Hope Springs Eternal

Source: KU Sports

The hubbub in Lawrence is not Kansas Football, and justifiably so, because Tyshawn "Turnover-less" Taylor and the greatest coach in the country, Bill Self, have piloted the team to the school's 14th Final Four and 8th straight Big 12 Championship. Kansas bettered the state of North Carolina (both the Wolfpack of NC State and the Tarheels of North Carolina) and former head coach Roy Williams (with a triangle and two defense that I'm still not sure if he has figured out yet) on the way. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge their accomplishments, so football is going to have to simmer on the back burner while basketball turns up the heat. But, in case you were wondering, Spring Ball starts tomorrow and the Spring Game is but a month away.


Although it is littered with new faces, it is not hard to anticipate what we are going to get from the offense... productivity (especially against a fairly green defense in the first few weeks of practice). It might not be terribly flashy for now, but Weis will have the unit gelling at some point in the spring, with a nice mix of run and pass and a veteran offensive line he can rely on that should help the transition for the newcomers at the skill positions. Headlined by quarterback Dayne Crist, the Jayhawks should get a more reliable passing attack than last year out of their signal caller (no disrespect to Jordan Webb) and a bit of a running threat when things break down. Add in Justin McCay (from OU), Daymond Patterson (from injury), and Josh Ford (from the JUCO ranks) and Crist suddenly has a lot of lethal weapons at his disposal. A formidable rushing attack will help, led by James Sims, Brandon Bourbon, and Taylor Cox, and a game changer, Tony Pierson, will add another dimension to the offense. Jake Heaps will be fun to watch, too. My how things can change in a year. Just last spring, the only scholarship quarterbacks Kansas had were Jordan Webb and Quinn Mecham, both undersized and inexpert. Now, Kansas has two NFL-type quarterbacks, and a backup in Turner Baty who could go toe to toe with any other backup quarterback in the country.

The defense, on the contrary, has myriad of question marks. Who will replace Steven Johnson's presence in the middle of the defense? Who will step up opposite of Greg Brown at cornerback? Who will get any pressure on the quarterback outside of Toben Opurum? Thankfully, reinforcements come in during the summer, namely Jordan Tavai at DT, Schyler Miles at MIKE, and Josh Williams at DE, so although this spring will be telling, it won't be whole story.

We all know that the Spring Game is really just a glorified scrimmage for us, but for the players it is a chance to secure or earn a spot on the two-deep. Although the pre-spring depth chart is concentrated with upperclassmen, Weis made it clear that nobody will have a spot handed to them. I just want to touch on some of the position battles to keep your eye on.

Source: KU Sports

On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback is the closest thing to a lock, but Baty and Cummings will fight for the backup spot. HB should feature a mix of Sims, Pierson, and Bourbon, who will all get their fair share of carries, but who gets the bulk is still in question. The offensive line should be fairly stagnant, but keep an eye on Dylan Admire and Luke Luhrsen to make a push for playing time with strong springs. TE will be a dog fight with Mike Ragone, Jimmay Mundine, Trent Smiley, Neal Barlow and company trying to prove their worth. WR will be hectic, as well, with names like Pick, McCay, Patterson, Beshears, Omigie, Shephard, Ford, Matthews, and Turzilli tossed around.

Defensively is where we may see the most vicissitude. The defensive line is held together by duct tape and Elmer's glue right now, so when the Juco transfers and high schoolers arrive I think it could take an about-face. Keba Agostinho will likely move inside where he belongs, Shane Smith will likely see the bench (where he belongs, although I love his effort), and Julius Green, the much maligned Julius Green that has been labeled the next Quinton Woods bust, has actually put on some weight, so he could be a factor on the inside.  

At linebacker, Darius Willis has to be on edge. First off, does he have the lateral quickness to even play the MIKE position? Secondly, Schyler Miles is not going to pull any punches. He will come in and take his job if need be, so Willis better have improved his game from last fall. Tunde Bakare likely impressed the coaches in the strength room, but who's to say how long they will be able to tolerate his incompetency on the field. Or maybe he studied up this winter? Michael Reynolds and Collin Garrett were talking points during the off-season when I was asked for reasons to be optimistic about KU football, and I still stick by that, although Reynolds shrunk 3 inches over the brumal break (6'4" under Gill; 6'1" under Weis). Cross my fingers, but injury prone Huldon Tharp might go down again. Either way, Reynolds and Garrett will be in the running for a starting spot.

In the secondary, you have got Greg Brown (Campo's favorite), Bradley McDougald (my favorite), and the field. Those two ball-hawks are a cut above the rest of the secondary, and unless their skills have abated, it will remain that way through fall camp. Who takes the vacant cornerback spot? Tyler Patmon? Chris Robinson? Greg Allen when he gets here? A fifth year guy yet to be named? And who takes the SS spot? Lubbock Smith (and will we get the freshman stud Lubbock or the junior non-existent Lubbock)? Victor Simmons? He made obvious strides during the season. I think we will have a pretty good idea after the Spring Game.

Also, you may notice that Brandon Bourbon, John Williams, and Kevin Young seem lower on the pre-spring depth chart than you may have anticipated. All three of them could very well make the opening day starting lineup, after all. So, what is going on then? No need to worry, the three are simply going to be limited in contact because of injury (the preventative stage). It is not a manifestation of a Charlie Weis dog-house, although I am sure we will see some in the fall.

PRE-SPRING DEPTH CHART


OFFENSE
QB Dayne Crist / Jake Heaps
HB James Sims / Tony Pierson / Brandon Bourbon
WR (X) Kale Pick / Justin McCay / Chris Omigie
WR (Z) Daymond Patterson / D.J. Beshears  / JaCorey Shephard
TE (Y) Jimmay Mundine / Trent Smiley
F (21) Nick Sizemore / Ed Fink
F (11) D.J. Beshears / Marquis Jackson
F (12) Trent Smiley
Y (10) Kale Pick / Christian Matthews
LT Tanner Hawkinson / Chad Kolumber
LG Duane Zlatnik / Damon Martin
C Trevor Marrongelli / Dylan Admire
RG Gavin Howard / Luke Luhrsen
RT Riley Spencer / Bryan Peters


DEFENSE
DE Keba Agostinho / Ben Goodman
NT Shane Smith / Randall Dent / John Williams
DT Pat Lewandowski / Julius Green / Kevin Young
DE Toben Opurum / Josh Richardson
SAM Tunde Bakare / Michael Reynolds
MIKE Darius Willis / Tyler Hunt
WILL Huldon Tharp / Collin Garrett
CB Tyler Patmon / Dexter Linton
SS Lubbock Smith / Ray Mitchell
FS Bradley McDougald / Victor Simmons
CB Greg Brown / Chris Robinson / Corrigan Powell



SPECIALISTS
PK Alex Mueller / Ron Doherty
P Ron Doherty / Victor McBride
LS Tanner Gibas / Justin Carnes