Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Keegan

Keegan: Heisman campaign picks up

By Tom Keegan

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Reesing 9th in Heisman watch list

Midway through the season, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing is favored in race to the Heisman.

Audio clips

2007 KU Football Press Conference Oct. 23

More from Tom Keegan

Seven weeks after the birth of the Todd Reesing Heisman Trophy campaign here, it finally went national.

It's about time.

Reesing placed tied for ninth place in CSTV's Heisman Watch voting. The CSTV panel had Florida sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow leading the voting in a tight race with Kentucky senior quarterback Andre' Woodson.

What does the campaign's expansion from local to national mean? Not much, really. It means that one of the 10 CSTV panelists - Roland Williams - wrote down Reesing's name for a third-place vote.

Consider that a start toward an achievement Reesing can chase for two and a half more football seasons. For now, he's worried about leading Kansas University to a victory over a Texas A&M program that, like the rest of the Texas schools, did not recruit the Austin, Texas native.

"I think they called me one time," Reesing said of the Aggies. "I don't know who it was, one of their assistant coaches, told me I wasn't a bigger guy, a faster guy, and I was on their B list of quarterbacks. I was kind of shocked that he would say that to me. It's one thing if you don't want to recruit me, but to say I'm on your B list, it was kind of a slap in the face. I didn't take it personally. I wasn't an Aggie fan growing up anyway. At least he was honest. He shot me straight. OK, thanks for your time. I'm moving on."

Anyone excited that this could give Reesing additional incentive to play well doesn't know him. His focus, as are his passes, is trained accurately on the right target.

"It was disappointing, the whole recruiting process, because I didn't get recruited by a lot of people," Reesing said. "Nothing ever hurt my feelings. I don't look back and ever regret anything. I'm glad I ended up where I am, and it's ended up working out better than I could have ever expected, so no regrets there."

Coaches with regrets? There've been a few dozen, but then again, a few too many to mention.

Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione called Reesing, "just a gutty winner."

Texas coach Mack Brown said, "Anybody that didn't recruit him, including us, made a mistake."

Reesing said he went to numerous chapters of the Longhorns-Aggies rivalry, including "a couple" at Kyle Field, and always rooted for UT, his hometown team and the school his father attended.

"I know how rowdy that crowd can get and how loud it'll be, but we've handled the pressure and the noise this season very well, so I don't think we need to be too worried about that," Reesing said. "We know it's going to be a wild, hostile environment. We know we're going to get A&M's best shot because of where we're ranked and the chance for them to give us our first loss. There's a lot on the line, and everyone understands that."

Fear not, the doubling of Reesing's Heisman campaign staff since Week 1 won't distract him. His and teammates' eyes remain on the target.

Comments

KU (anonymous) says...

I usually don't pass judgement on the LJW writers' choice of subject matter. But the KU team is under enough pressure already without the newspaper bringing "Heisman" talk into the equation.

Hopefully I'm underestimating Reesing and he's well-equipped to handle the extra hype.

October 24, 2007 at 10:24 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

If one is going to pass judgment, one can at least spell correctly. :)

October 24, 2007 at 11:44 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bayareajhawk (anonymous) says...

JayViking, you consistently crack me up. Keep up the good work!

October 24, 2007 at 12:10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KURiggins (anonymous) says...

Give him the Heisman already! What is the point..I want the hype..and he can handle it. What is it going to take for people to realize he is the "real deal". Probably a future NFL QB if any NFL scouts have any(and that's big stretch considering Tom Brady was a 4th rounder) brains left ..Let's settle this now. Reesing is the real deal, he SHOULD be a Heisman Top 3...Hello KU is 7-0 in large part due to what he has done. Night and day from last year

October 24, 2007 at 2:27 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jacobpaul81 (anonymous) says...

Umm, Brady was a 6th rounder.

October 24, 2007 at 2:50 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

I think Reesing being affected by the hype of a Heisman campaign is the LAST thing we have to worry about. Even if it would affect him (which I'm pretty confident it wouldn't), that would only be if it was a serious campaign, not something started for discussion purposes and for the hope that he will be a serious Heisman contender two years from now.

It should be a tough game Saturday, but not because of the Heisman hype.

October 24, 2007 at 3:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jdukhawk (anonymous) says...

If we can prove ourselves again this weekend on the road in the south the sky is the limit!!! Go HAWKS!

October 24, 2007 at 3:21 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

JayViking.......One can spell judgement either with or without an "e". It's a matter of personal preference. If you don't believe me, consult your dictionary.

Also, get a life while you're at it.

October 24, 2007 at 3:25 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Jhaux (anonymous) says...

You're both right....... Now kiss and make up.

In Great Britain and many of its former colonies, "judgement" is still the correct spelling; but ever since Noah Webster decreed the first E superfluous, Americans have omitted it. Many of Webster's crotchets have faded away (each year fewer people use the spelling "theater," for instance); but even the producers of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, chose the traditional American spelling. If you write "judgement" you should also write "colour."

October 24, 2007 at 9:03 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

CasperCorps (anonymous) says...

He won't get the Heisman till his senior year.. No soph's sorry...

October 24, 2007 at 10:57 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jawk1 (anonymous) says...

it's all true. DTAC aint puttin a non RS soph on the Heisman!!

It's pretty much written rule: "Sorry, no Sophs".

However, just his name in the running is HUGE.

October 24, 2007 at 11:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jawk1 (anonymous) says...

Meaning for recruiting and future Heisman consideration.

October 24, 2007 at 11:32 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

Who cares, the Heisman is even more of a hoax than the national championship. At least the champion team has to win the game to earn the award. Reggie Bush was talented, but in the end he was just more popular than Vince Young. Young earned his trophy.

If Reesing gets a trophy, I want it to be one that he earns, and one that has much more meaning than being voted Prom King.

October 25, 2007 at 2:27 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

chezlog (anonymous) says...

I think Reesing should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Sophomores win that one all the time.

October 25, 2007 at 9:39 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

whoisjohngalt (anonymous) says...

You're behind the curve, Keegan. Over 600 people have joined "Todd Reesing For Heisman" groups like this one on Facebook:

http://colorado.facebook.com/group.ph...

October 25, 2007 at 10:48 a.m. ( | suggest removal )