THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011
PAGE 3B
FOOTBALL
Gill enforces focus over followers for players
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
On the night of Aug. 2, Kale Pick finally joined the revolution. He had a Twitter account made for him by senior tight end Ted McNulty — an account that was deleted with one forced click just 12 hours later. On Aug. 3 coach Turner Gill banned the Kansas football team from using Twitter. The players were told to delete their accounts and subsequently delete all of the followers they had gained over their accounts history - a deed that was particularly painful for the players like senior receiver Daymond Patterson and junior receiver AJ Steward, who had more than 1,000 followers.
"I know Daymond wasn't too happy about it and some of the guys are missing it quite a bit," junior wide receiver Kale Pick said.
While the players were initially upset about losing their privileges to the site, the ban on Twitter
ensures that the team will not have any distractions with the website during the year, but Gill may also have another motive.
"With all the rules like that, I think it does make everya lot more accountable, because people are watching people's backs more," sophomore defensive end Keeba Agostinho said.
Accountability has been a top priority for Gill and his staff. The stricter rules have made the players more aware of their actions and the consequences that come with them. That accountability translates to the football field as well, as increased discipline can only lead to good things.
"I've been around championship football," Gill said. "I think I really like when the people in our football team takes care of themselves. They make each other accountable. When that starts to happen then I think our team is going to move forward in a faster way."
The players realize the rule
"For a second, right when he said it we were a little upset about it, but after that, we realized that it's a sacrifice we had to make for the team so we just kind of forgot about it and let it go," Patmon said.
The sacrifice has been made, as the fans and players lose out on some fun off the field with the Twitter ban, but in the end, that process may help lead to a better product on the field.
changes are only there to help them, as Agostinho, Pick, and junior cornerback Tyler Patmon all agreed that the Twitter ban is a good idea, albeit they weren't all sold initially.
"That's the first big step and I see our players keeping each other accountable," Gill said. "We're starting to have that process going and that makes me feel good about where we're going."
- Edited by Josh Kantor
@MrShakespeare15
daynand patterson ii
"Time to focus n cut off alot of ppl n make my small circle even smaller"
Daymond Patterson, senior wide receiver
@YoungSimba02
tyler patton
"It's that time. No it's tweeting needed."
Tyler Patmon, sophomore cornerback
*stewart*
"For all my followers: this is my last tweet 4 a while. Appreciate all y'all. Support #kufball Talk to y'all in a few months #SigningOff"
AJ Steward, senior tight end
FOOTBALL
@Jizzle_11
aisteward
@TOTrey5
ohen opurum
“Lol rip to @TOTrey5...no more twitter.’ll check yall out but won’t be saying nothing…back to facebook it is”
Toben Opurum,
junior defensive end
Jordan Webb returns to starting quarterback for the season
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
Coach Turner Gill announced Friday that sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb would be his starting quarterback for the year. On Saturday, Webb debuted with his new title at the Family Fun Fest scrimmage at Memorial Stadium. The announcement came after a quarterback competition between Webb and senior
Webb
quarterback Quinn Mecham that lasted throughout the off-season. Webb and Mecham alternated
possessions for the majority of the scrimmage.
"We just felt that this was the appropriate time," Gill said. "He has been definitely ahead of everybody from start to finish, and also went back to the spring, we took a lot of that into consideration too. I wanted to see him come back more consistent this fall and he did that."
The offense focused on its rushing attack for most of the day, but Webb did get a chance to show off his skills through the air, including a nice completion to junior wide receiver Kale Pick for a first down on third and long.
"We're still trying to get better and I think he did some good things and that's why he is our guy," Gill said.
Freshmen running backs Brandon Bourban and Anthony Pierson stood out in the scrimmage. Bournan reached the endzone twice, and Pierson scored once and electrified the crowd with his speed and elusiveness. Freshman defensive back Adonis Saunders had an interception where he out-jumped the seven-inch taller sophomore wide receiver Neal Barlow on an underthrown ball by freshman quarterback Mike Cummings. To end the scrimmage, placekickers sophomore Ron Doherty and freshman Alex Mueller made 45-yard field goals. Doherty's came from the right hash mark and Mueller's from the left.
— Edited by Josh Kantor
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
Freshman running back Brandon Bourbon breaks through the defensive line while playing in the Kansas football scrimmage at Memorial Stadium Saturday morning.
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN
Sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb delivers a pass during Tuesday afternoon's practice. Kansas opens its season September 3 at Memorial Stadium against McNeese State.
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