Grid hopes rest chiefly on rookies
See the Kansas football team. See them run onto the field.Color them green.
Coach Jack Mitchell's 1966 squad will field the largest number of young potential starters since Mitchell took the helm of the Javahawks in 1958.
Mitchell has 21 sophomores of whom he is highly optimistic. KU's hopes of bouncing back from last year's 2-8 record, the Jayhawks' first losing season since '58, depend on how quickly and how far Coach Mitchell and his staff can bring these new men along.
THE HIGH ESTEEM in which Mitchell holds this group of rookies was reflected in the depth chart he established for the opening fall practice. Three sophomores were listed on the number one offensive unit and four on the top defensive platoon.
Sophomores who went into the first practice at the top of their positions offensively were Keith Christensen, 265-pound left tackle from Concordia; Don Shanklin, swift left halfback from Amarillo, Texas; and Junior Riggins, 200-pound right half from Centralia.
On the defensive unit Mitchell listed these newcomers number one for the fall drills: right end, John Zook, 220; Larned; corner back, Dave Morgan, 190, Wauwatosa, Wis.; and safetymen Tommy Ball, 188, Manhattan, and Bill Hunt, 180, Hackensack, N.J.
TWO OTHER BIG "IFS" loom as factors in the Jayhawks' chances for a victorious season: how well six key players recover from knee operations and whether fiery quarterback Bob Skahan can break away from the injuries that plugged him most of last season following a brilliant sophomore campaign.
Since last season the following players underwent knee surgery; Ken Johnson, defensive end; Bob Kreutzer, center; Bill Perry, offensive guard; David Aikins, fullback; Mike Harris, halfback, and Bill Esters, fullback.
Dick Bacon, two-year letterman at fullback, will team with Skahan to give the otherwise young backfield stability. Mitchell rates seven sophomores among the top eight halfbacks. The only holdover in this array is junior Bill Lynch, who will start drills as the number two left halfback behind Shanklin.
Lynch was the Big Eight's top punter last year averaging 41.5 yards on 46 boots.
ONLY FIVE SENIORS are regarded as early starters in the offensive and defensive lines and one of them is Perry, whose knee surgery makes him a question mark. If the operation is successful, Perry will play one of the guard slots on offense.
The other veteran linemen who'll be running number one at the outset are Jeff Elias, offensive left end; Bill Wohlford, center or middle guard; Jerry Barnett, defensive left tackle, and George Harvey, linebacker.
Another senior of note is Halley Kampschroeder, a sticky-fingered flanker back who caught seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas' last two games of 1965. He was moved to the flanker back spot after playing defensive halfback most of the season.
Daily Kansan 5
Thursday, September 15, 1966
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