Kansas Football: Open Practice 8/26

It is quite remarkable to see the turnaround in the Kansas football program since Mark Mangino took the reigns. The Jayhawks expect to contend for the Big XII north title, and send the talented senior class out with a bang. As the countdown to kickoff draws near - less than ten days now - the Jayhawks hosted an open practice on Wednesday afternoon. The rain held off just enough for fans to catch a glimpse of this year's squad. Granted, there are still a handful of question marks on both sides of the ball. But only time will tell if this Kansas team is underrated or overhyped. Here are my top three things to keep an eye on as history awaits.

#1: The most talented incoming class ever
The Orange Bowl victory did not lead to immediate success on the recruiting trail. But the Jayhawks more than made up for it this past season. A well-rounded class of 24 signees will try to help build the foundation of a winning tradition. The Jayhawks continued to mine the state of Texas, signing 12 from the Lonestar State. Highlighting the newcomers were Toben Opurum and Bradley McDougald. These two marked recruiting victories over the likes of Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin among others. At his size, Opurum likely would have been a fullback or short yardage back for the Irish. And Ohio State would have redshirted McDougald, before making him a defensive back for sure.

But Kansas' unique recruiting pitch landed both of these potential stars: the chance to be an impact player on offense as a freshman. It will be interesting to see if a successful year will lead to another recruiting boost down the road. It's easy to see the talent level has been consistently upgraded each year. Now I'm not claiming Kansas will compete with the powerhouses of the college football world. But small victories here and there can do wonders for a program on the rise. Let's hope the Jayhawks can snowball this season's accomplishments into success for years to come.

#2: The Juco Effect

Signing players from the junior college ranks somewhat levels the playing field for less prestigious programs: Enter Mark Mangino (2002). The Jayhawks have been quite active in this aspect of recruiting every year. Because of their background, Jucos are always a risk, and a balancing act for coaching staffs. Signing a bunch in one year can be a band-aid for a program, but often hamper future player development. Recently, Kansas has been able to land more talented kids right out of high school, so their reliance on Juco prospects has dwindled. Let's take a historical look at the Jayhawks' Juco recruiting over the course of the Mangino regime.

2002

Thumbs up: Aside from the two disappointing recruits on the defensive line (both 4-star recruits) Mangino's inaugural class included one of his better safties, Rodney Fowler. But most important was landing the cornerstone of the entire program, Bill Whittemore. He transformed the Jayhawks from laughing stock to bowl eligible in two years. Though you won't find his name in the record books too often, no one left a bigger impact on the Jayhawk program over the course of two years. Arguably, KU's recent run of success is a result of Whittemore paving the way.

2003

Thumbs down: This was one of the bigger disappointments during the Mangino era. Where do I begin? How about with 9 out of 11 Juco signees being complete busts? Markeith Childress, Richard Estrella, Phil Tuihalamaka, Johnny Urritia... never heard of 'em. Marcus Hicks and Zach Mims were not highly ranked, but still never made an impact. John McCoy, an admirable military veteran, but never translated well to the gridiron. Chuck Jones and Monroe Weekly actually played in some significant games during their time, but both brought along tons of baggage. Eventually, both left the program, and neither one was worth the headaches. Then there was oft-injured Gabe Toomey, who never quite lived up to the hype from his redshirt freshman days at Oklahoma. At times he performed well - leading tackler (121) as a sophomore. Though never at full strength, Toomey couldn't find a home in the linebacking corps, eventually being replaced by then-true freshman Kevin Kane. Finally, the crown jewel of the class of 2003: Joe Vaughn. After being named Big XII offensive newcomer of the year, Vaughn helped the Jayhawks to their first bowl game since 1995. After graduation, Vaughn remained a current member of the strength and conditioning staff, and remains a great ambassador for the University of Kansas. But not even Vaughn's success can overcome what was an embarassing failure of Jayhawk Jucos in 2003.

2004

Thumbs up: Five out of six were legitimate contributors. The only bust was PK Jeff Edwards. No lost sleep there... Let's start with the cream of the crop: Jermial Ashley and Charleton Keith. In my opinion, they were the best DL teammates since the days of Gilbert Brown and Dana Stubblefield. Theo Baines played pretty well over his two seasons at Kansas. He was clearly an upgrade over the Amadi brothers (ugh). Baines was a decent playmaker, but he never ended up being the shutdown corner most anticipated. Though injuries never allowed Rodney Harris to finish his career, he would have been an All-Big XII caliber safety. So I'm giving Mangino & Co. the benefit of the doubt for landing this diamond in the rough. Same goes for Jason Swanson... though he only played a handful of games, he definitely left some unforgettable memories behind: clinching TD throws to Mark Simmons against Kansas State and Nebraska. He also finished his career on a high note, leading the Jayhawks to a Fort Worth Bowl victory in his final game. Swanson had to overcome his share of demons, but always seemed to come up with the big play in the clutch.

2005

Thumbs up: This class of eight was a mixed bag. Marcus Anderson, Clavens Charles, Jake Cox... bust, bust and bust. The next four defenders all played their fair share. It might sound harsh to label Rodney Allen and Wayne Wilder as "so-so", but both came in with some heavy expectations, and were not nearly as good as their predecessors, Ashley and Keith. Eric Washington suffered a devastating injury against Nebraska and never returned to action. He was talented, but more of a situational sub (not the starter they brought him in to be.) That leaves wideout Brian Murph. He was a definite borderline player, but I decided to award him "stud" status. Murph always drew the opposing team's #1 corner and constantly had to deal with quarterback controversies. Plus, his punt return for a TD in the Fort Worth Bowl put an early nail in Houston's coffin that night. He was a great playmaker, but never had much help around him.

2006

Thumbs down: Strike one. Strike two. Strike three. And one for good measure. The Jayhawks completely whiffed on Jucos in 2006. Arceo and McCoy never saw the field. Blake Bueltel couldn't handle the physicality of Division I football, after attempting to play cornerback weighing only 165 pounds. He quit the team before conference play opened up, after losing his starting spot to then-freshman Anthony Webb (ouch). Mark Jones definitely looked the part. Some thought he had the potential to play professionally one day. Jones never could beat out starter Derek Fine (which was okay by me). He never amounted to anything more than an extra blocker on goal line packages, mainly because he had meat hooks for hands.

2007

Thumbs up: The Jayhawks didn't need much this year, but brought in a trio highly talented prospects. Chet Hartley was a fixture on the offensive line during his entire career. And despite injuries (recurring theme?) Kendrick Harper exceeded most expectations. A great compliment to Aqib Talib, Harper could lay some wood too, which holds a lot of weight in my book. Though Patrick Resby wasn't a bust by any means, it still baffles me how he couldn't beat out then-sophomore Justin Thornton, who got burned left and right all season long. Though never an impact player, Resby was a great teammate and contributed as a reserve, as well as on special teams.

2008

Thumbs down: No offense to Roderick Harris and Alonso Rojas. They still have two years remaining to contribute, but nothing they do can neutralize the gigantic mistakes that were Jocques Crawford and Nathan D'Cuhna. The hype for both of these two was ridiculous coming in. The National Juco POY and a mammoth offensive tackle that would protect Todd Reesing for his final two years in Lawrence. That was the type of impact Jayhawk fans expected from these two 4-star prospects. What we ended up with was a big-mouthed troublemaker and an overmatched Australian. Neither is currently with the program, and this was clearly a case of "addition by subtraction" for the Jayhawks. Good riddance...

2009

So what can we expect from these five newcomers? Given our history of Juco recruits, 25% became studs (10/40), 22% were so-so's (9/40) and 53% ended up being busts (21/40). Statistically speaking, we should end up with (1) stud, (1) so-so and (3) busts. Though none of them appear to be starters on the current depth chart, they will certainly get opportunities to prove themselves. This could be a sign of the Jayhawks' talent improvement from top to bottom. At first, Mangino brought in Juco players because the team needed immediate help (i.e. starters) at that position. Now, it appears he can be more selective, and bring in Juco players as a recruiting supplement than out of necessity. I am anxious to see if there will be a change in KU's recruiting dynamic now that Bill Snyder has returned to Manhattan, who is known for his steady, successful reliance on Juco players.

#3: What are realistic expectations for 2009-2010 Jayhawk football?
The days of morale victories are over. It's true that KU returned most of their skilled players from a year ago (and most of the other teams in the north didn't). But the Jayhawks still need to improve as a team in order to finally make it to the Big XII Championship game on December 5th. During the Orange Bowl season two years ago, KU only lost one conference game and still managed to miss out. As I look at the schedule, it will be a huge disappointment if the Jayhawks do not start the season 6-0. I know that games @UTEP and Southern Miss are not the typical non-con cupcakes we've come to expect over the years. But they are winnable games, especially for a team with north division title aspirations.

Conference road wins have been few and far between during Mangino's tenure. Getting wins in Boulder and Lubbock will be pivotal, especially if KU ends up dropping any winnable home games. Once again, the south division is expected to dominate the conference. So head-to-head matchups against north opponents Missouri and Nebraska should ultimately determine the north title. As far as expectations go, the Jayhawks should be disappointed with anything less than 9 regular season wins. Hopefully, they make their first Big XII Championship game appearance along the way. And who knows, could the Jayhawks shock the college football world again and rekindle the magic from 2007? It's certainly a possibility... something I have never said before with a straight face.