Overland Park ? Kansas University’s football office has been flooded with letters, e-mails and phone calls in support of senior defensive end John McCoy, who will miss the season after his Army Reserve Unit was called to active duty.
“He’s concerned,” coach Mark Mangino said Monday night at a KU Alumni Association dinner. “You bet he is, but he’s going to go and do what he has to do.”
Athletes have five years to complete their eligibility under NCAA rules, but military service doesn’t count against a player.
“I told him when he’s ready to come back, we’ll get him academically squared away and physically ready to play,” Mangino said.
If McCoy cannot complete his eligibility — or chooses not to — Mangino still plans to honor the lineman’s scholarship.
“We’ll make sure his education is paid for,” Mangino said. “We want to make sure he gets his degree.”
McCoy was No. 1 on the depth chart after spring drills and was expected to battle junior-college transfer Jermail Ashley for the starting job in preseason camp.
“We’re proud of him,” Mangino said. “All I care about is his safe and speedy return.”
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Full house: A packed house greeted Mangino with a standing ovation at the Sheraton Hotel.
“I appreciate that, but I haven’t won nearly enough games to deserve a standing ovation,” said Mangino, who is 8-17 entering his third season in Lawrence.
The 225 fans who turned out clearly disagreed with Mangino, who guided KU to its first bowl game since 1995 in his second season.
“I think our best years are ahead of us,” athletic director Lew Perkins said. “We’re going to have an outstanding season. … Our football program is in the hands of the right guy.”
Monday night’s audience included 46 former KU athletes. Assistant athletic director Gary Kempf and former KU center Mike Wellman, who works for the Williams Fund, invited former lettermen from all sports to Monday’s event.
“It’s important that coach feels that support from the former players,” Kempf said. “We put a focus on the K-Club to try to get former athletes back involved with the Jayhawk family. I think we’ll get a good turnout now wherever we go.”
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Academic update: Mangino confirmed that all of KU’s freshmen had received academic certification. The only recruit whose status remains in question is Minnesota West Community College defensive end Charlton Keith, who is not listed on KU’s preseason roster.
Mangino said Keith had a “great opportunity” to earn eligibility when he takes his summer-school finals this week.
“He has to do a great job on his finals and get it done,” Mangino said. “If he does, we’ll be excited.”
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Dyer update: Former KU quarterback and defensive back Zach Dyer will attend law school at KU in the fall and plans a future in politics.
“I told him, ‘If you thought college football was a full-contact sport, wait until you get into politics,'” Mangino said.
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Punt, pass or kick: Sophomore Adam Barmann is listed as the backup punter on the preseason depth chart, but Mangino said it was unlikely he would use one of his top quarterbacks as a punter or holder. Senior punter Chris Tyrrell enters preseason camp No. 1 on the depth chart, and he could be challenged by freshman Kyle Tucker.
Barmann, who enters camp as the first-string quarterback, would only stay on the depth chart at punter if Tyrrell or Tucker struggled or suffered an injury.
“When I was at Oklahoma, they wanted to use Josh Heupel as the holder,” Mangino said of the former OU quarterback. “I said, ‘Over my dead body.'”
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Passing grades: Perkins said the 2.93 cumulative grade-point average that KU athletes posted last year ranked in the top 15 nationally.
“That’s pretty good for a state school,” said Perkins, who called it his best academic year in his 36 years in athletic administration. “I don’t mean that as a negative. Usually private schools and Ivy League schools have a bit of an advantage.”
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Budget boost: Perkins said KU’s athletic budget would expand from $27 million last year to $35 million this year, which should help the Jayhawks be more competitive in the Big 12 Conference.
“We still have Nebraska and Texas at $70 million,” he said, “but we made a big jump.”