Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoSoft-spoken Kansas University junior Austine Nwabuisi isn’t ready to declare himself an all-Big 12 Conference candidate after the best game of his college career — last Saturday’s two-touchdown effort at Wyoming.
“Scoring two touchdowns is fun,” said the 6-foot, 235-pound fullback, who had just two TDs in his first two years at KU, “but I don’t think I had a superstar game or anything. I still have a lot of work to do.”
Impressive effort notwithstanding, Nwabuisi still remains a “work in progress,” according to KU football coach Mark Mangino, who has butted heads with the Houston junior in the past.
“He has made some great strides,” Mangino said of KU’s “A-Train,” who caught a six-yard pass from Bill Whittemore for a score and scampered in from eight yards on a run up the middle in the Jayhawks’ 42-35 victory over the Cowboys.
“He just needed to mature and understand what it takes to compete at the Division One level,” Mangino added. “He didn’t have a great understanding about it, but when he found out we have standards here and we aren’t budging … he found out it is not fun being on the scout team every day when you know you can play at this level.
“I think he realized this year he had to get moving, and I commend him for that.”
Austine Nwabuisi (pronounced Austin wa-BOOSE-e) does not like to talk about the past, electing to describe his earlier problems at KU in general terms only.
“I had to mature on and off the field a little bit, settle down a little bit,” Nwabuisi said. “It was my attitude. I had to deal with it in a lot of stuff. I can’t really talk about all of it.
“I’ve just worked on doing it the right way. It’s coach’s way.”
Under Mangino, it’s coach’s way or the bench.
“He had to settle in and find out what our work ethic is, to go hard all of the time during every single play and that’s an area where he was inconsistent on the practice field,” Mangino said. “He would make some fantastic plays and then the next play it would look like he didn’t even get out of his stance.
“We told him that he will play for us when he develops consistency and work ethic on the practice field. He has had a really good training camp with us, has been hard-working and learned what the expectations are for our players. He is not a bad person. He is a likable kid.”
Nwabuisi, who combined for 59 yards on 12 carries his first two years at KU and has carried just twice for 11 yards this season, certainly won’t complain if his role in the offense increases.
“You always wish you get more touches, (but) I’m just happy to be out there. As long as the offense is doing well, there’s no need to change anything,” Nwabuisi said.
He said he and his teammates would have no problem focusing on Jacksonville State, a Division I-AA foe which invades for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
KU will open Big 12 play the following week against Missouri.
“We will prepare for this one like any other,” Nwabuisi said. “You can’t sleep on anybody. We haven’t done enough that we can take anybody lightly. We have to win this one before we think of that game. It’s a huge rivalry (vs. MU) and sure it may be in the back of our minds a little bit. We’re not looking past anybody. Hopefully we’ll be 3-1. We’re not 3-1 yet.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoSoft-spoken Kansas University junior Austine Nwabuisi isn’t ready to declare himself an all-Big 12 Conference candidate after the best game of his college career — last Saturday’s two-touchdown effort at Wyoming.
“Scoring two touchdowns is fun,” said the 6-foot, 235-pound fullback, who had just two TDs in his first two years at KU, “but I don’t think I had a superstar game or anything. I still have a lot of work to do.”
Impressive effort notwithstanding, Nwabuisi still remains a “work in progress,” according to KU football coach Mark Mangino, who has butted heads with the Houston junior in the past.
“He has made some great strides,” Mangino said of KU’s “A-Train,” who caught a six-yard pass from Bill Whittemore for a score and scampered in from eight yards on a run up the middle in the Jayhawks’ 42-35 victory over the Cowboys.
“He just needed to mature and understand what it takes to compete at the Division One level,” Mangino added. “He didn’t have a great understanding about it, but when he found out we have standards here and we aren’t budging … he found out it is not fun being on the scout team every day when you know you can play at this level.
“I think he realized this year he had to get moving, and I commend him for that.”
Austine Nwabuisi (pronounced Austin wa-BOOSE-e) does not like to talk about the past, electing to describe his earlier problems at KU in general terms only.
“I had to mature on and off the field a little bit, settle down a little bit,” Nwabuisi said. “It was my attitude. I had to deal with it in a lot of stuff. I can’t really talk about all of it.
“I’ve just worked on doing it the right way. It’s coach’s way.”
Under Mangino, it’s coach’s way or the bench.
“He had to settle in and find out what our work ethic is, to go hard all of the time during every single play and that’s an area where he was inconsistent on the practice field,” Mangino said. “He would make some fantastic plays and then the next play it would look like he didn’t even get out of his stance.
“We told him that he will play for us when he develops consistency and work ethic on the practice field. He has had a really good training camp with us, has been hard-working and learned what the expectations are for our players. He is not a bad person. He is a likable kid.”
Nwabuisi, who combined for 59 yards on 12 carries his first two years at KU and has carried just twice for 11 yards this season, certainly won’t complain if his role in the offense increases.
“You always wish you get more touches, (but) I’m just happy to be out there. As long as the offense is doing well, there’s no need to change anything,” Nwabuisi said.
He said he and his teammates would have no problem focusing on Jacksonville State, a Division I-AA foe which invades for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
KU will open Big 12 play the following week against Missouri.
“We will prepare for this one like any other,” Nwabuisi said. “You can’t sleep on anybody. We haven’t done enough that we can take anybody lightly. We have to win this one before we think of that game. It’s a huge rivalry (vs. MU) and sure it may be in the back of our minds a little bit. We’re not looking past anybody. Hopefully we’ll be 3-1. We’re not 3-1 yet.”
#33 Austine Nwabuisi