Keegan: Happy feet bad for QBs

By Tom Keegan     Mar 29, 2007

Every sports fan has pet peeves. Mine: pitchers who fiddle around forever between pitches, acting as if they would prefer to be anywhere but standing on a hill of dirt. Post players who have bad hands and drop passes when everything else on the offense unfolded just right. Last but not least annoying, quarterbacks who have choppy feet when preparing to throw.

Joey Harrington, a flop with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, played the bongo drums with his feet on the turf as a rookie, and he never stopped doing it. Some guys, it seems, just can’t get over having those nervous feet in the pocket. It must be a difficult thing to overcome.

It’s not incurable, but it is a problem, and it’s one Kerry Meier had as a red-shirt freshman last season for Kansas University.

Where does that come from?

“It probably comes from youth, probably comes from being inexperienced last year more than anything,” KU coach Mark Mangino said after Wednesday’s spring practice. “It’s all part of learning. When you’re young, you’re learning, trying to find your reads and things like that. I think he’s learning and feels much better about that kind of stuff this year, at least for the few practices we’ve gone through.”

Wide receiver Marcus Henry said he already had seen improvement from Meier.

“I think he’s a little more patient,” Henry said. “Now he’s calming down, looking over his reads, and making better decisions on the field.”

Of course, it’s easier to calm down when the defense isn’t allowed to tackle the quarterback, as is the case in spring practice.

“The ultimate judge is a game,” Mangino said. “You can get some information and learn things on the practice field. You can see progress coming. There is no substitute for playing in the game. That’s how you find out about all your players, on game day.”

Still, decisions will be made while Meier and Todd Reesing compete for the job under touch-football rules.

“All the information we can gather practicing in the spring and in two-a-days, whoever performs the best on the practice field is obviously all the information you have, and that’s what we go with,” Mangino said. “You can always change.”

On paper, Meier is the better prospect because he’s so much bigger and he’s faster. In limited game action, Reesing was the better quarterback. He ran to create room for himself to pass. Meier tucked it and ran.

“I think they’re both pretty good guys,” Mangino said. “I’m pretty excited about them. They’re competitive guys. I think those kids working head-to-head just makes them both better. That’s something you like. When there’s a clear-cut guy, that will be great, that will be fine. I like the idea they’re competing.”

Meier had so little zip on his throws in the season finale against Missouri, Reesing belatedly replaced him.

“I think it’s fundamental play,” Mangino said of the dead ducks. “It’s your feet. It’s your weight transfer. Those types of things. There were times last year when he wasn’t sharp in those areas. Once again, through repetitions all through the spring and two-a-days, we expect a lot of improvement.”

If those expectations aren’t met, look for Reesing to win the job.

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