KU coach Mangino not happy with offensive line
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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
In the immediate aftermath of his team's collapse against Texas Tech last Saturday, Kansas football coach Mark Mangino acted as if he'd like to do a clothesline number on the Jayhawks' offensive line.
"I'm not pleased at all with the play of the offensive line," the former offensive line coach told reporters after the Jayhawks managed just 86 yards rushing and let a 30-5 lead slip all the way to a 31-30 defeat. "I'm ready to make some changes there."
Three days later, Mangino had a less-seething tone regarding the play of KU's line. But it was still very clear what area gave him the most concern.
"We need to move the (first-down) sticks. We have to improve our run game," he said.
"What our coaches are trying to do is create some depth on the offensive line, so that perhaps we can get a rotation going from time to time. We've been playing quite a bit with the same kids. My intention is to be able to play with more than five offensive linemen for a majority of the game.
"I think our offensive line is going to be fine, (but) we have to continue to look at personnel. I don't want to give the opinion that we are in a panic, because we are not."
Just don't expect him to hold up an "all's well" sign if Kansas continues to average barely 100 yards on the ground.
"It is not the kind of attention we want," said left tackle Matt Thompson. "We are looking forward to proving ourselves this week. Last week was definitely not a good week for us, so we are definitely looking to rebound."
Last season, the Jayhawks averaged 165.5 yards rushing a game and 4.4 per carry. After getting just 133 total in losses to Tech and Northwestern, they're now averaging 102.2 a game and 2.9 per attempt entering Saturday's game at Nebraska.
To make matters worse, the Huskers lead the nation in rushing defense.
"It is a motivator," center Joe Vaughn said of Mangino's tongue lashing, "and we look forward to getting back at it."
Kansas went into fall practice with three returning starters from a line that helped produce the fourth-highest, single-season scoring average in school history: Vaughn, who was the 2003 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, and guards Tony Coker and Bob Whitaker. Coker missed KU's first two games because of an injured right ankle, then injured his left ankle against Northwestern and sat out again last week.
Mangino, in addition to having to replace Coker against Texas Tech, also inserted redshirt freshman Cesar Rodriguez into the starting lineup at right tackle.
In his postgame comments to media, the Jayhawks' third-year coach said he felt like the linemen had played tentatively.
"They're the only guys on the field that play right next to each other, foot to foot," he noted. "A lot of times, your success or failure depends on the guy next to you. You have to work together. The bottom line is, you have to play with passion and aggression. You can't sit back and think."
After building a 30-5 lead, the Jayhawks failed to convert eight of their last 12 third-down plays. Eight times, KU faced at least third-and-7. Once, it opted to pass on a third-and-2. Another third-and-1 run was stopped for no gain.
"Our pass protection was pretty good with our offensive line and running backs, but our run game has to ..."
We know, coach.
"We have to learn to play with leverage," Mangino continued, "finish our blocks, get a hat on a hat and make sure we're blocking the right guy."
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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