To be a closer requires a certain set of qualities: Toughness, short memory and a little bit of attitude.

It’s a high-pressure position and a role that senior pitcher Paul Smyth has relished his entire career.

“I do think that mentally I am one of the tougher guys,” Smyth said. “A lot because of the experience I’ve had in the bullpen.”

As Kansas creeps closer to its season opener Friday against Air Force, the young team will rely heavily on Smyth to help guide it. Three pitchers graduated last year and two pitchers have recovered from last season’s injuries, leaving the team with an almost fully revamped rotation.

Smyth feels confident in the bullpen, however, and expects his pitchers to deliver him a lead to protect.

“I’ve just been riding my boy Brett Bochy about being my setup guy,” Smyth said. “I’ve got the two Brett’s in front of me, and they’re both quality pitchers.”

Smyth is also not your prototypical Big 12 closer in a conference that has seen great fireballers such as Texas’ Houston Street or Missouri’s Kyle Gibson. Smyth said using more off-speed stuff allows him to get batters off balance, especially if the lineup only sees him once.

“For me, I rely a lot more on my movement,” Smyth said. “In terms of quality innings I’m able to go through it one time and after that I think it becomes a little rockier, so one time through is good.”

Coach Ritch Price likes the chances of his bullpen pitching this season. With Smyth anchoring a core group that boasts a good amount of experience, Price has great expectations.

“I think we are more solid in the bullpen than we were a year ago,” Price said. “The potential’s there.”

A problem with last year, Price said, was that the team blew the lead far too often before the ball could be handed to Smyth.

“So I would hope that when we get into the three-game weekend set that we’ll be able to set people up to get to Smyth and not have the game blow up on us,” Price said. “It blew up on us two or three times last year.”

To promote team chemistry, assistant coach Ryan Graves often groups together the starters and relief pitchers during workouts and practices. He will often throw in competitions between the two to keep the team engaged and working its hardest.

Smyth welcomes this approach and feels that it will pay off in the long run.

“He likes to put a lot of competition out there and he’s a competitive-natured guy,” Smyth said. “I find that, especially with this group of guys, our team doesn’t really back down from competition.”

— — Edited by Sonya English