Sports
University Daily Kansan / Friday, February 10, 1989
13
Kansas football team still has 2 unused scholarships
by Mike Considine Kansan sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
The key to Kansas' 1989 recruiting class may be a couple of players to be named later.
The aaynaws signed the NCAA-
maximum 25 players to national
letters of intern Wednesday, the first day high school and junior college football players could officially commit to their college choices. Two more scholarships can be awarded, because the college is ville Compton College players enrolled at Kansas for the spring semester.
The reason the scholarships are available is because Kansas did not give out its quota of scholarships during last year's recruiting period, said Tom Lemming of the National Prep Report. He said that allowed the Jayhawks to give the unused scholarships to junior college athletes who graduated during the fall semester.
R. D. Helt, football recruiting coordinator, said yesterday that he was not sure when the two scholarships would be filled.
Helt said junior college All-American Mike Hall, formerly of Kansas City Harmon, and Lawrence native Gary Oatis were currently taking
classes at Kansas.
Max Emfinger, a Houston-based recruiting expert, said defensive lineman Gilbert Brown of Detroit, running back Dwayne Chandler and Hall were the Jayhawks' top recruits.
Hall, who is 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds, was an All-American officer lineman, but would play on the bench. Jaswah coach Glen Mason said.
Terry Moore, defensive line coach at Coffeyville, said Hall should be able to make the transition.
"He has good agility and can run well," Moore said. "My guess is that he'll be a great defensive lineman."
Moore said Oatis (6-2, 251) had good strength and quickness. He said Oatis' intensity was his best asset.
Lemming said some of the Jay-hawks' recruits who weren't as highly regarded as Brown, Chandler and others, would be better than their ratings indicate.
"They signed some good players." Lemming said. "A lot of them had good senior years and have just become nationally known."
Lemming said fullbacks Monte Cozzens and Kyle Moore and quarterback Nate Fiorrell were players who might have been overlooked.
Lemming said Florrell (63, 20) picked Kansas over Northwestern, Tennessee, Illinois and Minnesota. He said the Chicago Sullivan High School player could be a high major league draft pick in baseball.
Moore is a 6-2, 255-pound fullback from Newark (Ohio) Central High School.
"He has a strong arm and can run very well." Lemming said. "He could help immediately if he isn't drafted."
"He's an excellent prospect," Lemming said. "He has the same build as (former Pittsburgh all-American) Ironhead Heyward, but I don't think he has quite the same speed."
Cozzens, one of two players Kansas signed from Westerville (Ohio) North High School, rushed for 1,005 last year.
"Monte's a powerful back and runs very well up the middle," Lemming said.
Helt said that the reputation of Mason, a former Ohio State assistant coach, helped Kansas to be successful in Ohio.
"Kids out there have heard about Coach Mason and they see what we're doing here," Helt said.
Football recruits grew weary of process, parties and calls
Top prospect rejects Notre Dame because of 'gross food'
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH At first it's fun 'and the attention from famous football coaches, the endless parties, the calls from sweet-too-sweet sorority sisters.
But as the phone rings and rings and rings from early morning to late night, many prized pre recruit come to dread talking to coaches, who ask for 30 seconds and take 30 minutes.
No wonder Sean Gilbert and Ron Dickerson, two of the nation's highly sought high school football players. They were good when they finally chose a college.
Yet Gilbert and Dickerson said the recruiting process was something that they would always remember, it only because the expensive dinners, private jet rides and VIPs are hard to forget.
"All of the coaches said the same thing. That's why I got tired of hearing it — "We want you Sean, you're a good kid, you're one of the best players in the country, we really want you," he said. "They just ran at the mouth."
Gilbert, a 6-foot-6, 270-pound defender and end linebacker from Alaquipa, Pa., was USA Today's defensive player of the year. Also a basketball star, he was considered one of the nation's top 10 recruits because of his rare combination of size, speed and strength.
But his mother, Aileen Gilbert,
said that Sean never shacked a blocker
as fast as he did the coaches who
hit him in two billing two, three or
more times a day.
"It was hectic, real hectic, just plain crazy," said Mrs. Gilbert. "No had idea it would be like this. My
son. Mark (a freshman at lona) went through basketball recruiting, but it was nothing like this.
"It was so intense. Some coaches called so many times to make us keep them in mind, it got to the point where we tried to forget about them."
After narrowing his choices to Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Penn State, Gil committed to Pitt "because he just didn't want to go that far from home." his mother said.
"I really admired his patience," Gilbert said. "He handled it really well. All of that pressure on him . . . it was just too much pressure on an 18-year-old who hasn't finished high school. Trying to keep up with the play and playing ball and being recruited, it was so much pressure."
Dickerson, a State College (Pa.) High School running back, was in a unique situation because his father, Ron Sr., is an assistant coach at Penn State. He knew if he signed with the Nittany Lions, it would be assumed he went there because of his father. If he went elsewhere, it might be said his own father couldn't recruit him. He chose Arkansas.
"Ever since I was young, my dad was always telling me to be different." Dickerson said. "Penn State is a great institution, but I just didn't feel I was the type to go there. Ever since I was young, I wanted to go away."
The 6-3, 190-pound Dickerson wrote a series of newspaper columns for the hometown Centre Daily (Pa.) on his website, "Who Wrote Diary?" He wrote of coaches who
At Notre Dame, Dickerson tried to eat "some of the grossest food I have ever had. . . . Not even the coaches ate the dinner." He also attended a party in a hotel suite that got out of hand "when (a recruit) kicked the door down and messed his room up pretty bad."
couldn't take no for an answer, of being bored by never-ending highlight films and of recruiting parties that lasted until dawn.
"They try to show you a good time, make it look like it's great," he said. "Then you stop and think, 'Is it going to work?' Yes." I don't know, but I'd be nothing but an alcoholic."
Gilbert said the non-stop parties thrown for recruits are more of a turn-off than a turn-on.
Gilbert, who related his recruiting experiences to the Beaver County (Pa.) Times, also was disappointed with his visit to national champion Notre Dame's tradition-laden campus.
"People would say things like, 'When you go to Notre Dame and you walk on that campus, you fall in love with it.' he said. "I walked on that campus when I was a teenager, and no difference is no different from CCBC (Community College of Beaver County).'"
Gilbert and Dickerson said that most coaches recruited alike, but some use unorthodox approaches. Several coaches told Gilbert that he was not going to him, and Mrs. Gilbert asked others asked, "Do you need anything?"
"I probably could have reported them just for the statement, but I don't think they were trying toViolate that," she said. "I think they were just asking."
Kansas tennis player John Falbo advanced yesterday to the second round of the Rolex National Indoor Intercollegiate Tennis Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. Eveline Hamers, the No. 1 Jayhawks women's player, also advanced in the tournament.
KU's top singles players both win Rolex matches
by Laurie Whitten Kansan sportswriter
John Falbo and Eveline Hammers, the Kansas men's and women's No. 1 Tennis players, won their opening matches in the Koolex Hoor Intercollegiate Tennis Championship yesterday in Minneapolis.
The tournament, which consists of the country's top 32 collegiate players, began yesterday and will continue through Sunday.
Falbo, ranked 168 nationally in singles, defeated 50th-ranked Comfy Fall of University of Miami (Fla.) 7-6, 5-7, 7-6. He will play 50th-ranked Donnie Leachy of Louisiana State today.
Kansas men's tennis coach Scott Perelman said the tournament would be a big challenge for Falbo.
Hamers, ranked No. 1 in the Big Eight Conference and 20th in the nation in singles, defeated Trisha Laux of the University of Southern California 6-4, 6-4. She will play Mary Besh Young of Brigham
"It's the second year in a row for John to be at the Rex tournament, and that obviously a big deal," Perelman said. "This is one leg of the college grand slam, one of the top four tournaments, and John will be in a field of the top 32 players in the nation."
It's the second year in a row for John to be at the Rolex tournament, and that's obviously a big deal.
Kansas men's tennis coach
Kansas men's tennis coach
Young today.
The women's tennis team will play Texas Tech at 6:30 tonight at the Wood Valley Racquet Club in Topeka. The Jayhawks will be without their jerseys and freshman Rayahawks who is sidelined with a back injury.
Kansas women's tennis coach Eric Hayes said both women were strong competitors and would be missed at the Texas Tech match.
"It's our first home match of the season, and we're going to be shorthanded." Hayes said. "We're going to have to adjust, just like we did at Indiana. Texas Tech is a solid team. It will be a test for us."
The Jayhawks participated in the Indiana Quadrangular last weekend without Raychaudhurri and freshman Elba Pipero. Kan-ko was not nationally ranked Indiana, Texas Christian and Tennessee.
Hamers won two of the team's three singles matches, defeating
Texas Christian's Tory Plunkett
6-4, 2-6, 6-4, and Tennessee's
Wendy Ouweiniei 6-4, 7-5.
Hayes said Kansas' lineup against Indiana was weakened because sophomore Mindy Pelo and freshman Laura Hageman had not played singles in a varsity match this season.
"The girls weren't really ready to play, but they had to fill in." Hayes said. "They were kind of threw to the wolves at Indiana. Now they should have a better sense of what to expect."
Hayes said that although Texas Tech was not nationally ranked, it was from the Southwest Conference and consistently produced tough teams.
"They have had a tough schedule this season and have done well," he said. "They had some close losses against Iowa and New Mexico, which are great teams, so it shows how strong they are."
Mays said the Red Raiders best player was No. 1 singles player Mallory Grantham, a freshman, who previously compiled a 3-0 record in the team's No. 2 position.
He said that either sophomore Stacy Slotts or senior Susie Bergland would compete against Grantham in Kansas' No. 1 position.
Yes!
S! Blue chippers can be drawn to KU
The American work ethic not only is alive, but it functions fine. Kansas football coach Glenn Larson said in a December 2016 interview that
Mason that his star could excel. Mason's staff completed one of Kansas' finest recruiting classes in years, signing 25 players on the first day that athletes could sign national letters of intent, which bind future football players to their college choices.
Despite competing against traditionally rich programs and despite having bragging rights to only two victories in two years, the Jayhawk staff used persistence, the University's academic reputation and the program's realistic chance for success to woe some of the country's top talent.
The Kansas football program competed against the "Big Guns" and won in signing some of the best players.
"We don't back down from the top players just because our return might not be so good." Mason said yesterday. "It's tough to recruit for a program that's not one of the leaders."
It's tougher, but he did it. The Jayhawks went for the best and got some of them. Recruiting expert Tom Lemming of National Prep Football Reporter College won none of the six recruiting classes in the country.
Yes! Kansas is not fooling around. Kansas traveled to some of the most potent football areas in the country from fields like Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, Minnesota, Arizona State and Illinois.
Tom Stinson
Sports Editor
Yes! Kansas football is not a laughing matter as a national sports magazine and most critics
Kansas football isn't on the road to recovery. Meaningless cliches don't do this justice. Kansas football is out to win. And win this recruiting
Jayhawk football has become competitive on the recruiting trail. With more successes like yesterday, Kansas football will be very competitive on the field.
class will do. Maybe not next September, but with the attitudes and intensity currently surrounding the program. Kansas will win. On the road, in Memorial Stadium and perhaps in a bowl game, the Jayhawks are developing a base that will produce victories.
Mason focused his efforts on linemen. Nine linemen, averaging nearly 6-foot-3 and more than 260 pounds, said they wanted to wear a Jayhawk uniform next year. Only three linemen on last year's team weighed more than 260. Two of the sigmets are 64. 265 pound defensive tackle Gilbert Hickman, 62, and 61-pound offensive tackle Keith Loneker from Roselle Park, N.J., are bigger than anone on Kansas' roster.
Sure, they're fat and slow. Wrong. Brown bench presses 320 pounds and runs a 4.8-40 yard run.
Michigan and Michigan State, even runs sprints on his high school track team. Loneker benches 370 and runs a 5.2 40.
Yes!
Other than linemen, Kansas hit virtually every position yesterday, signing four running backs, four linebackers, three tight ends, two quarter-backs and one wide receiver. A couple of the recruits could play at a number of positions because of their athletic ability.
Though having ties to the Ohio-Michigan area, Mason didn't forget the local talent either. McPherson running back Dwayne Chandler, who ran for more than 400 yards in one game last year, chose Kansas at the center of instated of Mason, who was one of three state products that Mason kept in the state.
No staff can guarantee that a Rodney Pete will play football elsewhere, but this staff can guarantee that a Barry Sanders won't escape unrecruited.
And through it all, Mason plays the politician,
saying it is a good class but not a great one.
Come on Coach, pat yourself on the back. You
deserve it.
Jayhawk football has become competitive on the recruiting trail. With more successes like yesterday, Kansas football will be very competitive on the field.
Through your work ethic and discipline, some nationally regarded blue chip recruits and some of the state's best talent will enroll at the University of Kansas next fall.
- Tom Stinson is a Salina senior majoring in journalism.
Sports Briefs
Also, an increase in football ticket prices from $13 to $15 a game was to accommodate for financial problems the athletic department might face next year in lost revenues because of NCAA sanctions imposed on the Kansai football program and the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State football programs.
Because of a copy editor's error,
yesterday's man's basketball team
was incorrect. The loss to Okla-
mie was so great that all-a-time low in Allen Field House.
■ Because of an editor's error, information concerning a first-year pilot program designed to teach developmental learning skills to freshmen student-atheletes was deleted. Frederick said that none of the 14 student-athetes participating in the program had been placed on probation.
CORRECTIONS: Because of a reporter's error, information was attributed incorrectly in the University of Kansas Athletic Association article. Athletic Director Bob Frederick said representatives from the National Collegiate Athletics Organization conducting a compliance audit of the University athletic department.
Kansas State, 13-7 overall and 4-4 in the conference, had not broken the
K-STATE WINS: Steve Henson had 19 points and three other Kansas State players scored in double figures Thursday night as the Wildcats crushed visiting Iowa State, 104-89 in Manhattan.
100-point barrier since Jan. 12, 1987,
when the Wildcats scored 114 in a win
over Nebraska.
The Cyclones, 12-8 and 2-6, were paced by Victor Alexander with 25 points;erry woods added 18 and Borgel and Mark Rauch had 12 points each.
COLEMAN PLEADS GUILTY: Syracuse basketball player Derrick Coleman, who is among the nation's leaders in rebounding and blocked shots, pleaded guilty in Syracuse City Court to harassment and disorderly behavior from a brawl and break in incident on campus last December.
Coleman, a junior for No. 9 Syrause, was sentenced by Judge James Formey to 50 hours of community service and restitution for damages he caused during the Dec. 11 incipient.
TENNIS RESULTS: Andres Gomez of Ecuador, the No. 1 seed, took advantage of numerous unforced errors to beat newcomer Robbie Weishe 6-4, 6-4 in second-round play at the $350,000 Volvo Chicago tennis tournament.
In first-round action, sixth-seeded Brad Gilbert turned back Ben Page 6-3, 6-3 and Nicholas Pereira of Costa Rica stveled Steve Herdza, 6-4, 7-5.
Aaron Krickstein, the fifth seed, withdrew, complaining of elbow tendonitis.