UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, August 16, 1995
5B
Jayhawks hone passing skills to fit new scheme
By Robert Sinclair Kansan sportswriter
In the offseason Kansas football coach Glen Mason established that his team will pass more than it has in the past. What hasn't been established is who is going to lead this high-flying Jayhawk attack.
Although senior Mark Williams is listed as the starting quarterback in practices, junior transfer Ben Butz
QUARTERBACKS
impressed coaches in spring practices and is waiting in the wings.
"Mark Williams, right now, would be labeled No. 1," Mason said. "But, I think it's just a matter of time to where Ben is even more competitive.
"He performed well enough in spring practice that if Mark wasn't playing
well, I wouldn't hesitate to make a change during the game."
Mark Williams
Williams played in seven games last year as Asheikh Preston's back-up after making his debut by starting against Alabama-Birmingham. In his game against the I-AA
school, the 6-foot-1 quarterback was 9 for 11, passing for 144 yards. Williams completed 70 percent of his passes for the year (21 of 30) for 336 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
He is confident going into his senior campaign.
"I feel like it's my team. I looked at it as my team in the spring," Williams said. "I'm very focused on getting the
Of course, one of the teammates who wants to help out Williams the most might be the one who replaces him. But, Rutz says — and Williams agrees — that the competition is good.
job done for my team. I have no doubt that I can do it with the help of my teammates. I can't do it alone."
"It's something that we're going to have to push each other, and I guess we'll both get better with it," said Rutz, who transferred from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M last year.
Before playing at the junior college, Rutz spent a year as a redshirted freshman with Nebraska.
He torre his anterior crucifere ligament, but recovered quickly, and led the Golden Norsemen to the national junior college championship, where they were defeated by Trinity Valley (Texas).
Rutz completed 116 of 217 passes for 1,613 yards with nine touchdowns and
seven interceptions in his nine games at the junior college level.
In the spring game,
Rutz completed 6 of
11 passes for 69
yards.
"Now that I have spring ball under my belt coming into the fall, knowing what's going on, I'm sure I'll
have a little more confidence," the 6-0 transfer said. "I obviously don't want to be a back-up. But you have to go through, compete and see what happens."
Ben Rutz
Both quarterbacks are eager to pass more, but it is not known how this will affect the running game.
When Mason first came to Kansas the Jayhawks were ranked last in the country in running. Since then, Mason has raised its national ranking to eighth.
But last year's problem was that other teams focused more on stopping the run, placing Kansas in a position where it had to pass and everyone knew it. Mason's strategy is to pass more from the start.
Senior running back L.T. Levine — the team's leading rusher — isn't worried about the new offense affecting his running game.
"It will help out the running game a lot more. It's more of a team-oriented offense," Levine said. "I've been doing pretty much the same things I've done before.
"Winning is the most important thing. I just want to win and for my team to do good and get back to a bowl."
Kansas Football
Number, Name, Position, Class, Hometown (High School, Junior College or University)
1 Isaac Byrd, WR, Jr., St. Louis, Mo. (Parkway Central)
2 Freddie Hammonds, DB, Fr., Paterson, N.J. (Catholic)
3 LaVell Thompson, DB, Fr., Pocoima, Calif. (San Fernando)
4 Marlin Blakeney, DB, Sr., Leavenworth, Kan.
5 Thad Rawls, DB, Fr., Pompano, Fla. (Coconut Creek)
6 Ashaundai Smith, WR, Sr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Eti-wanda)
7 Mitch Bowles,RB,Fr., Las Vegas, Nev. (Eldorado)
8 Ben Rutz, QB, QB, Oklahoma City, Ok. (Putnam City West)
9 Reggie Moorer,WR, Sr., South Bay, Fla. (Glades Central)
10 Thad Warren,DB, Sr., Platte City, Fla.
11 Charles Davis,DB, So., Tampa, Fla. (Vocational Tech)
12 Hoseae Friday, TE, Jr., Detroit, Mich. (Chadsey)
12 Zac Wegner,QB, Sr., Platte City, Milton (Platte County)
15 Mark Williams,QB, Sr., Concord, Calif. (Richmond/Diablo Valley C.C.)
16 Keith Rodgers, OLB, Sr., Lenexa, Kan. (Shawnee Mission NW)
17 Dorian Brew,DB, Sr., Florissant, Mo. (McCluer North)
18 Matt Johner,QB, So., Costa Mesa, Cal. (Estancia)
19 Darrin Simmons, P, Sr., Elkart, Mich. (Dodge City C.C.)
20 June Henley,RB, Jr., Columbus, Ohio (Brookhaven)
22 L.T. Levine,RB, Sr., Colonia, N.J.
23 Jason Harris,DB, So., Fort Worth, Texas (Dunbar)
24 Maurice Gaddie,DB, So., Detroit, Mich. (St. Martin de Porres)
25 Eric Vann,RB,So., El Dorado
26 Avery Randle,DB,So., Dallas (Carter)
27 Scott Smetana,DB,Jr., Plainville
28 Tony Blevins,DB,Jr., Kansas City, Mo. (Rockhurst)
29 Manolito Jones,DB,So., Hannibal, Mo.
30 Eric Galbreath,LB,So., Jefferson City, Mo.
31 Luke Richene,DB,Jr., Kansas City,Mo. (St. Plus)
32 Michael Chandler,WR,Fr., Kansas City, Kan. (Piper)
33 Paul Davis,RB-DB, Oakiah, Ill.
34 Mark Sanders,RB,Jr., St. Petersburg, Fla. (Pinellas Park)
35 Julius Bruce,RB,-RS, Olathe (North)
36 Jeff McCord,PK,So., Mesquite, Texas
37 Jamie Harris,DB,-RS, Olathe (North)
38 Jason Thoren,LB,So., Lawrence
40 Roger Wilson,LB,Fr., McKeesport, Pa.
41 Dick Holt,LB,Sr., Wichita (Northwest)
42 Michael Allen,LB,Fr., St. Louis (Hazelwood East)
42 Jonathan Macklin,RB,-RS, Kansas City, Mo. (Rockhurst)
43 Spencer Bonner,DB, Sr., Oak Park, Ill. (Oak Park/River Forest)
47 Patrick Brown,OLB,-RS, Columbus, Ohio (Westerville North)
49 Chris Jones,OLB,Jr., Newton
51 Adam Marinello,LB,Fr., Westerville, Ohio (North)
52 Tyrus Fontenot, LB. Fr., Houston, Texas (Willowridge)
53 Brandon Smith, C, Fr., Prairie Village (Bishop Miege)
54 Rob Jones, OT, Sr., Detroit, Mich. (Ford)
55 Jim Stiebel, C, Jr., Belleville, Ill.
56 Mike Harris, LB, Jr., Lawrence (Butler C.C.)
57 Kevin Kopp, DT, Jr., Kansas City, Mo. (Rockhurst)
58 J.J. Johnson, OLB, Fr.-RS, Los Angeles (Jefferson)
59 Derek Fairchild, OLB, Sr., St. Louis (Parkway West)
60 Steve Bratten, LB, Fr.-RS, Anvada, Colo. (Pomona)
61 Rob Lindsey, LB, Fr.-RS, Tampa, Fla. (Gaiither)
62 Chris Banks, OG, Sr., Lexington, Mo.
63 Dion Johnson DL Fr., Detroit, Mich. (East Catholic)
64 Ted Sawinko OG Fr.-RS Clayton, Ohio (Northmont)
65 Jared Smith C Jr. Pittsburg
66 Tim Willis OLB So. Aliquippa, Pa.
68 Chris Ennakey OT Fr. Lawrence
69 Jeff Redhage DE Fr. Lincoln, Neb. (East)
70 Brett McGraw DT So. Garden City
71 Derrick Chandler OT So. Lynwood, Calif. (Lynwood)
72 Shawn Vang OG FR.-RS Wichita (Northwest)
73 Dameon Hunt OL F. Gahanna, Ohio
74 Michael Richert NT Str. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
75 Tony Zell OG So. Fairview Heights, III. (Belleville Althoff)
76 Justin Glasgow OT Fr. Topeka (Seaman)
77 Cleve Roberts OT Fr. Buhler
78 Ryan Ford OG Fr. Des Moines, Iowa (Roosevelt)
79 Scott Wittaker OT Jr. Alta Loma, Calif. (Etiwanda)
80 Andre Carter WR Jr. Tampa, Fla. (Chamberlain)
81 Shane Rooney TEFr.-RS Sioux City, Iowa (North)
82 Chad Coellner RB Fr. Salina (South)
83 Dewey Deshouston III DT So. Cahokia, Ill.
84 Brian Gray TEFr.-RS Liberty, Mo.
85 Sean McDermott TFR. Fr. Worth, Texas (Arlington Height)
86 Matt Vandrese WR So. Stilwell
87 Ryan Foy WR Sr. Hutchinson
88 Pierre Lisk WR Jr. Sierra Leone, Africa
89 Jim Moore TE Jr. Garden City
90 Dan Dercher DFR.-RS Mission (Bishop Miege)
91 Dalombo Kalombo DT So. Hendon, Va.
92 Adrian Greene DL Fr. Rockledge, Fla.
94 Pat Bishop NT So. Anderson, Calif. (Union/Shasta J.C.)
95 Jeremy Hanak DE Fr. Louisville, Colo. (Centaurus)
96 Luke Silks TE So. Sublette
97 Elliot Shaffer DL Fr. Detroit, Mich. (Mackenzie)
98 Lamar Sharper OLB So. Akron, Ohio (East)
99 Jerome Parks OLB Fr.-RS Detroit, Mich. (Northwestern)
9 Gerald Hawthorne DB Fr. Hillside, III. (Walter Lutheran)
9 Hamilton Hill QB So. Winchill (Collegiate)
9Michael Lies DT So. Wichita (Collegiate)
Augie Lyons WR Fr. Morrison, Colo. (Bear Creek)
Charles Norris RB Fr. Unionville, Mo. (Putnam Co.)
Steve Pickert OLB Fr. Overland Park (Bishop Miege)
Mark Stried LB Fr. St. Louis (Parkway West)
Football cowboy wants to pull in a trip to a bowl game
McGraw hoping to become a big contributor in his sophomore season
By Robert Sinclair
Kansan sportswriter
At first glance, Brett McGraw doesn't look like much of a football player. But what he might lack in height, he makes up for in toughness.
One of the main reasons McGraw decided to attend Kansas last year instead of another school that recruited him, such as Wisconsin, Syracuse, Kansas State or Oklahoma State, was because he didn't want to be redshirted. But he knew that
Brett McGraw
seeing action as a freshman wouldn't be easy.
"Coming in, I didn't feel a lot of people expected me to do a great deal," said the 6-foot-1 sophomore nose tackle. "I happily accepted the challenge." McGraw
McGraw actually ended up as one of six freshmen to see play-
m all 11 games for the
ing time, getting in an Jayhawks last season. He also made his first collegiate start against Nebraska when he was called on to replace injured senior defensive tackle Darnell Britt.
McGraw made the most of his playing time over the course of the season by tallying 34 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Some of this success might be because of his other sports experience. When he isn't laziness opposing quarter-
den City High School graduate and one of McGraw's best friends. "I think he probably gets his toughness from that. Going head to head against bulls makes football look pretty easy."
This year McGraw will be called upon once again to play a big role on an inexperienced and thin defensive line. This could be easier for him since he is one of the few people unaffected by the mass changes the Jayhawks have made this year.
When you are a real cowboy like McGraw, you don't have to wear big belt buckles and Garth Brooks-style hats. According to McGraw, people can tell that he's a cowboy by how he carries himself, not how he dresses.
backs, McGraw is lassoing bulls
Perhaps that's why defensive line coach Dave Gillespie is expecting big things from him.
McGraw, who started for the football team all four years at Garden City, has been around horses his whole life and has been roping since he was six. Because of his background, many people were surprised that he chose to go to Kansas.
"Back where I'm from it's mostly agriculture," McGraw said. "Everybody expected me to go to K-State. The biggest reason I didn't go there was that there were too many people trying to act like cowboys."
"Coming in I didn't feel a lot of people expected me to do a great deal."
backs, McGraw is lassing bulls.
"His whole family is into rodeo," said
junior tight end Jim Moore, a fellow Gar-
"He didn't have to make a big transition." Gillespie said. "We're counting on him to
Brett McGraw
Kansas sophomore nose tackle
be a run stopper. On the other hand, we're also counting on him to get some penetration on the pass rush and get the quarterback out of the pocket."
McGraw has been described as hard-nosed, intense, and hard-working by players and coaches alike. But for some reason his past rodeo experience always comes up in conversation.
"I had a lot of fun doing it, and I miss it." McGraw said. "But I can
never understand what the big deal is and everybody wanting to talk about it. It's just a part of life for me."
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