<table> </table> LAWRENCE | In the classroom, in the grocery store, Kale Pick hears it from Kansas fans young and old: You&#8217;re next.</p><p>The path has been laid out for Pick, a KU true freshman quarterback from Dodge City, Kan. He will redshirt this season, soaking up as much as he can from entrenched starter Todd Reesing. He will get some experience in 2009, mostly in mop-up duty. Then, all signs point to the KU offense being Pick&#8217;s to run in 2010, when he&#8217;ll have three years of eligibility remaining. At least, that&#8217;s the plan.</p><p>This is how most top programs groom their quarterbacks. Pick&#8217;s deliberate advancement through the program would represent something of a change for Kansas, which has often been forced to start quarterbacks as freshmen or redshirt freshmen because of a lack of depth or a dependable starter during the Mark Mangino era. Now, theoretically, Pick can develop naturally, watching the maestro Reesing for the next two seasons.</p><p>&#8220;I learn from him every day,&#8221; Pick said. &#8220;Actually, every practice, I try to get a good view of what he&#8217;s doing. I try to take mental reps on the sidelines and (think of) where I&#8217;d go with the ball, what I would do. It&#8217;s a great resource. He&#8217;s one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. It&#8217;s a perfect source right there.&#8221;</p><p>For KU, everything worked out perfectly with Pick. But, as of May 2007, the Jayhawks were pretty sure they&#8217;d have to go in a different direction; Pick had made an oral commitment to Arkansas. His commitment was frustrating news for KU offensive coordinator Ed Warinner, who coveted Pick, a highly regarded dual-threat quarterback, when he arrived at KU from Illinois in the spring of 2007.</p><p>&#8220;He was the first quarterback we offered,&#8221; Warinner said, &#8220;Of all the ones I looked at early in the evaluation period, he was the No. 1 guy I liked the best.&#8221;</p><p>But Pick liked the Arkansas coaching staff under coach Houston Nutt. Last fall, when Pick was still committed to the Razorbacks, he would come to KU to visit friends. The Jayhawks were undefeated, lighting up the scoreboard, and he&#8217;d hear from those same fans who now stop him around town.</p><p>&#8220;The KU fans would give me a hard time,&#8221; Pick said, &#8220;saying they were undefeated and that I needed to come here.&#8221;</p><p>In late October, Nutt&#8217;s staff indicated to Pick that they didn&#8217;t expect to be at Arkansas after last season. On Oct. 22, with KU 7-0 and moving up the polls, Pick decommitted from Arkansas and immediately gave his pledge to the Jayhawks.</p><p>&#8220;Huge,&#8221; Warinner said. &#8220;It was tremendous. To get your No. 1 guy is a good thing. We&#8217;re even happier about getting him since he&#8217;s been here because he hasn&#8217;t done anything to disappoint us.&#8221;</p><p>Pick graduated at semester and enrolled at KU in January to get a head start. He isn&#8217;t approaching the next two years as if it&#8217;s a foregone conclusion that he will be Reesing&#8217;s successor. The Jayhawks have already secured oral commitments from two dual-threat quarterbacks in the class of 2009 &#8212; Christian Matthews of Arlington, Texas, and Jordan Webb of Union, Mo. &#8212; so there will be competition.</p><p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t settle for being known as the next guy,&#8221; Pick said.</p><p>Pick spends most of his time at practice running the scout-team offense. The week before the South Florida game, Pick got to prepare the Jayhawks for Matt Grothe. Mangino chose Pick as the scout-team offensive player of the week for his efforts.