LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -After working all year to improve their pass rush, the Kansas Jayhawks got thrown a bit of a curve this week.
Just which Duke quarterback will they be rushing on Saturday?
Will it be Thad Lewis, the Blue Devils’ starter coming into the season? Or will it be Sean Renfree, who came off the bench at Army last week and in his first collegiate action hit 7 of 8 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns?
Coach David Cutcliffe says the answer is both. The underdogs from the ACC will alternate quarterbacks against No. 22 Kansas and defensive end Maxwell Onyegbule, who had two of the Jayhawks’ six sacks last week against UTEP.
Lewis will continue to start, Cutcliffe said.
g that regardless of play, I wanted Sean Renfree to play.”
The Blue Devils’ starter for the fourth year, Lewis missed 11 of his 16 passes before Renfree helped lead a 21-point, fourth-quarter rally. The rush to victory was also helped by Leon Wright, a senior cornerback who returned two interceptions for TDs.
Lewis figured the snaps could be taken by whoever is on target at the time.
“I guess it’s who has the hot hand at the time or how coach is feeling,” he said. “So you never know. You always be prepared. But it doesn’t matter. If he’s in or I’m in, we’re both pulling for each other. The only thing we want to make sure is that the offense is clicking the way it needs to be, whoever is in the game.”
Whoever is in the game will be facing a defense that’s taken the quarterback down nine times in just two games – the result of a lot of hard work and dedication to improving an area that was not very good last season.
“A lot of it is just fundamental play,” said Kansas coach Mark Mangino. “I thought we needed to take care of the little things in a pass rush, like rushing a half-man instead of a full-man and getting a good jump on the ball.”
The emphasis on technique seems to be paying off big for the Jayhawks (2-0). They’re averaging 4 1/2 sacks per game after averaging 2 1/2 a year ago.
e is taught to punch those numbers and lock out,” Mangino said, before grabbing the jargon book. “But if you come off flatback and ready to dip or rip or swat or whatever move you want to use, the offensive lineman will have trouble getting his hands on those numbers.”
Duke (1-1) will be facing Kansas for the first time in football. The Blue Devils are 6-2 against the Jayhawks in basketball, the sport both schools are more noted for.
Cutcliffe figures the Jayhawks are underranked.
“I think they’re one of the top 15 teams in the country,” he said. “So how do you beat a top 15 team? It’s probably the most basic formula in football: take care of the ball, play great in the kicking game and find a way to make some big plays while the game progresses. The difficult thing really, is trying to make big plays against them both ways.”
The Blue Devils’ biggest problem will be Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, who was unhappy with the way he played last week against UTEP.
This game might bring out the best in Reesing for another reason as well. Duke was the only school besides Kansas to offer a scholarship to the little quarterback from Austin, Texas, who was considered by many to be too small for the big time.
s something I saw as an opportunity.”
His next opportunity will be to put a licking on the Blue Devils.
Add A Comment