Have KU’s fortunes turned?

By Staff     Sep 18, 2007

I don’t want to jinx a healthy team, if for no other reason than that injuries cause pain, and pain stinks.But Kansas football coach Mark Mangino made me day dream during the Tuesday press conference when discussing the injury status of Kendrick Harper, a junior cornerback. “We don’t give status reports,” Mangino said, “but if we did he’d probably be questionable for this week’s game.”Which made me think: Would Harper be the only one on an NFL-style injury report?I can’t think of anyone else on the two-deep who’s been held out of action for more than a series or two this season. And just think of how big of a change that is.Here was an NFL-style injury report one year ago: James Holt was out, Darrell Stuckey was out, Jerome Kemp was probable but hurting, Kerry Meier was doubtful, Angus Quigley was out, Eric Washington was out, Bob Whitaker was probable but in constant pain, Jon Cornish was probable with lingering turf toe…the list goes on. It was an extraordinary year of bad luck health-wise, after 2005 was a relatively injury-free year.Three games in, everything looks good. It will look even better when Harper comes back and adds great depth to the KU secondary.**Other tidbits** from Tuesday’s press conference:- Aqib Talib at punt returner? Don’t count on it. Talib has taken reps at the position in the offseason, but Mangino said Talib is way too aggressive of a playmaker to be suited for that role. I guess an All-America cornerback and a touchdown-a-game receiver will have to be enough.- Florida International coach Mario Cristobal is taking over a massive building project in Miami (I would say rebuilding, but the program is six years old). Of course, Mangino has been through a couple of those, so he knows what Cristobal is going through. “That’s why I have gray hair now,” Mangino quipped.- Kerry Meier showed up and talked to reporters today, which I thought was a good gesture considering this season surely hasn’t gone the way he had hoped from an individual standpoint. KU’s backup quarterback did say that his brother, former Kansas State quarterback Dylan Meier, is playing in the [ German Football League][1] as a quarterback this year. Former Mizzou quarterback Darius Outlaw is over there, too.- Darrell Stuckey was named defensive player of the game by the KU coaches for his effort against Toledo. Jake Sharp was picked on offense and Micah Brown was named on special teams. [1]: http://www.g-f-l.org/

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