Random musings from the Oct. 22 Big 12 coaches’ conference call:
BOB Stoops still loves Mark Mangino. It’s charming, really.
THERE were some issues last week with Bobby Reid, but Mike Gundy said the former Oklahoma State starting quarterback would be back practicing with the team this week and will resume his role as the backup, which got me thinking. Is there a better 1-2 combo/situation at quarterback in the Big 12, or maybe the nation than Zac Robinson and Reid? OK, Robinson and a focused Reid – the Bobby Reid we saw last year in Manhattan? He was a handful, but not as much as Robinson was Saturday. That kid is tough.
SOME have suggested that I’ve put too much stock into the importance of K-State beating KU, but here’s what Ron Prince said Monday: “When you lose to your in-state rival, it’s distasteful…”
GARY Pinkel has no interest in talking about about last season. “This is 2007,” he said, responding to a reporter’s question about a disputed ending last season. And with how his Missouri Tigers are rolling foes, can you blame Pinkel?
HOW great would it be to hang around with Mike Leach all day long? The Texas Tech coach is hilarious. He was asked about the Red Raiders dropping so many passes against Missouri, and then the next question he was asked was unrelated, about how good Missouri is. He didn’t understand the two questions weren’t tied together, and this was his response: “I thought Missouri was good from the beginning. (But) it’s impossible for someone to be so good to make you drop the ball – unless you’ve got someone so good they can make you drop the ball.”
COACH Fran believes you don’t play better on Saturday than you do on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Clearly, the man can coach.
WHETHER it’s simply lip service or what, we don’t know. But Texas coach Mack Brown had the following to say about KU quarterback Todd Reesing, who attended Lake Travis High in Austin and wasn’t pursued too hard by the hometown Longhorns: “He’s doing the same things now he was doing at Lake Travis. He’s playing great. I’m really, really excited for him. … Anybody who didn’t recruit him, including us, made a mistake.”
HAVE to wonder if Bill Callahan will be this condescending once he’s out of a job. “It’s probably too technical for you, but. …,” the Nebraska coach began in response to a question Monday. It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Callahan, I get it. But you don’t make it worse by issuing responses like that.