4B the university daily kansan
sports
wednesday, august 27, 2003
Husky players visit birthday party
The Associated Press
(U-WIRE) DEKALB, III. — Northern Illinois University football's Dan Sheldon races down the sideline and is downed by the ultraquick Jacob Winter. Who, you ask?
Sheldon, NIU's wide receiver/punt returner and running back Michael Turner lined up to play football on June 14. This time the players were not dodging 250-pound linebackers, but beetty 7-year-olds.
"Jacob became a big fan last year because of the football team's success," said Jacob's father, Jim. "So we arranged for them to come to his birthday party."
Jacob watched the Huskies defeat Wake Forest in his first NIU football game from the bleachers
of Huskie Stadium. However, the bleachers did not bring Jacob close enough to the players.
close through the play.
Wolf Shafer, the son of NIU football defensive coordinator Scott Shafer, played baseball with Jacob's older brother Josh last summer. So, Jim asked Scott Shafer if he would ask Sheldon and Turner to come to Jacob's birthday party.
Sheldon, Turner and the rest of the NIU football squad had been conditioning Monday through Thursday in June. Being asked to go to a 7-year-old's birthday party caught Sheldon off-guard.
"It was an odd request," Sheldon said. "We didn't really know what to expect when we got there."
Jim measured off his backyard in five-yard increments. Half of a
tootball field, end zone and all,
was substituted for the Winter's
backyard. Field goal posts made of
PVC pipe goaled off the
makehift field. All that was missing
were 18 7-year-olds and two
Huskie football players.
The 228-pound senior running back and 5-foot-11 junior wideout coached and quarterbacked each of the teams.
Sheldon said the game was like playing sandlot football when he was a kid.
"We ran trick plays like double-reverse passes," Sheldon said. "It was a lot of fun."
The punishing game of two-hand-touch football had taken its toll on two of the Huskies' top offensive threats. Nevertheless, enough fuel remained in the players tanks after the game to autograph mini-footballs and take a picture with all the kids.
Each player's success last season left an impression on Jacob, but Sheldon edged Turner out in the voting for Jacob's favorite player.
"I like Dan Sheldon because he is really fast and because he returns punts," Jacob said.
Jacob believes NIU will do well this year, and is looking forward to seeing another victory in NIU's season opener.
At the end of the day, the kids chased the players' car down the street, waving goodbye as Sheldon and Turner headed back down the road to reality.
"I just can't think of a way to thank these guys enough," Jim Winter said.
FOOTBALL/Players dealing with extreme summer heat at practices CONTINUED FROM 1B
Despite everything that has happened in recent years, the Jayhawks are confident they are taking proper care of their bodies in the extreme weather, especially the bigger guys, like 275-pound senior left tackle Adrian Jones.
"As far as me personally, I'm somewhat used to it by now, coming from Texas with the hot heat," Jones said. "We've been hydrating correctly and taking the normal precautions to make sure everyone's OK."
Just as the weather in Lawrence refuses to change lately, the Jayhawks' upcoming schedule stays the same as well. Instead of making excuses, the players realize there is no option but to tough it out.
"It's been like 105 some days, but we just keep fighting out there because we're gonna play at six o'clock this Saturday and you have to be prepared," sophomore running back Clark Green said.
Come Saturday evening, the
"As far as me personally, I'm somewhat used to it by now, coming from Texas with the hot heat."
Adrian Jones Senior left tackle
forecast calls for more of the same weather. Northwestern has been holding training
camp in Kenosha, Wis., where the climate and weather is slightly milder.
Even though the Jayhawks will have braved the heat and adapted to it, Mangino refuses to rely on it as an advantage towards getting a win.
"Any time you're leaning on the weather for an advantage to win a game you're in trouble," Mangino said. "And we're not going to do that."
BERLIN/Self's Jayhawks need players to be shooting solidly at the line
Which brings us to Jeff Graves, the projected starter at center. "J-Rizzle" shot just 57.6 percent at the line last year, including 2-of-7 against Syracuse. What if Graves becomes a target for abuse when he gets the ball inside or pulls down a
rebound?
"I'm confident that he'll shoot much better than that," Self said. "If you're a big guy such as Jeff, if you do your job correctly, you're going to get 40 percent of your points from the free throw line."
For Kansas fans sick of white-
knuckle moments every time a Jayhawk steps to the line, the future looks good. Whether it says more about the coaching staffs or the players involved, Self's record as a free throw-shooting coach bests Williams' by an appreciable margin.
Given a chance to win a national title at the free throw line, Self's Kansas teams just may do what Williams' Jayhawks could not.
Berlin is a Leawood senior in journalism.
CONTINUED FROM 1B
"Richmond McGee is punting better than we thought he would be punting the ball right now, and that came as a complete surprise to us coming into camp," Brown said. "Richmond will be the punter — he's been really consistent. I was hesitant because of the importance of kicking off, but he has been able to do both."
The sophomore walk-on McGee handled kickoffs for Texas last season but also wanted to take on the added role of punting this season. Taylor Landin was expected by many to assume the role of starting punter, but McGee won the spot.
Brown pointed out the play of kicker Richmond McGee and offensive lineman Will Allen.
Allen, who was slated to be the starting center, sprained his right thumb, his snapping hand. Instead of not being able to play center for the rest of the season, Allen learned to snap the ball with his left hand, and has rarely had a bad snap in practice. Allen will start at right guard, and will also back-up junior Jason Glynn at center.
Longhorn team impresses coach
(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas University of Texas football coach Mack Brown was upbeat at Monday's press conference, looking forward to the new season and calling the fall two-a-days the best one he has had at the university.
The Associated Press
A worry at the offensive line is the inexperience of the players. Left guard Tillman Holloway is the only senior in the group, while Glynn and left tackle Jonathan Scott are the only others who have started games.
"Studying practice film, watching them compete, I feel like they're inexperienced, so
there are probably going to be some mistakes," Brown said. "Our depth situation is a huge concern going into the game from what I hoped it would be."
Roy helps his Heisman hopes
Brown cited depth issues on both sides of the ball, as he hoped to be able to play two-deep, but said that neither side is ready for that.
Wide Receiver Roy Williams will also play special teams this season as a member of the punt block team. Williams has set high sights, and his goal is five blocked punts for the season.
Heisman voters may notice as well, as the last wide receiver to win the trophy, Michigan's Charles Woodson, also played special teams.
A Taste of the NFL
The New Mexico game is set for Sunday at 6 p.m., and that will be the first time most players have played on the day that is normally reserved for the pros. Defensive tackle Rodrique Wright said it is the first Sunday game he's played since Little League baseball and is treating the game like it's an NFL game
"I'm excited to be playing on Sunday. We're pretty much going to be the only team, so all eyes are going to be on us." Wright said. Lobos "two-headed monster"
New Mexico State, who lost to Texas 41-7 in 2001, finished second in the Sunbelt conference behind North Texas last season. The Aggies have a two strong quarterbacks, with Paul Dombrowski and Buck Pierce.
"What you do is prepare for what you think they're going to call, and if you feel there's an emphasis on one quarterback, you work towards that while he's in the game." Brown said. "It's really hard to prepare two offenses."
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