Kansas
Kansas football analyst Oscar Rodriguez Jr. has ‘doctorate in life’
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LAWRENCE — When Oscar Rodriguez Jr. spoke with Kansas soccer coach Lance Leipold at a coaches conference in San Antonio after the 2021 season, Rodriguez stated Leipold didn’t have any openings accessible for him.
So Rodriguez, who completed this previous season as Akron’s interim head coach, traveled to Los Angeles — the place his spouse is from. As a result of she reminded him she had a visit deliberate with associates, he determined to spend a while along with his mother and father again in his hometown of Liberal, Kansas.
However upon returning to Liberal, Rodriguez stated he obtained a textual content message from Leipold about his potential curiosity ready on Leipold’s employees. After some correspondence, Rodriguez went on to interview with Jayhawks defensive coordinator Brian Borland. And, in accordance with Rodriguez’s bio on Kansas’ web site, that led to Rodriguez becoming a member of this system as an analyst in February.
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“That’s type of the way it all transpired, man, like you may’t make it up,” Rodriguez stated just lately. “… I used to be simply again in Kansas, and it simply labored out for the each of us.”
Rodriguez stated he frolicked with totally different positions on the defensive aspect of the ball all through spring ball, studying the system and constructing relationships with fellow coaches. He in contrast his place to that of a advisor, and highlighted his perspective that there aren’t any egos on the employees. He’s wanting so as to add worth any method he can, whether or not that’s from his expertise on the junior faculty degree or simply the very fact he has ties as somebody from the state.
“Any method I could be an asset, or add worth, to this group is simply actually what I’m making an attempt to do,” stated Rodriguez, who’s 40 years outdated. “If I’m in conferences, I maintain my mouth shut. I’m old-fashioned. I’m all about etiquette, converse when spoken to, as a result of on the finish of the day these guys have performed a very good job to get the place they’re at they usually’re all actually, actually, actually gifted. And I’m studying lots, too, on the identical time.”
It’s a transfer that each brings Rodriguez to a place again inside his residence state, and provides a person to the Jayhawks’ employees whose life expertise in and of itself has the potential to offer such worth to a crew that’s approaching its second season with Leipold on the helm. Rodriguez, whose expertise as a coach has spanned so many ranges of soccer, particularly inside the faculty ranks, has needed to persevere via a lot in his life. Rodriguez tells individuals on a regular basis he has three levels, and considered one of them is “a doctorate in life.”
How Oscar Rodriguez Jr. grew up
Rodriguez stated his mother and father immigrated to the US from Mexico within the Nineteen Seventies, with nothing however a dream to offer their youngsters a greater life. He stated they moved to Liberal due to the agricultural alternatives. And Rodriguez, born in 1981, stated they grew up with nothing, too.
Rodriguez remembers cleansing homes along with his mom, rising up. He’d be 8 years outdated, making an attempt to assist put meals on the desk. They’d store at storage gross sales, and generally he wore the identical garments a number of days in a row.
However Rodriguez, who simply so occurred to develop up in a city the place soccer was essential, by no means felt like he wasn’t liked. He stated his mother and father put an significance on how he and his siblings performed themselves, their schooling and their religion, with Rodriguez noting his dad’s time as a deacon within the Catholic church. Rodriguez takes satisfaction within the reality he and his sisters, in an immigrant household, all progressed of their schooling to the purpose they every earned a grasp’s diploma.
“We all the time had meals on the desk,” stated Rodriguez, who earned his grasp’s diploma from Washburn. “My dad stated, ‘We’ve received beans, rice and tortillas. We’re OK.’ And we didn’t know any higher, as a result of the truth was the love that my mother and pa crammed us with, and my dad significantly. I’ve received three sisters. I used to be the one boy. I used to be junior.”
Possibly there have been occasions Rodriguez didn’t like his dad, occasions his dad was laborious on him. However Rodriguez grew to educate the identical method his dad handled him. There’s a whole lot of love, and generally that love is hard love.
Rodriguez, propelled partly by that love, went on to play soccer in faculty at Emporia State, Coffeyville Neighborhood Faculty and Fort Hays State after being part of one of many storied highschool applications of that period in Kansas. Jeff Leiker and Dickie Rolls, who coached Rodriguez at Coffeyville and who Rodriguez considers mentors, bear in mind Rodriguez being pushed and a pacesetter even then. Rodriguez started his teaching profession as an assistant at the highschool degree in Texas, earlier than incomes a job on Washburn’s employees again in Kansas that began him on a collegiate path that led him to Akron’s employees just a few years in the past.
Rodriguez can’t bear in mind his dad ever crying, aside from perhaps when his dad’s mom died. Then got here a follow at Akron in 2021, after Rodriguez had been named the interim head coach. Rodriguez might see his dad crying, as Rodriguez spoke with the crew, and Rodriguez believes it was as a result of his dad was watching a son reside out a dream.
What soccer means to Oscar Rodriguez Jr.
Rodriguez understands how the teaching occupation can take its toll on individuals and their households, due to how usually they are often on the transfer. Rodriguez, who famous he’s additionally interned on the skilled degree within the NFL for the Chicago Bears, has spent various quantities of time as an assistant at totally different ranges of school soccer at totally different stops — together with Baker, Hutchinson Neighborhood Faculty, Emporia State, Backyard Metropolis Neighborhood Faculty, La Verne and Chattanooga. However what retains Rodriguez going is he views it as a ministry, the place he is ready to serve younger males and different coaches in any method he can.
Rodriguez values being weak round his gamers, in order that they see him as a human being. He makes use of that doctorate in life, as he calls it, to assist impart knowledge. There are powerful occasions he’s been via in his personal life, and if something occurs with the athletes he’s working with he will help train them life classes via their very own errors.
“With the best way the panorama is now, and the stress there’s to win, coaches come and go,” stated Rodriguez, who’ll usually go off on tangents about life whereas educating or teaching. “But when you may make an influence on an individual, on the way you made them really feel or the way you make them behave of their new life, I feel that’s going to stick with them eternally and that’s what I take a whole lot of satisfaction in.”
Jason Thoren, who coached with Rodriguez at Baker a little bit greater than a decade in the past and stays associates with him, nonetheless remembers how a lot the gamers there liked being round Rodriguez. Thoren stated they’d come see Rodriguez in the course of the day, outdoors of follow. Rodriguez might coach them laborious, and Thoren stated they nonetheless revered him.
That’s why Thoren believes Rodriguez has been in a position to get pleasure from success all through his profession. Thoren pointed to Rodriguez’s persona, how he’s somebody who enjoys each a part of the job — even the 6 a.m. exercises. Thoren stated Rodriguez isn’t afraid to snort, cry or work with gamers, and Rolls added that Rodriguez takes an curiosity in a prospect’s life whereas recruiting them regardless of how good that participant finally ends up changing into.
“Three large issues in Oscar’s life are — I imply, his dad’s labored within the Catholic church eternally. His faith’s large to him,” stated Thoren, who enjoys speaking trash with Rodriguez about the highschool soccer in Lawrence and Liberal. “His household and prolonged household have been large to him. After which, I feel, there’s soccer … I feel, with him, he loves the sport. He loves recruiting. He loves teaching. He loves being round it. He loves studying.”
Rodriguez’s time because the interim head coach at Akron could have needed to include the truth that he was changing a pricey good friend of his in Tom Arth, who he stated present him with numerous alternatives and empowered him as a pacesetter throughout their time working collectively. The expertise of being the interim head coach was like profitable the lottery, Rodriguez stated, as a result of it felt like a blessing and a curse on the identical time. He’d be mendacity if he stated it wasn’t powerful, and if there weren’t days the place he didn’t need that position.
However Rodriguez, who needs to be a head coach once more in some unspecified time in the future, additionally stated that he’s realized issues that’ll make issues simpler for him the following time he’s a head coach. He talked with satisfaction about how the gamers and coaches at Akron caught collectively via the top of the season, though the potential is there for coaches to start out worrying about their subsequent job and athletes to wish to begin exploring switch choices straight away. And it meant lots to Rodriguez that Arth gave him a hug, informed him he earned that likelihood to be the interim head coach and can be supporting him when the change occurred.
As an analyst with Kansas, Rodriguez is aiming for development. Batting most cancers as he did and surviving, twice, led to him having the mindset the place he’s chasing individuals — not jobs. He needs to work with the precise individuals, and whereas he’s with the Jayhawks he needs to study other ways of doing issues from Leipold and others so he can enhance as a coach and individual.
How Oscar Rodriguez Jr. goals to help these battling most cancers
Rodriguez, the founding father of the Coaches In opposition to Most cancers Basis, stated there isn’t a day that goes by the place he doesn’t take into consideration wanting to assist people who find themselves battling most cancers as he did. By his basis he stated he seems to help individuals who “are down on the bottom and battling their butt off and having to take off work,” who’ve prices they need assistance overlaying. And it’s a mission that finds its motivation, at the very least partly, in what he noticed throughout one of many occasions he needed to obtain chemotherapy.
Rodriguez stated, as a coach, one tends to have a assist system with its basis in household, gamers and the higher neighborhood. What he noticed saddened him, as a result of there have been different individuals who didn’t have anybody. Each time he began to really feel sorry for himself, he would remind himself he at the very least had individuals round him who liked him.
Rodriguez stated the second time he battled most cancers he was solely given a 7-to-15% likelihood of surviving. He considers it a miracle he lived via it. He believes he was spared by God.
“In soccer you discuss digging down, and the highs and lows of soccer, and the highs and lows of life,” stated Thoren, who felt his friendship with Rodriguez grew via Rodriguez’s battles with most cancers. “He needed to actually look himself within the mirror and consider that he might beat it, and he did, and he beat it twice. And I can bear in mind these conversations early on, and I simply stated, ‘Oh, Oscar … that ain’t going to mess with you, bud.’”
Jordan Guskey covers College of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
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Kansas
Kansas State players of the game vs UT-Martin
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Kansas State offensive MVP: DJ Giddens
It was another nice and easy day at the office for Kansas State running back DJ Giddens.
The Junction City running back went over 100 yards for the fifth consecutive game. His five game streak of going over the century mark is tied for fourth in K-State school history. Giddens finished the game with 124 rushing yards and added six receiving yards.
Dylan Edwards provided a nice spark for the Wildcat offense in his first game after transferring from Colorado. Edwards scored multiple times in the contest Saturday night with one on the ground and a receiving touchdown.
In the first home start for Avery Johnson, there were some ups and downs.
However, Johnson still finished with two touchdowns through the air and added some nice runs as well. Jayce Brown was a major bright spot receiving as well with 71 receiving yards. The true sophomore led Kansas State in receiving and had the most receptions with five.
Defensive MVP: Tobi Osunsanmi
For defense there was a few different options for MVP. I really wrestled back and forth between two.
Ultimately, I decided on Tobi Osunsanmi. The Wichita native was a man possessed in his snaps. He showed his elite burst and was able to get to the quarterback at a very high clip. Osunsanmi finished the game with 1.5 sacks (2.5 if he completes one instead of letting the quarterback escape).
He also added another quarterback hit to go along with the sacks.
Desmond Purnell was also flying around the field Saturday evening. He led K-State in tackles with seven and was tied for first in tackles for a loss with 1.5.
K-State special teams MVP: Ty Bowman
Anytime you can create a touchdown on special teams, it is an easy choice for special teams MVP. Ty Bowman blocked his second career punt in the season opener versus UT-Martin. The beneficiary of Bowman blocking the punt was Colby McCalister who returned the ball one yard for a touchdown.
Chris Tennant was also perfect on all of his kicks. Tennant knocked in a 45 and 43-yard field goal and was perfect on all of his extra points.
Kansas
Tulane Football’s Path to Victory Must Exploit Inexperienced Kansas State
![Tulane Football’s Path to Victory Must Exploit Inexperienced Kansas State Tulane Football’s Path to Victory Must Exploit Inexperienced Kansas State](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4096,h_2304,x_0,y_268/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/tulane_green_wave_on_si/01j6mvw0vcfqn9xhqdjr.jpg)
The stage is set for Tulane football’s highly anticipated Week 2 matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats as they seek to become contenders on a national stage.
Intriguingly, the Green Wave and the Wildcats have some parallels on offense. Kansas State kicks off the season Saturday against FCS opponent UT-Martin, much like Tulane opened against Southeastern Louisiana.
Sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson will make his first regular season start, much like redshirt freshman Darian Mensah led Tulane to their 52-0 victory Thursday night. Johnson did appear in eight games as a true freshman and started for the team in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, beating North Carolina State.
However, he did so behind an offensive line that looks nothing like the one that will take the field next Saturday at Yulman Stadium. The Wildcats must replace four of five starters, including third-round draft pick Cooper Beebe. Just as Tulane had to find Vincent Murphy to take over for Sincere Haynesworth.
Though the group of returners isn’t exactly inexperienced, they don’t have any time playing together in concert. The lone starter remaining is right guard Hadley Panzer, who likely is starting this season at left guard. Presumed starting left tackle Easton Kilty is making his first FBS start.
It helps that Kansas State’s offensive line coach, Conor Riley, was promoted to coordinator. He has pieces to work with that have credible game snaps. The challenge is whether they can come together as a unit.
While Avery Johnson has more experience than Darian Mensah, Mensah benefits from a much more stable offensive line. Tulane returned both starting guards and right tackle and brought in key transfers to fill the remaining holes. In their season debut, they gave Mensah time in the pocket, but the run blocking left much to be desired.
Tulane brought in transfers on the defensive line to bolster their pass rush. They got to the quarterback twice with two sacks last Thursday, but the Bandit role was a point of concern. Their three-man front is spaced to spread out their top playmakers, Adin Huntington at defensive end and Patrick Jenkins at tackle.
With Huntington to the field and Jenkins to the boundary, it forces defenses to either focus attention on one side of the line or just shut down the best two players. That awards a lot of one-on-one opportunities for the rusher at Bandit. The players who rotated in the first game didn’t make much of a case.
Terrell Allen didn’t make any standout plays, nor did Matthew Fobbs-White, though the latter showed some disruptive abilities off the line of scrimmage. Frankly, Shi’Keem Laister was the most productive in a packaged role. Laister had a hurry and forced Southeastern to throw quickly, leading to incompletions on the drive.
Tulane doesn’t need the Bandit to be the hero, but they need a player to step up and credibly command attention to open up lanes for Huntington, who only recorded one hurry in his debut for the team.
Importantly, the team likely didn’t show their cards on the ways they might get to the quarterback. It might come from the second level. Linebacker Sam Howard had more pressure snaps than Fobbs-White and Allen, and he recorded a hurry and beat his blocker on another.
Could Tulane rely on blitzing and utilizing defensive backs and linebackers as rushers? Not all season. But creativity and confusion might just be enough to rattle the Wildcats as both teams race to figure out what the other is made of with merely one game of film.
The secondary came together as Tulane’s season opener went on, and should be a point of strength, but the best coverage is a pass rush. Especially with an opponent that has similar turnover and areas to exploit. For the Green Wave to pull off a victory on Sept. 7, the key lies in the lane to the quarterback.
Kansas
Lawmakers plan brazen power grab, pushing aside Kansas voters and Gov. Laura Kelly • Kansas Reflector
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Let’s be clear about what Kansas Republican legislative leaders are doing with their planned overhaul of budgeting: They are launching a personal and political power grab against Gov. Laura Kelly.
They have never accepted or respected her mandate. Despite Kelly winning a second term and having two years left to go, they have continually attempted to usurp the executive branch’s authority. They have tried a constitutional amendment and prohibiting her ability to negotiate Medicaid contracts. Now they’re going after her yearly state budget proposal.
Usually, the Legislature begins its yearly budget process with a proposal from the governor. Her office submits it when lawmakers arrive for the annual session, in January. Now an interim committee wants to start the process earlier, as soon as October of the previous year.
In this new process, the governor’s budget would be a suggestion, not a starting point.
And never mind that it’s a direct attack on Kelly. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, assured the audience that these changes had nothing to do with the governor.
“This process has nothing to do with the governor,” he said at the meeting earlier this month, according to Kansas Reflector reporter Tim Carpenter. “If you’re going to focus on the governor, probably not the wisest thing to do, because this process has happened over time with many, many different governors.”
He was contradicted by Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, who let the proverbial cat out of the figurative bag.
“You’ll have a Republican governor, for example, or somebody you trust, and you trust the administration to build the budgets, and then you kind of rubber stamp stuff,” Masterson said. “And, then, you switch, and you have (the) opposition party and then there’s all that same power.”
Oh. So it’s like that, then.
All of this might seem like so much partisan mud wrestling, except for the fact that the leaders have also decided to do an end run around Kansas voters.
Did you notice that the proposed new process could start as early as October? While details at the hearing were scarce, leaders appeared to suggest that they would start working on budget without knowing whether they would be elected. What happens if all the folks on the budget committee are voted out of office? Who takes the lead then?
Once again, we see Kansas legislative leaders trying to concentrate power. They don’t want the governor to even have the first say in the budgeting process, and they apparently don’t trust the rest of their colleagues. You know, all the people who drive to Topeka in January to actually make laws.
Sen. Carolyn McGinn, a Sedgwick Republican, raised concerns that these changes would also limit the ability of constituents to speak about budget priorities.
McGinn might have decided to retire, but she has a point. Leaders apparently don’t even trust their constituents when it comes to spending.
In there interest of fairness, I should note that the reform committee considered several worthwhile proposals. Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, discussed ending lawmakers’ de facto three-day work week. Yes, they usually take Mondays and Fridays off, at times slowing progress to a crawl. The panel also targeted budget earmarks for favored programs that don’t go through a regular committee process.
In the interest of perspective, however, I’m not falling over myself with gratitude. It’s obvious that legislators should work throughout the week, and it’s obvious they shouldn’t be larding up the budget with unvetted spending.
It’s like going through life without running over someone with your car. I mean, I’m glad that you didn’t, but surely you don’t deserve a plaque.
Lawmakers might still be able to make worthwhile changes to the budgeting process. They could start with increasing transparency, which Carpenter noted wasn’t discussed by members of either party. But until they stop jostling for partisan advantage and making themselves look foolish, don’t expect much.
Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
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