10
Thursday, September 9, 1976
University Daily Kansan
Switch to defense lifts Skip Sharp off bench
By GARY VICE Assistant Sports Editor
Kip Sharp didn't like what KU's coaches had in mind for him when he returned for college.
In fact, the mustached blonde contempled quitting when the rug was pulled out from under the second string halfback position he held last year.
The coaching staff, which has been carefully molding, shuffling and experimenting with Jayhawk football talent to possible team, wanted him at cornerback.
"I was really anxious to come back this year," Sharp said, "because I thought I had a pretty good season on offense and I had to get it over in the ditingion. Then, when the guys started telling me I was being moved to the defense line, they were like, 'You saved' l'd if they (the coaches) did
"Well, the coaches said I could do the team the most good on defense and plus I see more action. I guess I just wanted to play football. I finally got that through my head."
Until the switch was made, Sharp was Laverne Smith's replacement. And at that last year, Sharp saw only limited access to yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.
He said the opportunity to have more playing time motivated him to stay and fight for a position in the defensive secondary. And he has nailed down that starting
role as cornerback along with junior Caleb Rowe.
"I knew I had a chance to play if I played well," Sharp said. "I'd just prefer to be on the team."
His offensive preference has deep roots. He was the fourth of four brothers to start his school in Kansas City, Kan. He was School in Kansas City, Kan. He was back after his senior year at Washington.
Sharp will get some opportunities to handle the football this year, but that's at another new position for him—punt returning.
When Sharp was first asked by his coaches to field some pumps in practice, he set out to make their task of finding a replacement for the injured Eric Franklin easy. In a scrimmage game, he exploded for 70 vards and a touchdown.
But in the Jayhawks' opening game against Oregon State, he huffled the ball on his first attempted runback, setting up the Beavers' first score.
"I never should have tried to field it because it was on the seven yard line." Sharp said. "Coach Van Zandt (Lance) assist head coach and defensive coordinator" said 'stand on the 10 and if you have to back up let it go.'
Coach Bud Moore said Sharp was considered for the graduation-depleted defensive backfield because the "Hawks had an abundance of talented running backs.
"Skip is a good athlete," Moore said,
Skip Sharp
"and of all the backs we had not playing on the first string offense, he fit the bill best. He just had more of the qualifications—he sense and speed—needed to play there."
So, perhaps the coaches who engineered the shift of Nolan Cromwell from the defensive backfield to the offensive backfield have come through with another good move.
Gambling paying off for Moore and KU
Butch Mascarello began last season as U3*thirdteam nose guard. Wanted were his chin, neck and arms.
Lindsey Mason was a third end without glue for hands. Make that a third or fourth end.
Mike Wellman was a backback and then a defensive end. He rode the bench at both
All three are starters now, and at positions they may have balked at playing
cornerback this year. Tom Andalwikelewit switched from a reserve defensive tackle to a No. 2 linebacker. And that's only a partial list.
Moore admitted that it wasn't easy to decide to move a player to another position. "It's hard to know where I'm going to put you here, and you there," Moore said. "You have to study each
Moore has studied each move well. One of
Sports Editor
Sports Scene
Steve Schoenfeld
before. Mascarello and Mason have started at offensive guard and tackle, respectively, since the first game of last year. Wellman will start at ecatter Saturday.
"I really didn't like it at first,"
"Mascarella, a 510, 420-pounder said. "I'd
never played there and I couldn't see how
I'd start at a position I hadn't played. I
figured they d' (the coaches) know more
than I would. Now I'm glad I moved."
They're all part of KU coach Bud Moore's realignment of personnel since he took over the head job less than two years ago. The changes that began with the highly publicized, genius move of Nolan Cromwell from safety to quarterback have continued.
Wellman said, "I was happy where I was. I thought I could play defensive end. Most guys when they feel they're doing well at a position and then get moved are upset.
"That's the way I was. But for me it turned out better this way, I was wrong." Moore, in his characteristic modest manner, refused to take any credit. He said that he was being criticized by the players for being good athletics and the assistant coaches for making right decisions.
But that's only part of the story. Don't think Moore or any head coach is part of my team.
Moore deserves credit for the earlier moves and other switches that have been made. Roger Hammond went from a reserve role at nose guard to a first- or second team offensive guard. Skip Sharp, N. 2 halfback last season, is a starting
his most recent move was the switch of
the hookback, bringing defensive end to
a startling lumberjack秀.
Moore said there was one move he made that didn't work. Last spring he switched Harry Marx from defensive end to safety. Monday he moved him back to defensive
"I didn't like defensive end," Dinkel said. "You weren't in the play all the time. They made the right move--that is if I play well with them." The right move to make the happy one.
Football reports available daily on Jayhawks
But KU fans will take one bad move any
moore. Moore's track record, it's worth the
gambit.
Recorded messages from KU coach Bud Moore, his assistants and members of the Jayhawk football squad can be heard daily by dialing 864-5147.
The service, called "Dial a Jayhawk," is provided by the Sports Information Office and will report on the team's progress. Messages will be changed twice daily, Monday through Thursday, once Friday and following every game.
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