Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Great story

Last week while I was volunteering at the KU Alumni golf tournament I heard a great story about KU's comeback against Memphis.

Self told someone, that they had "put 2 minutes on the clock. With the team down 10 points. Starters vs. the backups. We did this 128 times."

Guess how many times the starters came back...

Zero.


But all that practice paid off on the biggest stage.

What a cool anecdote in the history of Kansas Basketball.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Xavier saga -UPDATE

UPDATE-
Self is really upset with the KC star article and said as much at a luncheon he spoke at today, so we have a red hot Bill Self heading to OKC with Danny Manning and I gotta be honest those guys are gonna close.
Sure they'll have to coddle Carl Henry a but and tell him its okay, plus X and CJ need to realize that when they make their first bucket in the Crimson and the Blue, no one, me included, will give a flip about all the recruiting drama.
Its all good, plus its going to be pretty hard since they have enrolled in classes at KU and committed for them to go back on their word to a University that both of their parents attended, so I'm feeling good about this.



This is awesome, the following people have called and said "what the F?" or something of that nature-
my boss
a lady I babysit for
my insurance agent
my girlfriend
a guy I tailgate with
a coworker
my dad
mike the bartender
another buddy of mine
etc

If I had to take a guess, I'd bet its a lot of drama for nothing and they wind up in the Crimson and Blue, but I'll keep you posted as new info comes out after this "family meeting"
I'll be at home drinking.

Rock Chalk

p.s. let me know what you think of the unit previews for football

Quarterback preview

Let's start with the back ups-
Jordan Webb- true frosh will redshirt.
The positives for him are many. First off, he was a December grad so he's already gone through a Spring and by the time he's a RS FR he'll already have a full grasp of the offense and have trained for a year and a half with our strength coaches etc.
Webb also ran the same offense in high school and put up huge numbers, so I think he'll have a shot to be the heir apparent.

Christian Matthews-
He's a freak athlete to the tune that Rich Rodriguez at Michigan offered him and envisioned him being the next Pat White.

Matthews unlike Webb just got to campus but what he lacks in experience he'll make up for with talent.
And to be real blunt if a guy can't learn the system in 1 year then he probably doesn't need to taking snaps.

Matthews has a real chance to be a good to great WR if QB doesn't work out or even somewhere in the secondary but I'm assuming he'll get every opportunity to play QB and excel there.
He attended the same high school as Dextor Linton who is true frosh at safety and they both committed on the same day last year.
Matthews is also really good friends with Donovan Vestal a DE recruit that KU is hard after.

Kale Pick-
Is the number 2 QB now and had a nice Spring game performance.

KP was highly regarded out of Dodge City and was Ed Warriner's number 1 QB target upon being named the offensive coordinator.

Pick will offer KU a little bit more of a running threat than Reesing, think more option read a la Kerry Meier.
Now maybe that's because he's a better runner than Todd or maybe its because he's not as good of a passer as Todd, too hard to tell now because we just haven't seen enough of him.
I'd look for him to get some mop up minutes this year and that should help his progression as the heir apparent to TR5.
In any event when TR has exhausted his eligibility the competition will be stiff for the QB spot with KP the early leader.

Todd Reesing-
I mean I don't know what I can say about him that hasn't already been said.
The only thing TR needs to do is avoid turnovers in the Red Zone, that happened a couple of times last year and hurt us, Todd admitted as much in the most recent issue of Jayhawk Illustrated.

Other than that, all Jayhawk fans should be looking forward to him setting more records and establishing himself further as an All Time Great at KU.

This is when I beg you to attended as many KU games as possible this year because this kid is special and you'll want to be there when he rolls left and the pocket breaks down, rolls back to the right side steps a DE and goes to his left before stepping up to avoid a DT and then unleashes a 60 yard strike for a TD.
You'll want to be there.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Special Teams preview

Well let's be honest it can't get much worse than last year but there's reason to hope.

Mangino and staff have continued to recruit and bring more talent each year to Mt. Oread and I think that will show even more this year.
A step backwards on special teams last year should have been expected. Kyle Tucker was a multi year starter punting the ball and the same with Scott Webb at kicker and Webb especially had a huge leg on kickoffs.
Add to that the departures of Derek Fine and Brandon McAnderson were big holes to fill.

Have faith fellow Hawks, I think this unit will be a strength.

Its pretty reasonable to expect Rojas to have a bigger leg (even hinted at recently in an article by the LJW) and Branstetter should have improved distance as well.

The thing that has me the most excited for this unit as a whole is the amount of talent Mangino has on campus and how that will translate to blockers and returners.

Let's take a look at the main guys-
Daymond Patterson- PR/ possible KR

He's got a lot of wiggle and he can get up and go.
DP is experienced as a PR doing it last year as a true Frosh and all through HS, plus he showed he can take it to the house- and that's something we need even with our high powered offense.
He's got this position locked down but I don't believe he'll be a KR for this team, he's too valuable at CB to run him out there for that too. But Mangino puts the best guys in positions to make plays so I won't rule it out.

Alonso Rojas-
Punter
While he crapped the bed a couple times, he was huge in the Mizzou game and had 2 punts that directly led to safeties by Jake Laptad over the course of the year.
With our defense looking pretty stout, this is a helluva weapon to have in the holster.
The hope is that he doesn't get used a lot but when he does he becomes more consistent and kicks the snot out of the ball and pins opponents deep to help the D.

Jacob Branstetter- K
If he makes as many tackles as he did last year, that's a major problem.
His coverage team can help him with that and he can also help himself by kicking the ball a little farther and a little higher. Hopefully working with Chris Dawson this summer he'll be ready to drill some kicks deep like Webb did before him.

Kick Returner- ?
After Marcus Hereford decided to pull an Eric Chenoworth (never thought he'd make the blog?) And regress in a major way, the offense had wretched field position all year except for when Briscoe returned kicks against the slavers.

So who's an option here?
These are my guesses-
Dez Briscoe- obviously he has talent to do this and I wouldn't rule him out.

Jake Sharp- he's fast and should have a chance to get to top end speed (4.29 -40) and make something happen.

Bradley McDougald- True FR - WR
This young pup has been impressive so far in workouts, at least that's the word. He played WR, RB and Safety for his HS team so he's obviously versatile and a big kid at 6-3 (approx) so he like Briscoe would be hard to bring down initially. If he can handle the mental side of it, he is a legit option but he'll most likely also be starting at WR (4th WR) so it might prove too much on his plate.

Isiah Barfield- has good speed and won't be used a lot as a WR this year with our crazy depth. He's in my top 2.

Toben Opurum- he's my other pick, but I don't know if he's ever done this and Mangino will want someone he can trust back there.

In any event, like I mentioned this should be an improved unit all the way around and be a nice boost to both sides of the ball.
Special teams could be what takes this squad from good to great and I can't wait to find out.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Monday, June 29, 2009

Offensive line preview

Left tackle (LT)-
The most important spot on the field because they have to protect Reesing's blind side.
The odds on favorite to land this spot is Tanner Hawkinson and all reports are that he will. As most of you know, Tanner was recruited as a TE and then moved to DE during his red-shirt year, so he has some athletic ability.
One thing I really like about this switch is the fact that he played DE in practice (and was scout team player of the week, at least once) so he knows how to go at a OL and know that he's switched he should be able to recognize certain moves that DE's will try and execute. Remember Anthony Collins converted from a DE before becoming an All American at LT.
Tanner is currently at 285 pounds with a target playing weight of 290.

Left Guard (LG)-
"Big" John Williams out of Oklahoma. He's 338 pounds of blocking.
He was really well thought of coming out of high school but hurt his foot and that was enough for OU to hold back an offer and KU was able to scoop him up.
I'm really looking forward to seeing him play. Personally, I wasn't that impressed with Adrian Mayes at any point in time so I look at this as an upgrade. Plus with as wide as he is he should be able to help Tanner out a bit.
Coupled with the beast at Center and D tackles are going to have their work cut out for them.

Center -
Jeremiah Hatch. He was a center in HS and recruited at center but played LT last year and was pretty good even if he didn't have the long arms (which I understand how that sucks) so him moving to center to take over for the graduate Ryan Cantrell is good.
Also the staff wouldn't move him back if they didn't think highly of Tanner at LT, so that's good for the line as a whole. I expect Hatch to have a big year and a very good career as the signal caller of the line.
He's 311 pounds so if you're adding that's almost 650 pounds between him and Williams.

Right guard (RG)-
Sal Capra fits here, Brad Thorsen might get a look here, Trevor Marogenelli could be the guy.
Who the hell really knows, I don't.
All seem capable, Capra did well last year when he filled in on the line at guard and center.
Thorsen is a guy who is very smart and played at Wisconsin and saw limited reps last year for KU. He's still got 2 years left but I think at this moment he's a great back up and someone who can spell Hatch at center if need be.
Marogenelli is a mean SOB, so I'd like to see him take this spot, because he might smash some bones. He's only a RS FR so he might still have some time if the Senior Capra gets this spot.

Ben Lueken would have locked this down if he wasn't getting run over by cars.

Right tackle (RT)
Jeff Spikes-
He played well as the season progressed and at 6-7 314 he's a mountain of a dude, I'm still shocked that he didn't pan out at LT but he's a good RT and if he continues to progress and be dominant at that spot it will give the coaches some options such as moving around TE Tim Biere such as to help chip on a guy with Tanner.

Tight End (TE)
Tim Biere- we might as well include him here, because we're not going to do an entire blog on TE's, sorry Tim.
Biere was a real solid blocker last year from the TE spot and this year should be no different and I believe after the Spring game that he'll be slightly more involved in the passing game.
There's no reason that he can't develop into the next Derek Fine and if that happens I think a lot of Jayhawk fans will be quite pleased with Biere.
Plus his last name means Beer in French, so that's pretty cool.


Overall, the OL looks a little more solid than last year. Hatch at Center is an upgrade over Cantrell who was a little undersized although a tough player. Spikes should be improved at RT and Williams seems to me at least like an upgrade at LG if not on size alone.
LT will be the question mark but I have a lot of faith in Hawkinson, he's worked really hard and has put in a lot time, switching him in the Spring makes the transition a lot easier.

Rock Chalk

Youtube is fun

In case you never saw this, I think it's pretty cool




Rock Chalk

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Big 12 North chances just got better

Rivals.com is reporting that KU just snagged a late commit from Vernon Brooks from Blinn CC in Texas.

Brooks is an OLB, exactly what KU needs, and was a first team Juco All American.

Chose KU over OU, Tenn, Auburn and others. So it appears the kid can play to say the least.

LB was one position that I have not felt super about but let's just say I slept a lot better last night knowing this.

If this isn't enough, Tanner Hawkinson is up to 285 (staff wants him at 290) so that's another question mark that is getting sewn up too.

Lastly, Rod Harris seems to be almost fully recovered from his knee injury, which is good because I really think he'll provide some great depth at WR.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Friday, June 26, 2009

previews coming- football

Now that I have blogged about the buffet of talent in the secondary. I'm going to break down all the other units so we have something to do before the season starts.
Stay tuned.

Rock Chalk

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Brothers / Defensive secondary is a buffet of talent

If Blake Griffin went back to OU for his sophomore year to play with his brother should we expect at least 2 years of Xavier Henry in Crimson and Blue?
We'll see, I'd prefer he balls hard this year, we win the title and he takes the cash.

I've been thinking of something to blog about since there is nothing going on and I wanted to write about the last line of defense on the gridiron.
(It should be noted that KU is planning on playing a 4-2-5 Defense this year.
4 on the line
2 Linebackers
And 5 defensive backs- probably 3 safeties and 2 CB's)

What we have is a lot of talent and a lot of options.
Darrell Stuckey is know quantity. He'll support his family playing on Sunday and should receive a boatload of awards this year. He's your SS.

FS-
Philip Strozier showed flashed last year. But I think he is going to get knocked out by one of the following-
Chris Harris (who also can play corner)
Prinz Kande - true frosh who can play ball
Lubbock Smith - RS FR from Texas who really impressed coaches in the practices leading up to the Insight Bowl.
Justin Thorton- got moved to CB last year but played FS prior to that. With the infusion of talent at CB he could be moved back.
Dextor Linton- another True Frosh who could contribute from the get go

At the CB position we know that Daymond Patterson has one spot locked down.
The other slot is a complete toss up.

Chris Harris and Justin Thorton will obviously be factors here, Thorton more than Harris.

Calvin Rubles a Juco transfer who is a taller corner should get consideration and I hope he snatches it up just because he would give the secondary a nice dynamic.

Greg Brown a RS FR will factor in, he was a guy that KU targeted early on in recruiting 2 years ago so the coaches think highly of him.

Obviously at the end of the day the secondary will look a lot better if the front 4 get pressure like they should but this is the best secondary we have had in a while with a lot of playmakers and some hard hitters.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Bad news followed by better tidbits

There will NOT be a new videoboard in Memorial Stadium this fall (moment of silence...) but there are plans to put one in the coming years. So that sucks.
To cheer you up I listed some tidbits of good to decent news.


– I'm hearing CHASSON RANDLE and BRADLEY BEAL remain top-priority guards, but the competition is getting tougher. I'm hearing Kansas will be hard to beat for Beal (from illinihq.com)



Beal is a 2011 kid and was at Late Night and the Border War last year, this would be a big time get for the staff as they have been on him early and often.




Thanks to all who voted in the most recent poll about season ticket sales. It looks like everyone, well everyone who reads this blog, has high expectations and a lot of confidence in our fan base to come out in droves for this next year and are expecting record numbers this year. I hope we're all correct, the more the merrier.




Looks like my worrying about the class was a tad premature, whoops, On July 3rd there will be a couple of guys from Texas who are going to Lawrence with intentions to talk to the coaches and commit (per rivals.com) one is a WR from Texas who I did a little piece on and the other is CB from Texas as well, we'll see if Mangino will take the commits or if he's waiting for bigger and badder targets.

Elliot Williams is leaving Duke, which should be fun. I'm sure its all part of coach K's plan to have the first post 1950 all white team because you know skinny white guys slap the floor like its a job.

Rock Chalk

Monday, June 22, 2009

What's going on

Today I found out that season tickets for football are about what they were last year (on pace) but they believe there will be another good push to get them up higher.

And at the end of the day we could sell 5 season tickets and have 50K walkup and I wouldn't care as long as its packed.

I do care about the sweat that is flying off of me, its hotter than Paul Pierce against OU in 98 out here.

I'm not going to go into great details about the Dezmon Briscoe rumors regarding his eligibility, but as of right now there is no reason to worry. I'll try to keep you as up to date as possible but he's not out of the woods yet and we very much do need him if we are to realize our goals next year.



Rivals.com (Jayhawk Slant) is reporting that Joe Jackson (#4 PG in 2010 class) will visit Kansas. This may happen but I thing he's a big time Memphis lean.
This brings up a negative feeling that I have about KU getting a PG in this class, but I always defer to Bill Self.

Had a conversation with Bud Stallworth about Xavier Henry and it was interesting what he had to say.
Bud really wished that Xavier was on campus and spending time with his teammates(which I agree with whole heartily) and I told him "Carl (X's dad and former KU player) said he was getting in shape" and he gave me one of those you don't really believe that stupid circus do you looks.
Also Bud said he would talk to Xavier when he got to campus about being a Jayhawk, gotta love this program, this very special program.

(Bud also said there is no reason to worry that he won't be on campus this fall- so that is comforting)

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Tyshawn is a beast

Last year he had some moments where he was very freshmen like but he also mixed in some moments that made me (and others I'm sure) think this guy has a shot to be special.

Taylor just made the USA U19 team and from the reports of the tryouts he did well, very well.

Tyshawn is the type of player that could have a couple of big games in the tourney and get drafted.

While everyone is bumping gums about Cole and Sherron and X and how much better Marcus is, Tyshawn is flying under the radar and getting ready to take his game to the next level.

I'm sure you've heard how the most improvement you see from a college basketball player is from their Freshmen to Sophmore year, so he has that going for him.
He also will have more help around him, due to the improvement in Marcus and Markief's game and the addition of Xavier.
Throw in the fact that he gets to go against some top talent all summer and have more competition in practice when he is being guarded by CJ Henry and Elijah Johnson instead of Tyrel Reed and Brendan Bechard-
Add all that up and Tyshawn Taylor seems poised to break out in a big big way.

Some mock drafts, most notably Draftexpress.com are projecting him as a first rounder in 2010 and even higher if he decides to stay and leave after his Junior campaign.

Its going to be a special season in Lawrence.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Saturday, June 20, 2009

75 Days to go

Until the kick-off against Northern Colorado.

I'm really at a loss for what to do in terms of in season coverage, so if anyone has any ideas, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Nothing really to report in terms of recruiting but hopefully I can track down some info about summer conditioning and remember that this is the first year in the Anderson Football Complex so I'm expecting a huge summer from everyone.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Friday, June 19, 2009

Should I be concerned about football recruiting?

So far KU has 5 verbal commitments (players can't sign LOI's until February)

And this is going to be a small class so for all intents and purposes they are 1/3 of the way through the class with 17 being what is considered the magic number.

But since we just had the OL/DL camp and the Super Jayhawk Camp in the last month and didn't get a single commit out of those, I'm a tad worried.

Now, like I mentioned there is still about 8 months of recruiting left and a lot of kids will wait to see what happens on the field this year before deciding, but I still thought there would be a couple more verbals.

For all the optimist out there, self included, Devin Patterson, the younger brother of Daymond Patterson, impressed at the Super Jayhawk camp according to various reports but did not receive an offer.
That's actually a good thing, because it means that the staff feels confident that they can get something better at that position.

So while the numbers are lower than I would like, I do believe that we will see some good talent sign up in this class before it is all said and done.
Kids, especially talented kids, want a chance to play early and when they see some of the playing time that will be available in 2010 and how many youngsters play this year I think KU will be looking pretty good in the eyes of a lot of quality targets.

Rock Chalk

From Reesing's facebook wall (whatever the hell that is- i have no clue)

motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

Rock Chalk

(props to Dreiling for this)

Mizzou will win it all in the next 3 years

Per Kimmie English in today's kcstar.

Unreal. You might want to mix in a final 4 while you're at it.

Let's see how baller they are when they aren't getting kids whose mom maid them go there.

Rock Chalk


PS- Don't worry about Briscoe, I'll have more on this next week

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Alumni Game

Sherron Collins looks like he did a crash diet and is thinner so that should help Jayhawk Nations collective blood pressure.

Tyrel Reed isn't playing for some reason.

Jeff Withey has his left thumb bandaged up and he isn't playing either.

Tyshawn Taylor is in Colorado Springs for the 19U USA trials.

With the score at 10-11 in favor of the alumni- I think I'm starting to believe that Marcus could play on the wing a bit.
He's shown better ball handling and a nice pull up J.


Marcus gets a board and takes it coast to coast-


I might be gushing but Marcus looks like the light has come on and its 100 Watt, hitting 3's getting loose balls and playing hard. Finished 2with 20 points (applause)
So while we're dishing out compliments let's talk about Sherronatron. He just is what he is.
Scoring the ball is what he does. But the thing I liked the most is that in a scrimmage he's talking to the guys and you can tell he loves winning.
So as long as his weight doesn't become a problem he should have Jayhawk fans smiling everywhere.


(deep 3 and you can also see he slimmed down some since last week- I lost 10 pounds in a week once and I have a job and am nowhere near the athlete that he is so its very possible)


Sherron had 19 points.

T-Rob still seems raw and I feel like he's a bit of a tweener (3 and 4) but he looks like he's got some guns and plays hard. Let's be honest if you aren't playing hard and you've been on campus for a week you got issues.





Keith is a stud, his slashing ability, we haven't had anything like it since he left. Here's one guy hoping that Xavier becomes that guy for us.

It really is a flat out shame that Darnell Jackson never played TE, him and Derek Fine would have been severe.
See below, also includes some nice handles and take from Marcus

Cole Aldrich-

Is huge, he's very big and he looks like he has gotten stronger but he could get bigger.
I'd like to see him be a bit more fluid but this type of game that is more playgroundesq is not made for a big guy and since the games that count are different we'll be good.
Hopefully he'll develop a bit of a mean streak and maybe stop kissing his girlfriend in public but that's just me.

Elijah didn't play much but seemed to be enjoying himself. He's got an infectious smile that can't help but make you smile. I'm looking forward to watching him play he'll be an asset in some form just based on his athleticism.

Let's dish on the actual game-
Down the stretch it got real close and heated.
Sherron called a foul on a 3 late and Keith was pissed and then Sherron and Miles were banging each other hard it was nice to see that competitive fire still burns bright in June.

Sherron had a 3 that went in and out that would have won it

and Miles ultimately sent us all packing with a jumper from the elbow. (see below)

Other notes-
Travis Releford had two nice jumpers and finished with 9 points.

(this from my video guy)

I really think Marcus stepped up today and really impressed me. I think he is only going to get better and better. He might be the biggest surprise on this team and be the most improved. You do grow a ton from your Frosh to Soph year, and I really think his head is in the game.

I'm just not going to read too much into this scrimmage good or bad because it was a scrimmage in a hot gym, in June with an incomplete roster.
No one got hurt so I consider it a success.

Rock Chalk

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Good read on the baseball team

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2009/jun/17/ku-has-filled-void-short/

Looks like we could have a fun baseball season next year and hopefully make a super regional.

Rock Chalk

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Seriously its embarrassing we share a border

Running errands this evening and saw some dude with a halo on- you know the jungle gym that's bolted into the side of your head so you can't move and makes you have a basketball hoop above your head.

Anyway some dude with a halo was drinkinging 24 Oz. Busch Heavy in a parking lot.

He was from Missery.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Monday, June 15, 2009

TR5

If Todd has the exact same amount of passing yards as he did last season, (3,888), that'd be cool.

AND

He'd be 16th on the NCAA's all time passing yards list.

He would pass the following guys-
Eli Manning
Matt Leinart
Ben Roethlisberger
Drew Brees
Peyton Manning
Derek Anderson
Carson Palmer

If he exceeds his total from last year he has a real shot at passing Brady Quinn and getting into the top 13.

Just something to get hyped for while we wait for the season.

82 days left

But while we're at it-
If TR chucks another 32 TD's just like year- he'll be at 100, yeah I know you read that here, but that would put him in the top 10 all time.
But we really need 34 at the bare minimum so he can pass that tool that used to play for missery.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sherronatron

Am I the only one who thinks Sherron missing the US Trials for "family" reasons is a cover up for him being out of shape?

I'm round so I'm not judging and I hope everything is cool with his family but I'm a little sceptical.

That being said if he has the type of year that everybody is expecting from him he'll probably get his jersey retired (Jeff Teague of Wake staying in the draft gives him a very real chance of being a consensus AA)

Elijah Johnson is on campus now too, still waiting on X.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Nuggets

This little nugget made me happy over the weekend-



The latest buzz is that 6-foot-6 Harrison Barnes, the consensus No. 1 incoming senior prep basketball player in the nation and someone of whom the Minnesota Gophers have been in hot pursuit, is leaning toward Kansas.
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Also today, Jordie Meeks announced that he was staying in the draft, suck it Calamari


Rock Chalk

Coming up

Since there's nothing going on with KU and little to report there hasn't been a lot of blogging.

I can report that the Jayhawk will indeed be bigger on the new field at Memorial Stadium, so that's exciting.

Other than that we'll just see what comes up.

On Wednesday night or Thursday morning, I'll have a complete recap of the Alumni game that's on Wednesday with some video and maybe photos.
So be on the look out for that and hopefully we'll get some info from Super Jayhawk Camp this past weekend as well.

Rock Chalk

Friday, June 12, 2009

Fan freaking tastic

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2009/jun/12/ku-pitcher-shaeffer-hall-signs-yankees/

So Shaeffer Hall signed with the Yankees, and won't be back at KU for his Senior season, that's super.

First they drafted CJ Henry a couple of years ago and that turned out to be a colossal pain in the ass and now this.
No wonder people hate the Yankees.

I think when Tony Thompson hits 40 HR's next year it won't matter who's pitching.

And the mere fact that this is even a blog entry means we need football and we need it fast.

Rock Chalk

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Thoughts and prayers

Are with former AD, Bob Fredrick this evening.

Fredrick was flown to a KC hospital after a bike accident in Lawrence.
Thoughts and prayers with him and his family.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Mangino reels in another Texas WR (almost)

Rivals.com is reporting that he will visit KU in the coming weeks and if everything goes as expected, that then Mangino will accept his commitment (but who really knows, Mangino can't comment on it), so it looks like the newspaper article below is accurate and a little bit premature, if that even is possible.








#3 in the clip above for the Green team

Carey Fortson. 6-1 WR

I don't know anything about him, but I like the plays he made in this game.



This is the 6th commit for the 2010 class and the 4th from Texas (the other 2 commits are from Kansas)

Here's an article from the Longview News Journal about his commitment

Carey Fortson toured the University of Kansas before entering high school. He liked what he saw, so much so he's going back after high school, with some football skills learned along the way.

Fortson, a receiver for Longview's football team, verbally committed to attend Kansas on Tuesday. Fortson is the third member of Longview's 2008 Class 4A Division I state runner-up team returning for his senior season this fall to commit to a Football Bowl Subdivision college.

...Fortson said he made his first visit to Kansas three years ago. Fortson's father, C.D., lived in the Kansas City area at the time. Fortson's brother (C.D. Jr.) and his sister (Robin Roustic) live in the Kansas City area. Fortson will make an official visit to Kansas later this month, but he has already made multiple unofficial visits.

"I liked the campus when I visited. Kansas has always been in my top five," Fortson said. "In football, I've always liked what they've done, even when they weren't very good. When they went to the Orange Bowl (in 2008), I wanted to go there."

Fortson, who is 6-1 and weighs 175 pounds, had 28 receptions for 618 yards and seven touchdowns. In six playoff games, he had 12 receptions for 269 yards and three touchdowns in 2008. Fortson had four receptions for 140 yards and three touchdowns in Longview's state semifinal win over Denton Guyer last year.

Fortson picked Kansas over Kansas State, SMU, North Texas, Missouri and Louisiana Tech. Verbal commitments are non-binding. The first day Fortson can sign a letter of intent is Feb. 3.

Fortson said a turning point for his game improving to a point major colleges was between the Sulphur Springs and Mount Pleasant games. In Longview's first six games last season, Fortson had six receptions, with none against Sulphur Springs. Against Mount Pleasant, Fortson had three receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns.

"After Sulphur Springs I was frustrated. I felt like I wasn't able to help the team win and I talked with (head) coach (John) King about it," Fortson said. "The first couple plays in the Mount Pleasant game, they sent passes to me. After that, I think they had confidence in me.

"I tried to make the most of that chance."

Fortson said several college scouts saw the Guyer game. He said that game showed he could be a big-time receiver at the college stage.

King said college offers were rolling in for Fortson during the last five spring practices last month. King said Fortson's play late in the regular season and the playoffs elevated to another level.

King's said Fortson's size and intelligence also attracted college scouts. King said Fortson had a score of 21 recently on the ACT. King said all aspects of Fortson's game improved last season, especially unselfish aspects.

"His playing when he didn't have the ball really improved. He became really good as a blocker and as a decoy. That was the turning point of his play," King said. "He understood that playing receiver is more than having the ball thrown to him."

Fortson is also a standout basketball player. Fortson was a second-team District 12-5A selection for the 2007-08 season, but because of a football injury to his right ankle in the Class 4A Division I state championship game against Lake Travis, Fortson missed the entire 2008-09 basketball season.

Fortson said he will play basketball after Longview's 2009 football season, but that will probably be the last time despite a tradition-rich basketball program at Kansas.

"I've seen Allen Field House at Kansas. Basketball is something there," Fortson said. "But I think I fell in love with football more."





Rock Chalk




Alumni game- total recap

Big ups to Piotr for writing this blog for me and getting a boat load of video.Enjoy



Withey with the dunk



Just remember this was a CAMP SCRIMMAGE.
Not much to write about.

The current players got out hustled and out played. Sherron, who was credited with 8 points, hit two late three's with under a minute left in the game. I don't remember his 2pt bucket. I must have missed it by the sloppy play and turnovers that he had. Bottom line is, he is out of shape. Case and point….take a look at the vid that I zoomed in on him. (see below) I hate to say it, but the guy looks like a beach ball. Self must be pissed and he should be, here we are in year 4 and this guy can't lay off the fries.




If Sherron does not get his ass in shape you can count him 0 for 2 on trying out for the USA team. I hate to bash him, but honestly he looked really, really bad. I don't know which looked better, his new haircut, or lack thereof, or his play. Once the final buzzer sounded, he was hounded by fans for autos and then went in the hallway to get interviewed by a bunch of media members. Lights were bright and shiny in that hallway, focusing on Sherron for reasons I don't know why, instead both Billy "fucking" Thomas and Russ "always nails" Robinson shot lights out. No one seemed to care though.

Cole- I don't remember him scoring his one and only bucket that the stat line shows. It must have been during the time the fucking manager was blocking my view, as I was sitting right behind a bench. Moody actually scored 5 times as many points as Aldrich was "credited with" I did notice that Cole was double teamed by both Moody and Sasha and they did a very good job on limiting his touches. Cole probably threw up about 4 or 5 jumpers, which he is usually money at, but clanked all of them. Or did he make one and I just missed it b/c of the "water boy" Afterwards the game he was on the phone for 5 minutes, while all the other guys were chatting it up and signing autos. Come to find out later that he was doing an interview with Rock Chalk Sports Talk via phone. After the phone interview he whisked out of there to join his other teammates for a team meeting. Probably more like an ass chewing about how shitty they played.
(Cole was at Bob Chipman's camp in Topeka in the morning along with Thomas Robinson so we'll give him a pass on this one)

The only bright spot for KU's current players was Marcus Morris. He looked comfortable out there. He decided to step outside and hit three from beyond the arc. Hopefully this carries over to the season. I didn't really see him on the boards or doing much inside. Kieff had 4 points on two lay ups. Their mom was front and center sitting about 5 feet from me. It was funny when Marcus walked in the gym, he went and sat next to mommy for 5 minutes. Then Kieff walked in, and you could tell Marcus was like "thank God". It was his turn to sit next to Momma as 22 walked to sit on the bench. After the scrimmage as I was walking back to my car, after I took a piss in Wagnon, I noticed Marcus was talking to some lady in her Silver Explorer. Sure enough, it was his Mom. She must keep a close eye on these two. Probably a VERY GOOD idea.

The only Frosh there today was Thomas Robinson.(nice spin and score-below) The guy has potential. I would say he is closer to 6'7 rather than the 6'8 that he is listed at. He has a Ju Ju type of build, except not the length like Wright had. He looked well conditioned and ripped. He could put on another 15-20 lbs. The guy should be a good addition to our squad.





(There is a lot of chatter that Marcus is going to play on the wing which would open up minutes at the 4 for Kief or Robinson- and could also move Xavier Henry to the 2 guard spot. Henry is starting regardless so its more about the other perimeter spot or the 4, because I'm betting Marcus starts)


Tyshawn looked like himself, very quick and aggressive. Not really looking for his shot as he only had 5 points.
Besides that Tyrel hit a couple J's, Teahan had a couple garbage points. A note for the little teenage girls, he no longer has his curly locks. Oh NO!

Morningstar was on crutches out due to a stress fracture.

On to the real stars of the game. Billy T and Russ Rob looked like they were in a different league.


They combined to drop 50 on our bunch, couple that with Moody's 10 and Sasha's 7. Billy was enfuego from behind the arc as he hit 7 3's. Russ was balls out and played tough and very smart. No surprise! (positive comment about Moody deleted) Kaun and Moody threw down a couple dunks. That was two more than our current squad. It was good to see Sasha and Russ back in town. I was hoping more players would make it back, but that was not the case. I remember last year Ju Ju did and he absolutely put on a show. This year, honestly, it was kind of a boring time. Oh yea, the Alumns beat the crap out of our current team. 67-52. Remember, this was a CAMP SCRIMMAGE. Looking forward to next Wednesday and seeing EJ and X.

Like Piotr mentions, X and Elijah Johnson will be here next week and hopefully that'll make things look a bit sharper.

Again a huge thanks to PZ for writing this and getting copious video, you're the bomb.

Rock Chalk

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Amazing 2010 football schedule

(blogger note- I had this up before Kcstar.com - those bums suck at everything)


2010 Kansas Football Schedule

Sept. 4 NORTH DAKOTA STATE
Sept. 11 GEORGIA TECH
Sept. 18 at Southern Mississippi
Sept. 25 NEW MEXICO STATE
Oct. 2 *at Baylor
Oct. 16 *KANSAS STATE
Oct. 23 *TEXAS A&M
Oct. 30 *at Iowa State
Nov. 6 *COLORADO
Nov. 13 *at Nebraska
Nov. 20 *OKLAHOMA STATE
Nov. 27 *vs. Missouri (at Kansas City)

Home games in ALL CAPS


Super excited about that slate. And the return date to the ATL in 2011

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Athlon Preview

So you can save $8 here's what they had to say in their College Football preview magazine.

KU ranked 26- NU ranked 16- nevermind they don't have a QB.

We discover that Reesing is one of 20 candidates for the Golden Arm Award, which is given to the top Senior QB in the nation.

Briscoe makes an appearance as a 2nd team All American and Stuckey checks in at 3rd team Safety.

KU has the 2nd best WR/TE unit in the conference behind OU and the 4th best D-Line.
I'm more encouraged about the D-line ranking than anything else, if they play up to that level, we're going to be very happy come December and January.

Nationally the WR/TE unit ranks 4th, behind USC, Notre Dame and OU.
I'm biased maybe, but I think we're better than that. Briscoe is one of the 3 best WR's in the nation if not better and no one in the country returns with more catches per game than Kerry Meier. Add in the fact that Jonathan Wilson looks to a real dangerous 3rd WR.

1st team all conference-
Briscoe
Stuckey

2nd team-
Jake Sharp
Kerry Meier
Alonso Rojas
Daymond Patterson (PR)

3rd team-
Jeff Spikes
Caleb Blakesly
Jake Laptad
Justin Thornton

(Honestly if we have that many people get accolades, we're winning the north, going to a bad ass bowl and drinking a ton of victory beers)

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Things to improve on

Here are some things I hadn't noticed that I really hope Mangino fixes before September 5th and I'm sure he will.

Kickoffs-
KU averaged 17.54 yards per KO return.
Opponents 21.54 yards

That's almost 5 yards, and really needs to be fixed. Our offense is very good so they made up for some of this but to give other teams shorter field is gonna get you killed.

Penalties-
KU was penalized 62 times last year while their Opponents got flagged 75 times.
That's 1 less penalty a game for KU so that's decent but Opponents were pushed back a total of 589 yards and KU backed up 576 yards.

Mangino's teams have usually been fundamentally sound and don't make stupid decisions that will get them flagged but this stat is discouraging. Hopefully, with all the returners on both sides this will improve.

3rd Quarter-
KU was out scored 117 to 113 to start the second half.
This tells me that we aren't making the necessary adjustments at the half and we need to.

I honestly think an improved and more identified running game will help with this and a lot of other deficiencies.


Maybe none of this means anything maybe it means everything but now you know.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sporting News Recap

So you don't have to spend $8 I'll break down everything worth while from The Sporting News Preview Magazine.

KU is #25 in the poll and the only Big 12 North team.

KU is picked to win the Big 12 North followed by the corn, missery, buffs, k-sucks and iowa st.

Amongst the Big 12, Kerry Meier was rated as having the best hands while Todd Reesing was deemed to have the best instincts.

Apparently Jordan Shipley is sucking someone's dick at Sporting News because he's 2nd team all american and 1st team all conference. Briscoe and Meier are nowhere to be found.
I'll go ahead and bet all the wheat in Kansas that Briscoe and Meier make all conference. (Only 1st team is listed)

Darrell Stuckey was picked 1st team at Defensive back.

According to SN the Hawks will be playing in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

Most of their notes about recruiting are wrong so I'll spare you.

They really like our offense (who doesn't) and Stuckey.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Lindy's preview

Best WR unit in the nation- now that sounds like someone who knows what they are talking about.

Dezmon Briscoe is rated the 5th best WR, which seems low to me. Remember last year he had no hype so hopefully he isn't reading his press clippings and he's getting his game tight and right.

Kerry Meier as the 16th best WR, below that poopstick Banks from K-sucks, whatever. When Banks is in a full body cast he won't be that good and Kerry is as clutch as they come, I'm not trading him for anybody.


Stuckey rated the 4th best Safety, that's not bad I could see him playing like a man child this year and really blowing up, I'm talking All American honors.

Incoming recruits as units.
They rated each position and who did the best at that position in recruiting.
DE's- 7th - how happy does that make you, our worst unit and we really address that area of need, I'm really excited about it and Quinton Woods should provide an immediate impact.

DB's- 7th - I would have rated this higher, I think Rivals rated this unit 4th overall. But at least they are recognizing us. Look for Calivin Rubles and Prinz Kande to make an impact in 09

Pick KU to win North (KU is 21st overall and NU is 22nd- seems a lot high for NU and about right for KU)

1st team all conference-
Briscoe and Stuckey

Also cited Big 12 as having the best QB's in the nation, duh.

There you have it and you still have $8 in your wallet.
You're welcome.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

My new best friend

X does the Rock Chalk Chant




And this is how you treat some little bitch that is going to Duke, you dunk on his bitch ass, after he cheated and goal tended- freaking Duke



Notice that X is 3 or 4 inches shorter than that tool and he flat footed dunks on him, that's sick.

Rock Chalk

Light reading

http://www.hutchnews.com/Sports/jayhawks2009-06-08T22-18-06 (Geneo Grissom article from Hutch paper)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/189766-player-to-watch-dezmon-briscoe-wr-kansas (Briscoe player to watch, include video from HS)

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/060509aaa.html (Reesing is so $$$ he doesn't even know)

Rock Chalk

Re: Something to play for


Sporting News & Athlon Sports
Both decided that KU didn't have what it took to be in the top 25.
 
   Phil Steele doesn't have KU in his top 50.
 
   We'll finish 4th in the North per Phil Steele.
  
   ESPN's Tim Griffin is banging on our season ticket packages.
 
Darrell Stuckey is playing for an NFL pay day, the same with Dezmon Briscoe.

Jake Sharp is coming into the fall as the only legit candidate to be the featured back.

Kerry Meier isn't a WR.

Todd Reesing is too small.

We're not a football school.

The schedule is tough.

We've never won the north.

The fans leave at halftime.

We're the 5th best team in the South.

The North is weak.

Todd is maybe the 3rd best QB in the conference, maybe.

We have no depth at RB

Our LT has never played division 1 football.

All our LB's are gone.
 
 
 


We all know what Todd and company are saying, that they don't listen to any of that stuff.

But I hope that's false, I hope they hear every single doubter and hater out there.
I hope they take it and glue it to their lockers.

I hope they think about it when hitting the weights and running sprints.

And just when they think they're in the clear Mangino reminds them.

Never doubt a team that is playing with a purpose with senior leadership and that is so close to making history, especially when its Kansas.

September 5th can't get here soon enough.

Rock Chalk



 

Monday, June 8, 2009

Elite Camp- get em while they're young

Jp Tokoto 6-5 SG - class of 2012

(#24 in blue)

Attended Elite Camp this weekend and received an offer from KU. There is some rumblings that Bill Self and Co. are in the lead (team to beat) for this perimeter stud.

Perry Ellis 6-8 SF / PF - class of 2012 Wichita,KS
The other day under comments of a KUsports.com article someone posted this comment from a youtube.com clip


bch9119
"i was on perrys aau team, he is going to go to KU, he told that is his dream school, he is nto a thug at all and he is an extremely nice guy and extremely humble and deserves everything he is going to get out of basketball, and is going to be a jayhawk, everytime we plyed march madness ar 2k8, he played with kansas, and he talked about how good kansas was a lot, he loves KU"

Now honestly, anybody could have posted that, but let's just assume its true, and be really excited. Perry is regarded as one of the top 5 talents in the class of 2012 and getting in state talent when available is key.

Some other recruiting tidbits-

It looks like Ray McCallum is not a KU lean, he could still end up at KU (class of 2010) but its going to be a tougher get. With Tyshawn Taylor, CJ Henry and Elijah Johnson all on board for 2010, is this really a bad thing? I say no.

KU could still go after Branden Knight, #1 Player according to Rivals.com or Trevor Releford, yes the little brother of Travis.

Luke Cothron told theshiver.com that he enjoyed his visit to KU's Elite camp (2010- #9 player per Rivals.com) - I really think this PF could be the next pledge for the 2010 class and with Royce Wooldrige already on board that would be 2 real studs heading to Lawrence this time next year.

We're hoping to get some good info from the Alumni game this Wednesday, maybe even some video. So make sure you check back later this week.

Rock Chalk

Re: Violently early bowl predictions


Some simple google searching gave me some insight into what is going to drive KU to history this year. Over the coming weeks and months there will be a lot more predictions.
Out of the three predictions I could find the best bowl KU is looking at is the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.


That would be acceptable but clearly not desirable.
Others had KU in the lesser bowls not even worth this digital ink.
(One prognosticator had KU playing Cal in the Sun Bowl)


So on June 8th what would make KU fans happy in terms of a bowl game.
Well theoretically any bowl game would be historical since it would be the third in a row but if you're going to a bowl you might as well shoot for the top.

Let's look at some bowls that have Big 12 tie ins-
(Gator Bowl is out since they took the corn cobs last year)

Insight Bowl-
Great city and you get to knock the snot out of some bum Big Televen school.
Happy factor - not pleased

Texas Bowl-
The former Fort Worth Bowl

Happy factor- less happy than Insight Bowl


Alamo Bowl-
In San Antonio and you get a less sucky Big Televen school. The bonus is that its on ESPN and not the NFL network.
Also its in Texas and would be good exposure to our recruiting hot bed.

I'd be okay with going to this bowl but this would mean that we most likely didn't win the North or that Baylor, A&M or Tech has better years.
(In the prediction I saw it had KU playing Penn State and that could make this game a bit more interesting) (just saw another projection in Athlon's preview magazine that had us in the Alamo Bowl versus Illinois)
Happy factor- content but left wanting more - although it is on January 2nd which makes it more appealing that we are playing after the first of the year and it'll but up against signing day so a good performance could enhance recruiting.

Holiday Bowl-
San Diego. Play against a mid level team from the Pac 10. On ESPN and pimped by the world wide leader constantly, all good things. This also means that we could have won the North but that Ok St just had a bomb season and got picked for the Cotton Bowl. This would not be the worst bowl to play in ever, I'd actually be pretty jacked about it.
Happy factor- (assuming we won the North) Real pleased


Cotton Bowl-
Ahh one of the oldest and greatest bowls. In Dallas on New Years day, no other games on yet. Driveable from KC and Dallas has a lot of Alumni so there would be a Huge turnout for this game.
We also would play a solid if not real good team from the SEC and it'd be a great barometer for our program.

I'll be honest this is the bowl I wanted to go to last year and if we went this year well that'd be awesome.
An appearance in the Cotton Bowl would mean we won the North and that's the first order of business.

Happy factor- ecstatic

Fiesta Bowl-
I like Tempe I really do, its great weather, I like the stadium and the area around it.
2 BCS appearances in 3 years would put us on a different level and that's what I'm talking about.
This would mean that we not only won the North but won the Big 12 Championship and that would be very special.
This would really solidify KU as a football school that just happens to have the greatest basketball program in the world and give us a serious leg up in recruiting and that my friends is how you get to the top and stay there.

Happy factor- unbearable and losing sleep in a good way.

National Championship-
The only negative of this would be listening to LJ tell me how right he was and I'd love to have that talk.

Happy factor- yeah, let's do this

Rock Chalk

Further proof that mizzou sucks

The below text is from an internet message board but sounds legit-

I met the wife of the 2008 Orange Bowl Committee President or Chairman in the parking lot of a grocery store in North Carolina tonight.

When I am in North Carolina I rarely go out in public without wearing National Championship Gear and/or Orange Bowl gear. Tonight I wore my favorite Orange Bowl Champions Shirt. I was putting groceries in my car when this woman came up with her daughter and told me how much she loved my shirt. She introduced herself as Thomas Wood's wife (former Orange Bowl Committee President). She complemented me on my school and asked me what I had studied there and so on.... She also said Lawrence is absolutley beautiful. (The woman has taste.)

She then voluntered that there were two reasons why we were chosen for the 2008 BCS Orange Bowl...

1. KU had a better record in their eyes with only one L....

2. KU has proven throughout the history of our football and basketball programs that we travel as well as any other college fanbase in the country.

She further volunteered that the MU fanbase was so upset that her husband recieved death threats. MU fans even threatened his entire family. She also said that the Miami police investigated the threats, and deemed them credible enough to warrant protection for her husband and their family. The Woods had multiple cop cars sitting in front of their house 24 hours a day for more than a week after the announcement..

Of course, she said the experience was very traumatic for her entire family. Meanwhile, her daughter was agreeing with everything she said...

The only thing the daughter said was, "You can't even imagine how crazy it was."

Mrs. Wood also said that her husband has told this story to members of other bowl committees, and they are always shocked and appalled by how the MU fans behave themselves.

Suffice to say, I was floored... I didn't expect her to be so open. At the end the conversation, I said, "I know I am biased, but I have always felt that our fanbase was by far the classier group of fans." She said oh don't worry everyone who needs to know, knows how great KU is, and how great KU's fans are...

I told her that was great to hear, and thank you very much..
(End)


Pretty awesome and I believe this to be the absolute truth.

Rock Chalk



Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Some clarification

Over the weekend was the KU OL/DL camp, NOT the Super Jayhawk camp.

Sorry for that confusion. So this weekend coming up is the super Jayhawk camp and that will have some prospects there.

Also it looks like most of the 2009 recruiting class has made it to campus, so that's a very good sign.

To make up for this gaff, here is a link that is very useful. KU's entire 2009 Football recruiting class, with video and bios- good stuff. Grab a tall drink or some chips, you'll be there for awhile.

http://www.kuathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/09-signing-day.html

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Rewatching the Spring Game

Isiah Barfield at WR might be good- say in the slot and also could be the guy to shore up the Kickoff returns. If he is able to be the slot receiver or a 5th WR that would be good especially since Rod Harris tore his ACL in the Spring.
KU was last in the Big 12 in KO returns and as good as the O is better field position would help.
Deshaun Sands could help in that category as well or incoming Freshmen Toben Opurum.

Just my 2 cents.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Welcome the NEWEST Jayhawk

Jacoby Walker- Dual Threat QB from Texas.




Had long been favoring KU and with Gabbert picking NU he jumped on it.
2 commits in 2 days for Mangino.

The best thing about getting guys like this is that the staff targets them early and the staff has shown over their tenure that when they identify talent early on they are pretty spot on.

Great pick up for the staff and with Kale Pick (sophomore) Jordan Webb (Frosh) and Christian Matthews (Frosh) already on board for 09 I would say Walker is the only QB they take in the 2010 class.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/video?id=3999814 (some video- kid makes some big throws, but also needs to work on his accuracy a bit from the video)

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Friday, June 5, 2009

One of these guys I like- the other I'd like to punch in his cock loving mouth


Figure it out yet? Hell yes you did because if you read this blog, you probably graduated from KU, that cock chugger on the right, well look at him with his weak beard and domestic light beer, what an ass pirate.
And yes all mizzou fans and alums are fags.
Fuck them, and fuck that stupid whore who was with this guy and let him bother the almighty Bill Self, I hope that bitch gets HPV and warts and then I hope she walks in and sees her loser boyfriend chugger Chase Daniel's 2 inch weiner.
Unfucking real.
http://deadspin.com/5279765/the-one-where-bill-self-gets-feisty?skyline=true&s=x

And sorry about the extra ads on the blog, I don't know what the fuck happened and I'm too dumb to figure it out.

Rock Chalk

Newest Jayhawk

6-5 235 DE Geneo Grissom
First reported by Jayhawk Slant

Kid is from Hutch and seems like a maniac.

Allegedly he can hang-clean over 300 lbs, which sounds like a lot especially for a kid that tall.

Scout.com Player Evaluation:

STRENGTHS
Athleticism
Backside Pursuit
Lateral Range

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Size

The 6-4/215 (he's now 230) DE is a long and athletic defender with huge upside. He is explosive off the ball, plays with good hands, and because of his length, he shows the ability to run down players in backside pursuit. While Grissom is a little thin at this stage, his long frame will add and hold weight well.


Rock Chalk

Misc KU football news and rumblings

This weekend is the Super Jayhawk camp so hopefully we'll get some new commits on the line.

Northern Colorado (Sept 5) has been set for 6PM per kuathletics.com

There are some rumblings that the Southern Miss game will be a pre-noon Kickoff, bad for tailgating, great for exposure.

Bill Self's KU Elite Camp is this weekend as well, not sure we'll get much out of it, but we might find out where we stand with a couple of guys.

Rock Chalk

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Combo schedule

Enjoy- football is in blue
 
Basketball is in red
 
 
Sept. 5 NORTHERN COLORADO\
 
Sept. 12 @ Utep
 
Sept 19 DUKE
 
Sept 26 Southern Mississippi (band day and family day)
 
Oct 10 IOWA STATE (Homecoming)
 
Oct 16 - Late Night in the Phog - Lawrence, KS
 
Oct 17 @ Colorado
 
Oct 24 Oklahoma
 
Oct 31 @ Texas Tech
 
Nov. 3 (Tuesday) - FORT HAYS STATE (Exhibition), Lawrence, Kan.
 
Nov 7 @ K-sucks

Nov. 11 (Tuesday) - PITTSBURG STATE (Exhibition), Lawrence, Kan.

Nov. 13 (Friday) – HOFSTRA, Lawrence, Kan.
 
Nov 14 NEBRASKA (SENIOR DAY)

Nov. 17 (Tuesday) – Memphis, St. Louis, Mo.

Nov. 19 (Thursday) – TBA, Lawrence, Kan.
 
Nov 21 @ Texas

Nov. 23 (Monday) – TBA, Lawrence, Kan.

Nov. 27 (Friday) – TBA, Lawrence, Kan.
 
Nov 28 MISSERY (ARROWHEAD)
 
Dec. 2 (Wednesday) - ALCORN STATE, Lawrence, Kan.
 
Dec 5 Big 12 Championship (Dallas)

Dec. 6 (Sunday) – UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif.

Dec. 9 (Wednesday) – RADFORD, Lawrence, Kan.

Dec. 12 (Saturday) - LA SALLE (Sprint Center), Kansas City, Mo.

Dec. 19 (Saturday) – MICHIGAN, Lawrence, Kan.

Dec. 22 (Tuesday) – CALIFORNIA, Lawrence, Kan.

Dec. 29 (Tuesday) – BELMONT, Lawrence, Kan.

Jan. 2 (Saturday) – Temple, Philadelphia, Pa.

Jan. 5 (Tuesday) – CORNELL, Lawrence, Kan.

Jan. 9 (Saturday) – Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
 
 
 
Rock Chalk

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

We didn't want him anyway

Tyler Gabbert decided to go be a Husker, forget his ass.
His parents might be the dumbest humans ever. One kid goes to Missery the other is a Cornholer.

Nice job Mom and Dad.

That family is going to really hate KU in about 5 years.

Rock Chalk

And come on down Jacoby Walker
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Summer recruiting overview

For the past weeks and months the coaches have watched tape, visited schools, extended offers and invited kids to campus for a variety of things such as, Spring game, tour of facilities and campus.

Now things are getting ready to heat up.
Super Jayhawk camp is this weekend and its for mostly OL/DL but there will be some skill players present.

My thoughts on it is that its harder to scout the lines on tape and its easier to put them through your drills on your field and see how they take to coaching. Coaches can also see their frames and determine if a senior to be in high school can develop into a Big 12 lineman.

There will be kids that attend that have scholarship offers and some that don't.

The kids that have offers are usually there to get a better feel for the coaches and see the facilities and either form an opinion of KU or reaffirm their feelings towards KU.

Those that do not have offers are trying to impress the coaches with their ability, coachability, leadership, work ethic and actual build.
There are usually some offers extended during or right after the camp and it usually yields a commit or two. These kids become know quantities to the staff and that helps because they can become more focused on their efforts with other targets.

After camp the staff will continue to try and get prospects to campus and they'll attended 7 on 7 tourneys and once they have a couple more commits those that have pledged to be Jayhawks can sell KU to their teammates and other targets.

Hope this clears up some of the questions that some of you had mentioned.
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments and I'll do my best to answer.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

someone (ME) just figured out how to post youtube video's




I guess its pretty safe to say this is the next step to ruling all of the blogosphere.

Rock Chalk

summer football recruiting

The 2010 recruiting class for Mark Mangino's team will probably consist of
about 20 commits which is a smaller class than years past.

With that in mind and the fact that the staff has shown they like to save at
least 1/4 of the schollies until after the season, we can expect roughly
10-15 commits this summer. (There were 11 last year by the end of the
summer out of 24)

Last year the staff really used the Super Jayhawk camp (camp is in
June- weekend of June 6th) to form an opinion on kids or to solidify
their opinions on a kid. After the camp last year the following guys
were offered and committed-
OT Riley Spencer
OT/G Gavin Howard
DE Kevin Young

There might be a few others as well but the big thing to come out of
Super Jayhawk Camp is that the coaches get a chance to interact with
recruits, see them with their own eyes and judge if they could help
the team.
Most likely they see a kid that they like but then he's not as tall at
the camp or he has a bad attitude or is lazy. And those guys obvious
do not get offers and Mangino is able to move on to other targets.

So far there's already 3 guys that have pledged the Crimson and the Blue.
CB Dave Clark
DT Jeremiah Edwards
WR Ricki Herod Jr

I really like the start of the class, Clark is an absolute stud who will
play from day 1 (Juco transfer), Edwards is a quick DT (the staff is always
trying to find the next James McClinton) and Herod is a lighting quick WR
from Texas who is one of the best in the state.

With that in mind here's a couple of guys that have said they would like to
decide this summer and have KU as their leader or near the top.

QB-
Jacoby Walker - Has been a KU lean for a bit but he seems to be
holding out for some other offers and wouldn't be picking KU but
rather settling so that's discouraging. We'll have to wait and see
what this Texan decides to do.
Forget what you read above, in a recent interview Walker proclaimed KU
as his leader and said he'd like to make a decision this summer. So
there's a very good chance he could be donning the Crimson and the
Blue.

Tyler Gabbert- younger brother of the tool that is at Mizz. Has good
size and recently won the award for biggest arm at a Nike camp in
Texas. I thought KU had a good shot with him but it looks like
Nebraska is going to win out on this one.
Considering the talent already on the roster in Kale Pick, Jordan Webb
and Christian Matthews the QB spot looks solid but its clear the
coaches want to bring in at least one more guy. Possible foreshadowing
to Matthews being a WR?

Tanner Bailey- Winfield, KS
Has KU as his number 1, but does not have any D1 offers yet. If he
could make camp in Lawrence that would help him and might be the only
way he gets an offer.


RB
Mike Hayes (Juco) - from the same Juco as Travis Stephens who will be
on campus this summer at the DT spot. I'm not so sure that this guy is
a good bet for us at the RB spot, I think we can do better but I also
don't know a whole lot about him. He favors KU but does not currently
have an offer from KU.

Joseph Randle- From Wichita and younger brother of former KU flash in
the pan Jon Randle. Favors KU, OU, K-st and NU and maybe Mizz. He
wants to stay close to home and is visiting KU this summer. I think at
the end of the day some stud RB is going to see the plethora of PT
available in the backfield and want to be a Jayhawk and hopefully
Randle is that kid, but if not somebody else.

WR
Devin Patterson- younger brother of Daymond Patterson.
Devind attended Junior day last year, I saw him there and will be at
Jayhawk Camp this summer. He received an offer from Utep not too long
ago but has yet to get one from KU. Maybe a nice performance at camp
will garner him an offer.

Julian Wilson - from OK
Has KU high on his list. Coach Bill Miller is recruiting him. He told
theshiver.com that he would like to make a decision before his senior
season starts and also is interested in running track, so that means
he's pretty fast.

DE
Donovan Vestal- Best friends with Christian Matthews (QB Commit class
of 09) from Arlington Bowie High in Texas, where Matthews played along
with Dextor Linton (DB Commit from class of 09). Its hard to get a
grasp on his recruitment but he likes KU and Ok State. I'd expect KU
to win out on this one but its not a slam dunk by any means. He is
scheduled to visit this summer and that might be all it takes to lock
him up, he also attended KU's Spring Game and met the person writing
this.

Geneo Grissom- Is from Hutch and physical specimen, I'd really like to
get this guy. Below is a little blurb I found on him...

Defensive end / tight end prospect Geneo Grissom is holding one
scholarship offer from Kansas and is leaning toward the Jayhawks, ESPN
affiliate Web site OUInsider.com reports.

He said, "I love it at Kansas and the coaches and facilities at Kansas
are incredible. Everybody has tried to get to know me at Kansas and
everybody is a genuine guy."

Other programs such as Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas State are
also recruiting the 6-foot-4, 230-pound talent.

He added, "I have not made my decision yet or anything, but I am
definitely leaning towards KU. I want to go somewhere I can fit into
their system. Playing time is not a big factor, but playing early
would be nice. Academics are huge with me and I like the way that KU
has their academics set up. I really don't want to go that far away
from home either and I want my dad to be able to make it to my games."

---- Geneo will be at the Super Jayhawk camp so hopefully we get some
great news on him in the near future.


OT
Anthony Gatti - From St Louis and a big mean dude, plus I love his
last name makes me think he's connected to the mob. There have been
some rumbling that he is holding out for an offer from Mizz and if he
doesn't get it, KU appears to be the leader. He'd be a good start to
an ever improving OL. Has been quoted as wanting to make a decision
before his season starts. Also holds an offer from Wisconsin and Wake
Forrest.

ATH
Jatashun Beachum - 6-2 275
The kid plays QB at his high school in Texas. No its okay, you read that
right, Quarterback.
Projects as a huge ass RB or a guy that could make $$$$ playing DT and
staying quick. This guy is very high on my list.
He has said he wants to visit KU this summer so that's something I'll
be monitoring.


These are just some of the names to keep track of but a lot more will
be popping up over the summer (According to Rivals.com KU has offered
123 kids as of 6/1). The coaches have been all over the place offering
and evaluating kids, Ohio, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and
Missouri. I'm really curious to see how this class unfolds, if Mangino
and Co. can keep it going and top last years class, we're in real good
shape.

Rock Chalk

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Easy E

Wow!

So its finally knocking on our door. Baba Kelting is about to be rushed into this world, one way or another.

Lucky kid too. His Grandpa's are vastly different but both great men and mentors.
One has a limitless knowledge of America's pastime and life in general the other a cold exterior but one of the warmest hearts you'll ever meet, totally self less and loving .
at one moment Evan could be getting honest life lessons and learning how to keep score and at the next moment having a sip of hot damn and just a good old time.

His grandma's all are caring and sweet and while I don't know them as well I have never heard a negative hush spoken about them.

His dad, a wuss, and the best friend I'll ever have and have ever had.
We spent a lot of this evening talking about teaching him the lore that is KU, figuring out how to make him left handed and when to have our first drink with him.
He's getting a great one in Eric, a guy that'll give him enough rope to hang himself and tell him to pound sand when he's outta line.
A guy that has been my sounding board and one of the most upstanding guys you'll ever meet.
He's a talented (not hard) worker and honest. And when I think of some of the best times in my life Eric is a main stay.

And Momma K, T-mac, my college breakfast buddy, she's sooooo ready to be a mom she has loved Evan for a long time, so excited that she spilled his name months ago.

How could you not want her to be her kid, you know she'll go get a happy meal whenever you want, you want a new KU shirt, that's no worries, but she like her dad has a bottomless heart always capable of loving.

All I hope is that the baby is healthy, just healthy I don't care how big he is, just want Evan to be healthy.
I'm proud to be the Godfather, even more proud to have 2 friends as great as Eric and Tracy.

Evan-
I'll be real honest with you, you are gonna get a lot of slack but you'll be a Jayhawk.

I'm looking forward to going to Tee ball and coach pitch, autograph shows and KU games. Get here, whenever you feel like it, go easy on your mom and be healthy.
God bless you, and I'm looking forward to meeting you, I'm the guy that's you height and has a beard.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Recruiting tidbits



The KU recruiting team got a major upgrade a couple of months ago when Bill Miller replaced Steve Tovar as the Linebackers coach (Miller will also be the assistant D coordinator- which will help on the field a lot in my opinion) and when Billy Jo Clements or whatever his name is was replaced by former KC Chief Tom Sims as D Line coach.

Tovar didn't recruit anyone and Clements was a bum. Miller has contacts all throughout Kansas, Florida, Michigan and Ohio and Sims has some good local ties and there's no way he's a worse recruiter than Clements (who's at K-st now- awesome).

In addition to these guys being upgrades there's a couple of coaches that are absolutely murdering it.

David Beaty, WR Coach, did very well for himself last year and got off to a good start this year securing 2 of the 3 early commits for KU.
Every recruit that is being targeted by Beaty raves about him, how honest, easy to talk to and down to earth he is.

J'Ney Jackson is getting after it as well already securing the biggest commit this year in Dave Clark.
Jackson is also a guy that is connecting with recruits and working his ass off all over the place. I don't know much about him but he seems to be really passionate and excited about KU football and is communicating that to anyone who will listen.

Louie Mastakis, who recruits Florida, has stepped his game up too. Since the Orange Bowl KU has had a larger presence in the Sunshine State and last year they brought in Deshaun Sands and Erick McGriff while also drawing interest from others.
This year there are more offers to kids from Florida and more of them that seem to be truly interested, linebackers, linemen and skill players.
Florida is flush with talent and Mastakis stepping it up is big for the program, maybe Coach Miller can help down there too with his contacts.

Rock Chalk

Monday, June 1, 2009

Our offense is going to wreck people

Jake Sharp was the second most proficient RB in Big 12 games last year and he's back for more.

Out of returning QB's Todd Reesing has the 9th highest pass efficiency rating. Out of just the BCS schools he has the 5th highest percentage of those headed back to campus.

TR5 also is the 5th highest returner in terms of total offense and 4th highest when you throw out non-BCS QB's.

My main man Kerry Meier is at the top of the heap when looking at receptions per game.
Yep, leads all returners.
Yep.
Kerry Freaking Meier

Dez Briscoe is 6th on that list or receptions per game. I can't find (too lazy to look) where Mr. Briscoe stands amongst returners in receiving yards but I'd bet he's quite a ways up there. Top 5 at least.

KU also returns Jonathon Wilson at WR, Tim Biere at TE and Jeff Spikes and Jeremiah Hatch on the OL.

So go ahead and plot and scheme for ways to stop us, but know that you'll be wasting your time.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

K-st fans are dumb

I went to get some DQ with my very pregnant friend and others this evening.
First she pointed out the enormous woman about to enter DQ.
Then the douche with a K-st shirt on cut off my pregnant friend in line and proceeded to order something for the fat whale.

Just another example of those assholes over in craphatten ruining society.

Rock Chalk
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Record are made to be broken - part 2




While the O is setting and breaking records weekly the D could be making a mark in the record books as well.

Let's start with career interceptions, nobody is catching Ray Evans at least nobody on this team- but it'd be great if they did- Evans finished his illustrious career with 17 picks.
Darrell Stuckey and Justin Thorton both enter their Senior seasons with 7 INT's each. Based in what they have done in the past we can expect both of them to get at least 2 INT's this year, which would put them into a tie for 8th place all time and with 3 INT's they would be in a tie for 5th place.
Let's hope Stuckey has as many as he had last year if not more (he had 5) if he had 5 in 09 he would be tied for 3rd all time and 6 picks would tie him with Aqib Talib.
I'm betting more on Stuckey than Thorton because I'm not sure Thorton is going to start and Stuckey is a stud.

Algie Atkinson is the all time sack leader at KU with 24.
Jake Laptad enters his Junior campaign with 10 sacks to his name including 7 last year which tied him for the 8th best season in KU history for bringing down the QB.
If Laptad has 7 sacks again this year (Laptad went on the record as saying new D-Line coach, Tom Sims, was teaching them a lot of new techniques and moves and he thinks the D-line himself included will be much better next year) he would be tied with Nate Dwyer and Dana Stubblefield for 5th all time and still have a shot to tie Atkinson for the all time mark before he walks down the hill.

On a side note- I wonder what the record is for most safeties because Laptad had 2 last year and they are rare, maybe he'll like 6 this year and some schmuck at at KUAC will have to look it up.

As much as I'm giddy over our Offense it'll be nice to see Laptad have a breakout year and Stuckey to continue his salty play in the defensive backfield and make some noise in the record books.

Get excited because History Awaits.

Rock Chalk

Misc

Per Twitter - KU v Duke is at 11AM on Versus.
Early time will upset some, TV exposure of any sort will please me.


http://www.oprah.com/media/20090429-tows-taylor-swift-favorite
(the above link looks like something that would suck until you see that she's wicked hot- unless she's younger than 18 then she's so gross and probably has like every disease in the book, slut - plus its good pub for our school)
Kudos to LJ for the link


I was reading the Omaha World Herald while in Omaha and came across this tidbit-
Antaries Daniel, RB-
Who favors KU (grew up in Topeka) had a nice spring jamboree including breaking off a highlight real TD in scrimmage.
He will visit KU for camp this summer.

He has not been offered by KU yet, I think it'll depend on how he performs at camp.

Josh Smith of CU has decided to leave the team to try and rap- seriously. He was a threat on special teams and a good target in the passing game but will not be in Boulder when KU travels there in week 6.

Also over on the hoops side of things, Royce Wooldrige (verbal commit for 2010) had a nice showing at the Pangos All American camp this last weekend and was selected as one of the top 25 players there along with KU targets, Harrison Barnes, Luke Cothron and Releford's little brother. (per Jayhawkslant.com)

Little (trevor) Releford is getting interest from both basketball and football but I haven't seen anything that says he's leaning towards doing one or the other in college.

More to come.

Rock Chalk