The Kansas volleyball team swept the Temple Classic competition against Temple, Maine and Rutgers over the weekend.
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The Kansas cross country team got off to good start at its opening meet at Rim Rock Farm this past weekend.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
3B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 1B
SPORTS
>> DANCING NACHOS
Meier proves he has what it takes
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
KANSAN SPORTS EDITOR
MPHILLIES@KANSAN.COM
By any measure, Kerry Meier's head-first dive into the endzone was not smart.
But this is football, and logic has a way of becoming irrelevant to 45,000 fans waiting for a hero.
Meier, the first freshman ever to start at quarterback for Kansas on opening day, endeared himself to those fans by displaying his entire arsenal — everything from a 20-yard pass while on the run to the grity endzone dive for his second rushing touchdown of the day.
"That's the game of football," he said afterward. "You've got to lay your body on the line no matter what. I wasn't going to get knocked out of bounds at the one."
Meier's tools are unparalleled among recent Kansas quarterbacks. Even Bill Whittmore in his prime didn't have the talent that Meier displayed on Saturday night.
It's not premature to say it after one game against a I-AA opponent: Kerry Meier is the quarterback who will lead Kansas to a Big 12 North title. In his four years here, he has the potential to rewrite the Kansas record books.
His 8-of-18, 110 yard performance certainly won't put this in the record books as his breakout game, but Meier displayed the traits necessary to quarterback in the Big 12.
saly to quarrelsome.
Pinpoint accuracy was the norm rather than the exception for Meier. His first collegiate touchdown pass was a thread-the-needle effort to Marcus Henry in the corner of the endzone.
"Id been looking forward to that one for a while," Meier said.
From there he displayed his ability to throw on the run, often passing up his check-down receiver, tight end Derek Fine, for more ambitious downfield throws.
His favorite receiver seemed to be Marcus Herford. Time will tell whether the two have developed a connection or if it was just the way the routes were run Saturday, but the two often appeared to be in sync on longer downfield throws.
"Marcus has a great combination of size and speed and he catches the ball well." Meier said. "But I've got total confidence in all of them and I'll throw the ball to any of them."
Kansas fans have seen athletic quarterbacks before after all, Mario Kinsey was listed as a starter before his freshman year — but Meier has the mental prowess to put his skill to good use.
I'll throw the ball in.
In the second half Meier showed
the speed that fans have only caught
glimpses of in spring ball and fall
practices.
He was completely at ease calling an audible at the line, saying afterward that coach Mark Mangino has given him control of the offense at the line of scrimmage.
SEE PHILLIPS ON PAGE 4B
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
It sure wasn't pretty, but Mark Mangino got exactly what he wanted out of Saturday's 49-18 victory against Northwestern State.
Entering the season with inexperience and question marks at several key positions, Mangino said he would use the season opener to evaluate his young players in action and see what needed to be corrected in the coming weeks.
In the second half, the Jayhawks' offense seemed to get on track, scoring touchdowns on three of six drives, highlighted by senior running back Jon Cornish's 69-yard touchdown run. Kansas' young defense, playing only two starters from last year's squad, held Northwestern State without a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.
Kansas looked rusty from the start and didn't seem to find its rhythm until the second half. It was plagued by costly special teams mistakes and a slow start by redshirt-freshman quarterback Kerry Meier.
"I think we are about where I thought we would be," the Kansas coach said. "You can see things that really excite me about this ball club. We made some mistakes that need to be corrected."
Meier was sacked twice and misfired on his first two passes
Meier's ability to scramble and move the pocket, a dimension in the offense not seen last season, helped buy time for receivers downfield to get open. More than half of Meier's nine rushes resulted in first downs. Along with his two touchdowns through the air, Meier ran for two scores as well, including a 31-yard, head-first dive into the endzone.
Despite his slow start
— he proved to be effective in his debut at quarterback. Although his stats weren't exactly jaw-dropping — 8-of-18 passing for just 110 yards — Meier made the difference. Not through the air, but with his feet.
After his quarterback's slow start, Mangino called offensive coordinator Nick Quartaro and told him to let Meier open up the offense.
For most of the night, the Kansas offense benefited from several long returns on special teams, setting up a short field. Two returns in particular, an 88-yard kick off return by sophomore Marcus Herford
“There’s no sense in trying to get conservative and try and ease him in,” Mangino said. “He has the ability to make plays, let’s him do it.”
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 48
ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
Mangino's contract features new package
BY C.J. MOORE
The University of Kansas Athletics Department released football coach Mark Mangino's new five-year contract Monday.
The new contract is almost identical to Mangino's previous contract except for his compensation and incentive package. The new incentive package rewards Mangino for making a bowl game, winning the Big 12 Championship, season ticket sales of more than 40,000 or receiving Coach of the Year awards.
Go to Kansan.
com to check
out the new
contract. For
more information on coach-
ing salaries,
go to Kansan.
com/coaches.
The previous contract included incentives for number of victories, victories against Nebraska
and Kansas State, and rewards for his athletes' academic achievements.
"These incentives made a whole lot more sense than the other ones," said Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director.
The expectations for Kansas football have increased now that victories against Kansas State and Nebraska are not a big surprise; Kansas has defeated both teams during the past two seasons.
Mangino has been rewarded for making two bowl games in the past three years with a base salary of $220,000, increased from $128,438.
For his professional services — which include educational, public relations and promotional duties — Mangino is now paid $1.28 million per year. In his previous contract, he received $475,000 for those services.
Mangino is now the highest-paid coach at the University. Basketball coach Bill Self is the second-highest paid, coming in just behind Mangino at $1.24 million annually, before any incentive bonuses.
Kansan staff writer C.J. Moore can be contacted at cjmoore@ kansan.com.
Edited by Dianne Smith
JAN 1 BOWL VICTORY
New contract — $75,000
Previous contract — $35,000
Incentives
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
New contract — $200,000
Previous contract —
$100,000
RCS BOWL, VICTORY
New contract — $100,000
Previous contract — $50,006
OTHER BOW! GAME
New contract — $50,000
Previous contract — $20,000
CONFERENCE TITLE GAME*
New contract = $50,000
Previous contract = & 85,000
NATIONAL COACH OF YEAR
new contract — $50,000
Previous contract — $50,000
SEASON ICKET SALES
If sales exceed 40,000,
Mangrove receives $100,000
* New job for only Personal
included with or appearance
.
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