Mangino praises Meier
If there were any doubts about Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino’s appreciation for junior receiver Kerry Meier, they were dispelled Tuesday during the team’s final news conference before taking on Minnesota in today’s Insight Bowl.
Responding to a question about the program’s turnaround over the past seven seasons, Mangino spent a good deal of time praising the character of Meier, who transformed himself into one of the conference’s top receivers less than a year after losing the starting quarterback spot to current standout Todd Reesing.
“I think when you talk about turning the program around here,” Mangino said, “he probably will be recognized as one of the most important people to be associated or to be a player at Kansas.”
Meier, who needs just 68 receiving yards today to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark, has been highly regarded by KU fans since the start of the 2007 season, when he rebounded from his demotion to become one of the most important pieces in the Jayhawks’ offensive puzzle.
“He has done everything you can possibly ask in terms of sacrificing for this football program,” Mangino said.
Todd the Jet?
In preparation for today’s game, the Minnesota coaching staff has used an interesting strategy to quantify the talents of Reesing: They’ve compared the Jayhawks signal-caller to New York Jets quarterback and future Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
“Anytime someone is compared to someone like Brett Favre, one of the best, if not the best in the history of the game, all I can say is, ‘Wow’,” Reesing said.