4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2007
COMMENTARY
Positive forecast for 2007 Spring Scrimmage shows promise for fall season
beautiful Sunday afternoon, a large crowd (relatively speaking), and a free T-shirt.
Everything was set up perfectly off the field for the Kansas football Spring Scrimmage Sunday at Memorial Stadium. Here's what I was able to walk away with following the play on the field:
Positives
The secondary is much improved from a season
BY KAYVON SARRAF
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
KSARRAF@KANSAN.COM
improved from a season ago
— In all fairness to Anthony Webb, a true freshman should not be thrown into the fire in Big 12 Conference football. Junior college transfer Kendrick Harper appears to have solidified the No. 2 corner spot and a healthy Darrell Stuckey was all over the field Sunday. Tang Bacheyie, filling in for senior Jerome Kemp, did not have to make any plays but he sure passes the looks test.
The man is huge and can run.
Joe Mortensen looks more comfortable at middle linebacker
— Whether he remains the starter in the middle in front of Mike Rivera remains to be seen, but Mortensen looked at home attacking the line of scrimmage from the middle of the field as opposed to chasing down running backs off the edge, where his speed more closely resembles Tank Johnson than Derrick
Johnson.
Anthony Collins is a monster — It was difficult to find the defensive end Collins was blocking as he was usually five yards downfield on the ground. The switch from right tackle to left tackle with Cesar Rodriguez is going to show how dominant Collins, as Todd Reesing/Kerry Meier will no longer be hearing footsteps from their blind side all game long. Collins appears ready to take his game to the all-conference level.
Kyle Tucker appears to have regained his sophomore form — Tucker may have let his nomination for the Ray Guy award as the nation's top punter two seasons ago get to his head because he was flat out abysmal last season, routinely shanking punts into the crowd and booming punts into the end zone from 40 yards out. The old Tucker needs to return for Kansas to be as good as it can be.
— Mangino is yet to have one quarterback stay healthy an entire season, so whoever the starter may be, it will need to have a backup come in without much drop off.
Two competent quarterbacks
A new offensive coordinator — Ed Warriner's playbook appears it may actually have more than five plays in it. The new no-huddle offense looked to throw the ball downfield more than it did in any game last season, giving big and fast wide receivers Marcus Herford and Marcus Henry an opportunity to make plays.
Negatives
Depart at offensive line
Mangino needs to hope nobody gets injured up front because the second-string offensive line ushered blue jerseys to Reesing/Meier all game long.
Mistakes from the quarterback
- While Reesing and Meier each proved they could run the offense with success, each needs to learn to take care of the football. Meier threw an interception to Stuckey, while Reesing still carries the football like a loaf of bread when scrambling.
Sarraf is a Lawrence senior in journalism.
Edited by Stacey Couch
NFL
Chiefs, defensive tackle
agree to three-year deal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs re-signed veteran defensive tackle James Reed to a three-year contract on Tuesday. Terms were not disclosed.
Reed, a free agent, started 15 games for Kansas City in 2006, including the Chiefs' 23-8 playoff
loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The former seventh-round pick out of Iowa State had 42 tackles, 10 quarterback pressures and a sack.
The Kansas City defense ranked 16th in the league last season, Reed's first with the Chiefs. It marked a big improvement over 2005, when the Kansas City defense ranked 25th and allowed nearly 330 yards per game.
The Chiefs already resigned defensive linemen Jimmy Wilkerson and Ron Edwards, and agreed to a four-year contract with former Chicago Bears backup Alfonso Boone. But the defensive line remains a priority heading into the draft, along with cornerback, wide receiver and offensive line.
Associated Press
Uncertainty still remains
FOOTBALL
Kansan football reporter Asher Fusco outlines his depth chart for the 2007 season.The quarterback position features the most competition for Kansas.
OFFENSE
Quarterback
10- Kerry Meier, 6-3, 215, sophomore
5- Todd Reesing, 5-11, 195, sophomore
Running Back
1 - Jake Sharp, 5-10, 190, sophomore
34 - Donte Bean, 5-9, 180, redshirt freshman
Fullback
35 - Brandon McAnderson, 6-0, 235, senior
28 - Sam Archer, 6-1, 220, sophomore
Left Tackle
78 - Anthony Collins, 6-6, 300, junior
68 - Carl Wilson, 6-4, 275, redshirt freshman
Left Guard
66 - Adrian Mayes, 6-3, 30, junior
70 - Matt Darton, 6-6, 30, Junior
Center
50 - Ryan Cantrell, 6-3, 285, junior
55 - John Marshall, 6-3, 280, redshirt freshman
Right Guard
79 - Chet Hartley, 6-4, 315, junior
59 - Sal Capra, 6-3, 245, redshirt freshman
Right Tackle
65 - Cesar Rodriguez, 6-7, 286, senior
63 - lan Wolfe, 6-5, 280, redshirt freshman
Tight End
85 - Derek Fine, 6-3, 245, senior
83 - Marc Jones, 6-4, 241, senior
Wide Receiver 1
86 - Marcus Henry, 6-4, 200, senior
38 - Raymond Brown, 6-3, 200, junior
Wide Receiver 2
Wide Receiver 2
88 - Dexton Fields, 6-0, 200, junior
82 - Jeff Foster, 6-2, 195, senior
Wide Receiver 3
13 - Marcus Herford, 6-3, 210, junior
3 - Agib Talib, 6-2, 180, junior
Four weeks of spring practices cleared up the picture on the offensive line and at the wide receiver spots, but questions remain at quarterback and running back. Sophomores Todd Reesing and Kerry Meier have played their way to a deadlock and should both see plenty of playing time this fall. Sophomore Jake Sharp has secured the tailback position but it remains to be seen how many carries senior fullback Brandon McAnderson will receive.
DEFENSE
Defensive End
81 - Russell Brorsen, 6-4, 23, Junior
47 - Maxwell Onygable, 6-4, 230, redshirt freshman
Defensive End
87 - John Larson, 6-3, 245, junior
84 - Jeff Wheeler, 6-7, 260, sophomore
Defensive Tackle
93 – James McClinton, 6-1, 283, senior
- Caleb Blakesley, 6-5, 285, sophomore
72 – Todd Haselhorst, 6-4, 300, junior
98 – Justin Pessett, 6-3, 285, redshirt freshman
Defensive Tackle
Outside Linebacker
41 - Arist Wright, 6-0, 210, sophomore
58 - Jake Schermer, 6-2, 215, sophomore
Middle Linebacker*
8 - Joe Mortensen, 6-1, 245, junior
40 - Mike Rivera, 6-3, 250, junior
Outside Linebacker
12 - James Holt, 6-3, 200, junior
44 - Olaitan Oguntodu, 6-0, 200, sophomore
Cornerback
3 - Aqib Talib, 6-2, 180, junior
26 - Phillip Strozier, 6-0, 190, redshirt freshman
Cornerback
Strong Safety
24 - Kendrick Harper, 5-11, 15junior
4 - Gary Green, 5-9, 17junior
36 - Tang Bacheyle, 6-1, 205, junior
27 - Sadiq Muhammed, 6-0, 195, senior
Free Safety
25 - Darrell Stuckey, 6-1, 202, sophomore
7 - Patrick Resby, 6-2, 195, junior
This spring the Kansas defense looked more impressive than the much maligned and often scored upon 2006 version. The addition of junior cornerback Kendrick Harper from Butler County Community College gives the defense what it has needed for the past two seasons: a second capable cornerback to lineup opposite All-Big 12 first-team nominee Aqib Talib. Juniors Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera are in a battle for the middle linebacker position, proving the Jayhawks have some quality depth at the linebacker position.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker
Punter
39 - Scott Webb, 5-11, 180, senior
- Stephen Hewitt, 6-4, 210, freshman**
Long Snapper
15 Kyle Tucker, 6-2, 205, senior
22 - Kyle Davis, 5-10, 178, sophomore
Punt Returner
56 - Kayl Anderson, 6-2, 225, sophomore
50 - Ryan Cantrell, 6-3, 285, junior***
4 - Gary Green, 5-9, 175, junior
25 - Dairy Stuckey, 6-1, 202, sophomore
Kick Returner
13 – Marcus Herford, 6-3, 210, junior***
1 – Jake Sharp, 5-10, 190, sophomore***
The special teams should once again be one of Kansas' strong suits in 2007. Senior kicker Scott Webb has been consistent throughout his career and is one of the Big 12 Conference's best. Senior punter Kyle Tucker was sloppy at times last season but was always capable of pinning the opponent deep in its own territory with a booming punt. Junior cornerback Gary Green will take over as the punt returner with little competition from sophomore safety Darrell Stuckey, who struggled to field routine punts in the Spring Scrimmage.
*The starter has not yet been determined at this position
**Stephen Hoge is an incoming freshman and did not participate in spring drills
***Players did not participate in spring drills at this particular position
Asher Fusco
Free your Soles
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