By Matt Tait
mtait@ljworld.com
Wednesday was the first set of two-a-day practices for the Kansas University football team this preseason camp and KU coach David Beaty said that gave him another opportunity to see which guys were ready to step up and which guys were simply going through the motions.
To be fair, most players on this roster have met every one of these types of challenges with great energy and enthusiasm, but having these benchmarks built into the practice schedule is a huge tool for the coaching staff, particularly a first-year staff that is trying to find some separation at each position group any way they can.
The morning session was run in pretty good conditions. Cool temperatures — by Kansas in August standards — and calm conditions made it ideal for football practice. When Beaty came in to talk with reporters after practice he was sweating profusely. I mentioned something to him about being hot out there and he remarked, “It’s actually pretty nice.” Guess that was just an indication of how hard he was getting after it.
Here’s a quick look at some other things that caught my eye at Wednesday’s second of two practices:
**• Speaking of Beaty getting after it,** the first-year KU coach is definitely getting more and more intense by the day. There’s nothing choir boy about the way he rips into guys when they’re not doing something right or up to the standard he’s trying to establish for Kansas football. There was a hint of that during the spring, but it’s definitely on another level right now, which makes perfect sense given that the season opener is fast approaching.
**• Spent some time watching KU’s punter battle at practice today** and it looks like a good one. Eric Kahn, the back-up to Trevor Pardula last season, has been around and has a big leg, but he’s a little slow in getting the kicks off and is not yet terribly consistent. Walk-on Ruben Guzman, a University of Hawaii transfer, had great hang time on his punts Wednesday and definitely looked more consistent. That’s just one day and, really, one 10-minute drill, but it’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out. It’s just a hunch, and, again, it’s just one day, but something about Guzman stood out to me. Like fellow-transfer Nick Bartalotta — they call him “Yoda” — who is battling place kicker Matthew Wyman for the starting job, Guzman’s a short, stocky dude. It would be a heck of a duo if Guzman and Bartalotta wound up as KU’s first-string kickers.
**• Beaty announced Tuesday that freshman wideout Jeremiah Booker injured his shoulder and would probably miss a couple of weeks** and that gave me an opportunity to get my first look at Booker in street clothes. Big kid. He’s long, all limbs and has a good frame that looks like it could be pretty imposing when he fills out. Remember, this is a true freshman who already is listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds. The injury’s a bummer. I’d heard he was looking really good and may have been earning some early playing time. There’s still time, but the injury’s a setback.
**• A couple of notable reserves who were running with the first units on Wednesday:** Red-shirt freshman Josh Ehambe got a turn opposite Ben Goodman at defensive end with the first-team defense. And running back Ryan Schadler, a former Wichita State sprinter who arrived at KU as a receiver and moved to RB in the spring, got a turn with the first-team offense. Running backs coach Reggie Mitchell had some impressive things to say about Schadler — a guy who caught my eye at every spring practice I went to — earlier in the day, so keep an eye out for that story soon.
**• Finally, I got my first chance to see injured quarterback Michael Cummings** at practice today. He was walking without crutches and seemed to be in good spirits, but it still sucks. It’s not like I was on the verge of tears when I saw the guy or anything like that, but my heart goes out to him for the bad luck. Very cool to see him stay so involved. Not only is he mentoring the young QBs, but he’s also signaling in plays to the offense and even drops down and does push-ups with whichever group gets punished for losing a drill. You could turn over a lot of rocks and travel to all corners of the world and you wouldn’t find too many better human beings than Michael Cummings.
