12
Thursday, September 30,1993
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Injuries continue to ail Jayhawks
Defense strapped by long disabled list
By Matt Doyle
Kansan sportswriter
Senior center Dan Schmidt hikes the ball to junior quarterback Fred Thomas during practice at Memorial Stadium. Schmidt was listed as questionable for Saturday's Colorado State game because of a recurring ankle injury.
Murphy's Law has taken over on the Kansas football team. Anything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawk defense has been affected by numerous injuries so far this season, and the situation has not improved in the last week. The top four defensive ends on this week's depth chart are not the same four players who were listed on the depth chart before the season opener against Florida State.
Junior Brent Willeford and redshirt freshman Jason Brown are scheduled to start at the defensive end positions in Saturday's 1 p.m. game against Colorado State at Memorial Stadium. Willeford was switched over from tight end before the Michigan State game, and Brown recently returned to action after suffering from a knee injury.
Senior Brian Christian and junior Sylvester Wright started at defensive end against the Seminoles in the Kickoff Classic. Wright fractured his kneecap inthe Florida State game and is listed as questionable for this week's game. Last week Christian, who had been bothered by several nagging injuries and ailments throughout his Jayhawk career, decided to give up playing football for Kansas.
"Brian and I sat down last week and we both agreed that it was probably better to go on than going out there for two plays every day and getting injured," Kansas coach Glen Mason said at his weekly press conference yesterday. "I told him he might as well concentrate on his academics and graduate."
Christian is the latest Jayhawk casu
alty on the defense. Senior free safety Kwamie Lassiter, senior defensive end Ty Moeder and freshman cornerback Charles Davis each went down with season-ending injuries earlier this season.
"Most of the time I underestimate our injury situation because I want to talk about the guys that are going to play, not the guys that aren't going to play," Mason said. "We're in bad shape injury-wise."
Mason then pulled out this season's team photograph and rattled off the names of 22 players who have suffered injuries this season.
"We've had our share, and we'll march on," Mason said. "We'll get the ones ready that are there, get them to play hard, coach them well and do the best we can."
Willeford and Brown will be backed up at defensive end by freshmen Kevin Kopp and Chris Jones. Senior Guy Howard and sophomore Kevin
Polian, who both started this season likely will miss the Colorado State game because of injuries.
The move to defensive end was an unexpected one for Willeford, who was the third-string tight end at the beginning of the season. To help in his adjustment to the position, Willeford studied film of Howard and Wright.
"They have been helping me out alot since they know I am a little wet behind the ears at the position," Willford said. "They have been coaching me up and giving me pointers. They are our true starters, and if they were healthy, our defense would be a lot more sound."
Mason said he would like to keep senior defensive tackle Chris Maumalanga out of Saturday's game. Maumalanga has been bothered by an ankle injury he suffered against Utah.
Sophomore Daryl Jones will replace Maumalanga in the starting lineup.
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