Former Jayhawk quarterback Mario Kinsey has quit playing football and is now chasing his dream of becoming a basketball player. joining an ABA team in Waco, Texas.
The Jayhawk volleyball team plays its first conference game tonight on the road against the No.1 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE 1B
SERENITY NOW
Jayhawk, Chiefs fans deal with rough weekend
It was a tough weekend for area football fans.
I started off my Saturday watching Missouri and Chase Daniel put on an absolute clinic against a decent SEC team in Ole Miss. In case you haven't seen Mizzou play yet this year, ouch. I know it's only two games into the season, but Chase Daniel is leaps and bounds ahead of our boy Kerry Meier right now. The two tightend set of Rucker and Coffman is legit and it has me wondering why Mark Mangino isn't employing any Derek Fine and Marc Jones lineups.
In fact, Derek Fine, the guy who's going to be a favorite target of Meier, has one catch for 11 yards so far. Marc Jones, a guy I've pumped up and was praised by coach Mark Mangino at media day, hasn't even seen a ball thrown his way unless it was in practice.
With that said, after the Mizzou romp, the aforementioned Fine/Jones-less Jayhawks and their less-than-ordinary secondary were embarrassed Saturday night by Sun-Belt power Louisiana-Monroe, but still came away with a 21-19 victory.
And of course, K-State had to rout Florida Atlantic 45-0.
The final blow didn't come until Sunday when the Chiefs took a beating from Cincinnati and lost Trent Green in the process. You thought the Jayhawk offense was weak? The once powerful Chiefs offense, one of the best in the NFL over the last five years, came to a Robert Geathers-induced halt Sunday.
Though my two favorite football teams looked awful on consecutive days, let me tell my fellow Jayhawk and Chiefs fans this: don't worry.
First, the Jayhawks. Yeah, the defense was lit up and the offense was woeful. Kerry Meier was less than spectacular and fliers are up around campus with a reward for anyone that finds Raymond Brown's pass coverage skills. But the blame isn't just on Meier and Brown. The offensive line was weak, the receivers need to step up, and where is my Fine/Jones connection?
Concerning the defense, my Hayden High School homeboy, Blake Bueltel of Topeka, has to
BY FRED A. DAVIS III
KANSAN COLUMNIST
FDAVIS@KANSAN.COM
improve. I know the man's trying to put on weight, so maybe he can snack on granola while watching game film. It's just an idea. Oh, and a memo to Aqib Talib: You want to be an impact player? Obey team rules.
It could be a very long season for Kansas City, but I won't concede defeat after week one. The defense is improved, and a good defense in any league can keep you in a game. I know Herm Edwards is hailed as a master motivator, so let's see if he can motivate a win in Denver.
Regardless, I'm not worried.
It was game two of the season,
Mangino has yet to open up the
play book and the defense is still
figuring things out. Talib will be
back, and that closes an entire
side of the field. That's going to
help Bueltel's confidence as well
as the rest of the defense. If there's
one thing that can be said about
Mangino, his teams don't quit and
they get better as the season progresses. Why should this year be
any different? Kansas will edge
Toledo. 24-20.
With the Chiefs, the outlook isn't as rosy. Trent Green is still trying to figure out what happened, and Damon Huard is trying to figure out how to be an NFL quarterback. Meanwhile, Larry Johnson is trying to figure out why Willie Roaf retired and why the Chiefs didn't resign Tony Richardson.
Coach Herm Edwards is trying to figure out how he's going to make it through this season, and Chiefs fans are trying to figure out why the team is running dive plays on third-and-five on its opponent's 11-yard line and settling for field goals instead of touchdowns.
Kansan sportswriter Fred A. Davis III is a Topeka senior in journalism.
Edited by Brett Bolton
James A. Faley/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Missouri starting quarterback Chase Daniel sets to pass against Murray State during a football game Saturday in Columbia, Mo. In his first start at Missouri, Daniel threw a school record five touchdown passes and was named Big 12 offensive player of the week. Missouri plays Mississippi on Saturday in Columbia.
U
FOOTBALL
Senior defensive end Paul Como celebrates a tackle during the Sept. 2 victory against Northwestern State. Como has gained attention for both his defensive play and his outstandish halftype, Coach Mark Marinoino has changed the defense so that Como can play from different positions on the field during the same game.
Versatility adds surprise
Rotation allows defensive end to add linebacker to repertoire
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
V
For a guy who's among the quietest football players you'll ever meet. Paul Como sure stands out.
He doesn't make a lot of noise by talking trash or celebrating on the field. What makes Como stand out is that loud 80s hau-band look, not seen since the days of Journey and Poison.
Kansas coach Mark Mangino said Como, despite the hair, didn't bring a lot of attention to himself. "I think Paul Como has been a very underestimated player in our
But now, the senior defensive end is starting to make a name for himself, hair and all, on the football field. In his first season as a full-time starter, he recorded 10 tackles, including four for a loss. Como recorded eight of those tackles in Saturday's victory against Louisiana Monroe.
program." Mangino said. "He's a steady, solid, dependable player, week in and week out."
The new wrinkle for Como this year is his rotation between playing defensive end and linebacker in certain defensive packages. Playing both positions allows Como to rush the quarterback as a lineman and drop back in coverage as a linebacker. Because he usually lines up as a defensive lineman, the ability to switch brings an element of surprise. In some situations, Como is playing the linebacker position, but lines up at the line of scrimmage, as if he were playing a line position.
Como said that when he was approached by Mangtiso and defensive coordinator Bill Young about playing time at both lineman and linebacker, he would be comfortable at both positions.
"I think he wanted someone
with a good pain patch and had a good feel for the defender, he said
The change seems to have paid off. Como recorded carrier-highs for total tackles, assisted tackles and tackles for a loss in the victory against ULM.
Como moved into the defensive end position following the graduation of Brandon Perkins.
Mangino said Including Comos switches in some defensive packages is part of his defense changing over time.
"You must continue to find ways to utilize your personnel and evolve so that your defense has different looks, different types of pressures and coverages." Mangino said.
Coombs's size is an important factor in being able to switch from defensive end to linebacker. He played both lineman and talback in high school in Murrieta, Calif. While being recruited by Mangino
our of Saddleback College in California, Como was a linebacker player.
Mangino said that because Como is a "thick kid," he might be able to switch to another position, even though he played well at linebacker.
"We thought if he could put another 10, 12 pounds of lean body weight on that we could play him down, and it has worked out very well." Mangino said.
In his first year at Kansas last season, Como played in all 12 games on the defensive line, including one start. He finished the season with 13 tackles, four of those for a loss.
Kansan senior sportswriter Ryan Schneider can be contacted at rchneiderkansas.com.
Edited by Jocky Carter
Highly touted recruit to debut at 'Late Night'
BY JACK WEINSTEIN
Darrell Arthur, the highly anticipated freshman forward, took his sweet time deciding where to attend college before ultimately committing to coach Bill Self and the University of Kansas last May.
Arthur's mom gave him some advice before he went to sleep the night before he made his decision. She told him to pray hard, and he did. When Arthur, of South Cliff High School in Dallas, went to sleep that night, he had no idea where he wanted to attend college. But, he had a dream. When he woke up, he knew he wanted to attend the University of Kansas.
When asked if it was typical for him to make decisions after having dreams, Arthur said, "Not really." He
"Coach Self is a good coach, and he's going to work me real hard," Arthur said.
added that, in addition to the dream,
Self was the reason he decided to
become a lajhawk.
Expectations are high for Arthur. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound freshman is expected to contribute immediately to a Jayhawk team that returned its top two post players in juniors C.J. Giles and Sasha Kaun. Junior Darnell jackson also returned.
Self said the expectations for Arthur and fellow freshman Sherron Collins were "very high", and alluded to last year's freshman class of Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright and Brandon Rush.
"I think they should have a similar impact to what Mario, Julian and Brandon had last year," Self said.
"They should definitely impact how good we're going to be this year."
"He looks excellent," Chalmer said of Arthur. "He's working hard, trying to get better every time."
Chalmers, Arthur's roommate, said he expected Arthur to be a scorer and a slasher, but said it would ultimately be up to Self.
Collins described Arthur as a "high flyer; he plays above the rim." Collins also said he was going crazy back in Chicago when he heard Arthur had signed with the University.
Arthur said Self told him hed be a three or four, referring to the small forward and power forward positions, a role that Wright filled last year.
"I enjoy him," Collins said, describing how the two of them bad hung out at the Roundball Classic in
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Chicago April 9. "I just tried to help him here."
Chalmers thought the additions of Collins and Arthur could help the team become a national title contender.
Chalmers said that the two made the Jayhawks a more athletic team.
Self said if they do what they're supposed to do, the Jayhawks would put themselves in a position to play for higher stakes this season.
"I think this is a team that can get Kansas hopefully back amongst the top five or 10 teams in the country," Self said.
Kansan staff writer Jack Weinstein can be contacted at jwelinstin@ kansan.com
Edited by Erin Wiley
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