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Thursday, December 11, 2008

KU seniors reflect on humble start

By Dugan Arnett

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Things did not start out especially well for Joe Mortensen and his Kansas University football teammates.

As incoming freshmen in the summer of 2004, Mortensen and Co. did not exactly walk into a world of luxury and privilege. Due to scholarships that wouldn’t take effect until the fall, some players were forced to slum their way through their first weeks as collegiate athletes. Upon their campus arrival in June, players were moved into Jayhawker Towers, where there were two beds for four players. (They rotated sleeping on the floor). The scholarship issue prevented them from taking summer school classes, and most days, Cup of Noodles represented the players’ primary source of caloric intake.

“We always tell these new guys that come in automatically on scholarship — who get everything and stay only one person to a room — we tell them we had it rough,” said Mortensen, who developed into an All-Big 12 linebacker for the Jayhawks. “We (were) living on Cup of Noodles that first summer.”

While their immediate impressions might have been less than stellar, however, there is not much to complain about these days for the players, a senior class that has pieced together the program’s best four-year run in school history.

Consider: Over the past four seasons, the Jayhawks won more games — 32 — than during any other four-year stretch in modern school history. They earned the program’s first BCS title, courtesy of a 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech in the 2008 Orange Bowl, were bowl-eligible in four straight seasons and will play in back-to-back bowl games for the first time ever.

Yes, these days things appear just fine.

“We always said that once we stepped out on the field, we were going to have an impact,” senior receiver Dexton Fields said. “It surprised us how quick it happened, but we had already talked about it.”

What, ultimately, will be the legacy of this senior class? Some say it will be remembered for its winning ways, others for the impact it had on pulling Kansas football into the national limelight for the first time in decades.

In coach Mark Mangino’s eyes, it’s a class defined by its resilience.

“We see it as a group of kids that have been here and have weathered a lot of storms,” Mangino said. “(They’ve) had some really big highs, and some days it just doesn’t go the way you like. But I would suspect that they’ll compete and they’ll fight here to the end.”

That end is in sight. On Dec. 31, the Jayhawks will travel to Tempe, Ariz., to face Minnesota in the Insight Bowl, marking the last time they’ll take the field together as collegians.

The eminent end has brought about some nostalgic sentiment among members of the Class of 2009.

“We’re not with (each other) 24/7, but sometimes it feels that way,” Fields said. “Just being around those guys and how close our team was. A lot of people say at the next level people aren’t as close, everybody kind of does their own thing. And I’m pretty sure that’s what I’ll miss.”

As the days pass, it’s becoming a series of lasts for the team’s seniors. Last practices. Last team dinners. Last lazy days in the players’ lounge, thumbing PlayStation controllers and talking about their upcoming opponent.

It’ll go on like this for a few more weeks, until finally, a little before midnight on the last day of 2008, it will be over — poof — and another group of seniors will begin its attempt to carve out an identity of its own.

“This is the last time this team will be together,” junior cornerback Justin Thornton said. “Next year, we’ll be a completely different team. We’ll have to create a completely different identity. We’ll have to find that (identity) throughout training camp or summer workouts and just being around each other.

“This team, the chemistry we have is one of a kind. And you won’t ever be able to simulate that with any other guys.”

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Comments

  1. priceiswright (anonymous) says…

    "They earned the program’s first BCS title"Did I miss something, or is this another poorattempt at journalism by Duggie?

  2. mvjayhawk (anonymous) says…

    a BCS bowl win, IS a BCS title....it's not the BCS national championship of course...but he didn't say that.Quit being so picky.....that's a pretty good article really.

  3. FSUJHAWK (anonymous) says…

    big up, congratulations and thank you!!!You'll be loved and remembered forever in Jayhawk land.

  4. ttoulouse (anonymous) says…

    Thanks for the awesome production seniors! End on a great note!The chemistry comment by Thornton kind of disturbs me. Hopefully the team will be more forward-thinking and create the chemistry needed year-in and year-out to stay competitive. The coaches can only do so much - the players need to take command of this aspect. and I hope guys like Thornton are up for the challenge.

  5. hawkfan20 (anonymous) says…

    "pulling Kansas football into the national limelight for the first time in decades."You might want to brush up on your KU history before you write. KU was in the top 10 at the end of the '95 season. That's not decades. Now if we were talking Mizzou, decades would be the appropriate term.

  6. mbmerriman (anonymous) says…

    good article, i wish people would stop criticising the journalists, just dont get on and read its easy

  7. rockchalk_dpu (anonymous) says…

    ttoulouse, I wouldn't be that concerned about the chemistry of the team in the coming years. In the team meeting before the last day of our Conference meet, my coach would always tell us that this was the last time this team would suit up together and that we should remember that and cherish that aspect of athletics.For that reason, I completely understand Thornton's views on this, because each team is completely different because of both the new talent and the veterans who have gained experience over the past seasons. Mangino and the coaches also understand this and know that they will not be able to push or motivate their team the way they did in past seasons and see the same results.We will still carry the attitude of chopping wood, but may go about it in a different manner. I for one am always excited to see how a team responds after graduating such a great class and for that reason glad to see both the Basketball and Football programs going through this process close together. What those classes have done for KU athletics cannot be measured by NCAA titles or BCS victories, but by the following classes and their approach to the game and the way they represent the University of Kansas. Judging by the impact this class has had with their leadership, the future looks bright for our Fighting Manginos."The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." Arthur C. ClarkeRCJ

  8. Hawkish4bigM (anonymous) says…

    I cannot entirely relate but I think I understand. My similar years were my four years in the Army. We were close knit, had a lot of fun, a great assignment overseas and although I could have stayed on I went on to college. Lots of fond memories including beating the local Germans in their sport of soccer and hoisting a few together afterward. When men settle down and get families lifestyles dramatically change and those days of comeraderie are just good memories. Only these days for these players are even more memorable cemented by testosterone, dopamine and adrenalin. Hard to believe that the program was in such sad shape that players were taking turns sleeping on the floor. Wow! Great job, Seniors! May you have great success in every future endeavor!

  9. rtjayhawk (anonymous) says…

    Anyone remember Mortensen's FG block in the Orange Bowl???? Memories....lots of good ones with this class. Thank you guys so much for the hard work you've put in and good luck in what you do in the future.