THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
Unique hairstyles, raising profiles Freshmen James Sims and Deshaun Sands both think they can iolt the Javhawks'anemic rushing attack
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
Freshmen James Sims and Deshaun Sands both think they can jolt the Jayhawks' anemic rushing attack.
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CUTTING CORNERS
Senior cornerback Chris Harris sacks North Dakota State freshman quarterback Esley Thorton in Kansas' 6-3 loss on Sept. 4. Harris has tied his career high in sacks already this season, picking up two in Kansas' first three games.
Chris Neal/Kansan
Risky blitz paying off for Harris, defense
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BY MATT GALLOWAY
mgalloway@kansan.com twitter.com/themattgallowy
It is one of the riskiest play calls in football. When it pays off, the opposing quarterback is almost always driven down with a sack. When it fails, it often leads to long touchdown passes.
It is the cornerback blitz, and because of the player defensive coordinator Carl Torbush has at the position, it is a risk he is willing to take.
Senior cornerback Chris Harris has been a lone bright spot in the Jayhawk pass rush, leading the team with two sacks in three games. That number already matches Harris' career total coming into the season.
"Ideally, wed not like our cornerback to be the lead sacker on the team," Torbush said. "We'd like a defensive end or maybe a linebacker, but surely not a corner back."
Through three games, the Kansas secondary has allowed only two pass plays of 20-plus yards. Against Southern Miss last Friday, the defense held stand-out junior wide receiver DeAndre Brown to just three receptions for 34 yards.
Containing such dynamic receivers downfield allows Torbush to use Harris occasionally in the pass rush game, which has struggled mightily this season.
now. But that speaks highly of him that he has the ability not only to get in there and get the quarterback but also to defend the pass downfield."
When cornerbacks come on blitzes, it often creates mismatches on offense with linebackers covering speedy wide receivers. Harris
"I definitely want to make a play before he gets the ball off. I just want to do my job."
"We've had opportunities, especially that first game, for three or four more sacks," Torbush said. "If that happened he probably would not be our leading sack guy right
CHRIS HARRISE
Senior cornerback
said he feels obligated to get to the quarterback before the ball leaves his hand.
"I definitely feel that I've go to go and make a play because
I'm leaving my other ten guys out there hanging in coverage," Harris said. "I definitely want to make a play before he gets the ball off. I just want to do my job."
Cornerbacks were not always accustomed to the pass rush. Just twenty years ago it was rare to see anyone in the secondary get to the opposing quarterback, Torbush said. Such is not the case in today's spread-happy league.
"In today's game of football, you'll see cornerbacks with sacks, safeties with sacks, outside line-backers and nickels with sacks," Torbush said. "In the past, that wasn't necessarily true. But I think in today's game of football, because of the multiplicity and the way people are spreading out, you've got to bring people from all angles."
Senior defensive end Jake Laptad, widely considered the team's best pass rusher, has been frustrated with double teams all season. But being double teamed creates an advantage for players like Harris, who often have no defender between them and the
quarterback in those situations.
"It's a little frustrating, but I've got to go out there and give my all," Laptad said. "If I'm drawing double teams, then someone is getting single blocked, which is good for them. It's frustrating, but I'm just going to keep out going out there playing hard."
Harris said he expects to be used in more blitz packages this season, while Torbush said he plans on toning down the scheme if his frontline can start bringing the quarterback down. Aggressiveness has been the key in Harris' production, he said.
"I'd say I'm a little more aggressive. I definitely go faster and stronger." Harris said. "And outsmarting the offense, they really don't know when I'm coming. Just using my knowledge of the game out there to surprise them."
Edited by Clark Goble
ROWING
Two seniors rub elbows with D.C. politicians
BY KATIE PRIEBE
kpriebe@kansan.com
Cassie Sparks, a journalism and political science major from Gardner, interned with Sen. Pat Roberts from Kansas. Her teammate Meaghan Oven, a marketing major from Broken Arrow, Okla., interned with Oklahoma Congressman John Sullivan.
This summer, two Kansas athletes lived by the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," while they interned with politicians in Washington D.C. and experienced the city's culture firsthand.
"One of my favorite parts of my internship was getting to know the senator." Sparks said. "Our Senator sat down with us and ate lunch with us for two hours. He is hilarious and is just a great guy."
Sparks gave tours of the Capitol, worked in Roberts' office and had the opportunity to attend an intern lecture series given by Colin Powell and Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader.
"It was a big deal. All the Congressman were in there and Nancy Pelosi came out and did her speech," Oven said. "You usually see it on C-Span, but it was just cool to see it happen right in front of you."
Like Sparks, Oven gave Capitol tours and helped in her senator's office. She said one of her most memorable experiences with the internship was going into the House Gallery to watch House members vote.
Oven and Sparks lived together in D.C. at George Washington University in an apartment during their five-week internship program. Both applied directly to their respective senators' offices for their internships.
When Oven and Sparks were not interning, they were exploring the diverse culture of the district, which included eating cupcakes where the TLC show "D.C. Cupcakes" is filmed.
"We literally made a to-do list and went through everything on the list, and we got it all done by the time we left," Oven said.
Oven said she planned to attend law school when she graduated from the University
"We went rowing on the Potomac together. That was our training." Oven said.
together to stay in shape for the rowing season.
Oven and Sparks also worked
and said the district would be a great place to work. Sparks said she wanted to continue working in politics.
"I want to work in communications in politics and I would definitely go back to D.C. and work," Sparks said.
In the meantime, the two will continue training in anticipation of the team's first meet — the Head of the Oklahoma — which will take place in October.
— Edited by Dana Meredith
Photo courtesy of Cassie Sparks Meaghan Oven and Cassie Sparks fit in some rowing training on the Potomac River this summer. The two interned in Washington D.C.
COMMENTARY
Jayhawks need fans' support
BY KATHLEEN GIER kqier@kansan.com
Redemption is a rare opportunity to rise from the ashes and mend one's image after an unfortunate mishap. Athletics is the biggest area where I see redemption as an important and cyclical task. Whether athletes are making up for mistakes on the field or off, there seems to be a weekly battle against the previous week's stats and essentially, their success. This comes with no real help from the fans unless they are endlessly loving and supporting as they should be.
Take our beloved Jayhawks for example. Soon after the first game there were already people talking about how coach Turner Gill was not a good fit just because we lost the game, even though most fans had been excited about him since his hiring was announced earlier this year. He immediately and unfairly had to turn things around quickly to get the attention of the nation back.
The same thing happened with the team. I have never been more embarrassed as a fan as I was in the first home game where there were boos coming from the student section directed at players who had dropped passes or fumbled. I have always thought that cheering for your team and booing the other team was just part of getting into sports, but it has to be against some unwritten sports code to boo your own player. Imagine the football team booing you if you fail a test.
This should not be a time of redemption at Kansas simply because they have done nothing heinous. Okay, they lost a couple games so far, but there is a new coach, a freshman starting at quarterback and, oh yeah, we are only three games into the season. Honestly the team does not owe the fans anything, which seems obvious, but I think we forget that. They play for themselves, for their own dreams of NFL glory or just to carry on the excitement from high school. Yes it is great when they win, but if they do not, they should not have to prove themselves to fans the next week just to bring back attention.
The best example I can think of for modern sports redemption would be Michael Vick. Back in 2006 he was facing dog fighting charges and jail time. His future in the NFL was not bright, but on Tuesday Vick was announced as the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. He committed a crime, he did his time and then he just put his head down and worked to get his game back to the top.
I think there are a lot of things to learn from Vick, but the biggest is that redemption is possible. He came back from being one of the most controversial players to a star. The Jayhawks have done nothing criminal; it is not illegal to lose, so they should not have to go up and down every week. I wish them the best however, and I hope to never hear booing at a Jayhawk again.
Edited by Anna Nordling