Two KU starters who would have ‘made significant plays’ are back on field, Miles says
.JPG "In this Oct. 5, 2019, file photo, Kansas head coach Les Miles, right, talks to an official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Lawrence, Kan.")
Kansas, which was without starting wide receiver Stephon Robinson and starting tight end Jack Luavasa for Saturday night’s 38-23 non-conference football loss to Coastal Carolina, figures to have those players available in the immediate future, coach Les Miles said Monday.
“Certainly (they are) two starters that would have made significant plays. We’ll have those guys back. They should be back today,” Miles said during Monday’s Big 12 coaches teleconference. He didn’t disclose why they missed the game.
Miles said Monday that two KU players had tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus last week. He did not disclose which players had tests turn up positive.
“We get three tests a week. We will continue to do that,” he said. “We are kind of catching our schedule and catching our wind.”
After an open date this weekend, KU is slated to face Baylor a week from Saturday in Waco, Texas.
“The opportunity leading up to the game … these guys behaved like champs,” Miles said. “They fought getting in shape for the first time. I like what and how we handled our business coming up to this game.”
In all, 39 Jayhawks did not dress for Saturday’s game. KU officials said that Monday 70 are allowed to dress for games during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
“There were a number of guys that sat out based on the numbers we were allowed to dress,” Miles said. “We’d have loved to have them, to be honest with you, just because they deserved the opportunity to dress. It would have been a reward of sorts.”
There was no update Monday on the status of players who were injured in the game, notably running back Pooka Williams and quarterback Thomas MacVittie.
Silent stadium
Miles on the atmosphere of playing a game with no fans present: “It’s the only time I can remember where you could have called the plays from the 10th row and had everybody hear you,” he said.
“You deal with whatever the medical personnel feel is correct, that they prescribe a number of people at the game so there can’t be a COVID outbreak. I’m for that. The opportunity to play and walk on the field and play the first game of the season, in my opinion, is a win.”
Going for two
Miles spoke about using “the book” — implied instruction — for when a team should try a two-point conversion. KU failed on a two-point try that would have cut an 11-point deficit to nine points Saturday.
“It’s different in the fact you use an analytics base,” Miles said. “The base comes from your statistics, and they predict whether or not you will get a second chance and where you should place yourself in this continuum. I think it gives you what you should do soundly.
“When they say it’s fourth down and you can go for it on fourth and long … I think to myself, ‘This may be the one page that we need to take out of the book,’’’ he joked.
Miles noted “that’s the right way to do it (use analytics).”
Special teams/onside-kick
Asked about KU’s special teams, Miles said: “I thought we were pretty good on special teams. We punted one time. It was a pooch punt 30 yards for a kicker (Kyle Thompson) that averages 55 .We went for it on long yardage several times. I felt like the kick personnel, those guys who go on speed, played hard for us. The average area we left them was about the 15-yard line or thereabouts.
“I like the way special teams played. They were responsible. They gave us a chance to score on an onside kick.”
The onside kick, made with KU trailing 35-23, was recovered by the Jayhawks, who had trailed by as many as 28 points. However, the refs made a controversial offside call, wiping out KU’s recovery.
After the game, Miles had said about the play: “The penalty, which we still don’t see — if you take your foot and you put it in advance of the ball and then kick an onside kick, it’s an issue. That’s what they said happened. Except that we knew that and coached it specifically not to do it, and Liam (Jones, the player ruled offsides) didn’t do it.”
Coastal had spring ball
Miles on Coastal Carolina having had spring practice while KU was unable to do so because of coronavirus:
“I think spring practice is necessary. It’s where you really teach your kids to play. With the snaps, as you see competition, you lay the foundation of the football (team) specifically by position. The offensive line is better because they learn good footwork and have been taught. It’s where they run into serious contact. They know how to drop their head and use their hands. All those things happen in the spring. We look forward to spring practice moving forward.”
