The kickoff to the Kansas football season is less than a week away and there’s more excitement in the air than any time in recent memory. The Jayhawks are co-favorites in the Big 12 North along with Nebraska. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the conference and the country in Todd Reesing. They’re depth is without question the best it’s been under coach Mark Mangino even with several underclassmen scheduled to start.
But nothing will come easy for Kansas this year. They also face a very tough schedule, particularly on the road. They have three difficult Big 12 South opponents in Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech with both Texas teams on the road. Four of the last five games of the season will be played away from Memorial Stadium, although Missouri at Arrowhead in Kansas City will be a neutral site.
It all means the Jayhawks need to get out of the box strong, work on their weaknesses in the non conference schedule and build toughness for later on the road, particularly on defense. I once interviewed a coach at Willowridge High School in suburban Houston,Texas, a school renowned for turning out talented Division one college players about what he wanted in a player. He replied in a slow Texas drawl, “We want to see them agile, mobile and hostile.” Mangino wants the same from his group, a solid, experienced, but not spectacularly talented bunch. One thing he needs is for a whole new crop of linebackers to step up and prove themselves early on.
No one questions that the KU offense will be good, but how good rests on how fast an offensive line that will likely feature two juniors, two sophomores and one redshirt freshmen, Tanner Hawkinson come together. With the talented Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier leading the receivers and Jake Sharp and highly touted freshman Toben Opurum carrying the ball, the Jayhawks will score.
After 20 wins over the past two seasons, it’s now time to see if Kansas is truly ready to step up and claim it’s first division title. It’s there for the taking and it all starts Saturday night against Northern Colorado.
No comments:
Post a Comment