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Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Golfer wins tournament
Team ties for second in Kansas Invitational. MEN'S GOLF | 4B
Kick the Kansan in football
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Go to promos.kansan.com/kickthekansan or send picks to thethewave@kansan.com.
WIDE-RANGING RECEIVER
Senior receiver Kerry Meier sprints to the end zone after a 62 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Todd Reesing Saturday against Southern Mississippi. Meier led Kansas with 141 receiving yards with two touchdowns in the Jayhawks 35-28 victory.
Weston White/KANSAN
Meier's talents span the field
New positions no sweat for senior wide reciever
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
Certainly, by now, you know senior wide receiver Kerry Meier's story — from a highly touted high school quarterback to one of the most productive pass-catchers in the country.
And of course you know about his selflessness and versatility on the field — from a backup quarterback, to a holder, to the second-string punter.
But the bet here is you didn't know this: At times during the past two weeks without sophomore tight end Tim Biere, who missed time because he of an illness, Meier lined up at ... tight end?
"It's just a few different schemes coach Warinner threw in there," Meier said, "If something should happen like that, I'll be ready to go. We throw a few little nuances in there."
Meier talked about his repetitions at tight end rather nonchalantly, and hinted that it may not be a significant piece of Kansas' future offensive plans.
But the notion alone illustrated two central themes from Meier's time at Kansas: His willingness to adjust and his ability to comprehend football.
"Kerry's just smooth," freshman wide receiver Bradley McDougald said, "People may not see him as the most athletic guy but I just think he's a great, great football player. He just knows the game and he know coverages. He knows where to sit in zones."
Meier, who was Kansas' starting quarterback his freshman year and backed up Reesing last season, is currently listed as the third-string quarterback. During practice, he still wears the red
jersey and still participates in quarterback meetings.
This season, though, Meier said he spends more time in fine-tuning his abilities at wide receiver now that freshman quarterback Kale Pick has developed into a capable backup.
More of his time is spent with Kansas' other receivers, discussing coverages and studying film
of an opposing team's secondary.
"Any time you can turn your complete attention and focus to one thing, you're going to feel a lot better and a lot more comfortable and pink up."
zone for a 62- yard touchdown.
even more things," Meier said.
Early in the first quarter, with Southern Mississippi defending him with single coverage, Meier slipped past his defender, caught an over-the-shoulder pass from Reesing and bolted into the end
The play only foreshadowed the rest of Meier's day.
Throughout the game, Meier found weak spots in Southern Miss' zone defenses and benefited from Kansas' repeated use of quick throws when opting to run its hurry-up offense.
"You can't coach that or really teach it. A guy has it or he doesn't."
In all, Meier finished with ten catches and a career-high 141
receiving yards.
TODD REESING Quarterback
"Kerry just quietly does that stuff just makes play after play," coach Mark Mangino said. "Just a tremendous playmaker for us. He gets open where a lot of receivers struggle in certain situations. He finds
a way to get open and get the ball"
In the months leading up the season, Meier and senior running back Lake Sharp developed into workout partners, offering the motivation needed to put in
the extra work when the season seemed so far away.
And teammates said that extra time is the backing for Meier's success.
After Kansas' victory against Southern Miss, Reeing talked about Meier's work ethic, calling it "next to none on this team or anyone I've been around."
Then, in four brief sentences. Reesing perfectly summed up the abilities of Kansas' leading receiver.
"He studies the game and he just makes plays," Reesing said. "You can't coach that or really teach it. A guy has it or he doesn't. He shows up in big games and makes plays when he has to."
Edited by Betsy Cutcliff
Follow Kansan
writer Jayson
Jenks at twitter.
com/JaysonJenks
Junior outside hitter Katrina Garlington winds up for a shot against Oklahoma. Kansas is preparing for tonight's game against Colorado, which is on a four game losing streak.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
VOLLEYBALL
Kansas gets set for tonight's battle against Colorado team
BY ZACH GETZ zgetz@kansan.com
Kansas (8-4, 1-2) has played well at home while Colorado (5-8,
0-4) has yet to win a game on the road this season. Colorado is also
on a four game losing streak.
Kansas volleyball needs to continue to play strong at home in the Big 12 Conference as Kansas faces Colorado 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
Kansas hopes to keep these trends alive, but may have to do without the help of junior outside hitter Karina Garlington, who sat out against Baylor with an injury. Coach Ray Bechard said whether Garlington plays will be a game time decision.
Follow Kansan writer Zach Getz at twitter.com/zgetz.
Bechard said while Colorado
has a losing record it had pre-conference success and had to face only top tier Big 12 teams in early conference play. Colorado also returned key experienced players this season who are incorporated into a new regime hungry for a Big 12 victory, Bechard said.
Senior defensive specialist Melissa Grieb said Colorado is a very scrappy team that plays tough. Colorado is also getting some players back from injury, so their record isn't really a reflection of how good a team they are, Grieb
UPCOMING GAMES
PAGE 1B
Colorado at Kansas
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. tonight
WHERE: Horejsi Family
Athletics Center
Kansas at Texas A&M WHEN: 2 p.m. October 3 WHERE: College Station, Texas
said.
The team has continued to work on end game as Kansas has continued to fall short towards the end of the set.
SEE GAME ON PAGE 5B
COMMENTARY
Missouri dealing with own problems
Like many of us last week, my Missouri Tiger "friends" were pretty talkative after our little Wescoe Wrangle; they kept saving Kansas players are "thugs," they won't focus, etc.
For fans looking to get a nice bit of revenge, there might be an opportunity. A juicy, juicy opportunity.
Mike Bellman, an information specialist for public schools in Columbia, bought 25 cell phones used by the Missouri athletic department in a surplus sale. The Columbia Tribune reported that Bellman purchased the phones for $190. He planned to resell some of their parts.
One of the phones is a Sprint Treo previously owned by Missouri basketball coach Mike Anderson. Bellman says there are text messages to and from football coach Gary Pinkel and athletic director Mike Alden, as well as contact information for hundreds of players and team officials.
And that's not the best part for Tiger haters.
See, Missouri tried to buy the phones back for $190 after realizing the potential problems.
Bellman, a Missouri souvenir collector who declined to comment, told the athletic department "no thanks" and plans to sell the phones for $3,000. Missouri then offered to erase all personal information from the phones, but Bellman again declined.
Commenters on the Columbia Tribune Web site have called Bellman an "opportunistic slimeball" among many other more profane things for not allowing the University to wipe the phones clean. Maybe the Missouri athletic department should have thought of that before it sold the phones.
I'm wondering what they're trying to hide. Missouri's athletic department has no reason to buy the phones back unless they have something they might need to cover up. I realize that I can't say that Anderson's phone contains anything meaningful.
But neither can Missouri. That's why they want them back.
The problem, at least for Jayhawks seeking revenge, is that Bellman wants to sell the phones to Columbia residents or Missouri fans. But if he doesn't get a bite by tomorrow, he will put them up on eBay for Rock Chalk consumption.
That's when things could get out of control. I can imagine a group of Kansas fans joining forces and splitting the cost of the phones, hoping to tear down the Missouri program.
The phone could provide little beyond congratulations and kind words from other coaches. Or it could show that Anderson was illegally contacting recruits. Or the phone could have text messages from Anderson to players that might be interesting.
The possibilities are truly endless. But one thing's for sure: Missouri will be overseeing this situation very carefully.
Edited by Tim Burgess
Follow Kansan
writer Clark Goble
at twitter.com/
cgoble89.