FEATURE 3
READY FOR PRESSURE
Odds don't worry new Kansas QB Kale Pick
By Kory Carpenter
kcarpenter@kansan.com
There's a lot of scrutiny coming at Kale Pick this fall. Turner Gill and offensive coordinator Chuck Long are former standout collegiate quarterbacks, the memory of Todd Reesing is still fresh and Pick has been the official starter for barely more than two weeks.
Reesing has seen Pick in practices and scrimmages and his main advice to Pick was to have fun with the game.
Rather than crumble under the pressure, Kale Pick is utilizing it. During breaks from conditioning, Pick sought advice from Reesing. Pick says that any quarterback would take the career Reesing had.
"He just told me to go out and do what I do," Pick says.
When Pick and the rest of the offense take the field Saturday, he'll be without three offensive anchors of the past three seasons. Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier, both NFL draft picks, accounted for 162 catches and 13 touchdowns last season. Throw in Jake
What Pick can do is bring another dimension to the quarterback position. Along with the strong arm, he has shown the ability to scramble out of the pocket when a play is blown up. In seven games last season, Pick rushed for 167 yards on only 14 attempts. Whether that was a freshman quarterback not trusting his arm yet and simply relying on instincts or a sign of what Jayhawk fans will see throughout the fall remains to be seen.
Sharp's graduation and Toben Opurum's switch to linebacker, and the offense is a mere shell of 2009.
Despite this, Pick is optimistic about his receiving corps even though expectations are low. He says that they could have a great year as a unit.
"We want to show coach Gill that we mean business" Pick says. "This isn't just a rebuilding year, we're going out to win ballgames."
"We have a lot of talent there and they have a great work ethic," he says.
The wide receiver duo of Johnathan Wilson and Bradley McDougald are the only returning pass catchers with more than 30 catches, and they will have to step up this season for Pick to be successful. Pick does believe the Jayhawks have the talent to compete in the Big 12 North.
Most of the critics have the Jayhawks finishing between third and fifth in the Big 12 North. The team will be tested with tough early games against #16 Georgia Tech in week two and traveling to Hattiesburg, Miss., to play Southern Miss in week three.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Instead of being intimidated by the quarterback careers of Gill and Long, Pick has used the two men as sources of inspiration in the short time they have been with the team.
"They've really stressed the importance of the work ethic they've had to be successful." Pick says.
Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 6 p.m.
Freshman election preview
An introduction to the candidates for freshman student senate. Elections are Tuesday and Wednesday.
INDEX
THE WAVE SEPTEMBER 3,2010
Classifieds...6B
Crossword...4A
Cryptoquips...4A
Opinion...5A
Sports...1B
Sudoku...4A
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THURSDAY
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In Saturday's season opener against North Dakota State, the Kansas football team played without names on the back of their jerseys for the first time since 1981.
For junior tight end Tim Biere, that may have been a blessing in disguise.
Biere dropped three passes, all on third down, and fumbled his only two receptions as North Dakota State stunned Kansas 6-3 at Memorial Stadium.
"That wasn't Tim out there," said freshman quarterback Jordan Webb. "He is a great player. He is definitely one of the best tight ends I've ever seen or been around. But we're going to keep going back to him."
"I told him to keep his head up," Patterson said. "We know those are plays he will make more times than he doesn't. To tell you the truth, I'm not even worried about the game Tim had tonight. He is going to
Biere's first fumble came on his first reception of the season in the third quarter. The second fumble cost the Jayhawks (0-1) one of their final drives as Biere lost possession near midfield.
Junior receiver Daymond Patterson approached Biere in the locker room after the defeat. Patterson said he knows if the Jayhawks are to rebound from this defeat, their tight end cannot have hangover from one of the worst games for a Jayhawk in the program's history.
finished 13-for-22 with 138 yards and an interception.
"We never really got our chemistry on offense." Pick said. "Everybody had their moments and everybody had rough points in the game. As a unit, we just didn't click."
Webb produced mixed results in his brief time on the field, going 6-for-11 but getting sacked twice.
While Webb was expected to see some playing time, the move was an outburst benching of a player the coaching staff decided was the man two weeks ago.
The Jayhawks allowed only two field goals to the Bison (1-0), but their offense could only put senior kicker Jacob Branstetter in position for three attempts of their own. Branstetter put the Jayhawks on the board first with a 25-yard field goal but would later miss from distances 53 and 42 yards.
Gill was uncommitted
"You have to hope that you score more than three points, not to take away from North Dakota State"
"I need to watch the videotape so I can see a lot more details." Gill said. "You have to hope that you score more than three points, not to take away from North Dakota State."
TURNER GILL Coach
on naming a starter for next Saturday's home matchup with Georgia Tech.
Angus Quigley and freshman DeShaun Sands struggled, falling numerous times in short yardage situations. In fact, the leading rusher would end up being Patterson, who finished 63 yards rushing on three carries
and 66 yards receiving on six catches.
"The coaches try to get you a ball in a lot of different ways, trying to make the offense unpredictable," Patterson said. "I definitely expect to see more carries going forward."
The defense was able to limit the Bison to a 3.1 yard average gain per play and a 2.3 yard average per rush, but the
rush, but the perfor-
While the defense made their tackles and prevented the big play, senior linebacker Justin Springer still sees room for improvement.
formance was wasted by the offense's struggles. The six points were the fewest allowed in a Jayhawk loss since they fell 6-3 to Texas Christian University on Sept. 22, 1962.
"We have to get better." Springer said. "We can't give up six points."
— Edited by Roshni Oommen
9R/KANSAN
teams shine
Gill: Defense game outperforms offense; special teams play big role in game.
SEE MORE COVERAGE IN THE FOOTBALL REWIND ON PAGES 4-5B
CAMPUS
Help for parents and students who can't let go
BY GARTH SEARS gsears@kansan.com
Students who are living away from their parents for the first time face a tough transition now — only the second full week of the semester — from family life to that of an independent student.
For some, that means liberty from cantious or even overbearing parents. For others, it means a tough time away from the people who have surrounded them since birth.
"It's nice, but honestly, I miss them," Olivia DeWitte, a freshman from Luray, said about her parents. "Back home, if I had car problems or needed something, they could come help me. Now, they're three hours away. It's kind of a struggle."
Though others exist, the extreme change to college can be one of life's most important.
"Any transition in life will affect your well-being, your relationships, and your performance," said Omri Gillath, assistant professor of psychology. "Especially if you move a long way to college, you will be torn from your social network, away from your family, away
The transition isn't limited to students. Parents can have a difficult time learning to let go and embracing a new relationship with their children.
from support and love. You'll have to make new friends, and deal with all the challenges of college."
"You might be able to physically take your student to class, but you can't make them be engaged in the classroom," said Jane Tuttle, associate vice provost for student success. "All along we've learned you can't make a baby walk before they want to. That's a hard lesson for parents to learn."
PARENTAL HELP HOTLINE IS AVAILABLE
Are your parents having problems adjusting to your move to Lawrence? They can use these hotlines if they are concerned.
Phone hotline: 785-864-5872
E-mail hotline: parents@ku.edu
Tuttle, who coordinates the parent services program at the University and is a parent of a college student herself, emphasized that every situation - given
the variables of family economics, the distance between parents and children, and other factors - is
SEE PARENTS ON PAGE 3A