Mark Mangino hasn’t given up on the 2002 season, but Kansas University’s football coach is definitely planning for the future.
When Kansas State bolted to a 43-0 halftime lead Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Mangino decided to give additional playing time to some of his young reserves.
“I wanted them to be in there in a ballgame against a good team, an in-state rival where they had to face adversity and had to keep fighting,” Mangino said Monday during the Big 12 teleconference. “I wanted them to be tested and understand that you have to be able to fight, claw and scratch under any conditions winning, losing. I wanted them to be in there to experience that and to learn from that experience.”
Linebacker Kevin Kane, a true freshman from Parkville, Mo., led KU (2-8 overall, 0-6 Big 12) with 12 tackles in the 64-0 loss. The reserve linebacker had a total of eight tackles in eight previous games.
Junior defensive back Bobby Birhiray also played his biggest role of the season. The Houston native made a season-high five tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Also getting in on the act were freshman tight end Kevin Borders, who played for the first time this season; red-shirt freshman Justin Henry, who sat out three of the previous four games before filling in at center for injured starter Greg Nicks; red-shirt freshman Brian Luke, who played three quarters in place of injured starter Bill Whittemore; and junior running back Harold McClendon.
McClendon had five carries for 25 yards, both season highs. The Jacksonville, Fla., native is likely to see more playing time Saturday at Nebraska. Mangino said Sunday that backup Reggie Duncan was unlikely to play in the final two games of the season, but he declined to elaborate on Duncan’s status.
McClendon isn’t the only reserve likely to play more minutes Saturday.
“They will continue to play,” Mangino said. “All of those kids. Whether they will all be in there at the same time, collectively, I cannot promise you that, but they do need experience.”
Mangino expressed frustration with his veteran players after Saturday’s game and indicated he expected some upperclassmen to leave the program in the offseason.
“It’ll be impossible to keep up with our standards the way some of them are going,” he said at the time. “Some players will develop in our program that are here and will continue to get better. There’s probably a few guys that need to move on with life’s work. I’ll help them in any way I can, but we have to continue to develop players.”
Mangino said some KU veterans had been beaten down by years of losing. The Jayhawks have endured seven consecutive losing seasons and can’t win more than four games this year. They are 34 1/2-point underdogs against the Cornhuskers (6-4, 2-3).
“The younger kinds on our team played the best football,” Mangino said Saturday. “They played the hardest, played the best, played the most consistent because they don’t know. Kansas State to them is just like lining up to play Colorado, Iowa State, Nebraska or Tulsa. They just want to play and compete. They haven’t been around losing for any extended period of time. The struggle here is for some of the older kids, no question.”
Mangino seemed to soften his stance Monday.
“I want to make it very clear that I have not given up on any of our veteran players,” he said during the teleconference. “I talked to them last night. They know how I feel and I want them the older kids, the seniors to finish their careers strong here. I want them to leave here with their head up high with their dignity and pride, knowing they gave everything they had no matter the circumstances to try to win games and try to give their very, very best.”
Show of support: Mangino was one of many Big 12 coaches expressing sympathy for Kevin Steele on Monday. Baylor fired Steele on Sunday after 3 1/2 years as the Bears’ coach.
“First of all, I feel badly for Kevin,” Mangino said. “I believe in Kevin and what he was doing at Baylor. I saw them getting better.”
The Bears snapped a 29-game losing streak with a 35-32, last-minute victory against Kansas on Oct. 5 at Waco, Texas.
Runnin’ from Rebels: UNLV, which defeated KU 31-20 on Sept, 7 at Las Vegas, is experiencing turmoil this week. The Rebels defeated Wyoming 49-48 in overtime Saturday, but assistant head coach John Jackson wasn’t there to see the finish. Jackson, who moonlights as boxer Marco Antonio Barrera’s promoter, left Sam Boyd Stadium late in regulation to drive to the MGM Grand for a fight.
“Originally, the fight was scheduled for a different date, and then it got changed,” coach John Robinson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Then our time got changed. It put the pressure on him, and he made that decision. That won’t ever happen again.”
Mark Mangino hasn’t given up on the 2002 season, but Kansas University’s football coach is definitely planning for the future.
When Kansas State bolted to a 43-0 halftime lead Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Mangino decided to give additional playing time to some of his young reserves.
“I wanted them to be in there in a ballgame against a good team, an in-state rival where they had to face adversity and had to keep fighting,” Mangino said Monday during the Big 12 teleconference. “I wanted them to be tested and understand that you have to be able to fight, claw and scratch under any conditions winning, losing. I wanted them to be in there to experience that and to learn from that experience.”
Linebacker Kevin Kane, a true freshman from Parkville, Mo., led KU (2-8 overall, 0-6 Big 12) with 12 tackles in the 64-0 loss. The reserve linebacker had a total of eight tackles in eight previous games.
Junior defensive back Bobby Birhiray also played his biggest role of the season. The Houston native made a season-high five tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Also getting in on the act were freshman tight end Kevin Borders, who played for the first time this season; red-shirt freshman Justin Henry, who sat out three of the previous four games before filling in at center for injured starter Greg Nicks; red-shirt freshman Brian Luke, who played three quarters in place of injured starter Bill Whittemore; and junior running back Harold McClendon.
McClendon had five carries for 25 yards, both season highs. The Jacksonville, Fla., native is likely to see more playing time Saturday at Nebraska. Mangino said Sunday that backup Reggie Duncan was unlikely to play in the final two games of the season, but he declined to elaborate on Duncan’s status.
McClendon isn’t the only reserve likely to play more minutes Saturday.
“They will continue to play,” Mangino said. “All of those kids. Whether they will all be in there at the same time, collectively, I cannot promise you that, but they do need experience.”
Mangino expressed frustration with his veteran players after Saturday’s game and indicated he expected some upperclassmen to leave the program in the offseason.
“It’ll be impossible to keep up with our standards the way some of them are going,” he said at the time. “Some players will develop in our program that are here and will continue to get better. There’s probably a few guys that need to move on with life’s work. I’ll help them in any way I can, but we have to continue to develop players.”
Mangino said some KU veterans had been beaten down by years of losing. The Jayhawks have endured seven consecutive losing seasons and can’t win more than four games this year. They are 34 1/2-point underdogs against the Cornhuskers (6-4, 2-3).
“The younger kinds on our team played the best football,” Mangino said Saturday. “They played the hardest, played the best, played the most consistent because they don’t know. Kansas State to them is just like lining up to play Colorado, Iowa State, Nebraska or Tulsa. They just want to play and compete. They haven’t been around losing for any extended period of time. The struggle here is for some of the older kids, no question.”
Mangino seemed to soften his stance Monday.
“I want to make it very clear that I have not given up on any of our veteran players,” he said during the teleconference. “I talked to them last night. They know how I feel and I want them the older kids, the seniors to finish their careers strong here. I want them to leave here with their head up high with their dignity and pride, knowing they gave everything they had no matter the circumstances to try to win games and try to give their very, very best.”
Show of support: Mangino was one of many Big 12 coaches expressing sympathy for Kevin Steele on Monday. Baylor fired Steele on Sunday after 3 1/2 years as the Bears’ coach.
“First of all, I feel badly for Kevin,” Mangino said. “I believe in Kevin and what he was doing at Baylor. I saw them getting better.”
The Bears snapped a 29-game losing streak with a 35-32, last-minute victory against Kansas on Oct. 5 at Waco, Texas.
Runnin’ from Rebels: UNLV, which defeated KU 31-20 on Sept, 7 at Las Vegas, is experiencing turmoil this week. The Rebels defeated Wyoming 49-48 in overtime Saturday, but assistant head coach John Jackson wasn’t there to see the finish. Jackson, who moonlights as boxer Marco Antonio Barrera’s promoter, left Sam Boyd Stadium late in regulation to drive to the MGM Grand for a fight.
“Originally, the fight was scheduled for a different date, and then it got changed,” coach John Robinson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Then our time got changed. It put the pressure on him, and he made that decision. That won’t ever happen again.”
Mark Mangino hasn’t given up on the 2002 season, but Kansas University’s football coach is definitely planning for the future.
When Kansas State bolted to a 43-0 halftime lead Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Mangino decided to give additional playing time to some of his young reserves.
“I wanted them to be in there in a ballgame against a good team, an in-state rival where they had to face adversity and had to keep fighting,” Mangino said Monday during the Big 12 teleconference. “I wanted them to be tested and understand that you have to be able to fight, claw and scratch under any conditions winning, losing. I wanted them to be in there to experience that and to learn from that experience.”
Linebacker Kevin Kane, a true freshman from Parkville, Mo., led KU (2-8 overall, 0-6 Big 12) with 12 tackles in the 64-0 loss. The reserve linebacker had a total of eight tackles in eight previous games.
Junior defensive back Bobby Birhiray also played his biggest role of the season. The Houston native made a season-high five tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Also getting in on the act were freshman tight end Kevin Borders, who played for the first time this season; red-shirt freshman Justin Henry, who sat out three of the previous four games before filling in at center for injured starter Greg Nicks; red-shirt freshman Brian Luke, who played three quarters in place of injured starter Bill Whittemore; and junior running back Harold McClendon.
McClendon had five carries for 25 yards, both season highs. The Jacksonville, Fla., native is likely to see more playing time Saturday at Nebraska. Mangino said Sunday that backup Reggie Duncan was unlikely to play in the final two games of the season, but he declined to elaborate on Duncan’s status.
McClendon isn’t the only reserve likely to play more minutes Saturday.
“They will continue to play,” Mangino said. “All of those kids. Whether they will all be in there at the same time, collectively, I cannot promise you that, but they do need experience.”
Mangino expressed frustration with his veteran players after Saturday’s game and indicated he expected some upperclassmen to leave the program in the offseason.
“It’ll be impossible to keep up with our standards the way some of them are going,” he said at the time. “Some players will develop in our program that are here and will continue to get better. There’s probably a few guys that need to move on with life’s work. I’ll help them in any way I can, but we have to continue to develop players.”
Mangino said some KU veterans had been beaten down by years of losing. The Jayhawks have endured seven consecutive losing seasons and can’t win more than four games this year. They are 34 1/2-point underdogs against the Cornhuskers (6-4, 2-3).
“The younger kinds on our team played the best football,” Mangino said Saturday. “They played the hardest, played the best, played the most consistent because they don’t know. Kansas State to them is just like lining up to play Colorado, Iowa State, Nebraska or Tulsa. They just want to play and compete. They haven’t been around losing for any extended period of time. The struggle here is for some of the older kids, no question.”
Mangino seemed to soften his stance Monday.
“I want to make it very clear that I have not given up on any of our veteran players,” he said during the teleconference. “I talked to them last night. They know how I feel and I want them the older kids, the seniors to finish their careers strong here. I want them to leave here with their head up high with their dignity and pride, knowing they gave everything they had no matter the circumstances to try to win games and try to give their very, very best.”
Show of support: Mangino was one of many Big 12 coaches expressing sympathy for Kevin Steele on Monday. Baylor fired Steele on Sunday after 3 1/2 years as the Bears’ coach.
“First of all, I feel badly for Kevin,” Mangino said. “I believe in Kevin and what he was doing at Baylor. I saw them getting better.”
The Bears snapped a 29-game losing streak with a 35-32, last-minute victory against Kansas on Oct. 5 at Waco, Texas.
Runnin’ from Rebels: UNLV, which defeated KU 31-20 on Sept, 7 at Las Vegas, is experiencing turmoil this week. The Rebels defeated Wyoming 49-48 in overtime Saturday, but assistant head coach John Jackson wasn’t there to see the finish. Jackson, who moonlights as boxer Marco Antonio Barrera’s promoter, left Sam Boyd Stadium late in regulation to drive to the MGM Grand for a fight.
“Originally, the fight was scheduled for a different date, and then it got changed,” coach John Robinson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Then our time got changed. It put the pressure on him, and he made that decision. That won’t ever happen again.”
Mark Mangino hasn’t given up on the 2002 season, but Kansas University’s football coach is definitely planning for the future.
When Kansas State bolted to a 43-0 halftime lead Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Mangino decided to give additional playing time to some of his young reserves.
“I wanted them to be in there in a ballgame against a good team, an in-state rival where they had to face adversity and had to keep fighting,” Mangino said Monday during the Big 12 teleconference. “I wanted them to be tested and understand that you have to be able to fight, claw and scratch under any conditions winning, losing. I wanted them to be in there to experience that and to learn from that experience.”
Linebacker Kevin Kane, a true freshman from Parkville, Mo., led KU (2-8 overall, 0-6 Big 12) with 12 tackles in the 64-0 loss. The reserve linebacker had a total of eight tackles in eight previous games.
Junior defensive back Bobby Birhiray also played his biggest role of the season. The Houston native made a season-high five tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Also getting in on the act were freshman tight end Kevin Borders, who played for the first time this season; red-shirt freshman Justin Henry, who sat out three of the previous four games before filling in at center for injured starter Greg Nicks; red-shirt freshman Brian Luke, who played three quarters in place of injured starter Bill Whittemore; and junior running back Harold McClendon.
McClendon had five carries for 25 yards, both season highs. The Jacksonville, Fla., native is likely to see more playing time Saturday at Nebraska. Mangino said Sunday that backup Reggie Duncan was unlikely to play in the final two games of the season, but he declined to elaborate on Duncan’s status.
McClendon isn’t the only reserve likely to play more minutes Saturday.
“They will continue to play,” Mangino said. “All of those kids. Whether they will all be in there at the same time, collectively, I cannot promise you that, but they do need experience.”
Mangino expressed frustration with his veteran players after Saturday’s game and indicated he expected some upperclassmen to leave the program in the offseason.
“It’ll be impossible to keep up with our standards the way some of them are going,” he said at the time. “Some players will develop in our program that are here and will continue to get better. There’s probably a few guys that need to move on with life’s work. I’ll help them in any way I can, but we have to continue to develop players.”
Mangino said some KU veterans had been beaten down by years of losing. The Jayhawks have endured seven consecutive losing seasons and can’t win more than four games this year. They are 34 1/2-point underdogs against the Cornhuskers (6-4, 2-3).
“The younger kinds on our team played the best football,” Mangino said Saturday. “They played the hardest, played the best, played the most consistent because they don’t know. Kansas State to them is just like lining up to play Colorado, Iowa State, Nebraska or Tulsa. They just want to play and compete. They haven’t been around losing for any extended period of time. The struggle here is for some of the older kids, no question.”
Mangino seemed to soften his stance Monday.
“I want to make it very clear that I have not given up on any of our veteran players,” he said during the teleconference. “I talked to them last night. They know how I feel and I want them the older kids, the seniors to finish their careers strong here. I want them to leave here with their head up high with their dignity and pride, knowing they gave everything they had no matter the circumstances to try to win games and try to give their very, very best.”
Show of support: Mangino was one of many Big 12 coaches expressing sympathy for Kevin Steele on Monday. Baylor fired Steele on Sunday after 3 1/2 years as the Bears’ coach.
“First of all, I feel badly for Kevin,” Mangino said. “I believe in Kevin and what he was doing at Baylor. I saw them getting better.”
The Bears snapped a 29-game losing streak with a 35-32, last-minute victory against Kansas on Oct. 5 at Waco, Texas.
Runnin’ from Rebels: UNLV, which defeated KU 31-20 on Sept, 7 at Las Vegas, is experiencing turmoil this week. The Rebels defeated Wyoming 49-48 in overtime Saturday, but assistant head coach John Jackson wasn’t there to see the finish. Jackson, who moonlights as boxer Marco Antonio Barrera’s promoter, left Sam Boyd Stadium late in regulation to drive to the MGM Grand for a fight.
“Originally, the fight was scheduled for a different date, and then it got changed,” coach John Robinson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Then our time got changed. It put the pressure on him, and he made that decision. That won’t ever happen again.”
