels and senior Greg Hossack will fight for that spot.
aren't in abundance at Kansas this season. But Moore is hoping either junior speedster Waddell Smith or the equally swift Eddie Lewis can develop there.
KICKING-A sore spot with Moore, the kicking game needs a lot of improvement, although it does have some experience back. Placekicker Mike Love, a junior, missed spring drills because of baseball. The punter is senior Bob Swift.
"The kicking game was a disappointment when I had to take a shot. "We had a lack of discipline in that area."
Of course, with the planned shutting going on with a wishbone, all of the runners should get chances to show their merits this fall.
There are more question marks backing up Smith and Campfield. Sharp, a 6-foot, 175 pound junior, has some experience playing at quarterback and the defensive second. He also plays in the number three junior varsity rusher with 14 yards (in four games) last year.
Manning, a 5-foot-10, 175 pound junior,
seamathlete in dark-brown candidates.
*Hopefully, some of those players will come through for us and give us some demos.*
Hedrick rejoins network
Hedrick, 41, served as the "Voice of the Jayhawks" from 1960 to 1966. He then worked with television and radio stations in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio; and Kansas City, Mo.
Tom Hedrick, after a nine-year absence, is back as "Voice of the Jayhawks" in his position as director of the KU Sports Network.
Hedrick has done radio play-by-play for
three Super Bowls, play-by-play of the Cotton Bowl for CBS radio for five years and has served as an announcer for ABC's Wide World of Sports from 1968 to present.
He had worked as sports director the past
years at television station KDFW in Dalhousie.
Hedrick succeeds Jerry Bailey, who is now sports director for TopoTeva TV station
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