Hawk Digest Has Moved
Hawk Digest has now moved to a new server. The www.hawkdigest.com URL should work for the new site, but may take up to 96 hours to spread throughout the internet. Also, if you had saved the Bravenet URL, you'll need to re-save the www.hawkdigest.com url.

If you have any problems http://hawkdigest.squarespace.com/ is the root URL will also get you to the new site.

Filling the Holes
Opposing fans and critics of Mark Mangino are questioning the enthusiasm over the trifecta of recruits that orally committed to the Kansas football program this past Sunday. After all the 2007 class is still ranked fifth in the division and tenth in the conference. For the KU optimist though, it's pretty simple -- the Jayhawks have addressed the major personnel issues despite what should be a tough recruiting year (high expectations not met, several close losses on TV).

Every KU fan wants some help in pass coverage, so people were thinking secondary -- enter three-star JUCO defensive backs Patrick Resby and Kendrick Harper. Of course, it became clear as the season progressed that we were really missing some pressure from the defensive end position. Throw in JUCO DE Aaron Mack for some immediate help.

The other areas of concern -- losing the core of the offensive line and stud running back Jon Cornish. No problem -- here comes three-star JUCO OL Chet Hartley and highly-touted Texas running back Carmen Boyd-Anderson at 6-1/200 lb. and 4.5 speed.

Please note -- recruiting accolades and stars do not guarantee future success. However, recruiting season is for the optimists and from that perspective it's been a good week. It'll be tough for the Hawk's to match the 2005 and 2006 classes, but it sure looks like the program is building depth across the board.

Today's News Links:
Journal World: Fuzzy Math Helps Jayhawks

More Links on Yesterday's Commits
LJW story
Aaron Mack College Page
Jake Laptad High School Page

Hawks Land Three
According to the Rivals site, KU landed the following verbal commitments today:

Chet Hartley/OL
Three stars --  6-4/310/5.0 -- El Dorado, KS (Butler County C.C.)
Other interest: Arizona State, Florida State, Illinois
Rivals Link

Jake Laptad/DE
Two stars -- 6-4/214/4.9 -- Jenks, OK
Other interest: Tulsa
Rivals Link

Aaron Mack/DE
Three stars -- 6-3/240/4.6 -- Phoenix, AZ (Phoenix College)
Other interest: Utah
Rivals Link

2007 KU Verbal Commitments
PS  STAR Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
CB  ***  Brian Murphy/Lawrence, KS - 5-8/165 - 06/21/2006
LB  ***  Drew Dudley/College Station, TX - 6-2/221/4.59 - 07/24/2006
LB  ***  Steven Foster/Sedgwick, KS - 6-2/235/4.60 - 10/6/2006
CB  ***  Kendrick Harper/Butler County CC - 5-10/185/4.45 - 12/1/2006
DB  ***  Patrick Resby/Corsicana Navarro CC - 6-2/195-12/10/2006
RB  ***  Carmen Boyd-Anderson/Jacksonville, TX - 6-1/200/4.5-12/11/06
DE  ***  Aaron Mack/Phoenix, AZ - 6-3/240/4.6 - 12/17/06
OL  ***  Chet Hartley/Butler County C.C. - 6-4/310/5.0 - 12/17/06 
WR  **   Ryan Murphy/Lawrence, KS - 5-9.5/170 - 06/09/2006 
WR  **   Isiah Barfield/Haven, KS - 6-0/175 - 06/29/2006
DT  **   Patrick Dorsey/Houston, TX - 6-0/255/5.30 - 07/27/2006
WR  **   Chris Tuck/Dallas, TX - 6-4/200/4.50 - 05/22/2006
QB  **   A.J. Steward/St. Louis, MO - 6-4/210/4.6 - 11/19/06
DE  **   Richard Johnson/Jefferson City, MO - 6-4/255/5.0 - 12/10/06
DE  **   Jake Laptad/Jenks, OK - 6-4/214/4.9 - 12/17/06

www.annependleton.com

The Mission
Watching the launch of a cool new KU blog called Rock Chalk Talk this week got me to thinking that I really needed to set forth the mission of Hawk Digest. The decision to start this thing didn't come easily. I toyed with the idea of blogging the KU football team for about two years. Finally, I jumped in full force a few weeks into this season. The debate was whether or not it was really needed. The Lawrence Journal-World has a critically-acclaimed site in KUsports.com  that does an awesome job of covering all KU sports. I've been around a lot of Big 12 sites this year and the LJW site is hands-down, the best. In addition to the LJW, there are three KU football message boards out there that actually provide pretty good info and discussion -- Phog.net, KUsports.com and JayhawkSlant.com. Of course, the Slant and Phog also provide recruiting info.*

So with all of that available what would a blog offer? I really didn't know, but as I was searching around I found out that K-State and most of the other Big 12 schools had a football-focused blog. Phog Blog is an excellent KU blog, but it's pretty focused on basketball. With that info in hand, I decided KU football really deserved a blog just to keep up with the Big 12. Sort of like gigantic video boards, it could be critical for recruiting.

From there I started to think about what a blog could provide. I settled on the idea that a good football blog should offer a few things:

• A condensed look at all of the major news
• A filter for the quality information and rumors that flow through the message boards
• Recruit signings and class updates with a little analysis
• Opinion on the games, program and conference.

So I came up with the idea that it should really be a digest of all things KU football. The URL hawkdigest.com followed, but I can't really remember why I passed on Jayhawk Digest.** The site has really held pretty much to those objectives, but I'm still looking to improve. In the meantime, the posts will keep coming and let's hope the Hawks are thinking about 2007.

Position Rundown
There's a great post by Greyhawker over on the Slant board analyzing the positions for 2007.

Weekend Visit
There's only one visit listed on the public list at Phog.net for this weekend -- Three star JUCO offensive lineman Nerraw McCormack (6-5/290). However, rumors on the boards this week indicate that there will be several visitors in Lawrence this weekend.

Lew Speaks on the "Contract"
In today's Kansas City Star, Blair Kerkoff examines the recent trend for announcing contract extensions at what seems to be odd times. Lew's comments should really clear up any questions about why Mark Mangino was extended and why he's being paid $1.5 million. There's nothing new here as this is what he has stated all along, but fans always want to question whether or not KU is serious about football. The message is a positive one for football fans.

KSU, Rutgers and the NFL Network
I'd have to say I sympathize with the KSU and Rutgers fans on being caught without TV coverage while Time Warner and the NFL Network continue to stare each other down. I was surprised to read about Senator Pat Roberts getting involved in today's KC Star article.

LJW on the Kansas JUCO System
The Journal-World had an in-depth article on junior college football today that featured some information on recent CB commit Kendrick Harper. Of particular interest is the success that the Kansas JUCO's have despite being such a small state.

Credit: www.annependleton.com

2006 Monte Cozzens Award
To the KU player or players that best emulated the spirit of Monte Cozzen's TD run against Oklahoma in 1992

Jon Cornish
250 carries, 1457 yards (single-season KU record), 5.8 average per carry and eight touchdowns.

Cornish is the first two-time winner of the Cozzen's Award. Last year he sealed it with the TD run vs Nebraska. This year he had to grind it out over an entire season while being the center of each opponent's defensive game plan. Breaking the single-season record was truly impressive.

Cozzen's Award Winners--The Complete List:
1997 Ron Warner
1998 Patrick Brown
1999 Carl Nesmith, Chad Coellner
2001 Algie Atkinson
2002 Marcus Rodgers
2003 Bill Whittemore, Gabe Toomey
2004 Charles Gordon, Nick Reid, John Randle
2005 Charlton Keith, Jon Cornish, Banks Floodman, Mark Simmons
2006 Jon Cornish

Cozzen's Award Watch List--2007
Aqib Talib, Mike Rivera, James McClinton

Wes Welker Award
Heisman-like performance by an opponent at Memorial Stadium

2006 Adarius Bowman, Oklahoma St

Runner-up: Leon Patton, KSU. Not for breaking the 100-yard streak -- for making the tackle on Wayne Wilder.

Play of the Year

Todd Reesing 63-yard run vs Colorado

So, he fumbled a couple of plays later. His play in the second half of that game inspired the fans and players. That particular play symbolized a turning point in the season for KU, breaking the annual four-game losing streak and providing momentum for the annual road win.

Honorable Mention:
James McClinton and Joe Mortenson sack and Russell Brorsen fumble recovery for TD vs KSU
Jon Cornish runs over the referee for a TD vs KSU
Wayne Wilder interception return vs KSU
Aqib Talib intercepts Colorado quarterback Bernard Jackson and returns 59 yards

Opponent Blog of the Year

BearMeat (Baylor)

Blog Post of the Year

BearMeat's Comparison of the SWC and The Goonies

Awards Award

Everyone

This post has been hanging out for a few weeks as I've been trying to squeeze it in between the multiple awards handed out by the local newspapers, columnists and recruiting sites. Everyone wants to hand out fake awards. I'd give it up to avoid redundancy, but I've been handing out the Cozzen's Award long before I ever thought of doing a blog site. So, the suffering will continue with more awards in 2007.

Looking at the North
To get a good feel for how KU compares against the division in recruiting, yesterday's table has been expanded to include the Rivals.com rankings for all six north schools. KU is still off the pace this year, but has been very competitive the last two years. Even during the down years, it appears most of the division has been down. For more discussion on this year's class, there's a good thread on phog.net's gridiron board.