Sunday, October 29, 2006

Red shirts rule

Reesing makes debut, sparks KU

By Ryan Wood

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Don't call it a comeback. Not yet, anyway.

But go ahead and label it a big step in the right direction for Kansas University's football team. The Jayhawks' 20-15 victory over Colorado on Saturday was sorely needed and stunningly sparked by : well, none other than Sparky himself.

That's the nickname coach Mark Mangino gave last spring to freshman quarterback Todd Reesing, who burned his red shirt and carried the Jayhawk offense in the second half Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

With him behind center, KU erased a 9-0 deficit and squeaked out its first Big 12 Conference victory of 2006.

It has been a year full of surprises for Kansas, now 4-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play. But Reesing's emergence shot straight to the top of the list.

Heck, it saved the Jayhawks' season for at least one more week.

"I know a lot of the seniors that I'm real good friends with want to be in postseason play really bad," Reesing said. "We're only two wins away from doing that. If I give us the best chance because of injuries and whatnot, I want to help the team out."

Reesing was the last resort after Kerry Meier's shoulder injury and Adam Barmann's ineffective play forced Mangino's hand at halftime. The Jayhawk coach perhaps saw it coming a week ago and told Reesing after last week's Baylor game to be ready - that red shirt might not last.

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KU vs. Colorado football

"I talked with Todd on the bus after last week's game about the possibility that he could be pressed into service," Mangino said. "He was going to have to get ready for some playing time this week and prepare. And you can see he was prepared."

Reesing, who's nickname came from Mangino uneventfully at a quarterback meeting earlier this year, threw for 106 yards and rushed for 90 more in one half, but that's not the story.

Truth is, Reesing looked just like what KU's offense needed. After a quick interception - c'mon, freshmen will have jitters - Reesing managed the offense straight toward the end zone on three straight possessions.

It started late in the third quarter, when he found fellow freshman Jake Sharp on a pass downfield for a 42-yard reception and a first down. Right there, Sparky lit the spark Kansas needed.

"When I pulled up and threw the ball, Jake hadn't turned around yet," Reesing said. "I'm thinking, 'Just turn around and catch the ball, Jake.' He finally did, and at that point I knew we were going to start clicking."

Now it was a matter of getting an estimated 39,313 fans to believe after four weeks of building cynicism. The crowd finally amped up for good three plays later, when Reesing found Jon Cornish for a 22-yard touchdown reception to cut the deficit to 9-7.

It was exactly what didn't happen in the first half, when Kansas couldn't make anything work with CU's defense obviously keying on star running back Jon Cornish.

Jayhawks beats Buffs 20-15

KU comes from behind to beat Colorado 20-15

Cornish finished with 23 carries for 80 yards, putting him past the 1,000-yard plateau. But the story of the day, at least on offense, was the pint-sized quarterback who could.

Listed at 5-foot-11, Reesing let reporters in on a little secret after the game.

"That's pushing it," he quipped. "I think it's more around 5-10 and change."

Added Mangino, "I don't care if he's 5-3. I like him."

Reesing, of course, had help in the second-half turnaround. Cornerback Aqib Talib, for one, had two crucial picks late in the game. He returned one 59 yards on the final play of the third quarter, setting up the Jayhawks' second touchdown - a three-yard Reesing run - that gave KU the lead for good.

Talib also intercepted a trick play in the fourth quarter when Colorado was trying to scrap back in it down 20-9.

"I thought it was a complete team effort," Mangino said, "but Aqib really led the way on defense."

Talib and the team was complemented wonderfully by Reesing. Like any freshman, though, the new wonder kid wasn't perfect. After scrambling for an eye-opening 63-yard gain in the fourth quarter, Reesing fumbled the ball on the next play, which CU safety Ryan Walters recovered and returned 95 yards for a touchdown.

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2006 KU-Colorado Football

Colorado then got the football back with 59 seconds left and 82 yards to go. But this time, a comeback wasn't in the cards. A chance at bowl-eligibility, suddenly, is back in the picture for the Jayhawks - who were left for dead when a collapse at Baylor dropped them to 0-4 in the Big 12.

"Losing so many close games, hard-fought games, playing so good and losing in the last minute," Talib said, "it was definitely a monkey off our back."

Of course, the ol' quarterback controversy - the two words that go together so well in Lawrence - is back. If Meier stays injured, Reesing obviously is the guy now. But, Coach, what happens when Meier's feeling good again?

"There will be no further discussion about quarterbacks and who's playing," Mangino said with a grin. "We encourage everyone to come to the games and find out."

And there's no doubt that after Saturday, rejuvenated Kansas fans will be more willing to do just that.

KU vs. Colorado

Comments

ameraidi (anonymous) says...

Good job boys...

Beak'em hawks!

October 29, 2006 at 2:15 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

baceman (anonymous) says...

Nice....

October 29, 2006 at 8:14 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

GIHAWK (anonymous) says...

Todd Reesing for President!

October 29, 2006 at 8:38 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

danharris1 (anonymous) says...

It's a shame we had to burn Reeing's red-shirt but he sure did give us a spark!

October 29, 2006 at 9:05 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU504 (anonymous) says...

Knowing Mangino, most likely we will see Meier next week, All I can say is Reesing better start next week.

October 29, 2006 at 12:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

nddhawk (anonymous) says...

Wow ramirez, you're hurting for intelligence. You do realize that burning Reesing's RS was the only reason we won the game yesterday, right?

Are you a KSU or Mizzou fan? Every KU fan realizes that is what needed to be done to get the win and possibly become bowl eligible.

October 29, 2006 at 2:09 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

nddhawk (anonymous) says...

djkc, well said. I was hoping that Reesing would be good, but he blew me and everyother fan around me away. Memorial stadium in the 1st half compared to the 2nd half were two totally different places.

Future is looking bright for our 2 FR QB's.

October 29, 2006 at 2:12 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

austin5string (anonymous) says...

Yes, but our offense hasn't been the problem. Our defense giving up huge leads has.

October 29, 2006 at 3:49 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU504 (anonymous) says...

The reason we have been giving up big leads is because our whole offense changes to a conservative nature which we suck at, and thus dont drive the ball at all and just give it right back to the other team and then they make plays to go up on us, our play calling sucks when we are up by a couple touchdowns towards the end of the game.

October 29, 2006 at 4:01 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

CasperCorps (anonymous) says...

The kid can play... Good game KU!

October 29, 2006 at 6:18 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

lozar34hawks (anonymous) says...

about freakin time!!! man.....Reesing should not be a red-shirt any more but put Barmann on redshirt! but KU needs to keep playing well the next couple games to get a bowl!

October 29, 2006 at 9:07 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

deepind (anonymous) says...

Does anyone sees the similarity between Todd Reesing and Chase Daniel of MU?
- Short
- Very mobile QB
- Burnt red shirt towards the end of the season
- Will he also become the star QB leading us to the Big 12 North title next year (just like Chase Daniel)?

If he really does then Mangino will look like a genius for taking off the red shirt!
I do agree with some comments here that Mangino waited far too long to introduce Todd. He should have done that after the A&M loss!

October 30, 2006 at 12:28 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bobsarobot (anonymous) says...

slow down people. burning his redshirt and getting the win are good things. obviously, he was not going to be our first string quarterback for the next four years so it is okay to get him some time this year. meier is still the guy, he offers the best throw/run combo for the team. barmann played three terrific quarters at nebraska and putting in a freshman who has never taken a snap against A&M would have been silly. he was a last resort and it worked out well. now let's go get two more wins and get meier healthy so we can take our full offense into a bowl game and end the season right.

October 30, 2006 at 1:58 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

Perhaps bobsarobot isn't aware that Todd Reesing was the 4-A offensive player of the year in the state of TEXAS. Sure we attempted to sneak in a red shirt year to get an extra year of experience before playing him but he didn't come to Kansas with the plan of being a backup for three years till he finally got a shot senior year. He came here to play and he'll give Kerry Meier all the competition he can handle for the starting QB spot.

That being said, he is a true freshman. To the people who think we should have burned the redshirt earlier remember that just because he was on campus didn't mean that he was necessarily ready to take the reins of the team. Learning the offense and how to read D-1 defenses takes time. With Meier and Barmann taking all the snaps in practice for the first few games, he wouldn't have had time to learn all of that. The injury to Meier over the last few weeks was the factor that opened up the door to him learning how to take the reins instead of running the scout team.

This is why I'm always telling fans to be patient with Mangino. When he first got here a 1-A highschool player like Barmann was the best recruit he could pull. In recent years he has had to bring in Juco help to shore up the QB position but Juco guys aren't around long enough to build a program around. He simply used them to get enough wins to help pull in recruits like Meier and Reesing. Now that those kind of recruits are here we should start to see this program turn the corner over the next few years.

Even if we don't win another game this year, stick with your coach. He has a young but talented team that should come together in time. Changing coaches every few years is not the answer to building a program at Ku.

October 31, 2006 at 4:13 a.m. ( | suggest removal )