 "Photo: Chris Kominczak")
KANSAS CITY - Last year was a landmark year for the Kansas Jayhawks, going 12-1 with a victory in the Orange Bowl.
But this year the Jayhawks are playing with the big boys. With Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas on the schedule, all picked to go one, two and three in the Big 12 South, and all top-25 teams, the Jayhawks' schedule this year is a lot more difficult than the one they had last year, which featured the likes of Southeastern Louisiana, Baylor and Oklahoma State.
Seventh-year coach Mark Mangino spoke at the Big 12 media days on Tuesday with excitement regarding the challenge ahead this season.
"We've always said we want the program to compete with the best teams in our league and be able to beat them, so playing Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech will give us that chance," Mangino said. "We'll never get over the hump in my eyes until we beat those teams."
Leading the way for Kansas is quarterback Todd Reesing. The 5-foot-11-inch junior threw for 3,486 yards and 33 touchdowns.
"[Reesing's] a smart young guy," Mangino said. "He certainly had a great 2007, and we would anticipate that he'll perform at the same high level this year."
From Lake Travis High School in Austin, Reesing is the one who got away from everybody.
"I just wanted a chance, and nobody in Texas gave me one," Reesing said. "In fact, no one anywhere really gave me a chance, because they thought I was too small. Coach Mangino noticed me before anybody else and convinced me to come to Kansas."
Now Reesing and Kansas will have to deal with something they've never faced before: handling success.
"I think Todd has been doing a good job of managing the attention he's received," Mangino said. "He went from being a relative unknown to sitting next to people in class wearing T-shirts that said 'Todd is God.' It's something our team will have to realize, that people will give you more credit than you deserve, and if you can't handle it, they'll give you more criticism than you deserve."
The recent success at Kansas has been quite a contrast from when Mangino first arrived. The team had six-straight losing seasons and went 2-10 in his first year.
"I remember my first home game there - I showed up, and it was pretty empty," Mangino said. "There were people jogging around the track that didn't even know there was a game going on that day. Now you see people with Kansas football signs on their front porches, and the stadium is full early."
The schedule won't be the only issue for Kansas this year.
The Jayhawks will have to replace leading rusher Brandon McAnderson. McAnderson rushed for 1,125 yards and 16 touchdowns. Jake Sharp, who rushed for 821 yards in 2007, is ready to take over.
While the team loses leading receiver Marcus Henry, Dexton Fields, who had 834 yards receiving last year, and Dezmon Briscoe give the small Reesing some big targets.
In the end, the return of Reesing as well as several other players from last year's team is why experts have picked Kansas to be in contention for a Big 12 North title, despite a grueling schedule.
"We think we're going to have a good football team, but we've got a lot of work to do though," Mangino said. "Expectations are very high in Lawrence, the state of Kansas and the entire nation. We're extremely excited about that; we embrace those expectations."
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