If I could lead this column with a circular mug shot of Andrew Davison and a slanted line emblazoned across his face I would. It’s a picture that would speak volumes about Kansas University football past.
As KU’s spring drills come to a close tonight, we can only hope first-year coach Mark Mangino has weeded Davison-like attitudes out of the program.
You may have read earlier this week that the Detroit native, a three-year starter at cornerback for the Jayhawks, was so miffed he wasn’t selected in last weekend’s NFL draft that he blamed the KU coaching staff.
“I hate Kansas,” Davison said. “There’s no way I should have been a free agent.”
Reportedly, Davison thought KU’s coaches should have done a better job of making pro scouts aware of him, or by lobbying to showcase his talents in a postseason all-star game. To tell the truth, the KU coaches probably did Davison a favor by not letting speedy wide receivers burn him in the Senior Bowl or Blue-Gray Classic or whatever.
Davison made strides from his early days at KU when he was toasted regularly, but he still has a long way to go to become a competent NFL corner as I’m sure the New York Jets, who signed him as a free agent, will discover.
On one pre-draft chart, I saw Davison listed as the 44th best college cornerback prospect available. In other words, there were 43 corners rated with more talent. Was that because the KU staff didn’t thump the tub for him? Of course not. NFL scouts use video tape and individual tests, not personal recommendations, to make their evaluations.
Over the last five years, only four Kansas University football players have heard their names called in the NFL Draft a low number that has less to do with coaches’ drum-beating than it does with their recruiting. No coach in any sport has ever been able to make chicken salad out of chicken feathers. Coaches can spin straw into brooms, but not into gold.
No KU player, for instance, has been drafted higher than the third round since Dana Stubblefield was a first-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in 1993.
Since 1998, the lone Jayhawks drafted have been Ron Warner (seventh round in ’98), Moran Norris (fourth round in 2001) and this year’s two selections Nate Dwyer (fourth round) and Justin Hartwig (sixth round). Not a single KU player was drafted in 1999 and 2000.
Gee, if only the Kansas coaching staff had lobbied a little harder.
Maybe Davison was peeved because he thinks he had a better senior year than Dwyer. He probably did. Overweight and nagged by a hip-pointer, Dwyer did not have a memorable senior season. Still, Dwyer has surprising quickness for a 313-pounder and strength to go with it. Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis dubbed Dwyer “Barney Rubble,” saying he was a good, thick, run-stuffing lineman.
Or perhaps Davison was grousing because he felt his senior season was no better or worse than Hartwig’s. Still, although not a prototypical run blocker, the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Hartwig allowed only one sack during the last two seasons and it’s not like the Jayhawks didn’t do a lot of passing those years.
Maybe Davison was just overwhelmed by too many defeats. Loss after loss can eat you up.
All we can do is hope that some day Davison matures, enjoys some success and realizes the face in the rear-view mirror is his.
Myopic views of individual skills inevitably lead to finger-pointing, and shifting the blame to the other guy is a sure-fire way of destroying a team’s cohesiveness. So you either weed out the whiners or you take them to the woodshed.
If I could lead this column with a circular mug shot of Andrew Davison and a slanted line emblazoned across his face I would. It’s a picture that would speak volumes about Kansas University football past.
As KU’s spring drills come to a close tonight, we can only hope first-year coach Mark Mangino has weeded Davison-like attitudes out of the program.
You may have read earlier this week that the Detroit native, a three-year starter at cornerback for the Jayhawks, was so miffed he wasn’t selected in last weekend’s NFL draft that he blamed the KU coaching staff.
“I hate Kansas,” Davison said. “There’s no way I should have been a free agent.”
Reportedly, Davison thought KU’s coaches should have done a better job of making pro scouts aware of him, or by lobbying to showcase his talents in a postseason all-star game. To tell the truth, the KU coaches probably did Davison a favor by not letting speedy wide receivers burn him in the Senior Bowl or Blue-Gray Classic or whatever.
Davison made strides from his early days at KU when he was toasted regularly, but he still has a long way to go to become a competent NFL corner as I’m sure the New York Jets, who signed him as a free agent, will discover.
On one pre-draft chart, I saw Davison listed as the 44th best college cornerback prospect available. In other words, there were 43 corners rated with more talent. Was that because the KU staff didn’t thump the tub for him? Of course not. NFL scouts use video tape and individual tests, not personal recommendations, to make their evaluations.
Over the last five years, only four Kansas University football players have heard their names called in the NFL Draft a low number that has less to do with coaches’ drum-beating than it does with their recruiting. No coach in any sport has ever been able to make chicken salad out of chicken feathers. Coaches can spin straw into brooms, but not into gold.
No KU player, for instance, has been drafted higher than the third round since Dana Stubblefield was a first-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in 1993.
Since 1998, the lone Jayhawks drafted have been Ron Warner (seventh round in ’98), Moran Norris (fourth round in 2001) and this year’s two selections Nate Dwyer (fourth round) and Justin Hartwig (sixth round). Not a single KU player was drafted in 1999 and 2000.
Gee, if only the Kansas coaching staff had lobbied a little harder.
Maybe Davison was peeved because he thinks he had a better senior year than Dwyer. He probably did. Overweight and nagged by a hip-pointer, Dwyer did not have a memorable senior season. Still, Dwyer has surprising quickness for a 313-pounder and strength to go with it. Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis dubbed Dwyer “Barney Rubble,” saying he was a good, thick, run-stuffing lineman.
Or perhaps Davison was grousing because he felt his senior season was no better or worse than Hartwig’s. Still, although not a prototypical run blocker, the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Hartwig allowed only one sack during the last two seasons and it’s not like the Jayhawks didn’t do a lot of passing those years.
Maybe Davison was just overwhelmed by too many defeats. Loss after loss can eat you up.
All we can do is hope that some day Davison matures, enjoys some success and realizes the face in the rear-view mirror is his.
Myopic views of individual skills inevitably lead to finger-pointing, and shifting the blame to the other guy is a sure-fire way of destroying a team’s cohesiveness. So you either weed out the whiners or you take them to the woodshed.
If I could lead this column with a circular mug shot of Andrew Davison and a slanted line emblazoned across his face I would. It’s a picture that would speak volumes about Kansas University football past.
As KU’s spring drills come to a close tonight, we can only hope first-year coach Mark Mangino has weeded Davison-like attitudes out of the program.
You may have read earlier this week that the Detroit native, a three-year starter at cornerback for the Jayhawks, was so miffed he wasn’t selected in last weekend’s NFL draft that he blamed the KU coaching staff.
“I hate Kansas,” Davison said. “There’s no way I should have been a free agent.”
Reportedly, Davison thought KU’s coaches should have done a better job of making pro scouts aware of him, or by lobbying to showcase his talents in a postseason all-star game. To tell the truth, the KU coaches probably did Davison a favor by not letting speedy wide receivers burn him in the Senior Bowl or Blue-Gray Classic or whatever.
Davison made strides from his early days at KU when he was toasted regularly, but he still has a long way to go to become a competent NFL corner as I’m sure the New York Jets, who signed him as a free agent, will discover.
On one pre-draft chart, I saw Davison listed as the 44th best college cornerback prospect available. In other words, there were 43 corners rated with more talent. Was that because the KU staff didn’t thump the tub for him? Of course not. NFL scouts use video tape and individual tests, not personal recommendations, to make their evaluations.
Over the last five years, only four Kansas University football players have heard their names called in the NFL Draft a low number that has less to do with coaches’ drum-beating than it does with their recruiting. No coach in any sport has ever been able to make chicken salad out of chicken feathers. Coaches can spin straw into brooms, but not into gold.
No KU player, for instance, has been drafted higher than the third round since Dana Stubblefield was a first-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in 1993.
Since 1998, the lone Jayhawks drafted have been Ron Warner (seventh round in ’98), Moran Norris (fourth round in 2001) and this year’s two selections Nate Dwyer (fourth round) and Justin Hartwig (sixth round). Not a single KU player was drafted in 1999 and 2000.
Gee, if only the Kansas coaching staff had lobbied a little harder.
Maybe Davison was peeved because he thinks he had a better senior year than Dwyer. He probably did. Overweight and nagged by a hip-pointer, Dwyer did not have a memorable senior season. Still, Dwyer has surprising quickness for a 313-pounder and strength to go with it. Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis dubbed Dwyer “Barney Rubble,” saying he was a good, thick, run-stuffing lineman.
Or perhaps Davison was grousing because he felt his senior season was no better or worse than Hartwig’s. Still, although not a prototypical run blocker, the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Hartwig allowed only one sack during the last two seasons and it’s not like the Jayhawks didn’t do a lot of passing those years.
Maybe Davison was just overwhelmed by too many defeats. Loss after loss can eat you up.
All we can do is hope that some day Davison matures, enjoys some success and realizes the face in the rear-view mirror is his.
Myopic views of individual skills inevitably lead to finger-pointing, and shifting the blame to the other guy is a sure-fire way of destroying a team’s cohesiveness. So you either weed out the whiners or you take them to the woodshed.
If I could lead this column with a circular mug shot of Andrew Davison and a slanted line emblazoned across his face I would. It’s a picture that would speak volumes about Kansas University football past.
As KU’s spring drills come to a close tonight, we can only hope first-year coach Mark Mangino has weeded Davison-like attitudes out of the program.
You may have read earlier this week that the Detroit native, a three-year starter at cornerback for the Jayhawks, was so miffed he wasn’t selected in last weekend’s NFL draft that he blamed the KU coaching staff.
“I hate Kansas,” Davison said. “There’s no way I should have been a free agent.”
Reportedly, Davison thought KU’s coaches should have done a better job of making pro scouts aware of him, or by lobbying to showcase his talents in a postseason all-star game. To tell the truth, the KU coaches probably did Davison a favor by not letting speedy wide receivers burn him in the Senior Bowl or Blue-Gray Classic or whatever.
Davison made strides from his early days at KU when he was toasted regularly, but he still has a long way to go to become a competent NFL corner as I’m sure the New York Jets, who signed him as a free agent, will discover.
On one pre-draft chart, I saw Davison listed as the 44th best college cornerback prospect available. In other words, there were 43 corners rated with more talent. Was that because the KU staff didn’t thump the tub for him? Of course not. NFL scouts use video tape and individual tests, not personal recommendations, to make their evaluations.
Over the last five years, only four Kansas University football players have heard their names called in the NFL Draft a low number that has less to do with coaches’ drum-beating than it does with their recruiting. No coach in any sport has ever been able to make chicken salad out of chicken feathers. Coaches can spin straw into brooms, but not into gold.
No KU player, for instance, has been drafted higher than the third round since Dana Stubblefield was a first-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in 1993.
Since 1998, the lone Jayhawks drafted have been Ron Warner (seventh round in ’98), Moran Norris (fourth round in 2001) and this year’s two selections Nate Dwyer (fourth round) and Justin Hartwig (sixth round). Not a single KU player was drafted in 1999 and 2000.
Gee, if only the Kansas coaching staff had lobbied a little harder.
Maybe Davison was peeved because he thinks he had a better senior year than Dwyer. He probably did. Overweight and nagged by a hip-pointer, Dwyer did not have a memorable senior season. Still, Dwyer has surprising quickness for a 313-pounder and strength to go with it. Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis dubbed Dwyer “Barney Rubble,” saying he was a good, thick, run-stuffing lineman.
Or perhaps Davison was grousing because he felt his senior season was no better or worse than Hartwig’s. Still, although not a prototypical run blocker, the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Hartwig allowed only one sack during the last two seasons and it’s not like the Jayhawks didn’t do a lot of passing those years.
Maybe Davison was just overwhelmed by too many defeats. Loss after loss can eat you up.
All we can do is hope that some day Davison matures, enjoys some success and realizes the face in the rear-view mirror is his.
Myopic views of individual skills inevitably lead to finger-pointing, and shifting the blame to the other guy is a sure-fire way of destroying a team’s cohesiveness. So you either weed out the whiners or you take them to the woodshed.