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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2007
SPORTS
3B
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
K-State recruits offensive class for '07
Wildcats look for recruits to add depth, make immediate impact for team
BY STEVE BRISENDINE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANHATTAN — Kansas State concentrated on offense in its 2007 recruiting class, looking for players to catch Josh Freeman's passes and block for Freeman and running back Leon Patton and James Johnson.
The 32-player class, announced Wednesday, includes six receivers and six offensive linemen. Eight players are junior college transfers.
Freeman, Patton and Johnson were among coach Ron Prince's first recruiting class last year, and all three played key roles in the Wildcats' 7-6 record and first bowl appearance since the 2003 season.
But the Wildcats were thin in the line all year, often starting several freshmen up front, and lost their two top receivers, Yamon Figurs and Jermaine Moreira, to graduation.
"Last year we tried to address our needs defensively, and I think it really paid off for us." Prince said. "We've got some good depth in the secondary and quite a bit of play."
able depth on the defensive line, and because of that we were able to stay fresh for the bulk of the year even though we had some injuries"
Now, Prince offense's turn to get the same treatment.
"We made a conscious effort to go out and get guys who could either upgrade the roster specifically or provide us the kind of playable depth that we had on defense last year," he said.
"He's a very athletic tackle who played both sides, right and left, because of the style they played — flip-flowing the offensive line based on the strength of the formation,"
"All three of these players were heavily recruited. Our assistant coaches did a great job of getting in there."
Several junior college transfers had the best chance to make an immediate impact in the offensive line, Prince said.
Alesana Alesana, a 6-foot- 6, 295-pound tackle from San Francisco Community College who signed in December, was expected to provide both athleticism and versatility.
RON PRINCE Coach
Prince said.
"He's a run-and-
offensive
lineman. You'll
enjoy watching
him."
Another offensive tackle, Penisini "Ben" Liu, is a 6-foot-6, 325-pound transfer from Sacramento City College.
"He has the ability to play either tackle position or move inside, so we're very excited about him," Prince said. "He's only in his third year of playing football, but despite all that you can see some tremendous plays on the tape. We're really excited to have the opportunity to work with him."
Eldridge Ridge, another tackle, is 6-foot-6 and 279 pounds and was a
two year starter at Compton College in California.
"All three of these players were heavily recruited," Prince said. "Our assistant coaches did a great job of getting in there."
The list of juco transfers also included two wide receivers, Ernie Pierce and Deon Murphy. Pierce is a transfer from Santa Barbara Community College, while Murphy is from Wichita and played at Coffeeville Community College.
Kansas State did not neglect its defense entirely, with three transfers
- defensive tackle Michael Abana;
defensive back Gary Chandler and outside linebacker Chris Patterson
- and freshman defensive tackle Xzavier Stewart all expected to see significant playing time.
Chandler originally committed to Kansas State, when Bill Snyder was still the Wildcats' coach, before going to Coffeville.
Aloha, Pro Bowlers
"He was one of the very key gets for us in this class." Prince said. "He's a veteran player who's familiar with K-State and has a passion for it."
Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs, runs with the ball during an AFC practice Tuesday for the Pro Bowl football game. Saturday's game will be played at the Ihaliani Resort in Kapolei, Hawaii.
Ronen Zilberman/ASSOCIATED PRESS
>> OLYMPIC GYMNASTICS
Ohio State twins to compete in Beijing games
Paul Hamm, of the United States, competes on the rings during the men's individual all-around final at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Hamm announced his return to gymnastics Tuesday.
BY NANCY ARMOUR ASSOCIATED PRESS
A few months ago, Paul Hamm was pretty sure he was finished with gymnastics.
The more they talked, though, the Hamms realized they weren't quite ready to walk away. The Beijing Olympics are a year and a half away.
The Olympic gold medalist and twin brother Morgan were having too much fun being regular college students. They actually had free time, and no coach or training schedule to dictate what they should do with it.
and the brothers want one more chance to show what they can do.
And, they hope, snag the United States a few more medals in the process.
Paul and Morgan Hamm's announcement Tuesday said that they are returning to competitive gymnastics after an 18-month layoff. This was an immediate boost
"The time off gave us what we needed to really develop the motivation that we have right now," Paul Hamm said. "We see a goal in front of us, and we're going for it. Sometimes when you're in the daily grind of gymnastics, you forget it."
for the U.S. men, who plummeted from the silver medal in Athens to an unseemly 13th-place finish at last year's world championships.
The Hammys, now 24, were two of the world's best gymnasts when they went on hiatus. They were responsible for half of the U.S.' squad's scores in the team final at the Athens Olympics, helping the American men win their first medal in 20 years. Paul Hamm was the first U.S. man to win the Olympic all-around title.
The time off gave them a look at what life was like outside of the gym. Because they've been doing gym-
mastics since grade school,theyd always had to juggle schoolwork and training.
The twins got so used to being "regular" college students, they thought as recently as last summer that their competitive careers were over.
"A love of the sport is a big part of it." Morgan Hamm said of what changed their minds. "Our No. 1 goal is to help the team get back into medal contention."
The Hamms are training six days a week at Ohio State and said they're surprised at how quickly their skills have returned. Their
bodies no longer ache from a decade's worth of pounding, and the shoulder injury that limited Morgans strength improved so much he's hoping to compete in the all around for the first time since 2000.
They plan to compete at the U.S. championships in August in San Jose and then resume a full competitive schedule in 2008 that will culminate with the Olympics in Beijing.
"That would be nice to end our career in this sport with a different note," Paul Hamm said. "One without controversy, hopefully, and a relatively high amount of success."
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