Some coaches might worry about what their players do during spring break.
Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino isn’t one of them.
“They’re not home knitting with their mothers,” he said after Friday’s spring practice. “But you gotta trust your players. Trust is a two-way street. You gotta trust them, and they gotta trust you.
“It doesn’t bother us at all that they were at spring break.”
The second-year coach isn’t oblivious to the potential temptations of the traditional college respite, but he doesn’t see any need to worry. After all, Mangino has been pleased with the results since the Jayhawks donned pads starting with Monday’s practice.
“Practices since spring break have been very physical,” he said. “They were very excited about (pads), but I wasn’t sure how they would be after spring break and having a week off. But they have been very focused.”
Kansas, 2-10 last year, practiced inside Friday to escape the cold spring air, running drills for about 21¼2 hours at Anschutz Pavilion. There was some light hitting — mostly during goal-line defensive drills — but the Jayhawks were more concerned about execution.
Mangino’s practice plan is to focus more on fundamentals than KU did last spring.
“We’ve spent a larger portion on individual fundamentals than we have in the past,” he said. “A good majority of our practice is fundamentals and technical work.”
And, after six practices this spring, Mangino has been pleased.
The competition at wide receiver has forced those players to work harder, the linebackers — spurred by a healthy Banks Floodman — are getting better, and the safeties have adjusted to the defensive schemes. That’s important because neither projected starter — senior Zach Dyer and sophomore Nick Reid — played safety prior to last season.
“It’s been a process for those guys. They’ve been going at it and they’ve been diligent,” Mangino said. “There’s been a lot of learning for all the players, but especially for those two guys.”
But perhaps the most pleasing aspects of the spring have been Floodman and senior quarterback Bill Whittemore.
Floodman, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound red-shirt sophomore linebacker from Wichita Collegiate, missed nearly all of the 2002 season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the season opener against Iowa State. He practiced with a knee brace Friday, but displayed good speed and no ill effects.
Mangino said Floodman has been involved in about 75 to 80 percent of practice scenarios.
“There’s certain situations we don’t want him involved in because we don’t want him in pileups,” Mangino said. “And Bill shows no signs at all from his injury.”
If anything, Whittemore, who missed the final three games because of a damaged medial collateral ligament in his left knee, was rusty passing, but not running. He looked sharp on cuts and quarterback draws, but his passes weren’t always on target during drills.
The bottom line, Mangino said, is after two weeks of practices, he likes what he’s seen.
“We are better now than we were last year,” Mangino said.
