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Kerry Meier (10) claps for his teammates as the 'Hawks handed the Iowa Cyclones a 45-7 loss on Saturday.
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KU defeats ISU 45-7
KU's dream season lived on after a victory over Iowa St. on Saturday. The win helped put the Jayhawks at number two in the BCS rankings.
Jayhawks keep streak alive
With the victory over Iowa St., the Jayhawks continued their unbeaten season and are now only one game away from a date with the Big 12 Championship in San Antonio.
Reader poll
Personnel-wise, who do you think creates the the biggest matchup problem for KU's defense?
- QB Chase Daniel 35% 1656 votes
- RB Tony Temple 1% 72 votes
- TE Martin Rucker 9% 463 votes
- TE Chase Coffman 6% 289 votes
- Do-it-all Jeremy Maclin 44% 2045 votes
- Someone else 2% 114 votes
4639 total votes.
College football has so many awards that one of these days you half expect someone to come up with a new one in honor of the nation's best backup quarterback. It could be called the Kerry Meier Award.
Meier's transition to receiver has been such a compelling development, what has been lost is how well he runs Ed Warinner's offense when Heisman Trophy candidate Todd Reesing is watching from the sideline.
By the time Meier switches roles, the opposing defense either is made up of second-stringers or first-stringers exhausted by getting abused all game. Still, that doesn't change that he has done such an efficient job of executing the plays called for him. Give the guy credit for keeping his head in the game when he could have been hanging it in the wake of losing the job to Reesing during preseason practices.
"I think it took probably a day," Meier said, asked how long it took him to get over the disappointment of being beaten out of the job he figured to have for four seasons. "I realized that Todd's the man for the job this year, and that's how it's going to be. I took it as motivation to work and realize maybe if that's Todd's job, I need to find another way to get on the field. I think I found a way. I'm enjoying what I'm doing now, and it's an effective role on the team."
In his role as a possession receiver, Meier has caught 20 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He has completed 25 of 29 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns and has averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 15 rushes.
In the Memorial Stadium season finale, a 45-7 victory against Iowa State, Meier completed nine of nine passes, threw for a touchdown and caught three passes for 41 yards and one touchdown.
What's a bigger thrill, throwing one or catching one?
"I think they're equally great," Meier said. "Toward the end of the game, I was trying to get that running touchdown for the trifecta."
There never has been a hint of friction between Meier and the man who beat him out. Neither player let that happen. Each appreciates how hard the other works.
"Kerry's one of those guys who doesn't get many rests in practice," Reesing said. "He takes a rep at either receiver or quarterback almost every play. He's really worked hard to put himself in a position to have success as a receiver and help the team however he can. I think Kerry's done an unbelievable job making plays at receiver, but still knowing his job at quarterback. He's had a great attitude this season, and having guys like that on your team is really something positive. There are no sour apples on this team. There are no bad attitudes."
Nobody had to tell Meier that working beats sulking.
"Technically, I'm still a quarterback, so I have to improve my game as a quarterback because I'm one play away, being a 2," Meier said. "I've been getting equal reps. I'm taking it all in, trying to absorb all the information I can at quarterback and absorb all I can at wideout too. I think I adjust to whatever situation I'm put in, and I think adjust to it well. With each week, that's one more week of experience at the wide-receiver position. I'm getting a lot, lot more comfortable with what I'm doing there."
So far, only one of Meier's completions came on a trick play.
So far.
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Comments
KU (anonymous) says...
Meier was really impressive in the 4th quarter Saturday at QB. He played at a very high level, in my opinion.
If KU gets behind at Arrowhead Saturday, I would love to see the mix it up and bring Meier in at QB for a series or two, ala Tim Tebow's role last year. He's much more effective at running the zone read from the spread option than Reesing. That could really loosen up the running game for McAnderson and Sharpe and get MU on its heals.
On another note, nobody is saying much about Reesing's ankle. I held my breath every time he got hit Saturday. Is it "just" a sprain or is it a high ankle sprain?
November 19, 2007 at 7:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Displayhawk (anonymous) says...
Thanks everyone for voting for Sparky (Todd Reesing) for the Davey O'Brien Quarterback award! He finished first, and is now a finalist for this award. Voting for the finalists will start today! so keep voting!
The website is www.daveyobrien.com! You have to register to vote.
BTW, the national media is touting Tim Tebow (Florida) and Chase Daniel (Mizboo) as a two-horse race for the Heisman. Let's show them that we think otherwise!
Please also vote for Coach Mangino for Coach of the Year at www.coachoftheyear.com!
Thanks again Jayhawkers!
November 19, 2007 at 8:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Shazam (anonymous) says...
I couldn't have been more impressed with what Kerry has brought to this season. He is the definition of a well rounded player. Putting Kerry into a play must give defensive coordinators fits. I can't wait to see the plays Mangion has cooked up for those times when both Kerry and Todd are behind center. I'm proud to wear my #10 jersey.
November 19, 2007 at 10:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Ross (anonymous) says...
High ankle sprains tend to be more serious...I suspect that becasue he was playing and where the bulk of the wrap was, it is not.
November 19, 2007 at 10:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seattlehawk_78 (anonymous) says...
Kerry typifies the team mentality that Mangino has ingrained in his players. He's a sophomore backup QB on one of the best teams in the country. He narrowly lost the starting job before the season began in part because of an injury. We don't know how different this team would be this year if he won the starting job but I'm guessing at the very least we would still be a good team. Lots of people in his position would transfer. On the other hand, losing the starting job could be a blessing in disguise. If he turns out to be a good receiver, his QB and punting experience might help him find a roster spot in the NFL. Ironically, Todd could win a Heisman during his time at KU but will likely not get drafted by the NFL.
November 19, 2007 at 4:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dsmith84 (anonymous) says...
a couple of things...
Todd is NOT a finalist, but the injured and out for the rest of the season Dennis Dixon is...
also, the fact that Todd could very well win the heisman but not get drafted is the exact opposite of irony. it is in fact VERY common for heisman trophy winners to not be coveted NFL prospects...
Troy Smith, Jason White, Charlie Ward, Eric Crouch... how many of those guys ever started an NFL game, or were even drafted in the first few rounds of the draft?
because of the vast differences between the college and pro games being a great college football player does not translate to being a great pro football player, or even a great talent at the pro level. Since 1995 only Eddie George, Charles Woodson, and Carson Palmer have been major impact performers for more than a year or two...
heisman trophy has almost no correlation to NFL success.
therefore... NOT ironic.
November 19, 2007 at 9:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...
I fully expect that Coach Mangino will go deep into the playbook this weekend, including some jawdroppers involving Reesing, Meier, Herford, Sharp and maybe Talib ...
get ready, Tiggers!
November 19, 2007 at 10:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )