Nick KrugFort Lauderdale, Fla. ? It sounded like a cliche six months ago, the kind of quote you’ve heard before.
Ed Warinner sat behind the desk in his second-floor office over the summer, trying to explain Kansas University’s new offensive approach on the football field without giving away too many secrets.
More than anything, KU’s first-year offensive coordinator stressed his desire to do what seems so obvious: Get the ball to the playmakers and let them make plays.
“Versatility,” Warinner preached, “is key.”
Now, days before the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech, the Jayhawks proved able to follow through brilliantly on that creed all season long.
Using a vast arsenal of playmakers at every position on offense, Kansas averaged 491.1 yards per game and scored 44.3 points per contest. Both marks will shatter school records no matter happens Thursday when Kansas faces Virginia Tech at Dolphin Stadium.
There are the obvious, well documented reasons for KU’s offensive surge. Two in particular stand out:
¢ Warinner and head coach Mark Mangino decided to give KU’s offensive scheme a makeover after the 2006 season. The play-calling seems to fit the personnel like a glove.
¢ KU sophomore Todd Reesing has been remarkable in his first season as the starting quarterback. He passed for 3,259 yards in the regular season with 32 touchdowns and six interceptions. More importantly, he was a leader the rest of the team believed in.
A gritty quarterback and a cutting-edge scheme are a great start. But the number of minor developments that proved beneficial to KU’s offensive efficiency was staggering.
Here’s a look at a few of them:
Offensive line
There’s the All-American. The veteran. The walk-on. The junior-college transfer. And the guy who won back a starting job after a year on the bench.
Calling them misfits would be inaccurate. But to call them perfect fits, on the surface, might be inaccurate, too.
The fact is, KU’s offensive line really came through this season. With All-American left tackle Anthony Collins protecting the blind side and veteran Cesar Rodriguez at right tackle, the Jayhawks had a strong border on its offensive line.
Ryan Cantrell, after starting at guard in 2005, moved into the center position seamlessly. Chet Hartley started right away after playing at Butler Community College last year, and walk-on Adrian Mayes clawed his way to the starting job at left guard.
What came of it was communication, teamwork and toughness in the trenches that has allowed the skill players to put up remarkable numbers.
“We’re not the most physically gifted guys,” Rodriguez said. “We’re not the biggest, we’re not the strongest. But if we work harder than anybody, we’ll get the job done.”
Kerry Meier
Labeled “The Golden Boy” after his ballyhooed arrival on campus two years ago, sophomore Kerry Meier was rocked by the realization that he was beat out for the starting quarterback job by Reesing in August.
Seeing a gifted, 6-foot-3, 220-pound athlete in Meier on the sideline with a baseball cap on, KU’s coaches brainstormed how to get him on the field while keeping him as the backup quarterback.
The answer? A part-time wide receiver. Meier accepted the unorthodox role and has flourished, catching 24 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first Jayhawk to throw a touchdown, rush for a touchdown and catch a touchdown pass in the same season since Garfield Taylor 26 years ago.
More than that, though, Meier’s willingness to step out of his comfort zone for the sake of the team is what resonates most with those in the program.
“That was probably one of the most amazing things about the season,” Warinner said. “That’s probably why we’re here. Just the fact that that selfless attitude permeated throughout our team.”
Brandon McAnderson
When Jon Cornish graduated after rushing for 1,457 yards in 2006, the widespread wonder was whether Jake Sharp would be able to fill the role adequately.
Sharp has been fine, having rushed for 788 yards on 138 carries. But it’s the work of Brandon McAnderson that has given the Jayhawks the balance they deeply crave.
McAnderson will get caught from behind if he breaks free. He won’t make three guys miss between the tackles. He’s not quite big enough to be a Jorvorskie Lane-type bowling ball that gets the automatic tough yard.
But McAnderson does everything well while doing nothing special. With the passing game always on the opposition’s mind, McAnderson rumbled for 1,050 yards on 175 carries (a 6.0 average) with 16 touchdowns. That included a 183-yard effort in a tight game at Texas A&M that helped Kansas improve to 8-0.
Cornish long will be loved by KU fans for being a bright spot on a disappointing 2006 season. But thanks to McAnderson, Cornish hasn’t been missed.
Marcus Henry
He was the 6-foot-4, rangy, long-armed guy who was more potential than production for three seasons.
But senior wide receiver Marcus Henry finally has become the star that was buried somewhere inside him for so long.
Using his improved hands and breakaway speed, Henry has caught 52 passes for 994 yards and nine touchdowns for the Jayhawks. In his first three seasons at KU, he had 50 catches for 585 yards TOTAL.
“I think our quarterback has a great deal of confidence in him,” Warinner said. “And he has a lot of confidence in himself right now.”
Henry doesn’t look the part, but he has serious speed. That speed has led to several long touchdowns, and it has stretched the field so much that the other 10 offensive players are benefiting from Henry simply being out there.
“He is a complete package in terms of development in all phases at wide receiver,” Warinner said. “: As coaches, we have confidence. So we try to dial him up as much as we can.”
Discipline
KU’s coaching staff calls it “margin of error,” and it includes sacks allowed, turnovers, dropped passes and penalties.
The key is keeping the boo-boos low, because, as Warinner put it, “We understand our margin of error is small.”
The Jayhawks have mastered the game of discipline this season. The offensive punch has combined with sound minds, and Kansas actually has more touchdowns (64) than penalties (48) this season (to compare, Virginia Tech has 37 touchdowns and 88 penalties).
Warinner credits overall team discipline and says the tempo in practice has a lot to do with it.
He also gives credit to Reesing.
“I think your quarterback and the rhythm he has controlling the game and so forth really keeps everybody in sync,” Warinner said.
With everybody in sync, Kansas has soared to unimaginable heights. The team that struggled to get first downs just two years ago is now known as an offensive force in college football.
“It’s fun,” Warinner said. “I mean, it’s a lot of fun. We enjoy it. The players get excited.
“We don’t set any bars on, well, if we get 21 this game we’re going to win or if we get 24. We just try to go out and play and try to score every series.”
In 2007, the Jayhawks have come as close as they ever have.
Thad AllenderNo Travis Releford for Kansas City Pump N Run in its title defense at the AAU Jayhawk Invitational?
No problem.
Pump N Run received plenty of help from some small-time players to cap off a perfect run through the invitational with a 72-61 victory over Howard Pulley Panthers-Black on Sunday in Allen Fieldhouse.
“Well, Travis Releford wasn’t here, so somebody had to step up,” said Denver Holmes, a 6-foot-3, 165-pound junior shooting guard at Olathe South. “I’m basically his backup, so I thought it was me having to step up. : It’s basically our tournament, so it feels like we have to win it with a lot of pressure here.”
Holmes’ main scholarship offers so far have been from Missouri State and Murray State, though he has heard from Florida Atlantic, where former Kansas University basketball player Rex Walters is the current coach. Holmes scored a team-high 17 points in the finale, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line.
Thad Allender“With the depth on our team – and Denver is one of those guys we count on big, especially without Travis being here and John Coy – expectations are little higher for other guys, and Denver stepped up and did what he was supposed to do and showed what kind of player he is,” Pump N Run coach L.J. Goolsby said.
A very slow start by point guard Marcus Denmon made Holmes’ performance that more valuable.
Denmon, who was held scoreless in the first half, finally brought a spark to the 17U champs after Howard Pulley had tied the game at 43 with 10 minutes remaining.
The 6-1, 170-pound junior point guard from Kansas City (Mo.) Hogan Prep scored his first points on a pair of free throws with 8:03 remaining and scored 10 more points over the next five minutes to give Pump N Run a 12-point advantage.
“I was being more passive in the first half and sharing the ball with my teammates and only took, like, three shots,” said Denmon, who is getting looks from Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Clemson, UNLV and a couple of Missouri Valley Conference teams. “But I just knew if I kept looking to get open shots, it would eventually come. Shots just started falling, and we started playing as a team.”
Thad AllenderGoolsby also got some help from Dominique Morrison, a 6-6, 200-pounder from Raytown (Mo.) High. The junior forward, who is getting looks from MVC schools such as Wichita State and Southern Illinois, had 14 points and five rebounds
Howard Pulley’s Armond Battle, a 6-6, 185-pound junior forward from Benilde-St. Margaret in St. Louis Park, Minn., made things difficult for the three-time champs with a game-high 21 points – 16 of which came in the second half.
“I was in a pretty good rhythm, and when I’m in a good rhythm I play real well,” Battle said. “I was trying to get in that rhythm all game, and I came out and did that.”
Rodney Williams, a 6-6, 185-pound junior out of Robbinsdale Cooper in New Hope, Minn. who is hearing from Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa State and some smaller schools, was Pulley’s second leading scorer with 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
The two teams will see each other next weekend at the Sabes Foundation Invitational in Bloomington, Minn. – the tournament where Howard Pulley defeated Pump N Run in the final a year ago.
“Last year they beat us in the championship. We returned the favor this week, and now it’s going to be a grudge match going into next week,” Goolsby said.
Road to the final: Both Pump N Run and Howard Pulley received the first-round byes and didn’t play until 10:30 a.m.
Pump N Run escaped Wedmans Pumas in its first game, 64-55, and ran through the St. Louis Eagles, 62-48. Pulley defeated Minnesota Magic Elite, 68-47, and received a bit of a scare in a 65-59 win over the Las Vegas Prospects.
Pulley prospects struggle: Jared Berggren, a University of Wisconsin recruit who is the 16th-ranked center in the class of 2008 by Rivals.com, scored just eight points to go with five rebounds in the final against Pump N Run.
Jordan Taylor, another recruit committed to Wisconsin, also had eight points with four rebounds.
Taylor, a junior point guard, was 3-for-16, with his first basket coming nearly 10 minutes in. He scored just two points in the second half – with just a minute to go.
Moore all right: Pump N Run’s Steve Moore suffered an ankle injury after coming down with a defensive rebound with 4:23 remaining.
Moore, who sat out the remainder of the game, finished with three points – all from the free-throw line – and did not attempt a shot. Despite sitting the final four minutes, Moore still had a game-high 10 rebounds.
“He’s fine. He came over and wanted to get back into the game,” Goolsby said. “We’re just going to have to make sure he ices it and keeps it up for next weekend.”
OKC gets KO’d: The former AAU team of Kansas commit Cole Aldrich – Minnesota Magic Elite – eliminated one of the hottest teams at the Jayhawk Invitational – Oklahoma City Athletes First – during the first round of games Sunday morning.
The Magic Elite snuck past Athletes First in double-overtime, 50-48, before falling to the eventual runner-up, Howard Pulley Panthers-Black, 68-47, in the second round.
“It was a bad loss – it really was,” Athletes First coach Carl Henry said. “We really set our group back. We started and finish with our young kids – and we have five older kids that we were trying to see how we could get ahead by playing those older kids and get them scholarships. We thought we could get it done with the older kids, but it didn’t happen. We just seem to get nothing done with those older players. I don’t know why. We’re just more comfortable with the younger kids. They can hold the lead, but when we put in the older kids they lost the lead.
“But other than that, I wanted to get past the first game and get to the championship. I guess that’s going to have to wait until next year.”
Athletes First will return to the AAU circuit next weekend at the Memorial Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
“Basically, we just have to start all over in practice on Thursday,” Henry said. “We’ve got to find a combination to go together so we feel good about the older kids and so they get looked at by recruits.”
Other invite champs: The 16-and-under Kansas City Pump N Run had the same result as the 17-and-under squad after defeating Midwest Mission in the 16U final, 56-45.
Mike Dixon, a sophomore guard from Lee’s Summit (Mo.) West who has received contact from multiple Big 12 Conference schools, including KU, scored nine points for Pump N Run in the championship.
The Compton Magic defeated the St. Louis Eagles, 68-49, to claim the championship in the 15-and-under bracket.
