It’s a less-than-glamorous part of football, but Kansas University is glad it has returned.
Kicking and punting, which has been a question mark most of this season, has been rejuvenated.
And if Saturday’s 41-10 loss to No. 2 Oklahoma revealed any positives, it was the solid play of punter Kyle Tucker and the increasing comfort level of kickers Scott Webb and Johnny Beck.
Tucker arguably had the best day of any Jayhawk, kicking 10 punts for an average of 45.3 yards per punt. Four went more than 50 yards, one came from the back of the KU end zone, and others came under immense pressure from the Sooner return team.
“Kyle Tucker performed very well when you take into account he’s a true freshman,” KU coach Mark Mangino said Sunday. “What he’s been able to do against very good opponents is pleasing.”
Tucker, a Katy, Texas, native, took over full-time punting duties prior to KU’s Big 12 Conference opener Sept. 25 against Texas Tech. With the Jayhawk offense struggling to move the ball against the Sooners, Tucker was called upon 10 times, and the freshman didn’t have a poor punt the entire game.
“We weren’t sure he’d be the starting punter this year,” Mangino said. “Our thinking was if he could get the ball in the air and we could get some coverage, we would be happy.
“He has exceeded my expectations as a true freshman.”
Beck and Webb have flourished now that their roles are better defined. Webb has made all 19 of his extra-point attempts this season, including another Saturday after Brandon Rideau’s 78-yard touchdown reception.
Beck converted his fourth straight field goal, a 43-yard attempt against the wind just before halftime. He also booted both of his kickoffs into the end zone, though only one was a touchback since OU returned the other 23 yards.
It appears Mangino has no plans to tweak the kicking game any more.
“They seem to be comfortable in those roles at this point,” Mangino said. “It’s working at the present time.”
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Playing two?: Adam Barmann and Jason Swanson each saw time at quarterback Saturday, a system uncommon in high-level college football.
“I have always liked to use one guy because you get a limited amount of reps during practice as it is,” Mangino said. “To share with two guys and game plan two guys, it takes extra effort.”
However, the Jayhawks won’t rule it out. Barmann and Swanson have played in each of the last two games, and neither has stood out.
“Whatever’s effective,” Mangino said of his future strategy. “You play with the strengths you have. I think you have to go with whatever works.”
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Baines update: KU cornerback Theo Baines limped off the field in the first half of Saturday’s game favoring his right leg.
Mangino said Baines aggravated an undisclosed injury he suffered in KU’s 31-28 victory Oct. 9 over Kansas State. Baines missed most of that game, too.
It appears it isn’t too serious, though.
“The medical staff is telling me they’re confident that he’ll be ready to go come Saturday,” Mangino said.
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New season: Mangino told his team after Saturday’s game that the first seven games of the season were in the vault.
“I told them, ‘We start a new season Monday. It’s a four-game season,” Mangino said. “What happened behind us is behind us. Good or bad.”
KU plays Saturday at Iowa State, then wraps up the regular season with Colorado and Texas at home and a trip to Missouri. The Jayhawks need to win three of the four to become bowl-eligible.
Pat Lee can look out his living room window and see a picture worthy of a postcard — the vast, colorful, majestic landscape of Abbotsford, British Columbia.
“I said to my wife the other day, ‘There isn’t a more beautiful spot in the world than British Columbia when the weather is as nice as it is now,’ because we do get a lot of rain,” said Lee, men’s basketball coach at Fraser Valley University.
Lee is coach of one of four teams that will play exhibition games against Kansas University today, Sunday and Monday.
The Jayhawks will open their Canadian tour today against the University of British Columbia. That game will be televised live at 2 p.m. on the MegaVision at Memorial Stadium. It won’t be available anywhere else. All games will be on the Jayhawk Radio Network, including KLWN 1320.
“When Americans come up here, when Kansas comes up, we want them to remember Abbotsford and British Columbia,” said Lee, whose team will play KU at 9 p.m. Sunday. “There’s a lot of things here — fishing, the hiking is unbelievable. If you want mountain biking, it’s available. It’s a great place.”
KU coach Bill Self, who never had been to Canada, has heard glowing reports from friends and fellow coaches.
“I’ve wanted to go. People tell me it’s beautiful up there and you need to take the ferry to Victoria,” Self said. “From a cultural standpoint, we’d love to spend a couple of free days there and go to Victoria, but we are not allowed to miss any school on this trip (in accordance with NCAA rules).”
KU’s assistant coaches have been to Canada before.
As an aide at Cal-Berkeley in the mid-1990s, Kurtis Townsend trekked to Vancouver as a consultant for EA Sports video games.
“Vancouver was beautiful,” Townsend said. “They put us in the Pan Pacific Hotel right on the water. I remember the streets being really clean and that it was a terrific place. I could have been spoiled at where I was staying, but I looked out at those mountains over the water and said, ‘This place is beautiful.'”
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Assistant Tim Jankovich recruited Canadian high school players during his stints at both Colorado State and Vanderbilt, and assistant Joe Dooley ventured to Canada when his East Carolina team played the University of Nova Scotia. Also, director of basketball operations Danny Manning made several trips to Canada during his NBA career.
“A long time ago I went up to Sault Ste. Marie. It darn near ended my life that night,” Jankovich said. “I was recruiting at Colorado State and drove up from Detroit for a high school game. It snowed the whole game. I got in the car after talking to the coach. I was in a blizzard in the middle of nowhere and couldn’t see the car in front of me. It was really scary.”
Jankovich has vacationed in Victoria.
“It was a beautiful place,” he said. “I was in Seattle and took the trip across the water. It has such a British feel.”
Several of KU’s players have been in Canada, but for minutes, not days at a time.
“We had a basketball tournament in Detroit and crossed over the river just to say we were there,” KU senior Wayne Simien said of his summer AAU days. “We were there a couple hours and shopped.”
Sophomore J.R. Giddens played in Buffalo, N.Y.
“We got to see Niagara Falls from the U.S. side and the Canadian side,” he said. “It was a good experience, and I’m looking forward to going up there again.”
Portland, Ore., natives Michael Lee and Aaron Miles also have made forays into Canada.
“I was not old enough to remember,” Lee said.
“We drove from Portland to Detroit when I was young,” Miles said, “and on our way up there stopped at one of the big malls. We rode a roller coaster and did some shopping. I also went on a sixth-grade trip with my school. I don’t remember really what we did, but we just hopped on a ferry and went across.”
Freshman C.J. Giles is from Seattle, but surprisingly he’s making his first visit this weekend.
“It’s a two-hour drive and I’ve never been to Canada, not once,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
Hear Mangino and players: Oklahoma post-game
Get the stats: KU vs. Oklahoma box score
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