8A SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NARY KANSAS
MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 2006
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Freshmen to fill Vince Young's 'Texas-sized shoes'
BY SHAWN SHROYER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas freshman quarterback Jeann Snead looks toward a receiver during practice Aug. 8. B Austin, the Longhorns haven't started a season with a freshman quarterback since 1993.
Success hasn't changed Texas coach Mack Brown since getting the proverbial monkey off his back and winning the national championship last season.
"Coach Brown is the same guy that recruited me me however many years ago, since he showed up on my doorstep," senior cornerback Aaron Ross said. "He hasn't changed one bit since we won the national championship."
After taking a redshirt last season, freshman Colt McCoy is the leading candidate to succeed Young. Freshman Jevan Snead, who enrolled at Texas in January, will be McCoy's competition at quarterback.
The Texas roster, on the other hand, has changed since last year – but not much. The Longhorns return seven starters on each side of the ball, although the few losses stick out like a sore thumb.
The loss getting the most publicity is the loss of Vince Young at quarterback with only a pair of freshmen to fill his Texas-size shoes.
Even after Texas' spring game, no clear cut No. 1 emerged. McCoy was 7-for-11 for 75 yards, barely outdone by Snead's 9-for-13 for 97 yards, one touchdown performance.
At the Big 12 Media Days in July, Brown said McCoy's extra semester of experience gave him the advantage and made the rest of the offense more comfortable with him.
"Colt's just been there longer," Brown said. "So, it's a very difficult thing for levan to come in in January and be pushed right into the offense."
The Longhorns also lost sophomore running back Ramonce Taylor when he left in July, but have two players returning who started at the position last season.
Sophomore running back Jamaal Charles started three games last season, rushing for 878 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior running back Selvin Young started five games last
season and rushed for 461 yards and eight touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Limas Sweed has started 20 straight games and leads a trio of returning starters at the receiver position. Last year, Sweed collected 545 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Texas' offensive line will feature three senior returning starters who garnered All-Big 12 honors last season. Justin Blalock returns to his right tackle spot, Kasey Studdard returns to his left guard spot and Lyle Sendlein will be at center again.
Heading into the season, the line knows what their first priority will be.
"With youth and inexperience at the quarterback position,it's really important for us to give them protection," Blalock said.
On defense, the Longhorns will have to replace defensive tackle Rodrigue Wright, cornerback Cedric Griffin and safety Michael Huff, who are now in the NFL, and linebacker Aaron Harris, who was named third-tier All-American last season.
Seniors Tim Crowder and Brian Robison combined for 108 tackles and 10 sacks from their defensive end spots and junior defensive tackle Frank Okam will look to build on his 48 tackles and one sack from last
Linebackers Robert Killebrew, junior, and Rashad Bobino, sophomore, return after combining for 120 tackles and six sacks last season. Junior Drew Kelson appeared in all 13 games last season, starting three, and could be the leading candidate to fill the third linebacker spot.
season.
Although known more for his punt returning skills, Ross will try to make a name for himself on defense in 2006. Ross started just two games at corner last season, but still recorded 62 tackles and three interceptions.
Ross will join returning starters and seniors Tarell Brown, cornerback, and Michael Griffin, strong safety. Griffin's brother Marcus could fill the free safety spot.
"We have a couple guys in the slot for free safety and they're doing a great job in camp so far," Ross said.
More important than finding new starters, the Longhorns are searching for a new leader. Young was the team's unquestioned leader last year. Now Texas needs a new leader to step up.
Despite the losses, Ross said the team believes in itself. Instead of a single player, an entire unit might lead the team. With added pressure on the defense, Brown said it might
Texas schedule
Sept. 2 – vs. North Texas
Sept. 9 – vs. Ohio State
Sept. 16 – at Rice
Sept. 23 – vs. Iowa State
Sept. 30 – vs. Sam Houston
State
Oct. 7 - vs. Oklahoma
Oct. 14 - vs. Baylor
Oct. 21 - at Nebraska
Oct. 28 - at Texas Tech
Nov. 4 - vs. Oklahoma State
Nov. 11 - at Kansas State
Nov. 24 - vs. Texas A&M
Source: Texas Athletics Department
be time for the defense to lead the team while the offense finds life without Young.
"We do think now with Young leaving that it'll motivate our defense to play better because he would pull you out of some trouble and it'll make us protect the ball better," Brown said.
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@ kansan.com.
Edited by Catherine Odson
VOLLEYBALL (CONTINUED FROM 10A)
"I played okay, helping the team," Correa said. "I feel really good about my knee."
The Jayhawks dominated the Bulldogs from the beginning. In the first game, Kansas started with a 6-0 run before Alabama A&M scored their first point. Kansas recorded 10 aces, nine blocks and a .512 attacking percentage in the first game. In game two, the Jayhawks scored 18 straight points, holding
to the Bulldogs to single digit points.
To complete the sweep, Kansas started the third game 16-0, cruising to the victory. Correa had a career high .765 attack percentage in the game.
Saturday the Jayhawks had to comeback after losing the first game, to beat Miami 3-1; 23-30,
30-28, 30-25, 30-23. Correa led the team again with 16 kills and 10 digs. Savannah Noyes, sophomore
middle blocker, had a career high 14 kills. Brown added 11 kills and 26 assists helping the Jayhawks comeback for the win.
Saturday night did not go the Jayhawks way. Host Alabama swept Kansas, 21-30, 20-30, 18-30. The first match was close, tied 16-16 at one point, however, five late errors proved to be costly for the Jayhawks. In game three, Kansas committed 15 errors, and had a -122 attacking
percentage, as Alabama was able to down Kansas.
The Jayhaws home opener against UMKC is at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Horese Family Athletics Center.
Kansan sportswriter Drew Davison can be contacted at ddavison@kansan.com.
- Edited by Kristen Jarboe
ATWAY (CONTINUED FROM 10A)
Jones, C.J. Hunter, Gatlin and Montgomery, have tested positive for a plethora of performance enhancing drugs.
former athletes serve life sentences, he continues to skate free and denies any wrongdoing.
Removing Graham will not solve all of track and field's problems, but it is a step in the right direction for a sport that is desperate for some press and attention that does not result from needles, testosterone and cheating.
If one athlete testing positive is an accident and two is a coincidence, three might show some tendencies, but 11 is a bird flulke epidemic.
Kansan sportswriter DeJuan Atway can be contacted at datway@ kansan.com.
"We've got a lot of people who can finish," Francis said. "It makes us a little bit harder to defend against."
Kansas also proved hard to score against. The Paladins mustered only four shots and had trouble penetrating the mid line the entire game
Graham is banned from using the United States Olympic Committee training facilities and is connected to the BALCO disaster engulfing Barry Bonds. But he has somehow managed to avoid being banned from the sport altogether. While Graham's
Less than 10 minutes later, senior forward Lacey Novak scored the Jayhawks' third goal on a pass from Gault. Gault stole the ball around midfield and continued dribbing up the right side, while Novak trailed. Gault maneuvered past the only defender to beat her and fired a pass backwards to Novak, who scored from the middle of the box.
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Edited by Kate Shipley
SOCCER (CONTINUED FROM 10A)
SOCCER NOTES
Sophomore Julie Hanley won the goalkeeper job for the Jayhawks for at least the Furman game. Hanley played all 90 minutes, saving both of the Paladins' shots on goal. Hanley and junior Colleen Quinn were both competing for the starting job during practice.
Senior Holly Gault has already been named to the preseason All-Big 12 team, and she earned two more preseason honors this weekend. She was placed on the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy watch list as the Division I's most outstanding woman player. Gault was also added onto Soccer America magazine's preseason list.
Kansas was scheduled to play another game Sunday against Loyola Marymount, but the game was canceled because of unsafe field conditions caused by rain. The game will not be rescheduled.
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
because of the Jayhawks' midfield play.
In addition to rarely letting a Furman player reach the offensive, midfielders Gault and sophomore Missy Geha also combined for nine of the jawhaws' 25 shots. The offensive outpouring was an improvement from last week's disappointing exhibition game against Drake in which Kansas managed only eight shots.
Edited by Kristen Jarboe
"I think it was our commitment to work hard in the box," Francis said. "As a coach you just look for the team to improve."
Kansas 3. Furman 0
Furman 0 0 — 0
Kansas 1 2 — 3
GOALS
Kansas — Rogers (Alvarez)
Dollinsky (Sauer, Strinden); Novak
(Gault).
RECORDS
Kansas 1-0; Furman 0-1