SPORTS
4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN NCAA FOOTBALL
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29. 2006
Nation's 2nd-youngest D-1 football coach starts work at K-State
BY DOUG TUCKER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANHATTAN — Monday was raw and windy, overcast and cold.
For all Ron Prince knew, it could have been as hot and muggy as those Fourth of July celebrations he recalls from his childhood in nearby Junction City.
On the first day of his first spring practice as head coach at Kansas State, the weather was just about the last thing on the mind of the second-youngest head coach in Division I-A football.
What Prince has worked toward and dreamed of almost all his life has finally arrived. Snatched out of obscurity last fall and named to replace the retiring Bill Snyder, he is now the man in charge.
"He is the leader of the program and he is what you want to be when you're gone and everyone is talking about you," said Raheem Morris, the Wildcats' new defensive coordinator. "He hasn't laid down his legacy yet. But he will."
The son of a discipline-minded career military man, Prince, 36, is following one of the greatest legacies in Kansas State history. It was Snyder who resurrected the long-woeful program in the early '90s and built it into a national contender. When Snyder retired last fall unexpectedly, the field was renamed in his honor and Prince was unknown to just about any Kansas State fan who did not have some tie to Virginia.
But Prince knew what he wanted, and now it is his.
"You have so many moments where you're trying to get to this position and you're thinking
about it." he said Tuesday.
"I've thought about this thing quite a bit so it was good to go out and finally get to do it. It was a lot of fun."
"Somebody said, 'You couldn't have asked for a better day weather-wise.' I didn't even notice. As long as there wasn't lightning, we were going to go out there."
There is much to get done in the 15 practice days that will culminate on April 22 with the annual Purple and White game.
Most critical is making sense of the logjam at quarterback, where no fewer than five possibilities will compete. There is starting experience in Dylan Meier, Allen Webb and Allan Evridge. Also certain to get attention are two highly sought recruits — redshirt freshman Kevin Lopina and Josh Freeman, a true freshman who broke his verbal commitment to Nebraska after Prince was hired.
Picking the right quarterback could go a long way toward deciding how successful Prince's first years will be.
"It's too early to say how that's going to go," Prince said. "I'm just as interested and excited as everybody else to find out who is going to be the quarterback. There are obviously capable candidates, and I think it's going to be an exciting time for everybody.
"The two most visible people are the head football coach and the quarterback."
Starting on a good footing is also important because the Wildcats are coming off their first back-to-back losing seasons since 1989-90, the outset of Snyder's storied turnaround. A new coach and new staff must learn their players, and vice versa.
Have a ball
Morry Gash/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Diego Padres second baseman Josh Barfield tosses a ball to a fan before their spring training baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday in Tempe, Ariz. The Angels won 15-2.
Ex-Royal returns to Kansas City
MLB
BY HOWARD ULMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Infielder Tony Graffenino was claimed off waivers Tuesday by the Kansas City Royals, returning to the team that traded him to the Boston Red Sox eight months ago.
"It's a place I'm going where I feel like I'm wanted and I should get decent playing time there," Graffenino said. "This wasn't a good situation for me."
for the Red Sox after being traded July 19, then lost his secondbase job. Boston obtained Mark Loretta from San Diego on Dec. 7 for catcher Doug Mirabelli.
He batted .319 in 51 games
Although Kansas City has second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, Graffanino thinks he should get more playing time elsewhere. But he loved his time in Boston.
"It was probably one of, if not my most favorite place I've ever played," said Graffanino, who also has been with Atlanta, Tampa Bay and the Chicago White Sox. "I loved every minute of it, playing in that stadium (Fenway Park) with those fans."
Graffanino had talked with several teams after last season and was surprised when Boston offered him salary arbitration. That meant any other team that signed him would have had to give the Red Sox a top draft choice.
"All the teams that were talking to me just pulled back," Graffanino said early this
month. He agreed to a one-year, $2.05 million deal that avoided an arbitration hearing but was told early in spring training that the Red Sox would try to send him elsewhere.
"I don't know about soured," Graffanino said. "Ideally, I would have liked for something to have been different and worked out a little sooner and got me into a place where I had a chance to maybe earn a spot on a starting position, but what am I going to complain about?"
ALUMNISPOTLIGHT
Walt Riker College 1970, School of Journalism 1978
Vice President of Media Relations for McDonald's
5:30 - 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 4
Adams Alumni Center
As the spokesman for McDonald's, the press secretary for Senator Bob Dole and a television reporter for a CBS News affiliate, Walt Riker has built a career that has taken him across the country and across industry lines. Join us to hear about his days at KU, his experience in the real world and his tips on how to be a successful KU grad.
5:30-6 p.m. Refreshments and meet the speaker
6-7 p.m. Walt Riker speech and Q & A
Door prizes and free food provided by the Student Alumni Association!
www.kualumni.org
---
1