4B
SPORTS / MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Defense
The defensive line is having trouble keeping bodies on the field and is probably the most uncertain group on defense. The Jayhawks kicked Jamal Greene off the team after he was connected to an attacker.
With off-and-on injuries on the line, sophomore Darius Parish is back on the defensive front after playing on both sided last season.
Senior Jake Laptad will be relied on as the main pass rusher,lec Kansas with 6.5 sacks last season.
Defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt said a few young players are making strides in camp. Freshman defensive end Tyrone Sellers, Wyatt said, has made the biggest improvement since the beginning of summer. Freshman Kevin Young impressed both coach Turner Gill and Wyatt from the defensive end position, making himself an early breakout-player candidate.
Senior Chris Harris leads a unit that lost Darrell Stuckey to the NFL and Bradley McDougald, Daymond Patterson and D.J. Beshears to the offensive side of the ball. By moving the more athletic players back, Kansas might get exposed in the secondary early in the season. Calvin Rubles, a 6-foot-3 senior, shows promise as a bump-and-run coverage man. Free safety Lubbock Smith was a productive tackler last season and could emerge as a play maker. Teams might stay away from Harris, a starter in the 2008 Orange Bowl, and try to exploit Kansas at the opposite cornerback position.
The linebacking unit took a huge blow with the season-ending injury to sophomore Huldon Tharp. He started seven games last year and made a couple of freshman all-American teams last season. Gill suggested at the football media day that the coaching staff might move someone to a different position to fill the gap. Senior Justin Springer will likely start at middle linebacker and played in all 12 games last season. Don't be surprised if Gill converts a safety to linebacker to get more speed on the field.
FOOTBALL
Senior receiver Johnathan Wilson cuts inside after a reception from senior quarterback Todd Reesing. Wilson had 66 yards receiving in Kansas' Sept. 12 win at Texas-El Paso.
Receiver core relatively unknown
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
If it wasn't Kerry Meier or Dezmon Briscoe catching the ball last season, you probably didn't recognize.
This season, those players have something to prove.
"I'm going to show them we were more than Kerry and Briscoe," junior receiver Daymond Patterson said.
The cast of receivers are relatively unknown to most. The offense was geared to the playmakers now in the NFL.
Led by senior Johnathan Wilson, the young core is getting rave reviews in camp. Coach Turner Gill said the receivers were a strength of the team this year.
Wilson is the lone senior and
said he knows the underclassmen look up to him. He talked to Briscoe and Meier earlier this summer for words of encouragement.
"I'm the oldest one now," Wilson said. "I learned from them, so I just need to do the same thing to teach these younger guys."
"When we put the ball in the guy's hands, they're going to make something happen." Gill said.
Patterson and sophomore DJ.J. Beshears transitioned from cornerback to receiver, and both join sophomore Bradley McDougald in adding some experience to the corps. Freshmen Erick McGriff and
"I'm going to show them we were more than Kerry and Briscoe."
DAYMOND PATTERSON Junior wide receiver
Christian Matthews are looking good in camp as well.
Those names may not look familiar, but wide receivers coach Darrrell Wyatt said he thinks the group has something to prove.
"Even though these guys didn't
put up significant numbers, they do have experience in this league," Wyatt said. "They are aware of what it's like to walk out there on game day."
But being in the shadow of Briscoe and Meier might have actually helped the current receivers.
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"When you see players of that caliber, you can't let them go by without picking up how they do things," Patterson said.
But with the roster as it is, the coaches said the game plan doesn't focus on any one or two players. It's going to be a combined effort designed to get the playmakers the ball and let them play to their strengths. So far in camp, the Jayhawks have practiced everything from two tight end sets and four wide receiver spreads.
As with almost all positions on the team, all spots are up for grabs. Wyatt said after the show the stars put on last year for Kansas, it's hard not wanting to continue that tradition.
Even junior tight end Tim Biere is trying to get a significant role in the offense.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
"We want to pick up some of those receptions Kerry and Dez had last year," Biere said. "Everybody's working to get out on the field."
The layhawks haven't even assigned captains yet, so the leadership is up for grabs. As evident in this receiving group, everyone wants a piece.
"Your leaders leave and everyone can just shut down and look at each other, or everybody can step up and build around each other." Patterson said. "And that's what our team has done."
Edited by Anna Nordling
Junior wide receiver Daymond Patterson returns a kick for a touchdown against Florida International Aug. 30, 2008. Patterson switched to No. 15 last season.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Sophomore wide receiver Bradley McDougald fights off a Northern Colorado defender Sept. 5, 2009. McDougald is one of several wide receivers vying for the starting job this season.
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