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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Beshears gains ground, pushes past struggles
MIKE VERNON
mrvernon@kansan.com
To say that junior receiver D.J. Beshears needed a short memory in Saturday's victory over Northern Illinois would be an understatement. In fact, it would be an understatement to say Beshears has needed a short memory in his entire career at Kansas.
Junior wide receiver D.J. Beshears runs the ball past Northern Illinois line backer Gervaise Porter on Saturday. He caught the game-winning pass for a 45-42 Kansas victory
Beshears got off to a slow start against Northern Illinois, dropping a pass early on in the Jayhawks' second possession. On the following Kansas drive, he then committed a holding penalty on a fourth and one play that could have turned into a 41-yard touchdown run.
MAX MIKULECKY/KAHSAN
Taking advice that the coaching staff had been preaching all summer, Beshears didn't let his downfalls snowball into continued sub-par play.
And he did.
"I just had to move onto the next play and step it up for my team," Beshears said.
Beshears responded by catching five passes after the holding penalty and coming up with late-game heroics on the Jayhawks' final drive. He returned the kickoff 51 yards, which helped him to earn Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, and had an 18-yard run on an end-around.
His biggest contribution came on the final play for Kansas when he caught the game-winning pass on a do-or-die fourth-down play.
Instead of letting his early mistakes affect his play, Bearshears
turned his game around, finishing with seven receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
Just as Beshears could have given up last Saturday, he could have done the same thing after his freshman season.
He started three consecutive games at corner back and then found the bench, located in the sometimes-puzzling Mark Mangino doghouse. He did not see the field in the team's final three games that year.
His sophomore year he moved to the offensive side of the ball, but there was not much consistency in where he played besides that. Beshears spent time alternating between running back and wide receiver, while returning kickoffs.
Beshears finished third on the team in rushing his sophomore year, but because of an overload of young talent at running back, the coaches decided to finally give him his official position at receiver.
The coaches knew they made the right decision after Beshears took over as a favorite target for sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb down the stretch of last week's game.
Receivers coach David Beaty credits Beshears' athleticism to the smoothness of all of the position changes.
"It's pretty impressive, but he falls in that great athlete category," Beaty said. "Those guys can do a lot of different things and he fits that mold. There are a lot of techniques you have to learn to do that.
He's just so athletic he picks them up very quickly"
Just as Beshears has been able to trudge through the speed bumps throughout his Kansas career, the
Jayhawks will have to learn to do the same this season. Last year, they would often trail early in games, get down on themselves, and allow that to snowball into a
blowout defeat.
Edited by Jennifer DiDonato
coach Turner Gill said. "You've got to take that to heart."
Quiet junior blocker hopes to lead by example
VOLLEYBALL
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAS FILE PHOTO
Junior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree sneaks an attack by two Belmont defenders earlier this season at the Horeisi Athletic Center. Tolefree, a Lawrence natus, was unsure about staying in her hometown for college, but she's glad she did.
Tolefree glad she chose to play volleyball in her hometown
MATT GALLOWAY
mgalloway@kansan.com
twitter.com/themattgalloway
Tayler Tolefle did not want to attend the University of Kansas.
"I grew up here for 18 years and I was set on leaving." Tolefree said.
It took just one visit with coach Ray Bechard and his staff for the Lawrence native to realize that, when it comes to volleyball, there is no place like home.
Tolefree, a junior middle blocker, has blossomed into one of Bechard's most reliable upperclassmen, recording a team-leading .343 attack percentage this season. She said the decision to remain in the city she grew up in turned out to be a blessing.
"I love being able to go home and see my parents," Tolefree said. "My grandma recently moved here, too. So having friends and family be able to come is definitely something I overlooked but now appreciate."
Tolefree led the team with 14 blocks during last weekend's Clarion Inn-vitational in Cedar Falls, Iowa, helping the Jayhawks (8-1) upset No. 6 Minnesota along the way.
times that creates opportunity, and sometimes that can create issues. But she's a wonderful kid who stands for the right things and shows up every day ready to go to work."
Sophomore middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc is Tolefree's roommate. She said Tolefree has two very different personalities.
"She's very inner-reflective and self-critical." Bechard said. "Some-
Bechard described Tolefree as a quiet.force on the court who leads by example. As one of the few standout upperclassmen on a young and talented squad, Tolefree is being asked to open up and be more vocal on the court.
"On the court she's very aggressive," Jarmoc said. "She's the strong, silent type. In both aspects, on and off the court, she's very driven." However, Jarmoc said, people don't always get to see the easy-going Tolefree she sees at home.
Tolefree's drive plays heavily into games and practices. Jarmoc said Tolefree is sometimes known to time her off-court breaks to the minute, getting right back to work as soon as they are over.
"She is very organized, and it's funny watching how she organizes her time," Jarmoc said. "She always has a plan and she's always scheduled, even in her free time. I think that carries over throughout her entire life."
Tolefree was a standout at Lawrence High School when she committed to Kansas her junior year. She was named to the First Team All-Sunflower League as a junior and a senior. She said she did not really consider herself at the level of a Division I volleyball player until she toured with the Lawrence Mays, a local club team.
"Once clubs stepped up, it started to get more serious," Tolefree said. "When I got letters I started
thinking, 'Wow, I can do this.' It wasn't something I ever really considered."
Recruiting the best Lawrence has to offer is key for Bechard, who said his staff has two missions when recruiting the area.
"We want to promote volleyball in this area so there are players capable of playing at Kansas," Bechard said. "And we want to promote it in the area so kids want to play at the University of Kansas."
Tolefree said she could still fulfill her desire to study in another state when she enters graduate school in two years. For now, she said she is content being the quiet leader of one of the most promising Kansas volleyball teams in recent history.
Tolefree said she would rather lead by contributing her kills and blocks to help the team instead of being loud and outspoken.
"But out of the gym, I'm more of a fun personality than the coaches know when I'm with the team," she said.
Edited by Sarah McCabe
MLB
Royals take down Twins in fourth straight victory
Mike Moustakas had three hits and drove in two runs and Luke Hochevar pitched six solid innings to help the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 on Wednesday.
Moustakas drove in runs in the second and fourth inning with singles. He doubled and scored in the two-run sixth inning.
The Royals have won four straight games, matching their longest winning streak of the season, while the Twins have lost 19 of 23 and are in last place in the American League Central after winning the division the past two years.
Hochevar (11-11) gave up two runs on five hits in six innings. He improved to 6-3 in 12 starts since the All-Star break.
Jeff Francoeur also had three hits and scored two runs. Eric Hosmer, Francoeur and Moustakas — the Royals' fourth.
fifth and sixth hitters — went a combined 8-for-12 and scored five runs.
Salvador Perez drove in a pair of runs with a fourth inning double and a sixth inning single.
Johnny Glavotella had two RBIs without a hit. His sacrifice fly in the second scored Francoeur. In the three-run fourth, Glavotella reached on a Trevor Plouffe throwing error, allowing Francoeur to score.
Greg Holland, one of six rookies used by the Royals, got the final two outs to log his third save in five opportunities.
Liam Hendricks (0-2), who was making his second big league, was roughed up for five runs on eight hits in five innings. Hendricks was 12-6 with a 3.36 ERA in the minors before his Sept. 6 promotion.
The Twins scored 10 runs and committed nine errors in losing all five on this trip to Kansas City and Detroit.
Associated Press