WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
3B
Mizzou brings more than QB
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Its star quarterback can take over games, but Missouri is trying to prove it can play pretty well on the other side of the ball, too.
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The Tigers' defense has allowed 44 points through three games, the second-fewest in the Big 12 Conference. A 48-0 win over Ball State on Sept. 18 showed how far Missouri (2-1) has come, but Colorado (3-0), which visits Saturday to open conference play, presents quite a challenge.
Coach Gary Pinkel believes the defense is still evolving.
"The difference between last year's team winning eight games and the year before (a 5-7 record) was our defense," Pinkel said. "Brad Smith had the same numbers as he did before. I think we have better players at a lot of different spots."
Bacon, a sophomore, has four tackles this season, including one for a loss. He will play an important role in Missouri's attempts to slow down Colorado tailback Bobby Purify, whose average of 118 rushing yards per game ranks 14th in the nation.
That depth took a hit Monday when the team suspended starting linebacker David Richard after he was arrested for alleged marijuana possession. Marcus Bacon will make his first career start Saturday in Richard's place.
"Marcus has been playing quite a bit there," Pinkel said. "He's very competitive. I'm sure he's excited about the opportunity. It certainly going to be a task. We're playing a really good running back, without question one of the best running backs in the Big 12."
Henry Sweat, who had been backing up Dedrick Harrington at middle linebacker, will back up Bacon instead. Sweat, a senior, can play all three linebacker positions and brings experience to the
"T he differen ce between
Gary Pinkel Missouri football coach
"You always try to prepare your most experienced guys to be able to play several spots," Pinkel said. "He has studied for that and prepared for that. That says an awful lot about him, the kind of athlete he is and his retention level and how smart he is."
last year's team winning eight games and the year before was our defense."
Sweat has 14 tackles, including three for loss, and one sack. He said he has seen the defense steadily improve through the non-conference schedule.
group.
"We're progressing." Sweat said. "We have a lot of young guys going through the learning progress, but I think that's the way it's going to be with anybody learning the position. We're definitely getting better."
Cornback Marcus King made his first start against Ball State and topped the depth chart this week, surpassing A.J. Kincade. He will start opposite Shirdonya Mitchell against the Buffaloes.
The defensive line, the most experienced aspect of the unit, has eight sacks. Tackle C.J. Mosley, tied for the conference lead with three, said he expects the defense to make big plays.
"I feel like we've got something special on both sides of the ball, but especially on my side of the ball," he said. "The guys we have, I'm hoping for a lot; some big plays, some interceptions returned for a touchdown. I want more of those."
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pretty much on their own effort." Members of the offensive line said those comments were well-deserved.
OFFENSE: Line needs to collaborate more in order to improve
"There is a lot of things to be said after a game, and not all of them are positive," said junior lineman Matt Thompson. "We are looking to proving ourselves this weekend." Mangino is looking at different ways to make the Kansas offensive line more effective, and he is doing it with numbers.
"What our coaches are trying to do is to add some depth on the O-line," Mangino said. "We would like to be able to get a rotation going if we can."
Mangino said they were considering some younger players who hadn't had many opportunities to play. Matt Mann, a sophomore transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, is a player that Mangino indicated might be seeing more playing time.
Mann, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound guard, has seen limited minutes in all four of the Jayhawks' games. Mangino said that freshman Adrian Mayes and Scott Haverkamp would most likely not play on the offensive line because he wants them to keep
The linemen said it was clear that they needed to get better before this Saturday's game. Senior center Joe Vaughn said the players knew that Mangino would not hesitate to make changes.
their redshirts.
"As an O-line, you have to perform, and when you don't perform, you have to get somebody in there who does perform." Vaughn said. "It goes week to week. If your performance isn't good, you will get some shots taken at you."
Mangino made one change to the offensive line last week before the Texas Tech game, replacing sophomore right tackle Travis Dambach with redshirt freshman Cesar Rodriguez.
Kansas was supposed to return three starting linemen from last year — Vaughn, sophomore guard Bob Whitaker and senior guard Tony Coker — but Coker has played in only one game because of an ankle injury.
Mangino said the offensive line needed to develop better chemistry and be more aggressive with its blocking to improve.
"At times I didn't execute, and at times as a group we didn't communicate well."
He said there was no excuse for them not to play well together after four games.
Thompson said.
"We have been together for a while now, through spring ball and two-a-days," he said. "We should be meshing well by now."
Thompson and Vaughn both said the group was working hard.
"A lot of the motivation comes from within," Thompson said. "We are hurt from our poor performance.
"We are taking it practice by practice, making sure that everyone is assignment sound and ready to execute."
sophomore quarterback Adam Barmann said he thought the offensive line was doing well despite the criticism it has received from Mangino.
"I think I was only sacked one or two times, and we threw the ball like 48 times," Barmann said. "I know they are working hard out there, and I have confidence in them."
Mangino stressed that this was not a desperate situation for the team but an opportunity to make sure that it had the right combination of players on the field.
"We are confident that the offense will continue to improve."
Mangino said, "Part of coaching is to make sure that we are getting people in the right spots."
Football Notes:
Coach Mark Mangino announced at his weekly press conference that junior defensive end Jermail Ashley was selected as the team's defensive player of the week. Sophomore running back John Randle was named the Jayhawks' special team player of the week. The team did not select an offensive player of the week.
Saturday's game in Lincoln,
Neb., will start at 6:20 p.m.
because of a conflict with the
NASCAR Busch Series.
Freshman wide receiver Hassan Johnson was named scout team offensive player of the week. Freshman linebacker Bruce Ringwood was selected as the scout team defensive player of the week.
The Jayhawks have lost 35 consecutive games against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The last time they defeated the 'Huskers was in 1968 in Lincoln, Neb. Mangino said that he was in eighth grade and had long hair in 1968.
- Edited by Paige Worthy
FOOTBALL: Randle and Gordon enjoy time spent on the field
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tape.
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"Hopefully you can get kids with that kind of athleticism and character, that can deal with playing a lot of reps and you can count on the field," he said.
At the same time, the coaches have a responsibility to make sure that the players do not take too many snaps. This is a problem with Randle and Gordon, who want to play as many snaps as they can.
Randle said that he did not face any extra physical or mental
Randle took over the starting running back position from junior Clark Green after the season opener against Tula.
stress because of the number of snaps he took.
"I do it every day in practice, so I used to it," Randle said.
Randle enjoys being on the field all the time. He likes having the ability to make plays.
Randle managed to touch the ball, but the turnover went to senior reserve linebacker Clark McCracken.
In the game against Texas Tech, Randle was able to get all the way down the field on a punt. As he got in Tech's return man's face, the ball came loose.
"It was fun doing that, I was just flying down the field trying to make plays," Randle said. "I played defense. I can make tackles."
Mangino seems to take pleasure in inserting Gordon into interesting situations. In fact, after one game Mangino said that he liked to "shoot from the hip" as far as Gordon's time on offense.
So far this season, Gordon has caught a pass in every game. He has seven receptions for 68 yards, seventh overall for the Jayhawks this season. Gordon is also the only one, aside from sophomore quarterback Adam Barmann, to complete a touchdown pass this season.
The pass was a half-back toss that he completed to senior wide receiver Brandon Rideau at the Texas Tech game.
"Everything I do is pretty simple." Gordon said.
"Mentally, I'm fine. I'm in pretty good physical shape too."
Gordon does not worry that playing so many different aspects of the game will wear him down.
Gordon plays primarily as a corner back. He also takes several snaps a game at wide receiver, which allowed him to throw the pass against Texas Tech. Gordon is also the team's punt returner.
Regarding Mangino's goal to develop more players into a multi-purpose role, neither player worries about that too much.
"I just try and set an example, play hard," Gordon said. "I think a lot of guys want to be like me."
Phi Kappa Phi
— Edited by Rupal Gor
The nation's largest and most selective honor society
Invitations to nominees start arriving this week.
Only the top 4 percent of juniors in their second semester and the top 7 percent of seniors by school or college and the top 10 percent of the Graduate School by department are nominated for membership.
Congratulations, nominees!
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2004 KANSASVOLLEYBALL