Day 2 of KU Football’s spring practices brought more of the same elements that we saw on Day 1 on Tuesday — lots of energy, impressive tempo and fiery coaches getting after guys in both good moments and bad.
By far, though, the most memorable aspect of the day came during one-on-one drills between receivers and defensive backs, when co-defensive coordinator Kenny Perry, who was hanging out in the middle of the field where a referee normally be, intercepted a pass and began to return it up the field after the catch.
Perry initially bobbled the ball but hauled it in and then turned it up field without hesitation. It was a big moment for the former TCU assistant, who had been all over his DBs to “make a play.” After seeing him do it, they had very little excuse for not making similar plays happen themselves.
Later in the day, after practice moved over to the stadium for 7-on-7 and full team offensive drills, Ronnie Davis and Tevin Shaw each followed in Perry’s footsteps by picking up an interception during live action.
Here’s a quick look at the rest of what caught my eye from Thursday’s practice…
**• Other than special teams drills and full team activities, Perry spent his time working with the cornerbacks** and defensive coordinator Clint Bowen, who has coached just about every position during his days with the Jayhawks, spent his time working with the safeties. This set up was what most people expected and I think it takes advantage of each guy’s area of expertise. Both guys are fired up throughout practice and don’t give their guys even a moment to breathe. The expectation is perfection and if a guy missteps or isn’t doing something right, he’s going to hear about it.
**• One of the more enjoyable things to watch during the first couple of days has been wide receivers coach Klint Kubiak’s hands-on approach to coaching.** Kubiak, 27, is young enough to get out there and run with his guys and he’s not afraid to show them how to stick a route, how to break press coverage or how to get off the line and down the field during punt coverage drills. Huge asset for the program. You can just tell that this guy is well on his way to being a hell of a coach and I’m definitely looking more to seeing more in the coming weeks, months and years.
**• Speaking of guys who are on their way to becoming great coaches, I think D-Line coach Calvin Thibodeaux is another one.** He’s full of energy, doesn’t take or make any excuses and gets his guys to flat-out work. One of his favorite tools to inspire that great work ethic seems to be sarcasm. I heard, on more than one occasion, Thibodeaux laughing to himself and telling his guys, “Don’t be last in line now, son.”
**• With several former Jayhawks still in town following pro day, getting ready for the upcoming NFL Draft and free agent opportunities, a few of them showed up to practice again on Thursday.** Nick Harwell, Nigel King, Tony Pierson and Charles Brooks all watched at least an hour of practice and I thought it was funny (and made sense) how King and Harwell spent nearly all of their time watching the wide receivers, sort of like the old veterans watching to make sure the torch had been passed properly. There are a bunch of bodies out there at WR for Kansas, but it’s still too early to see how talented the group is. Most of them are young dudes still learning the game. Having said that, senior Tre’ Parmalee definitely has stood out so far as a guy who has been there and done that. Rodriguez Coleman appears to be the most naturally talented guy in the group. And a walk-on, red-shirt freshman Ryan Schadler, who came to KU after running track at Wichita State, also impressed me with his pure speed. The guy is lightning quick and runs every drill full speed. Still plenty to watch at that position in the coming weeks.
**• I didn’t really notice this too much because when they’re running team offense and seven-on-seven, we’re pretty far away, but it caught my ear** when Beaty said after practice that the biggest area the Jayhawks improved from Day 1 to Day 2 was in committing fewer penalties, particularly the five-yard false start and offsides penalties. It’s just one day, but you’d definitely rather see that kind of rapid improvement than watching it take a week or two to get fixed.
**• Speaking of improvement, a guy who looked much better on Day 2 than Day 1 was tight end Kent Taylor.** Taylor looked a step slow on Tuesday and dropped a few balls. On Thursday, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior looked to be moving much better and caught everything thrown his way. I think the guy has a chance to be a big-time weapon for this offense.
**• Practice wrapped with a few different ball security drills.** It was probably about 10-15 minutes and guys rotated through different stations that emphasized taking care of the football. Before spring drills began, Beaty said this would be a big emphasis for the team so it would be a safe bet to predict that every practice will end this way.
**• The Jayhawks are off on Friday** and will return to the practice fields for Practice No. 3 on Saturday morning. That practice will be the first in pads and, as you might expect, Beaty said he and the coaching staff were looking forward to seeing what some of these guys can do in full pads.
