Inside the Huddle with Daymond Patterson (Nov. 3)

Nov. 3, 2011

Inside the Huddle Blog Archive

What’s up everybody! It’s that time again for another blog. This week’s blog is dedicated solely to one of my good friends, senior TE Ted McNulty. We are playing Iowa State this Saturday and Teddy is from Iowa, so I thought I would give him a shout out this week for all the hard work he has put into the program since he has been here.

When Teddy first arrived on campus to play for KU, he was a walk-on, but the way he worked and pushed others to work even harder, you knew it would only be a matter of time before he had a chance to earn a scholarship. Through the years Teddy continued to work hard and improve during each and every season as well as in the summers. He never seemed to slack off or take a day off, because he was too tired or just didn’t feel it that day. Anytime we were working out you knew Teddy was going to give you everything he had that day.

I remember my freshman year when I first got moved to defense and Teddy was working with the scout team offense. Teddy had a lot of really good weeks where he made nice plays at practice, but the Kansas State week Teddy went to a whole different level out there on the practice field. It seemed like he was catching ten passes every period we went for the first few days of that week and we couldn’t doing anything to stop him. The defensive coaches got fed up with Teddy making so many plays that we had a meeting just about how to stop him and not let him catch the ball that day. It was so funny because it seemed liked Teddy was public enemy number one that day to the coaches on the defense. We ended up making some good plays that day to keep Teddy from catching some passes and it felt like we just went out there and held Randy Moss to no catches that day! That just shows how much work Teddy was putting in that week and what type of player he is to go hard every day and help the team get better.

Since then Teddy has had many more good practices and has done a lot to help the team, which is why before this year, he was awarded with a full scholarship from Coach Gill. It is really good to see a great guy and teammate be rewarded for all the hard work they have put in over the years. Teddy really deserved to get put on scholarship for his senior year and the coaches recognized that. Everybody was happy for him and congratulated him on his accomplishment. This year Teddy has seen the field as a TE and on special teams, and is looking forward to finishing his senior year out strong. I can honestly say his work ethic inspires me each day and I am very thankful to have him as a teammate. His drive is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Enough about Teddy–he is probably going to have a big head after seeing this blog! I mean he was already featured this year as the `Catch of the Week’ in the Daily Kansan–and now after this he will have the ladies lined up for days.

It is now that time of the fall where a majority of the athletic teams at KU are competing. The basketball teams have both had an exhibition game and are looking good. The women’s soccer team lost a heartbreaker last night in the Big 12 Championship. They battled No. 2 seed Texas A&M to a 3-3 tie through double overtime before falling in penalty kicks. They still have a shot at making the NCAA Tournament so hopefully on Monday when the brackets come out we see KANSAS. Volleyball is coming down the stretch in Big 12 play and baseball and softball just wrapped up their fall seasons. Also both men’s and women’s golf and women’s tennis recently finished up their fall seasons. Speaking of golf–I really enjoy getting out on the links when I have free time during the offseason–I would like to thank Maria Jackson of the KU women’s golf team for helping me improve my golf game.

Alright Jayhawk fans, I think it is time for me to conclude this blog. If you are not traveling to Ames for the game this weekend, make sure to tune in to Fox College Sports to catch us taking on Iowa State. Game time is 11:30 a.m.–I know I will be watching!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

Daymond