The late Gene Mauch, remembered as the smartest manager who never won a World Series, used to listen to the hype poured on spring sensations and late-
season call-ups, and he always offered a word of caution.
“Two months I try not to get fooled by,” he said. “April and September.”
Too many unproven players who haven’t had a chance to be exposed dot rosters in April and September.
Likewise, it’s wise not to be too swayed by what happens in spring football games. Given some potentially troubling signs that surfaced during Sunday’s intrasquad game, repeatedly referred to as the 15th spring practice by coach Mark Mangino, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if the game was misleading.
It’s not that the game was without some encouraging signs. For one, Marcus Henry looked more like one of those tall, fast, sure-handed wide receivers from Texas than one from the lower half of the Big 12. For another, Joe Mortensen looked far more comfortable at middle linebacker than the outside linebacker position he tried to play last season. Todd Reesing again looked like a confident quarterback who never gives up on a play. Defensively, the Jayhawks had the look of a team that should be able to stop the run and has a deeper secondary than a year ago, when it was wading-pool shallow.
Yet, the overall feeling of the day could be summed up as so far, so-so.
The final score of 48-0 was deceiving. It actually was much worse than that because the second half was played with a running clock. Obviously, the first string should win in a rout, but the gap shouldn’t be that huge. Depth is a major concern in several areas, most notably on the offensive line. It’s easier for the Texas heavyweights, the Nebraskas, the Oklahomas of the world to convince every lineman they recruit that he is being recruited as a first-stringer than it is for them to convince a quarterback or a running back of the same.
Even given that reality, the performance of the second-team offensive line was alarming. Neither Reesing nor Kerry Meier could get anything going against the first-team defense, and none of the second-team running backs had any holes in front of them. Guard appears to be a particularly weak area for the Jayhawks, and it’s not as if there is a big, dispensable body ready to make the switch from defense. Thus far, no outside pass rusher has emerged as a candidate to harass opposing passers.
If Aqib Talib is needed much at wide receiver, that becomes another concern for the defense, where he will need to be fresh enough to serve as a shut-down cornerback. Talib lined up often at receiver Sunday, in part because of injuries to Dexton Fields and Tertavian Ingram. Angus Quigley’s switch to receiver also indicates help was needed there.
Looking to the fall, the schedule looks a shade more difficult than the one Kansas went 6-6 against last season. The opener is against an offensively challenged Central Michigan team that expects to have a strong defense. It’s not an automatic victory. Winning that game is a must. If Kansas goes 3-1 in the preseason, it would need to finish 4-4 in the Big 12 to reach a victory total that would land a bowl invitation. Kansas has played 11 seasons in the Big 12 and never has done better than 3-5.
