Rock Chalk Talk: FanShots

The Drive Chart for Saturday's KU-La Tech football contest. All thanks for putting this (and all...

rockchalk — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:08:11 -0000

Full Screen Version

The Drive Chart for Saturday's KU-La Tech football contest. All thanks for putting this (and all other games' drive charts together) go to Joel of Rocky Top Talk. It is pretty fun to watch, and is certainly a useful tool in analyzing the game.

More wordy-stuff coming later on tonight. Like, way late.

This is my favorite play of the entire game. If you are looking for a single play to sum up...

rockchalk — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:58:08 -0000

This is my favorite play of the entire game. If you are looking for a single play to sum up Mangino's philosphy, this might be it. 99% of college football players give up on that play at the 30, or at least slow down enough so, while it appears that they are going hard, they aren't. Not so with Stuckey. Oh, and by the way, he busted through the O-Line the very next play.

The NCAA Eligibility Center has certified Kansas men's basketball players Markieff and Marcus...

rockchalk — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:25:21 -0000

The NCAA Eligibility Center has certified Kansas men's basketball players Markieff and Marcus Morris eligible for competition beginning immediately, KU announced Thursday. The twins, both freshmen from Philadelphia, Pa., will enroll and start attending classes Friday.

KU Sports -- Morris Twins Declared Eligible (YAY!)

Awesome news. Now, hopefully they can get up to speed quickly, and by the time the regular season rolls around all will be well.

Kansas University senior receiver Dexton Fields will miss Saturday's game against visiting...

rockchalk — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:49:48 -0000

Kansas University senior receiver Dexton Fields will miss Saturday's game against visiting Louisiana Tech due to injury, coach Mark Mangino said Wednesday evening.

"He won't play this week," said Mangino, who added that he hopes to have Fields back for the Jayhawks' Sept. 12 game against South Florida. "I can tell you that there's no fracture, but he's in no way ready to play this Saturday, for sure."

...

In his place, true freshman Daymond Patterson will likely see increased playing time. In his first collegiate game last week, Patterson caught three passes for 22 yards, in addition to returning a punt for a touchdown.

Meanwhile, starting right tackle Jeremiah Hatch, who sat out last week's game with an apparent injury, has spent the week practicing with the team, and could play Saturday.

KU Sports -- Fields to miss La Tech Game

Daymond Patterson is a ridiculous punt returner. I love him. Oh, and we still need some nicknames....

rockchalk — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:47:19 -0000

Daymond Patterson is a ridiculous punt returner. I love him. Oh, and we still need some nicknames. Put all ideas here, and then we we will have a vote for the winner.

9-2-08 Press Conference Quotes

Denverjhawk — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:02:46 -0000

9-2-08 Press Conference Quotes

Quotes from Mangino and players following opening week win

Future Forcast: Gary Bedore's observations after Canadian exhibition games

James Quinn — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:59:26 -0000

Future Forcast: Gary Bedore's observations after Canadian exhibition games

Bedore gives his observations on the KU team's performance during their Canadian trip player by player. He loved Aldrich:

The 6-foot-11 sophomore appears primed for a breakout season. A rebounding machine, he grabbed 18 rebounds versus McGill, eight against Carleton and seven in just 13 minutes against Ottawa. He had two of the most exciting plays of the trip, catching a lob from Brady Morningstar and jamming to open the Carleton game and plucking a midcourt steal and racing in for an vicious dunk again versus Carleton. Pretty agile stuff for a 250-pounder.

All his write-ups are pretty optimistic making the evaluation a bit too rosey.

Jayhawk Basketball Squeeks By in Canadian Exhibition Opener

Denverjhawk — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:26:09 -0000

Jayhawk Basketball Squeeks By in Canadian Exhibition Opener

Close one...

Just a little "heads-up" here. The Ralphie Report has joined the SB Nations family. The RR covers...

James Quinn — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:44:34 -0000

Just a little "heads-up" here. The Ralphie Report has joined the SB Nations family. The RR covers the Colorado Buffalos. It is always good to have more Big-12 coverage in the family.

CJ Henry, Xavier's Big Brother, Commits to Memphis Over Kansas

rockchalk — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:44:13 -0000

CJ Henry, Xavier's Big Brother, Commits to Memphis Over Kansas

This is bad news. Not as much for the loss of C.J. Henry, but moreso for the potential ramifications it could have on Xavier Henry. I mean, who wouldn't want to play with your brother in high-stakes college basketball, and Memphis was already a finalist.

This does not bode well...

Huldon Tharp, an outside linebacker from Mulvane High, has orally committed to play at Kansas next...

rockchalk — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:13:44 -0000

Huldon Tharp, an outside linebacker from Mulvane High, has orally committed to play at Kansas next season, according to the Web site Rivals.com.

...

Rated as the seventh-best player in the state of Kansas, Tharp endured an ACL injury earlier this summer that caused some teams to back off in recruiting. His decision to attend Kansas, he said, was based largely on the school’s persistent interest even after the injury.

KU Sports -- LB Huldon Tharp Commits to Kansas

H/T to Denverjhawk in the FanShots...

Huldon Tharp Commits

Denverjhawk — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:15:53 -0000

Huldon Tharp Commits

Yesterday evening the Kansas Jayhawks recieved there 15 commitment for the 2009 recruiting class in Mulvane Kansas Linebacker Huldon Tharp. I am a big fan of keeping in state talent and can't argue with this one.

KU basketball player accused in BB gun incident

James Quinn — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:40:08 -0000

KU basketball player accused in BB gun incident

Markieff Morris, an incoming freshman basketball player at Kansas, is facing a battery charge after allegedly firing a BB gun from his dorm window.
...
Here is a seemingly ironic quote on the matter by Bill Self: "We take this matter very seriously," Self told the Journal-World on Wednesday. "Poor judgment was used by bringing an Airsoft gun, (one) that can be purchased at Wal-Mart, on campus that can shoot plastic BBs."

Kansas University freshman basketball player Travis Releford has been deemed academically eligible...

rockchalk — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:54:05 -0000

Kansas University freshman basketball player Travis Releford has been deemed academically eligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse, KU coach Bill Self said Thursday.

...

"Sherron will not practice for a while," Self said. "His conditioning isn’t such where he can do that. I’d be surprised if he’s able to do much at all this period (nine days of practice leading up to trip to Canada).

"He is a month behind where I thought he’d be at this stage," Self added. "He is not at the point where he is close to practicing."

KU Sports

Good news and bad news. Also, the Morris twins have yet to be deemed academically eligible or ineligible. That is the scarier eligibility issue; I never saw anything that would indicate that Releford wouldn't qualify.

BlogPoll Released -- KU #15

rockchalk — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:59:29 -0000

BlogPoll Released -- KU #15

In the most recent BlogPoll, Kansas was ranked #15 as opposed to the #14 ranking of the AP Poll. So, yea, bloggers and media alike pretty much think the same thing about Kansas.

One interesting note. Kansas finished third in the Highest Standard Deviation with a score of 4.9, meaning that bloggers disagreed on Kansas more than everyone else save South Florida and Oregon. That makes sense, as some view Kansas as a fringe-Top 25 team while others view us as a legitimate big boy in college football, at least for the time being.

Kansas redshirt freshman placekicker Stephen Hoge has left the program, his father, John Hoge, said...

rockchalk — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:09:32 -0000

Kansas redshirt freshman placekicker Stephen Hoge has left the program, his father, John Hoge, said on Monday night.

"He wanted to concentrate on academics," John Hoge said. "He wants to go to medical school. It was just a matter of time consumption."

***UPDATE***

The family is currently in the process of petitioning the NCAA for a waiver that would allow Branstetter to compete for the Jayhawks this season.

"The letter is in the (KU) compliance office and they’re supposed to send it into the NCAA (Tuesday)," said Gerald Branstetter, who was first informed of the problem Thursday. "I’ve heard it could be as quick as 24 hours, or it could be weeks. For Kansas’ sake, and Jacob’s, I hope it’s 24 hours and he gets to play."

KU Sports

UPDATE: Now, it looks like Branstetter won't be available either. This whole situation sucks, as we are sinking or swimming on Grady Fowler.

Hoge Leaves the team...

Denverjhawk — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:28:50 -0000

Hoge Leaves the team...

Not sure if I should be concerned or not he's a kicker that hasn't played yet...but the kicking game is probably an area of concern.

Patterson likely to forego redshirt Daymond Patterson, a true freshman who practiced Friday as the...

rockchalk — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:27:29 -0000

Patterson likely to forego redshirt

Daymond Patterson, a true freshman who practiced Friday as the No. 1 punt returner and a second-string receiver, is in position to play immediately, Mangino said Friday.

"He has the kind of speed that can change a game around," Mangino said. "He’s still learning. He’s picking up things. But I have to say that he’s a good student of the game. ... So he’s putting himself in position where he’s going to play."

Punt returning was widely considered the team’s biggest weakness a season ago, and the addition of Patterson — who earned first-team all-Texas honors as a kick returner at North Mesquite High School — might prove to be a solution to the problem.

KU Sports -- KU Football Notebook

KU football ranked 14th in AP preseason poll

James Quinn — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:23:56 -0000

KU football ranked 14th in AP preseason poll

KU is joined by four other Big 12 teams in the top 14: Oklahoma is fourth, Missouri is sixth, Texas is 11th and Texas Tech is 12th.

Georgia is the preseason No. 1, earning the top spot in the AP preseason poll for the first time in school history.

ESPN Big 12 Football Blog

Denverjhawk — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:37:33 -0000

ESPN Big 12 Football Blog

espn.com is running a blog for each conference. Pretty general stuff but it does have some nice insight to other teams around the league, injury reports, etc.