Can Jayhawks top ‘07 run?

Although no one asked directly Tuesday during Kansas Jayhawks football head coach Mark Mangino's 10-minute questions at the Big 12 Media Day event, many of the scribes tried to nibble a response to perhaps the most boiling question on their minds: “How do you top 2007?”
    The Jayhawks finished 12-1 and recorded an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech, and the feat was still considered unbelievable almost a year after it had taken place. Mangino felt he knew all along that Kansas was going to shock a lot of people, even putting away talk of a poor non-conference schedule and getting the Jayhawks to the No. 1 ranking on both main national polls.
    But Mangino stressed more about looking to the future and the intention of the Jayhawks of 2008 to show that 2007 wasn't a fluke.
    “You know, coming off a pretty good season last year, expectations are very high for our program in Lawrence, in the state of Kansas, and around the country. And we're extremely excited about that,” Mangino said.
    Nine starters return to the Jayhawks' defense, which was a key part of the success in 2007. Kansas gave up an average of 94.8 yards rushing per game and intercepted 23 passes on the season. Kansas also returns six starters on offense, including quarterback Todd Reesing. Reesing (3,486 yards, 33 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions) goes from battling for the starting QB position to being the main playmaker and stabilizer for the Jayhawks this season; and although he'll be the focus of fans and opponents alike, it's not necessarily how he's looking at his situation.
“Everyone plays well as a team, and I think that's why we played so well last year,” Reesing said. “We didn't have a bunch of individuals; we didn't have guys who wanted the spotlight. It really came down to how those 11 guys are going to play as one. Anytime you can do that, then you have a chance."
    One area that will be questioned will be the running back spot. Brandon McAnderson graduated and former Salina Central back Jake Sharp will have company in the back with Jocques Crawford, who was the NJCAA offensive player of the year at Blinn (Texas) Community College.
    Mangino said the running game will be fine, considering the returning players and the addition of Crawford, who gained 3,004 yards and scored 27 touchdowns in his two years with Blinn.
“We have a few candidates for the position,” the head coach said.
    Senior linebacker Mike Rivera said even if something happens and the Jayhawks falter some time during the regular season, the big picture could still mean the level of Kansas football will be solidified by the time January rolls around. That means, however, that the focus the players have at the start of the season can't waver as the year rolls along.
    "We have to focus on the first game; (and) we have to focus on two-a-days in the summer. We have to get through those little mountains before we get to the big stuff. It is nice people are asking about if we're going to go to a bowl game, considering it's been up-and-down where we go to a bowl game, then we don't, and then we go (to the Orange Bowl).”
    And Mangino says winning is part of the key to getting players who are good for the program - on and off the field - but that the basic philosophy will remain the same during his time with the program. One example is former Dodge City High quarterback Kale Pick, who originally committed to Arkansas before changing his mind and signing with the Jayhawks.
    Pick graduated early so he could already start working with the Kansas offense in the 2008 spring drills.
    “I want to find people who fit Kansas best,” Mangino said. “Kale is an outstanding athlete and we have great hopes for him. He's a talented guy, and he's not small. He's a big, thick kid and a good athlete. We recruited Kale Pick six years ago and we recruited him now. He's a good football player.”