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REMEMBER THE NAME
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Former quarterback Todd Reesing's jersey hangs in his locker at the Anderson Family Football Complex. Reesing passed for the most yards, had the most touchdowns and completed the most passes in school history.
Greats weigh in on Reesing
Will Todd measure up to KU's legends?
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
Gale Sayers. John Hadl. John Riggins
The names are nearly hallowed today. They fill Kansas' record books and Memorial Stadium's Ring of Honor. They're shown only in grainy video, yet they're still the pulse of Kansas football.
Soon — maybe next year, maybe 10 years from now — a name and picture might join that list. He was never an All American. His chances of stringing together a lengthy NFL career are slim. And he won't even look much like a football player, even in full uniform.
But Reesing is part of Jayhawk history now, his days at Kansas officially over. Now
"Today or down the road, in my opinion, I think he's probably the greatest kid we've ever had there," said John Hadl, Kansas quarterback from 1958-1961 and a two-time All American. "He could do it all, and he did all those things for three and a half years there."
his name will slide somewhere in public opinion between the best — and worst — former jayhawks,
While his legacy is left to be decided, some former Jayhawks insist they know where it should belong.
But Todd Reeing threw for more yards, had more touchdowns and completed more passes than any Kansas quarterback. And he led the Jayhawks to their first BCS bowl appearance and victory in the 2008 Orange Bowl.
On a cold Saturday afternoon late last November, Todd Reesing passed for a
He was effective and so, too, was the rest of the offense.
school-record 149 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in his best game of the season.
Yet Kansas still lost that night, 41-39, to rival Missouri. It was the Jayhawks' seventh consecutive defeat, and the loss ensured they wouldn't play in a bowl.
"He's the most consistent perfomer that's ever put a Jayhawk uniform on."
And with Reesing entering his third season as a starter, a year and a half after winning the Orange Bowl, there seemed plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
It was the final game of Reesing's college career.
JOHN HADL
Former Kansas quarterback,
All-American in 1960 and
1961
But in the sixth game of the season at Colorado on Oct. 17, Reesing's two first-half turnovers led to 14 Colorado points. The Jawhaws lost 34-30.
So began the sinking of Kansas' football season and, in turn, Reesing's final campaign. The Jayhawks finished last in
PAGE 1B
"With the way the season ended, I think to a lot of fans, it tainted all that he had done there," said Kelly Donohoe, Kansas' quarterback from 1986-89. "That's really sad."
In a rare occurrence during the decade, Kansas entered a season with expectations stretching beyond simply reaching a bowl game. Fans talked of winning the Big 12 North. The Jayhawks did the same.
the North, and Reesing was even benched in the fourth quarter against Texas Tech on Halloween.
PROS AHEAD FOR 5?
Although his statistics compare with soon-to-be NFL draft picks Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy, Reeing has little to none
Reesing keeps preparing for any playing possibilities at the next level
"His career was marred a little by the end and with coach Mangino," Donoho said. "But 1 don't think people remember that as much as all the wins and putting Kansas football on the map."
Two weeks later, Reesing spent the days before Kansas' game at Texas answering questions about an internal investigation launched against coach Mark Mangino, not about his return to his hometown of Austin, Texas.
one week after the season when Mangino reached an agreement with Kansas Athletics to resign.
That investigation ended
SEE
FOOTBALL
PAGE 6B
of the professional interest generated by his fellow Big 12 quarterbacks.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds. Reeing doesn't have the physical stature desired by most NFL teams.
ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper wrote last September, "Todd Reesing is a magician, but he lacks the physical skill you want in an NFL QB"
And after throwing an interception in the East-West Shrine game, more whispers surfaced about Reesing's inability to play in the physically demanding NFL.
Reeing wasn't invited to next week's NFL scouting combine for this year's draft, while three of his teammates were.
"People who played at Kansas, whether it be running back or quarterback, his name
SEE REESING ON PAGE 6B
Review Todd Reesing's career at Kansas in an interactive timeline at kansan.com
SOFTBALL
Freshmen must fill shoes of seniors lost to graduation
BY ZACH GETZ
zgetz@kansan.com
twitter.com/zgetz
Alex Jones, a freshman pitcher and outfielder, said she felt overwhelmed when she took the field to play her first college softball game Friday.
"It kind of snuck up on me really," Jones said. "Just warming up and announcing our names before the first game, it was the first time that I felt like I was really a lawhawk."
Jones said she got over her nervous feelings and had one of the best weekends on the team, getting
six hits and six runs as well as stepping in as pitcher. Kansas will need similar success from Jones and the other six freshmen if it hopes to have a success
Five of Kansas' major contributors who were in prominent positions last season have graduated, search, Major
Jones
have a successful season
coach Megan
Smith said. Kansas is returning only one experienced pitcher, and the team will need the younger
Even though they're young, the freshmen quickly caught up to speed with the college game in the off-season. Smith said she thought this was because they didn't really have a choice.
players to step up.
"The freshmen come in to a really unique situation in that we're calling upon freshmen to contribute quite a bit in their first year, which doesn't really happen a lot at our level." Smith said.
Although Kansas doesn't have a lot of depth and experience right now, playing the freshmen this season could help set a foundation for future seasons, Smith said.
"You can't put a price tag on game experience," Smith said. "These freshmen are going to get a ton of it this year."
Mariah Montgomery, freshman
third baseman, said that the upperclassmen have treated the freshmen well, which has led to some of their success so far this season.
Montgomery
"The chem istry is one o
the biggest factors for even coming to Kansas, Montgomery said.
"How we get along so well is helping us play better."
Edited by Kate Larrabee
"As far as pre-game jitters, I'm always going to have those," Montgomery said. "But as far as being nervous because I'm a freshman and being a young player, those are all gone."
Although Montgomery said that, like Jones, she was nervous about playing her first games, now that the first weekend is over, she thought she would be less nervous for the rest of the season.
COMMENTARY
Jersey changes are not needed
BY ALEX BEECHER
abeecher@kansan.com
What's in a name?
That which we call a Reeing by any other name would play just as great.
Will a football player, stripped of his last name on the back of his jersey, play as well? Or perhaps even play better?
Coach Turner Gill announced Wednesday in a press release that next season's football jerseys will feature a Jayhawk logo where the name used to be on the back.
In the release, Gill said he made the change to emphasize the team and program as a whole. He said he wanted to create a culture of unity and teamwork, to emphasize an ideology that a well-crafted whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
It sounds all well and good. Football is the ultimate team sport. So it stands to reason that a team united wins more games than a team focused on individual goals. Gill also said the team is representing the University and that removing the names from the back emphasizes the name on the front of thejersey.
But removing the players' names from Kansas' jerseys superficially demonstrates this shift in attitude. This change, which comes six and a half months before the team's first game, is simply visual right now.
If jersey changes really made that big a difference, then what's the motivation behind removing the red stripe from the center of KU's helmet? Did the red stripe signify a split among the players, and thus a lack of unity? Did it throw off the team's feng shui? Was it an inadvertent advertisement for Red Stripe beer?
That's all ridiculous, of course, but it's no more so than Gill's reason for removing the last names. It's just a jersey.
Gill's words and goals are noble and desirable. But Kansas proba-
by won't ever pull in monster recruiting classes, nor will it attract hauls of blue chip football talent. The margin of error for
UNIFORM CHANGES See the changes the new jersey and helmet. FOOTBALL 16RD
FOOTBALL | 6B
a team not loaded with stars is smaller. Gill clearly gets that. What's more, from everything we've heard, Gill can take what he has and mold it into an overachieving and cohesive team.
The change is an unnecessary step that neither advances nor detracts from that goal. Whatever success Kansas football has next year will not be the result of any changes made to the iersey.
Of course, while we're altering the uniform, I've got one more change to suggest: Swap out the Trajan "KU" on the helmet and replace it with that great-looking Jayhawk helmet featured in the Missouri game last year. That might charge up the fans to cheer on the team to one or two extra victories.
Edited by Jesse Rangel