Two weeks after the near debacle against Louisiana-Monroe, Kansas University defensive coordinator Bill Young has two reasons to feel much better about his team’s ability to defend the pass.
One is named Aqib Talib, performing better than ever in his two weeks back from suspension. The other is named Anthony Webb, a true freshman who made his first start Saturday at cornerback opposite Talib.
“Anthony came out and played helluva game,” Talib said. “He impressed me. He looked about as good as me out there. He wasn’t nervous at all. He got all the calls, made all the right checks. He didn’t make many mistakes. He played a real good game.”
Webb looked very much like a freshman on the first play from scrimmage of KU’s 13-7 victory over South Florida, when quarterback Matt Grothe pumped-faked. Webb bit on the fake and left Marcus Edwards wide open for a 29-yard gain.
“That was a double move,” Talib said in defense of his understudy. “We all get hit with double moves sometimes. He played a real good game and didn’t look like a true freshman at all.”
After the game, Webb, the only recruit of this KU class to earn a four-star rating, laughed when the play was brought up to him. He said the message coaches and teammates delivered to him at that point was the same: Relax and play your game. And he did.
“It was my first start, and I was a little nervous at the beginning,” Webb said.
Mangino said Webb has won the starting job. He didn’t say the same about safety Justin Thornton, who started in place of Sadiq Muhammed. Mangino said Muhammed was “a little banged up,” which is a football coach’s way of saying a player is anything ranging from suffering from the sniffles to hospitalized in critical condition. Muhammed played in reserve of Thornton.
Webb started the season ranked behind Blake Bueltel and Raymond Brown, but has moved past both of them.
“I knew he had a lot of talent,” Talib said. “I remember this summer when they first came, we let the freshmen go against the freshmen in seven-on-seven, and he didn’t look like he needed to play with the freshmen. He was making all kinds of interceptions, making all kinds of plays in the summertime. So I knew he was a play-maker.”
Meanwhile, Talib indicated his two-game suspension, imposed for violating a team rule, did not leave his relationship with coach Mark Mangino in a wasted state.
“Me and coach, we’re on good terms,” Talib said. “We’re real good right now. Me and coach have always been good.”
