THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
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VOLLEYBALL | 8A Jayhawks to face No.4 Huskers Big 12 rookie of the week Brianne Riley will lead the Kansas into tough conference matchup
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
SAFETY WEBB
Freshman QB keeping ball safe early
Freshman quarterback Jordan Webb looks down field for an open receiver at M.M. Roberts Stadium against Southern Miss. Although Kansas lost the game, coaches were impressed by Webb's lack of turnovers.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Defensive pressure hasn't produced many turnovers from Jordan Webb
BY MATT GALLOWAY
mgalloway@kansan.com
twitter.com/themattgalloway
Jordan Webb has posted respectable numbers in his first two college starts. The freshman quarterback has thrown four touchdowns and has a 125.43 quarterback rating.
However, it is what Webb has not done that may have impressed the coaching staff the most.
Despite being hammered relentlessly by opposing defenses, Webb has yet to fumble the ball. And he has only one interception on the season on a fluky deflection from one of his own receivers.
Webb's awareness and toughness are two reasons the coaching staff and his teammates respect him.
"I think he's been pretty good at staying in the pocket," said offensive coordinator Chuck Long.
"What I like about Jordan is his toughness, and that will go a long way. Teams feed off that toughness, and they see it on film that he can take some hits. He had a result."
in Wildcat formations at times.
Long admits he is uneasy when the future of this football team javelins himself into enemy defenders, but he admires the statement from his quarterback.
"I don't necessarily like that," Long said, "but he has a great competitive streak."
Quarterbacks must develop awareness in the pocket when the defense applies pressure. While he's been sacked ten times in just nine quarters this season, Webb feels he'll develop that extra sense many of the great quarterbacks have over time.
"You could call it a sixth sense, it's more just being around the game and playing the position you know when you're about to get hit," Webb said. "You've got to just take the loss and not make it a bigger play for the defense."
"What I like about Jordan is his toughness, and that will go a long way."
There is no way for a player to
of runs on the sidelines where he was trying to bowl guys over"
Against Southern Mississippi, Webb lowered his head and fought for extra yardage, seemingly on a mission to prove he was every bit as mobile as sophomore quarterback Kale Pick, who has been used
CHUCK LONG Offensive coordinator
ness other than taking their shots and learning from experience, Long said. Still, the former San Diego State head coach is pleasantly
surprised that both his starting freshman quarterback and freshman running back have almost no turnovers.
"This is probably the first time
SEE WEBB ON PAGE 7A
COMMENTARY
Touchdowns won't come easy to team on tricycles
Fans can no longer be like the proud parents that have and glam on their child.
cheer and clap as their children ride off down the street successfully balancing on two wheels. That "big boy" status vanished after last year, and now Kansas football has fallen off the two-wheeler and is back on a tricycle.
The tricycle though, is a hand me down with three dented wheels, so all a parent can say to the kid is: "Pedal harder. It'll be a bumpy ride, but if you want to move forward, that is what you have to do."
The three wheels of this beat up tricycle can be represented by three facets of the Kansas offense. I will let the defense off the hook for this metaphor.
The front, leading wheel is quarterback Jordan Webb. The left back wheel is the offense. And the back right wheel is offensive coordinator Chuck Long. The father figure that should be pushing the bike with words of encouragement is coach Turner Gill.
To be a fine tuned machine, the team needs to learn how to take responsibility off the third wheel and have two working in synchronization. Right now, there are kinks in every wheel.
The problem starts with the father figure coach Gill. How confident would you feel learning how to ride a bike for the first time without the person holding you steady saying anything to encourage you or correct your mistakes?
Whenever the cameras would cut to Gill during the Southern Mississippi game on Saturday there was only one look on his face. A passive blank look that seemed to be out of touch with everything happening on the field.
I would have liked to see some talking, some effort to work out the problems with the coordinators and the players. Instead, punt after
BY NICOLAS ROESLER
nroesler@kansan.com
All other problems all lie in communication between the three janky wheels. The offense has talent. Everyone saw bursts of it in the Georgia Tech game. I even saw it on our last touchdown during the Southern Miss, game where our first play of a drive was a deep fade route thrown perfectly to Jonathan Wilson for a touchdown.
punt, Gill remained cross armed and looked to the scoreboard as if it held the answers for the team.
The problem doesn't lie in the talent. It lies in how the talent is told what to do. The play calling comes from the back wheel, offensive coordinator. But on Saturday, plays were getting to Webb late and causing delay of games and overall confusion.
There needs to be a simple way to get the play from the back wheel, Chuck Long, to the front wheel, Webb. This would create balance and the third wheel, that is the offense, would simply be a benefactor of this relationship. Webb would then be able to steer and lead the offense on the field.
Under Mark Mangino, a system was set up where the motion of a hand from an assistant coach would call a new play in the middle of a hurry-up offense. And the system ran smoothly most of the time.
Now, Gill needs to mandate the balance that will keep Kansas football on the right path.
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Edited by Kelsey Nill
Senior Nate Barbee led the comeback attempt. Barbee finished two under par in the
"They really showed some signs of life early," coach Kit Grove said. "We were really looking at putting together a really solid round and moving up there and having a chance to at least finish fourth or third potentially. They put
themselves in a position to put a pretty darn good number on the board and just couldn't get it done"
MEN'S GOLF
Sophomore Chris Gilbert led the men's golf team in scoring as it moved up one spot in the final round to finish tied for sixth place with Kansas State in the Kansas Invitational. The meet was held Monday and Tuesday at Alvamar Public Golf Course, a 72-par course, in Lawrence. Gilbert opened up one under par Monday morning before shooting a 74 and a 75 to finish the tournament tied for 15th place.
Jayhawks finish sixth in invitational
Kansas golfers struggle with putting problems, illness and a leader's slump
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
Sophomore Alex Gutesha started off hot shooting a 71 in his first tournament of the year. He posted
Ben Pirotte/KANSAN
"They put themselves in a position to put a pretty darn good number on the board."
KIT GROVE Coach
Freshman Bryce Brown. Lincoln, Neb., ponders his putting options in the first round of the Kansas Invitational tournament. Brown tied for 66th place individually, while the Jayhawks finished tied for sixth seven. 21 at Alamar Public Golf Course in Lawrence.
77 Monday and a 76 Tuesday to finish tied for 30th place.
Junior Doug Quinones shot an even par to open up his tournament. After a second round 78 he came back Tuesday to fire another 72, which put him in a tie for 24th place.
"Doug had a kind of a roller-coaster. He made a whole bunch of birdies and he made a whole bunch of bogeys but that kind of been his M.O. recently," said Grove. "I know it's frustrating from a player's standpoint. You do all the work and give four, five or six birdies and then you give two or three of them back on the green."
of. He's been in that slump a little longer than we are used to seeing, and the longer you stay in it the tougher it is to climb out of it."
Freshman Bryce Brown came back Tuesday with a 76 after he played through a 103-degree
final round to bounce back from an 80 and a 74 that he shot on Monday. Barbee finished in a tie for 30th place.
"I'm happy for Nate," Grove said. "This is a big step in hopefully starting to climb back and get over that hump. He's been in a slump the last couple months and hopefully this is something he can build off
fever and an upper respiratory infection on Monday. He finished in 66th place.
"He's feeling better. His temperature was down basically back to normal before he teed off. I'm guessing fatigue had a little factor. The 36-hole days take it out of you, especially if you have a fever," said Grove.
J
back from three strokes down after Monday's play, shooting a 284 final round to take first, ahead by a commanding eleven strokes. Nebraska finished in second and UMKC finished in third. Gustaf Kocken, of University of Louisiana at Monroe,
Oklahoma City University came
placed first individually, shooting four under for the tournament.
The Jayhawks will travel to Erie, Colo. to play in the Colorado Invitational next week.
Edited by Alex Tretbar
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