Thursday, February 18, 2010
The names are nearly hallowed today. They fill Kansas’ record books and Memorial Stadium’s Ring of Honor. They’re shown only in grainy video, yet they’re still the pulse of Kansas football.
Former quarterback Todd Reesing's jersey hangs in his locker at the Anderson Family Football Complex. Reesing passed for the most yards, had the most touchdowns and completed the most passes in school history.
Scroll to the bottom of the story to see an interactive timeline of Reesing's accomplishments.
Gale Sayers. John Hadl. John Riggins.
Soon — maybe next year, maybe 10 years from now — a name and picture might join that list. He was never an All American. His chances of stringing together a lengthy NFL career are slim. And he won’t even look much like a football player, even in full uniform.
But Todd Reesing threw for more yards, had more touchdowns and completed more passes than any Kansas quarterback. And he led the Jayhawks to their first BCS bowl appearance and victory in the 2008 Orange Bowl.
“Today or down the road, in my opinion, I think he’s probably the greatest kid we’ve ever had there,” said John Hadl, Kansas’ quarterback from 1958-1961 and a two-time All American. “He could do it all, and he did all those things for three and a half years there.”
But Reesing is part of Jayhawk history now, his days at Kansas officially over. Now his name will slide somewhere in public opinion between the best — and worst — former Jayhawks.
While his legacy is left to be decided, some former Jayhawks insist they know where it should belong.
On a cold Saturday afternoon late last November, Todd Reesing passed for a school-record 498 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in his best game of the season.
He was effective and so, too, was the rest of the offense.
Yet Kansas still lost that night, 41-39, to rival Missouri. It was the Jayhawks’ seventh consecutive defeat, and the loss ensured they wouldn’t play in a bowl.
It was the final game of Reesing’s college career.
“With the way the season ended, I think to a lot of fans, it tainted all that he had done there,” said Kelly Donohoe, Kansas’ quarterback from 1986-89. “That’s really sad.”
In a rare occurrence during the decade, Kansas entered a season with expectations stretching beyond simply reaching a bowl game. Fans talked of winning the Big 12 North. The Jayhawks did the same.
And with Reesing entering his third season as a starter, a year and a half after winning the Orange Bowl, there seemed plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
But in the sixth game of the season at Colorado on Oct. 17, Reesing’s two first-half turnovers led to 14 Colorado points. The Jayhawks lost 34-30.
So began the sinking of Kansas’ football season and, in turn, Reesing’s final campaign. The Jayhawks finished last in the North, and Reesing was even benched in the fourth quarter against Texas Tech on Halloween.
Two weeks later, Reesing spent the days before Kansas’ game at Texas answering questions about an internal investigation launched against coach Mark Mangino, not about his return to his hometown of Austin, Texas.
That investigation ended one week after the season when Mangino reached an agreement with Kansas Athletics to resign.
“His career was marred a little by the end and with coach Mangino,” Donohoe said. “But I don’t think people remember that as much as all the wins and putting Kansas football on the map.”
Although his statistics compare with soon-to-be NFL draft picks Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy, Reesing has little to none of the professional interest generated by his fellow Big 12 quarterbacks.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Reesing doesn’t have the physical stature desired by most NFL teams.
ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper wrote last September, “Todd Reesing is a magician, but he lacks the physical skill you want in an NFL QB.”
And after throwing an interception in the East-West Shrine game, more whispers surfaced about Reesing’s inability to play in the physically demanding NFL.
Reesing wasn't invited to next week's NFL scouting combine for this year's draft, while three of his teammates were.
“People who played at Kansas, whether it be running back or quarterback, his name should be top two or three players in any conversation,” said Sayers, a former Kansas running back and a two-time All American, who now works for athletics as the director of fundraising for special projects. “Just because he might not play pro football, big damn deal," Sayers said.
In 2008, Reesing darted around the field, avoiding much larger and more athletic Virginia Tech defenders.
Later that night, Reesing playfully tossed oranges into the crowd after the Jayhawks topped an improbable 12-1 season with an Orange Bowl victory.
More than any moment in his career — more than any big play or highlight — that night will be associated with Todd Reesing.
“He’ll always be remembered as the quarterback who led us to a BCS game,” said former Kansas center Ryan Cantrell, who played from 2005-08. “And he’s always going to be a guy that younger guys are going to look up to.”
Reesing’s career started with a dramatic second-half comeback against Colorado in October 2006.
Mangino decided to pull Reesing’s redshirt in hopes of igniting a stale offense.
It worked, and Kansas won 20-15. That game was played in front of a home crowd of slightly more than 39,000 people.
In the three seasons before Reesing started, Kansas averaged 42,959 fans per game. In his three seasons as a starter, the Jayhawks averaged 49,424 fans per game.
And perhaps no player drew as much fan interest as Reesing, who made highlight-worthy runs and passes seem rather routine.
So, too, did former Jayhawks who fans adorned as legends.
Nolan Cromwell and John Hadl were two-time All Americans during their final two seasons at Kansas.
David Jaynes finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting his senior season in 1974, and Bobby Douglass was an All-American in 1968.
“For KU itself, he’s the most consistent performer that’s ever put a Jayhawk uniform on,” Hadl said. “And I’ve seen them all. Jaynes was a great passer. Cromwell was a helluva runner. But Todd could do it all.”
For all Reesing did, though, he was never an All American, never selected to the Big 12’s first team, and he was never a serious Heisman contender.
After a final disappointing loss in a season that never materialized as expected, Reesing stood for a final postgame interview.
His voice remained calm, rarely changing inflection. With each thoughtful answer, Reesing seemed to be grasping that his football days, at least at Kansas, were finished.
His career was now history.
“The fact that it’s over and it happened so fast — it sucks man,” Reesing said after the game. “I hope the legacy is still positive, though, because we’ve done a lot. We’ve had a lot of players do things that people said they couldn’t do.”
— Edited by Jesse Rangel
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