The Kansas soccer team has five games remaining, and coach Mark Francis said all of them are must-wins. 3B Kansas City legend Buck O'Neil passed away last weekend. DeJuan Atway reflects on his life and his influence on others. 4B
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11,2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 1B
SPORTS
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Junior defensive lineman James McClinton, redshirt freshman linebacker Mike Rivera and the rest of the Kansas defense must play well during Saturday's game at Memorial Stadium if they want to shut down Oklahoma State's offensive line. The challenges they face will be similar to those of last week's game against Texas A&M, which Kansas lost 21 to 18 after Texas took the lead in the fourth quarter.
Cowboys present similar challenges
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
Going up against one of the Big 12 Conference's better offensive lines for the second straight week, Kansas defense once again faces the same challenge.
Against Texas A&M, Kansas' defensive line arguably had its worst game of the season. The Jayhawks were unable to get pressure on A&M's quarterback, forcing coach Mark Mangino to bring the secondary up to blitz.
Kansas' challenge this weekend against Oklahoma State is simple: finding a way to get pressure on quarterback Bobby Reid without giving up the big play.
But bringing up the secondary left the defense vulnerable to big plays down the field.
Against Texas A&M, Mangino said he became increasingly worried about the pressure his defensive line was getting against the quarterback. Late in the second half, Kansas started bringing blitzes from the secondary, leaving limited coverage against A&M's receivers.
The Aggies took advantage of Kansas' blitz and used a short screen-play 35-yard pass to a running back to set up the game-wining the pass before the play on the pre-snap reads," junior defensive end Paul Como said. "We need to get in more of a pass rush mode than just stopping the run."
At his weekly press conference Tuesday, Mangino said he had no regrets about bringing the secondary up to blitz.
"I don't think we had a choice," he said. "We needed to get the quarter-back to make quick decisions."
At times, the added secondary blitz worked to perfection. Senior safety Jerome Kemp recorded a sack when he blind sided Aggies quarterback Stephen McGee late in the fourth quarter.
Still, too often late in Saturday's loss McGee was given too much time to stand in the pocket and find receivers open downfield. On A&M's game winning drive, McGee was 8-of-11 passing.
Pressure against Reid should be a key in Saturday's game. The Cowboy's offensive line has given up only seven sacks in five games this season. By comparison, Kansas has given up 11. Reid is also listed as the Big 12's second most efficient quarterback, behind Nebraska's Zac Taylor.
The same holds true for this weekend's game against Oklahoma State, if Kansas doesn't get pressure on Reid, it can expect to be in trouble.
"We just need to start recognizing the pass before the play on the pre-snap reads," junior defensive end Paul Como said. "We need to get in more of a pass rush mode than just stopping the run."
Players of the Week
Every Tuesday, coach Mark Mangino and his staff select players of the week from the previous week's game. Selections are made for offense, defense and special teams. This week's winners were:
Statistically, Como has been the Jayhawk's best threat to get to the opposing quarterback. In the first five games, Como has four sacks.
"We can't rely on one person,"
Mangino said. "We need good pressure from the inside and we need to have outside pressure that squeezes the pocket."
Kansan senior sportswriter Ryan Schneider can be contacted at rschneider@kansan.com.
Edited by Mindy Ricketts
FOOTBALL
Preseason injury delays safety's start
BY SHAWN SHROYER
As Darrell Stuckey watched his teammates battle Northwestern State, he could hear fans talking about him.
Stuckey, a freshman, was penciled in as Kansas' starting free safety in the preseason. However, an undisclosed injury kept him out
of action, so he was forced to sit in the stands during games, surrounded by fans who didn't even know who he was.
"I found myself listening in on fans who were talking about me," Stuckey said.
Stuckey
He said their conversations about him were mainly complaints that he wasn't releasing any information about his injury. Stuckey was surprised that fans were so upset about it because it was team policy not to discuss injuries.
Well, Stuckey is healthy now and looking forward to catching fans' attention with the skills he can add to the Kansas secondary.
Stuckey took the field for the first time in his college career Saturday against Texas A&M. He said he made a few mistakes early, like drifting while in zone coverage and playing too far off a receiver who couldn't beat him deep anyway, but it didn't take him long to
find his comfort zone.
"It hit me a little bit when I was on the sideline." Stuckey said. "I was kind of like, 'What am I thinking? Why am I thinking so much? Play your game.'"
He didn't start, but he impressed his coaches enough to see action with the game on the line. As Texas A&M mounted its game-winning drive, Stuckey recorded his first career tackle and pass break-up.
Stuckey joins fellow freshmen defensive backs Anthony Webb and Justin Thornton who have seen increased playing time compared to the beginning of the season.
Sophomore defensive end Russell Brorsen, who has also started playing more in recent weeks, said young players like Stuckey have been working hard. Now that younger players have the chance to play, they're proving themselves capable.
As for what Stuckey adds to the defense, senior defensive end Paul Como said Stuckey could make Kansas better against the pass and the run.
"He's fast, he's a real good cover player and he can come up and lay the wood playing the running game, too," Como said.
Stuckey had planned on adding those skills to the Kansas defense every game this season. However, suffering an injury in the preseason that put his playing status in jeopardy was hard for Stuckey to accept.
SEE STUCKET ON PAGE 2B
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Darrell Stuckey, freshman safety, played in his first college game Saturday. Stuckey's undisclosed injury during the preseason kept him on the sidelines, surrounded by fans who wanted to know more details about why he wasn't plaving.
Katie Martinicid, freshman setter (2), and Brittany Williams, freshman middle blocker (10), block Erin Boeve, Iowa State junior middle blocker (7). Kansas plays Kansas State at 7 p.m. tonight and Baylor at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Horeisi Family Athletics Center
VOLLEYBALL
Kansas to play Kansas State, Baylor this weekend
It's a volleyball double-dip this week in Lawrence. Tonight, Kansas plays Kansas State at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, Kansas will take on Baylor at 7 p.m.at the Horesei Family Athletics Center.
The Jayhawks won the last meeting against the Wildcats in Manhattan. It was the first time KU coach Ray Bechard beat the Wildcats in his nine years with the Jayhawks.
This season, both teams are struggling in Big 12 play after starting strong in nonconference play. Kansas (8-9,1-7 conference) and Kansas State (8-9,0-7) will both try to get back in
the win column. The Jayhawks have lost five straight while the Wildcats have lost eight in a row.
"They're extremely hungry to get things back on the right track," Bechard said. "They had an outstanding preconference, but they just haven't had a chance to break through in conference."
In their last matches, Kansas State was swept at home by Colorado, and Kansas was swept at Oklahoma.
Regardless of trying to turn their seasons around, both teams should be playing with a lot of emotion too because it is the Sunflower Showdown.
"The rivalry adds a little bit to
the match," Bechard said. "But we just see it as another quality Big 12 opponent."
The match is sold out of reserved seating, but there are still a limited number of general admission seats available. Admission for students is free with a valid KUID and they will receive a free spirit noodle.
Kansas senior outside hitter Jana Correa has been a consistent threat on offense. She leads the team with 4.18 kills per game and recently became the ninth Jayhawk to achieve 1,000 or more kills in her career. Correa was the fastest player to reach the milestone, accomplishing it in just 76 matches.
On Saturday, the Baylor Bears (13-6,
2-5) will play Kansas. The Bears
have lost five of their last six matches.
The Bears senior middle blocker Desiree Guillard-Young leads the team. She is second in the Big 12 in blocks, averaging 1.53 a game.
Last season, Baylor dropped Kansas in a four-game match in Waco, Texas. However, the jayhawks have won six of the last eight matches against the Bears.
Kansan sportswriter Drew Davison can be contacted at ddavison@kansan.com.
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Edited by Brett Bolton