Friday, October 3, 2008
It’s the kind of situation that no coach ever wants to be in.
When senior cornerback Kendrick Harper was taken off the field on a stretcher during Kansas’ game against Louisiana Tech, there were questions of a possible neck or head injury. After the game was finished, coach Mark Mangino was still waiting for word on his status.
“Right now we don’t have a whole lot of information. I can just tell you he’s in very good care,” he said. “We want to talk to his family before, you know, stuff is printed off all over the Internet.”
In a great sigh of relief for everyone, Harper was released from the hospital the following evening. There was even a slight possibility at the time that Harper would be ready for the next week’s game against South Florida.
Erring on a side of caution, Harper would sit out that game and the next against Sam Houston State. Though Harper has recovered, the Jayhawks pass defense has not. Since then, Kansas has had to rely on a platoon of freshmen Isaiah Barfield, Corrigan Powell and Ryan Murphy. The results have been abysmal.
With Harper slated to play for the first time since the injury tomorrow as Kansas opens its conference season against Iowa State, the timing couldn’t be better. Make no mistake, Kendrick Harper’s return to the gridiron may be the biggest key to the Jayhawks’ success in the Big 12.
It’s uncertain whether Harper will be up to speed this weekend after the injury, but there is no question about the joke that is Kansas’ passing defense. In its last two games, Kansas has given up an average of 339 yards. Louisiana Tech, who has the worst passing defense in the nation, has given up an average of 348.67 yards in its three games. In Kansas’ first two games, the team surrendered an average of 96 yards.
After South Florida’s junior quarterback and preseason Davey O’Brien Award candidate, Matt Grothe, threw for 338 yards and two touchdowns, engineering a comeback against the Jayhawks, it was arguable that they were just shown up by a ranked team on its home turf.
But when Kansas gave up 340 yards to Division I-FCS Sam Houston State at home the following week, there was a cause for concern. Play after play, Kansas’ three freshmen cornerbacks were beat on vertical routes, making the Bearkats’ receivers look like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens.
“I’d say on a couple of those plays, (associate athletic director) Larry Keating and I could have got underneath the coverage faster than the corners did,” Mangino said sarcastically after the game.
Statistics are misleading and the Jayhawks did intercept Bomar three times, but Kansas cannot afford to give up that kind of yardage in conference play.
Texas’ Colt McCoy, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Missouri’s Chase Daniel and Kansas State’s Josh Freeman all rank in the top 10 in passing efficiency in Division-I FBS. Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell and Nebraska’s Joe Ganz are in the top 25. All six of these players will have a chance to torch Kansas’ defensive backs in its last eight games.
Harper may or may not be the savior to a wide-open secondary, but one thing is for sure, it’s not going to get any easier for the Jayhawks.
— — Edited by Arthur Hur
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