Both Sides Shine in Kansas Football Scrimmage Saturday
Aug. 13, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. Both sides of the ball had their shining moments as Kansas football held its second scrimmage of the preseason Saturday evening at Kivisto Field at Memorial Stadium. The Jayhawks held their second scrimmage in six days at the stadium after a simulated game there on Monday afternoon.
This time around, Head Coach Turner Gill said that he was pleased with things he saw on both sides of the ball.
“We have some good things happening on offense and some good things happening on defense,” Gill said. “As a coach, you like to kind of see the mixture where (the scrimmage) wasn’t dominated by one side or the other, but again you’re seeing guys have the opportunity to make plays and they’re making them.”
The Jayhawks opened their second scrimmage with special teams plays and then moved on to offense vs. defense, beginning with red zone possessions and ending with a two-minute drill. Quarterbacks Mike Cummings, Blake Jablonski, Quinn Mecham and Jordan Webb all took series under center. One of the big offensive highlights of the night was a 40-yard touchdown pass by Mecham to sophomore wide receiver Christian Matthews in the corner of the north end zone. While the defense made several key stops throughout the night.
“I’m very proud of how we’re making progress,” Gill said. “Good job by the defense in the red zone area. They held the offense out from scoring touchdowns. That’s probably the best I’ve seen our defense respond since I’ve been here and that’s a good sign. Offensively, we picked it up later on (in the scrimmage); we started making some plays. Guys started making some catches and runs. And that’s good to see too.”
KU will be off on Sunday, before returning to the practice fields Monday for its third two-a-day workouts. The Jayhawks will scrimmage again on Saturday, Aug. 20, for Family Fun Fest at Memorial Stadium. KU opens the regular season on Saturday, Sept. 3 against McNeese State at 6 p.m.
KU Hosts Football 101 to Aid Jayhawks For A Cure
Earlier in the day on Saturday, Coach Gill and the Kansas football team hosted Football 101 for women of the community. Nearly 50 women attended the morning clinic which went through a day in the life of a Kansas football player. All proceeds from the clinic went to Jayhawks For A Cure, which raises money to benefit the KU Cancer Center and Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
“It was fun; good to see all the women there and it was for a great cause, cancer research at Lawrence Memorial Hospital and also the KU Cancer Center,” Gill said. “It was a good turn out; they seemed to enjoy themselves. It was also good to have our fans get connected with us as coaches and also good for us to get connected with them.”
The four-hour clinic included tours of the Anderson Family Football Complex – the training room, the locker room, coaches’ offices, equipment room and weight room as well as the practice fields – as well as workshops where KU coaches and current players went through the basics of offense, defense and special teams. The Jayhawk coaching staff and their families hosted a majority of the clinic with help from other staff members. The day ended with a luncheon in the building.
