With the usual Monday Rewind blog being overtaken by our our Day After blog, which went up Sunday afternoon, I figured something else needed to fill its place.
With that, the Monday Report Card was born.
Unlike most report cards, which typically provide a detailed look at everything a student does during a given quarter or semester, this report card will be a little more random and will highlight a few of the good and bad individual performances while trying to mix in a few young guys and a few veterans along with quick-hit grades for each unit.
It may differ from week to week and just because one guy’s name appears in the report card one week does not necessarily mean he’ll be on the next one the following Monday. As I said, it’s more of a snapshot of the good and the bad rather than a complete analysis.
Let’s start with the offense.
**• QB MONTELL COZART — B+**
Cozart himself even admitted to misreading a couple of things and going the wrong way on one play, but, all things considered, I thought he played well. He threw a bunch of good balls, did not turn the ball over and kept several plays alive with his feet while also looking good throwing on the run. Cozart is clearly confident in his abilities and it does not look like the rest of the offense has any problem letting a young guy lead them. A solid B is good for a guy making his fourth career start in a season opener, but if the Jayhawks want to win more than a couple of games this year, Cozart’s going to have to elevate his play to the A-range.
**• WR NICK HARWELL — B**
The senior transfer who sat out all of last season got open a lot and snagged a couple of touchdowns on 4 receptions for 46 yards. All good numbers. And his ability to repeatedly get open and sure hands were a welcome sight for a Kansas wide receiver. But I’d like to see Harwell be even more involved. And I bet he will be from here on out. There’s no way that OC John Reagan wanted to show too much of what Harwell can do on film. Three of his four receptions came in the Jayhawks’ first four possessions. In the final 11, he caught just one ball and received one carry (a reverse) while being targeted four more times. That’s four catches and one carry in eight targets and one rushing attempt. Not bad. But the guy is so smooth, so dynamic and so reliable that it’s obvious he can do a lot more. If some of those incompletions were dropped in an inch or two softer, he turns in a monster stat line. Cozart may have missed the throws but Harwell took the blame, so I’ll take his word for it. All in all, a pretty solid KU debut.
**• RB DE’ANDRE MANN — A-**
Mann put the ball on the ground one time, but other than that had a pretty flawless night. He ran hard, inside and outside, racked up 121 yards on just 15 carries and brought a power-running dynamic that this team is going to need as it tries to control clock and keep opposing offenses at bay. The only negatives were the fumble and Mann’s inability to pick up a yard on a fourth-and-one with KU leading 31-7. But his coming up short there had as much to do with the O-Line as anything. Overall, the juco transfer ran hard, showed a nice mix of running styles and served as a solid complement to freshman Corey Avery, who got a lot of work early and then gave way to the veteran. Mann said after the game that the only thing missing from his KU debut was a touchdown. Avery got that and the two seem to have a healthy competition between each other for yards, carries and scores. That can only help.
**• CB DEXTER MCDONALD — A**
Other than giving up a completion that delivered SEMO’s first first down of the game (it was bound to happen sometime), McDonald was sensational. His two interceptions and subsequent returns showed why teams prefer not to throw his way. And his two pass break-ups might have been even more impressive than the INTs.
**• S ISAIAH JOHNSON — C**
I thought Johnson looked a little off throughout the game. Could’ve been him shaking off some rust, but he finished with just two tackles (both assists) and didn’t record another defensive stat. In addition, he was a part of a KU secondary that inexplicably gave up three fourth-quarter touchdown passes, one of them a 26-yard score on fourth-and-seven, no less, and another, late in the game, in which Johnson seemed to read and react well but simply ran with the receiver to the back of the end zone instead of trying to play the ball or deliver a hit. Johnson was a pleasant surprise last season and took home Big 12 defensive newcomer of the year honors. Because of that, the bar has been raised for him a little bit and the expectations go up. Look for Johnson to have a strong bounce-back game against Duke.
**• BUCK MICHAEL REYNOLDS — B-**
Reynolds was active (4 tackes, 1.5 for loss) and played with great effort but never found it all that easy to get much pressure on SEMO QB Kyle Snyder. He was in the ballpark for a couple of hurries but Snyder seemed a little too comfortable throughout the game and was able to kind of play backyard football and chuck it around out there knowing he had nothing to lose. That had as much as anything to do with SEMO’s three-touchdown fourth quarter. Not every team KU faces will feel as free and loose to chuck the ball around the yard and Reynolds will have to be a big reason for that.
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**• UNIT GRADES… in 10 words or less**
**Pass Offense: B-** *WRs are legit; Cozart was efficient early but misfired late.*
**Run Offense: A-** *Thanks to Avery and Mann, run game still a strength.*
**Pass Defense: C+** *Performed better than you think. Oh, that fourth quarter.*
**Run Defense: C+** *QB run-game effective at times; 3.4 ypc against pretty good.*
**Special Teams: B-** *Pardula solid, blocked FG a breakdown, return game gave little.*
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**Most Impressive Unit:** Had to be the WRs. Harwell, Pierson, McCay and King all looked sharp.
**Least Impressive Unit:** O-Line, which held up well in pass protection, committed half of KU’s penalties (including three false starts) and struggled to get a push in short yardage situations.
**MVP:** I’ll go with senior receiver Tony Pierson. Pierson racked up 139 yards of total offense — 44 rushing, 95 receiving — and added a highlight touchdown catch and run that was as pretty as any he’s had. Pierson is a game changer and he was sensational in his long-awaited return from a head injury that cost him most of the second half of last season.
**Hidden Hero:** Safety Fish Smithson. Tied for second on the team with five tackles and played fast, physical and aggressive every time he was out there.
**Better Luck Next Time:** Tight end Jimmay Mundine. Not utlizing the tight end may have been by design, but Mundine went without a catch in this one and was targeted just once while also being whistled for a holding penalty. He was involved in other elements of the passing game and helped get receivers open, but he’s widely regarded as a bona fide weapon who, with his size, speed and athleticism, can create mismatches in KU’s favor. Perhaps they’ll show up more against Duke.
