KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2010 / SPORTS
5B
FOOTBALL
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Biere, Laptad on award watch lists for positions
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
senior defensive end Jake Laptad tallies a sack against Southern Miss in 2009. Laptad was named to the Ted Hendricks Award watch list.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Junior tight end Tim Biere hauls down a reception against Missouri last season. Biere was named to the John Mackey Award watch list.
BY MAX VOSBURGH
mvosburgh@kansan.com
A pair of Kansas football players were named to preseason watch lists that target some of the country's top college prospects.
Senior defensive end Jake Laptad was named to the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award preseason watch list this past week. The award is given to the country's top college football defense end. This is the second season in a row that Laptad has been named to the award's watch list.
Laptad is one of 36 defensive ends named to the watch list.
The award began in 2002 and has recognized players such as Chris Long, Elvis Dumervil, Terrell Suggs and last year's winner, Jerry Hughes.
"It's a great honor to be on this. The best D-linemen are on this so it's just a great honor," Laptad said. "I'm just going to go out there and try and do my best. It's not just me out there playing, it's the whole defense. It's going to be a team award for us and I'm going to play for our team for it."
Also this week, junior tight end Tim Biere was one of 32 college tight ends named to the John Mackey Award preseason watch list. The award is presented to college football's best tight end. Previous winners include Dallas Clark, Kellen Winslow II, Heath Miller and last year's winner, Aaron Hernandez.
Laptad is listed at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds and is coming off a season in which he was selected as All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and recorded 49 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
Biere, listed at 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, finished last season with 14 receptions for 183 yards, including a career-long 33-yard catch against Missouri.
"You know it feels good to get some preseason honors. Biere said. "You've done some work in the past but obviously you'd rather be on the list at the end of the year than at the beginning of the year."
The Jayhawks open the season at home Sept. 4 against North Dakota State.
Edited by Tim Dwyer
NATIONAL
USC assistant files appeal with NCAA
LOS ANGELES — Todd McNair, former USC running backs coach, claims in an appeal to the NCAA that the governing body's Committee on Infractions and investigative staff committed misconduct and mischaracterized facts that resulted in a finding of unethical conduct against him and severe sanctions against the school.
The 85-page appeal, filed last week, asks the NCAA's Infractions Appeals Committee to set aside the finding against McNair and all associated penalties against him.
The NCAA declined to comment, as did Todd Dickey, USC's senior vice president for administration.
McNair, who coached for six seasons at USC, was not retained by the school after his contract expired at the end of June.
Earlier that month, after a four-year investigation and three-day hearing about allegations surrounding 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and former Trojans basketball player O.J. Mayo, the NCAA's infractions committee issued a report stating that USC "lacked institutional control."The NCAA met out sanctions that included four years'probation,a two-year
bowl ban and the reduction of 30 football scholarships over the next three years. USC is appealing some of the penalties, including some of those related to McNair.
McNair's appeal claims that the infractions committee made a finding "clearly contrary to the evidence because it is based on factually incorrect and false statements," and that the committee "changed and mischaracterized the testimony of Lloyd Lake, the sole source of allegations against McNair, and then based its finding on the mischaracterized testimony."
Associated Press
BY MATT GALLOWAY mgalloway@kansan.com
On Wednesday, the Kansas football team chose its five leading captains for the season including its most courageous player, its best defensive player and its oldest player.
Offensive lineman Sal Capra, defensive end Jake Laptad, running back Angus Quigley, cornerback Chris Harris and linebacker Justin Springer were announced as first-time captains by coach Turner Gill.
Five seniors earn captaincy for Jayhawks' 2010 season
FOOTBALL
"Our staff thought our players did an outstanding job of selecting excellent captains for the 2010 season," Gill said. "All of these student-athletes have displayed
Quigley
son for the team's most courageous player. Laptad recorded 6.5 sacks last season and is the defending defensive player of the year. Quigley, who joined the team in 2005 but has missed two seasons due to injury, recently converted back to running back.
phenomenal leadership qualities, both on and off the field, since I have arrived here."
Capra
Laptad
Capra won the Gale Sayers Award last sea-
Harris
Springer
SEATTLE — Funny thing about some of the offensive gurus of the Pac-10. They're scratching their heads over their offense.
NATIONAL
Captains were decided by the players but freshmen were not allowed to vote. It will mark the first time since the 2005 season
Pac-10 coaches finding new ways to move chains on offense
At UCLA, Rick Neuheisel has installed Nevada's "Pistol" offense as a way to move the chains. At Arizona State, Dennis Erickson has a new coordinator and a retooled approach.
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
that the team carries five captains.
Edited by Leslie Kinsman
Then there's Jeff Tedford at California. Heretofore known as a molder of quarterbacks, he has experienced a run of pedestrian play behind center that has only added to the enigma around Cal.
So here we have the Bears: They come off an 8-5 season. Not so bad, you say. But the losses were all in double digits, including a
"We definitely had some big losses," says receiver Jeremy Ross. "We all remember them. But we're just trying to forget what's behind and keep pressing on towards the goal."
composite score of 114-16 against Oregon, USC and Washington.
Oh yes, the goal. For the Bears, longest away from the Rose Bowl (1959) in the Pac-10 among the charter members, that's Pasadena. But recent seasons haven't done much to reinforce that Cal will get there anytime soon — the sentiment of those covering the Pac-10.
"We have a burning desire to get to the Rose Bowl," Tedford insists. "Our players do, our coaches do, our fans do."
Tedford is 67-35 at Cal. If you assess consistency, longevity and accomplishment, that might rank better than any Bears coach since Pete Elliott, who ramrodded that last Rose Bowl, and immediately before him, legendary Pappy Waldorf.
League media forecast the Bears seventh, after picking them second five of the previous six years. it's the dimmest view of Cal since the first two of Tedford's
As Tedford says pointedly, "We're the second winningest program in the Pac-10 the last eight years."
nine seasons in Berkeley.
A lot of it seems to revolve around quarterback play. Kevin Riley is the senior incumbent, but his completion percentage a year ago was a modest 54.2.
Unlimited Fall Semester** Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 $100 $200 $300
One Month Unlimited Level 1 $25
VersaSpa spray tanning Introductory session Single session Two sessions Five sessions $15 $25 $35 $95
Two Weeks Unlimited*
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
$25 $30 $45
New
**must purchase by August 31st to expire 4 months from that day in December
2 Hours FREE valet parking
with spa purchase
visit www.TheOread.com
for a full spa menu
1200 Oread Ave (inside The Oread) 785.830.3908