Photo Gallery

Kansas Football: Spring Game 2010

Photos from the annual Kansas blue vs. white spring game. This year's game was under the direction of first year head coach Turner Gill. The blue team won 14-10.

He may have been competing against his own teammates, but freshman Kale Pick displayed the talent and intangibles of a capable starting quarterback.

Pick completed 10 of 14 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns and led the Blue Team to a 14-10 victory against the White Team in the annual intrasquad spring game Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

“I can’t be satisfied yet,” Pick said. “I want to keep working hard and have a big summer while working with my receivers. Every day I want to get on the same page and get this offense going.”

Since Todd Reesing’s departure, the battle for the starting quarterback spot has become one of Kansas’ greatest uncertainties. Coach Turner Gill said that the race has been whittled down to two: Pick and freshman Jordan Webb, who completed 5 of 9 passes for 42 yards and threw one touchdown and one interception.

While Saturday’s game cannot project who will be the best choice to open the season, it hints at who may have the upper edge heading into the season’s preparation.

“I think it breeds competition,” Webb said. “Throughout the summer, throughout fall, until we get to that first game, I think the competition is really going to make the starter a lot better.”

Gill said that Webb has the stronger arm, but Pick has more experience and perhaps more accuracy with his throws.

“They both did a good job of keeping their composure in the huddle,” Gill said. “We knew they weren’t going to be perfect today, but I liked how they both did a good job of trying to make some plays. The one thing we need to work on is getting rid of the football sooner.”

Both quarterbacks exhibited versatile skills as they eluded pass rushers to make plays down the field. Junior tight end Tim Biere was one of the main benefactors of both Pick and Webb’s big play ability. Webb finished with three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.

“I think I caught more passes on that first day of practice than I did in about a week last year,” Biere said.

With Gill’s common use of a quarterback under center, as opposed to strictly shotgun formations, the tight end will hold a more significant emphasis in the offense.

“Biere’s the sleeper,” junior running back Angus Quigley said. “Nobody really knows that Biere is athletic and he can jump. He may not look like the most athletic guy in pads, but the guy can play.”

Redshirt freshmen wide receivers Chris Omigie and Christian Matthews also revealed vertical skills that could help them carve out a role in the muddled receiving depth chart. Omigie caught four passes for 95 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown assisted by Pick.

With 3:29 left in the game and the White team leading 10-7, Pick heaved a pass to Matthews by the right pylon, who then leaped, went around his defender’s body and snagged the game-winning 37-yard touchdown pass.

It was Pick’s final stamp on a public bid for the starting job. With precise passing, scrambling creativity (as displayed in brief stints last season) and budding leadership that Gill demands, he may have earned an early leg up on Webb.

“There were a few situations where I would have liked to see him get rid of the ball earlier, but I’ll get a chance to watch that on tape,” Gill said. “His performance today was pretty much what he has been doing all spring.”

— Edited by Sarah Bluvas