4B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
SMITH: Award would be an honor
CONTINUED FROM 1A
Q: What do you think your chances of winning the Hermann Trophy are?
A: Being a junior always doesn't help. You have an advantage as a senior, and it depends how the team does and how the season goes.
Right now it's way too early to tell. If our team does extremely well, my chances go up a lot because people look at teams as much as they do players. The Hermann award doesn't go to many players that don't play on extremely good teams.
Q: You say you always want to be the best. Would that award show that you're the best?
A: I guess it's supposed to be the best soccer player, so I guess you could look at it like
that. It would definitely be an honor when you look at all the good soccer players that are out there right now.
Q: Do you work out a lot?
A: During the season I do not, otherwise I would be in big trouble.
We are pretty exhausted during the season. We all work out pretty hard in the spring and summer to get ready.
Q: How much do you squat and bench?
Q: Do you ever feel like a celebrity on campus because you're on the soccer team?
A: My squat is probably around 275, and bench I haven't done for a long time.
A: Recently it's been kind of cool because people have been like, "Oh yeah, you're on the soccer team, you guys just beat
Clemson." We've had that some in the past, but I think more so now people know who the soccer players are and they know the soccer team is doing really well, so that's been kind of cool for us.
Usually we're a basketball or a football school, and now we're kind of doing a lot better in soccer.
Q: Would you consider yourself cocky or humble?
A: It depends. When I step on the soccer field against other teams I consider myself cocky because I go out there expecting myself to do a lot — but as far as it goes with my teammates, I don't think I'm like that. I try not to be.
Q: Why are you majoring in human biology and psychology?
A: I thought of a major in biology just because my roommate was majoring in biology, and we were both pre-med.
Then I kind of got into the psychology stuff after I took some classes and I really liked it, and so that's why I have the second major.
Q: Is religion important to you, and does it go with soccer?
A: Religion is important to me. I'm religious. I don't go to church all the time or anything like that, but I would definitely consider myself religious. It goes with soccer because we're pretty religious as a team, and so we do a lot of stuff together with religion. As far as with soccer, it gives me a better perspective on things in that soccer's not everything sometimes.
Q: How do you like coach Mark Francis?
A: Coach is awesome, he knows what he's talking
about, and he definitely tries to make us better every day and tries to keep us together and not let us get too far ahead of ourselves.
He expects a lot out of us, which is good because the more he expects, the better we do.
Q: Does he keep a close eye on how much you party?
A: I think there are reasonable rules about how often we go out and what we're allowed to do.
Coach keeps an eye on it, but he doesn't go out of his way—he trusts us and if things happen we deal with it as a team. He doesn't have to baby-sit us because we're all old enough to handle it because we know what mistakes and bad decisions can do to a team.
— Edited by Jon Ralston
Kansan File Photo
Junior forward Caroline Smith is an integral part to KU's soccer team. Smith holds KU's all-time records in points (68), goals (31), game-winning goals (11) and shots (143).
Falcons start 2-0, praise Vick's recovery
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — As Michael Vick somersaulted through the air — cleats pointing toward the Georgia Dome roof, helmet just inches off the turf — he actually recalled a similar play from his Virginia Tech days.
"It was my first college game," Vick said. "I was just running reckless and jumped. I didn't know where I was headed. This time, I was conscious of where I was in the air."
No problem.
Just another play in the life of the NFL's most amazing player.
"Man, he's one of a kind," cornerback Jae Webster marveled yesterday. "I'm just glad we're on the same team."
And how's this for amazing? Vick has guided the Atlanta Falcons to their first 2-0 start since 1998, which also happens to be the season of their lone Super Bowl.
Vick already has provided one of the season's signature plays. Last Sunday against St. Louis, he took off from the Rams' 16 in a mad sprint for the corner of the end zone.
Jerametrius Butler dove at Vick's legs near the sideline, sending the quarterback spinning like a Ferris wheel.
The crowd gasped, but Vick popped right back up. Warrick Dunn scored on the next play, giving the Falcons a 14-0 lead on their way to a surprising 34-17 victory.
"I know how to play this game," Vick said, his tone more resolute than cocky.
This is what he said all along during the preseason — a time spent mostly on the bench, sparking worries among the Falcon faithful that Vick wouldn't be ready to run the West Coast-style offense brought in by new coach Jim Mora and coordinator Greg Knapp.
Mora was more concerned with what happened a year ago. Vick broke a leg in the presea.
son, missed the first 11 games of the regular season and returned to find a team on its way to a dismal 5-11 finish.
"We knew it was basically a no-win situation," Mora said. "If you played him too much, people thought you're risking injury. If you didn't play him enough, then people didn't think he's going to be ready for the season. We knew what we were doing."
But it's the running that sets Vick apart.
He carried 12 times for 109 yards, even though the Rams were intent on keeping Vick in the pocket and making him throw.
Webster puts it this way. "He can run like any receiver or running back — better than most — and he throws as well as any quarterback."
It's not much of a stretch to call Vick the most valuable player in the league, if value is based on what a player means to his own team.
Two years ago, Vick made his debut as an NFL starter and was nothing short of spectacular.
He guided the Falcons to the playoffs, led them to an improbable postseason win at Lambeau Field and was voted to the Pro Bowl.
Last season, the Falcons went 2-10 with Doug Johnson and Kurt Kittner at quarterback, their hopes dashed before Vick recovered. He reclaimed the starting job for the final four games, and Atlanta won three of them.
Often overlooked amid all the hype: Vick is only 24, his best years still ahead of him.
"It's day to day." Mora said. "Every day, he gets better and more comfortable. It's natural that the more repetitions you get doing something, the more comfortable you're going to feel doing it. You see that every day in Mike."
Ric Feld/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick (7) goes airborne over SL Louis Rams cornerback Jerametrius Butler (23) during first half play at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Sunday.
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