"I’ve talked to different people who have coached in this conference for many years like I have, and there wasn’t one assistant coach that I talked to that didn’t believe that KU had everything, with the commitment we have now, to be a successful program and I think we can be."
Mangino will try to do what Terry Allen couldn’t do in his five seasons as the Jayhawks’ head coach. Allen was 21-35 at Kansas, and his team bottomed out at 3-8 in 2001 -- the worst record in his five-year tenure.
QUARTERBACKS
When spring practice started, the Jayhawks had seven players vying for the starting quarterback’s job that opened when Mario Kinsey was kicked off the team in December for violating athletic department policies.
Kinsey, who would have been a sophomore, started seven games last season, splitting the starting job with junior Zach Dyer , the likely starter in 2002.
Dyer (6-3, 205) started four games and completed 43-of-89 passes for 460 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted four times. Dyer also rushed for 87 yards with a net 40 yards and scored one rushing touchdown.
Junior Bill Whittemore (6-1, 190), a transfer from Fort Scott (Kansas) Community College, was also working with the first-string offense early in the spring. Sophomore Kevin Long (6-5, 210), senior Jonas Weatherbie (6-2, 205) and freshman Brian Luke (6-5, 210) were working with the second-string offense.
Also in the hunt was junior Jeff Reinert (5-9, 190). Junior quarterback Kyle Cernech (6-2, 220) was moved to tight end in the spring.
In the spring game, Luke completed 5-of-8 passes for 52 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions; Weahterbie was 2-of-6 for 14 yards with no touchdowns and one interception; Whittemore was 2-of-2 for 46 yards with one touchdown and one interception; and Reinert was 2-of-3 for 16 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Weatherbie played two games at quarterback last season and completed 1-of-2 passes for five yards.
RUNNING BACKS
The Jayhawks’ starting backfield returns intact with the return of tailback Reggie Duncan (5-9, 215) and fullback Austine Nwabuisi (6-1, 230).
Duncan, a junior, started nine games last season and led the team in rushing with 739 yards, averaging 4.1 yards on 181 carries. He was ninth in the Big 12 in rushing. He rushed for three touchdowns and caught four passes for four yards.
Nwabuisi started four games at fullback and was used primarily as a blocker. He rushed for 29 yards on four carries.
Their starting jobs were not guaranteed in the spring, however.
Red-shirt freshman Clark Green (5-11, 200) was impressive in the spring, while sophomore Dan Coke (6-1, 210) and junior Harold McClendon (5-11, 190) also got some carries.
Sophomore Marshall Chiles (5-9, 190) will also be a factor in the fall but was limited in the spring after having shoulder surgery in the off-season. Chiles played well in the second half of the year, but missed the last two games with the shoulder injury. He was third on the team in rushing with 133 yards, averaging 3.9 yards per carry.
Duncan was the leading rusher in the spring game with 84 yards on 15 carries. Green rushed for 75 yards on 20 carries and scored on a 2-yard run. McClendon gained 53 yards on seven carries and scored on a 19-yard run.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
During the off-season, the Jayhawks’ passing game received a huge boost when senior wide receiver Harrison Hill (5-11, 200) was granted a sixth year of eligibility.
Hill suffered a fractured scapula bone in his left shoulder while returning a kick in the second game of the 2001 season against UCLA. With 115 career catches, Hill ranks third in Kansas history. His 1,535 receiving yards rank sixth in the program’s history.
Hill has started 34 of his 36 games at Kansas. The 2001 season was his second season as a medical red-shirt. As a freshman in 1997, Hill suffered a broken left ankle in the second game.
An outstanding athlete, Hill has a 34.5-inch vertical leap and played on the Kansas baseball team during the 1999 season. His best season was in 2000 when he caught 47 passes for 591 yards and one touchdown. He had four touchdown catches as a sophomore in 1999 when he started all 12 games.
His return will give the Jayhawks’ receiving corps a much-needed boost with the loss of Roger Ross and Termaine Fulton, the team’s top two receivers from 2001. They combined for 69 catches and 890 receiving yards.
Ross, who started nine games, had 39 catches for 493 yards and two touchdowns and Fulton had 30 catches for 397 yards and one touchdown. Fulton started all 11 games.
Hill was full speed in the spring.
Joining Hill will be senior Byron Gassaway (6-4, 210), junior Derick Mills (5-7, 165), sophomore Brandon Rideau (6-3, 170), senior Marcellus Jones (5-11, 195) and senior Barry Goodrich (6-1, 190).
Gassaway was the team’s third-leading receiver with 18 catches for 200 yards and one touchdown.
Mills, who played in nine games, was fourth with 16 catches for 268 yards and a team-high three touchdown catches.
The top two tight ends return -- senior David Hurst (6-3, 260) and junior Adrian Jones (6-5, 255). Hurst has been a regular in the lineup for three years and is a good blocker. Jones had seven catches for 68 yards and one touchdown last season.
OFFENSIVE LINE
One of the biggest concerns heading into the 2002 season is the offensive line, which returned two starters from last season.
Gone are starting tackle Justin Hartwig, guard Bob Smith and center Nick Smith. The returnees are senior tackle Justin Sands (6-7, 300) and senior guard Kyle Grady (6-5, 305).
Sands, a converted defensive lineman, has lettered for three seasons and started all 11 games last season.
Grady started 10 of the 11 games after battling injuries as a sophomore and red-shirt freshman. He can play guard or tackle.
Senior Gabe Rosalis (6-5, 295) is a leading candidate to fill the tackle spot left by Hartwig. Senior John Harvey (6-6, 300) entered spring practice slotted as the starter at Smith’s guard position.
After missing last season with a shoulder injury, senior Tony Damiani (6-4, 285) will also contend for the starting job at guard. Junior Danny Lewis (6-5, 290), who was red-shirted last season after transferring from Phoenix Community College, should also be a factor at tackle, along with red-shirt freshman Joey Guzman (6-4, 280).
Senior center Greg Nicks (6-4,300) is a potential starter in place of Nick Smith and sophomore Nick McCaslin (6-1, 290) will contend for time at tackle.
Junior college transfer Tony Coker (6-6, 320) will also contend for a starting job. Coker originally signed with Kansas in 2000 and was red-shirted. He left for Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College, where he played last season.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Seven starters return to the defensive front, but there are only two starters among them. Both tackles have gone.
The biggest loss will be All-Big 12 tackle Nate Dwyer, a three-year starter. Dwyer led the interior linemen in tackles last season with 51 tackles, including nine tackles for loss and three sacks. He started all 11 games last season.
Ervin Holloman, who started five games at right tackle, has also departed. Holloman had 39 tackles last season. Marquis Hayes started the other four games in which the Jayhawks employed two tackles; Hayes finished with 46 tackles, including three tackles for loss and one sack.
Senior Brock Teddleton (6-6, 340) moved from the offensive line to defense last fall and earned playing time. Teddleton could get the chance to start in 2001. Last season, he played in seven games and had eight tackles.
Junior Tony Strickland (6-6, 270) has good athleticism and should also figure into the plans at tackle. He played in eight games last season and had nine tackles and one sack.
Red-shirt freshmen Tim Allen (6-0, 270) and Keith Watts (6-1, 270) will also be in the tackle rotation when the fall starts.
The ends are solid with the return of starters Charlie Dennis and Travis Watkins.
Dennis (6-5, 235), a senior, finished the 2001 season with 44 tackles, including six tackles for loss and three sacks. Watkins (6-4, 270) was an impact player as a red-shirt freshman, finishing with 38 tackles, three sacks and two tackles for losses. He started 10 of the 11 games.
LINEBACKERS
The Jayhawks must replace middle linebacker Marcus Rogers and strong-side linebacker Algie Atkinson, two of the team’s better defenders. Both started last season.
Rogers led the team in tackles with 97, including three tackles for loss -- despite playing only nine games. Atkinson was fifth in tackles with 71 and had team-highs in tackles for loss with 18 and in sacks with 11. He also had five pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
Senior Leo Etienne (6-0, 205) returns after starting the first nine games at weak-side linebacker. Etienne was second on the team in tackles with 94 and had eight tackles for loss and two sacks. He also intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble and had five pass breakups. He spent two seasons at junior college before transferring to Kansas, and this could be the year he earns All-Big 12 honors.
Senior Greg Cole (6-2, 235) started the last two games at weak-side linebacker, and the Jayhawk coaching staff will likely find a spot for him this season. He’s made moves before. After playing wide receiver and tight end in high school, Cole moved to defensive end when he arrived at Kansas, then eventually moved to linebacker.
Sophomore Banks Floodman (6-2, 205) appears the likely candidate to start in Rogers’ spot at middle linebacker. Floodman started the last two games when Rogers was injured.
Floodman finished with 41 tackles -- including 36 in the last three games -- while Cole had 39 tackles and five sacks in 11 games.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Two weeks into spring practice, the Jayhawks were still learning the new defensive system. In the secondary, Mangino and secondary coach Pat Henderson were evaluating the personnel and looking for the right combinations.
They had to replace two key starters -- four-year starting cornerback Andrew Davison and free safety Jamarei Bryant, who started 11 games in 2001.
Davison had 51 tackles last season, including three sacks, and had a team-high 12 pass breakups and three interceptions. He also recovered a fumble and forced a fumble.
Bryant was fourth on the team in tackles with 85 and had five breakups.
Leading the secondary will be senior strong safety Jake Letourneau (6-2, 200), who was third on the team in tackles last season with 87 and had two tackles for loss and two interceptions. Letourneau combines outstanding speed with an aggressive style. He spent his first two years at quarterback, but made a quick adjustment to safety.
Now, Letourneau and his counterparts are making another adjustment, this time to a new system.
Junior Carl Ivey (5-11, 175) should retain his job at right cornerback after starting all 11 games last season. Ivey finished with 47 tackles, two interceptions and eight breakups.
Senior Matt Jordan (5-10, 190) may have the edge on the starting job at the other cornerback. Jordan, a three-year letterman, played in 10 games last season.
Sophomore Johnny McCoy (6-1, 185) will also vie for the job at cornerback, but will likely be a backup. McCoy, who has good athleticism, played mostly special teams last season.
Junior Remuise Johnson (5-7, 170) has good cover skills and should also be a factor in the secondary.
SPECIAL TEAMS
With the departures of receivers Ross and Fulton, the Jayhawks lost their top two returners from the 2001 season. However, the return of Hill should fill a lot of that void.
Ross returned 25 punts and averaged 10.8 yards per return. Hill had one return for 15 yards before the injury.
Fulton returned 15 punts for a 22.1-yard average.
Gassaway will be a top candidate to take over as the full-time kick returner after averaging 15.8 yards on eight returns last season. Mills returned seven kicks for a 13.3-yard average last year.
Kansas ranked fifth in the Big 12 in punt returns but struggled on kickoff returns, averaging only 17.8 yard per return, which ranked 11th in the league.
The Jayhawks were eighth in net punting.
RECRUITING CLASS
Mangino focused on speed and skill positions with his first recruiting class at Kansas.
Among the 23 players signed were 12 offensive and defensive backs and receivers. Nine of the signees have been clocked in the 40 at 4.5 seconds or better.
Bill Whittemore, a transfer from Fort Scott Community College, was in contention for the backup quarterback’s job in the spring. He threw for 2,082 yards and 16 touchdowns with eight interceptions in junior college last season. After his high school career at Brentwood Academy near Nashville, Tenn., Whittemore started one season at Tennessee-Martin as red-shirt freshman before going to junior college.
Other quarterbacks signed were Joe Hogan (6-3, 180) of Sallisaw (Mich.) High School and Nick Reid (6-4, 210) of Derby (Kansas) High School.
Hogan threw for 1,800 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior last season, leading his team to a berth in the Class 4A state championship game.
Reid doubled as a defensive back, but was recruited as a quarterback. He set a school record for career total offense with 4,171 yards and threw for 16 touchdowns and ran for 13 during his career. He started three seasons.
The four wide receivers have good speed and athleticism -- Charles Gordon (5-11, 175) of Santa Monica High School in Carson, Calif.; Jerome Lewis (5-11, 180) of Turner High in Carrollton, Texas; Dominic Roux (6-0, 175) of Serra High in Los Angeles; and Mark Simmons (5-11, 175) of DeSoto High in DeSoto, Texas.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
At almost every position, Kansas lost starters from the 2001 team, and that might not be all bad.
The Jayhawks had the worst defense in the Big 12, ranking last in rushing defense, last in total defense, last in scoring defense and ninth in pass efficiency defense. Maybe the turnover will do the Jayhawks some good.
Kansas has two good defensive ends in Watkins and Dennis, but must replace two starting down linemen. Etienne will lead the linebackers and several backups will vie for the job vacated by middle linebacker Rogers and strong-side linebacker Atkinson.
The Jayhawks spent the spring learning the new system under Mangino and two new coordinators, Young (defense) and Quartaro (offense). Can the players learn the playbook and use it effectively in 2002? Kansas fans will find out soon.
Dyer seems to have earned the starting quarterback’s job in the spring, and he’s a capable quarterback. Kinsey was a talent, but couldn’t stay out of trouble.
The offensive line was rebuilt in the spring -- another concern entering the season. Wide receiver Harrison Hill will lead the receivers, thanks to the NCAA granting him a sixth year of eligibility, but the passing game needs to improve considerably.
Mangino has been around successful programs for quite a while -- 11 seasons at Oklahoma and Kansas State -- and he knows got a tough job ahead. The Jayhawks have a long way to go and plenty of questions to answer.
