Richard GwinWhen Kansas has the ball
Kansas rush offense vs. McNeese State rush defense
With four running backs ready to carry the ball and an offensive line that spent the entire offseason working together, the KU rushing attack should be as good as it has been in years. The Cowboys weren’t bad against the run last year — 156 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry — but those numbers came against Southland Conference opponents, not teams in the Big 12. Look for the Jayhawks to pound away all game. Edge: Kansas.
Kansas pass offense vs. McNeese State pass defense
Although McNeese State does not have the kind of depth of a Big 12 foe, the Cowboys do have front-line talent. FCS preseason All-American defensive end Desmund Lighten will present a challenge for KU’s pass-protection unit, and free safety Malcolm Bronson will control things in the secondary. In addition, the Cowboys like to blitz a lot and will try to disguise their coverages throughout the game in an attempt to confuse the KU offense. Both Lighten and Bronson have a lot of experience and won’t be intimidated by KU’s offense. However, outside of those two guys, the Cowboys return just two other defensive players with starting experience. Edge: Kansas.
When McNeese St. has the ball
McNeese State rush offense vs. Kansas rush defense
Andre Anderson, a transfer from Michigan State who led the Southland Conference in rushing last season, will be the featured option for MSU’s ground game. Small but powerful at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, Anderson will run behind an experienced offensive line that will be without all-conference guard Miguel Gauthreaux but features four juniors. Edge: Push.
McNeese State pass offense vs. Kansas pass defense
The Cowboys have talent and versatility at quarterback and could use both to their advantage today. Sophomore Cody Stroud will open as the starter but junior transfer Riley Dodge, formerly at North Texas, likely will play, as well. The KU defense could be in for a challenge. Edge: Kansas
Special teams
With KU slated to start two freshmen and a sophomore in the kicking game and McNeese State returning its place kicker, punter and holder from last year’s team, the Cowboys may get the edge there. However, with all-Big 12 honorable mention pick D.J. Beshears — as well as freshmen Tony Pierson and senior Daymond Patterson — handling return duties for Kansas, the Jayhawks appear to get the nod in that department. Edge: Push.
Kansas University senior linebacker Steven Johnson will be the first to tell you he’s not a complex man.
He plays hard, leads by example and lives the way he was raised.
Traits such as those made it easy for Johnson to step in when he thought his teammates were dogging it this summer during one of KU’s voluntary workouts. He wanted them to work harder. He wanted them to realize that playing college football — which for KU opens at 6 tonight when Kansas takes on McNeese State at Memorial Stadium — was something none of them should take for granted. Rather than say it himself, the two-year starter and co-captain turned to one of his favorite players for help.
“He brought everyone together in the locker room and he played a tape of (Baltimore Ravens linebacker) Ray Lewis talking about how he leads his team,” junior Toben Opurum recalled. “Steve just expressed how he felt about it. We had one of our better days because of that, and it really motivated guys to work harder.”
There was no eccentric pregame dance, no psychotic eyes, no screams of intensity, all Lewis trademarks. But Johnson did steal Lewis’ push-up routine that already has spread throughout the KU locker room.
“He was talking about a deck of cards,” Johnson said. “And how, when he was little, he would flip over a card and if he got a six he would do six, if he flipped over a 10, he would do 10, if he flipped over a king or a queen he would do 20, if he flipped over an ace he would do 50. He mastered that when he was young, and now almost our whole team’s doing it. I’ve got the cards, and, as soon as I saw it, I did it. It’s tough. It totals up to 400 and something push-ups.”
A year ago, Johnson, a former walk-on, earned a starting role and was asked, indirectly, to serve as one of the leaders of the defense. It worked. In addition to finishing first on the team in tackles, with 95, Johnson often found himself taking others under his wing. It all happened so fast and came so naturally that Johnson didn’t think much about it. Fast-forward to this spring, when Jayhawks young and old began to look to Johnson to lead the way, and things seemed a little different.
“This year, I’ve actually found it to be a little bit harder,” Johnson said of being a team leader. “Last year, I don’t think people expected me to be a leader as much so I was out there and I was just leading. This year, now it’s expected, so now I have to do it.”
Johnson, 6-foot-1, 237 pounds, leads a prayer for all of his injured teammates after each practice. He has a few goals for his play this season, the specifics of which he’s slow to share.
“I love going out there making plays and making tackles,” Johnson said. “One of my goals is to lead the nation in tackles. Never count me out on that. But I’m not necessarily going to go out there and call my shot and say I’m gonna lead the team in tackles. That’s not how it is. I have 10 other guys on the field with me who are going to find the ball, as well.”
