June 5, 2009

By Adam Caparell
NCAA.com

There are times - a number of times, actually - when he can't see them and they can't see him.

Tucked away in the pocket, hidden from his receivers by a wall of blockers, waiting for the precise moment to throw the ball, the quarterback rears back and lets it rip, blindly. The hope is that the ball and receiver arrive at the right place at the right time.

Passing games aren't supposed to be faith-based operations, but sometimes that's how it flies at Kansas. Because when you have a 5-foot-11 quarterback running the show, blind moments come with the territory. And, surprisingly to many, they've led to some eye-opening numbers and, most importantly, victories.

And for that, Kansas can largely thank Todd Reesing, the diminutive Jayhawks quarterback who has heard the detractors all his life. He was supposed to be too small to play quarterback in college. There was no way he'd ever start at a BCS program. What school would even give him a chance? 

But with a 20-6 record as a starter and a 2-0 mark in bowl games, he's quieted his critics while continuing to amaze the college football world.

Including his own coaches.

"Every single day," Kansas offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said. "Every day at practice, and then I get really amazed when he does it in games. We take it for granted, but we have a couple of new coaches on the staff and they saw him for the first time in spring ball and they were like, `Are you kidding me?'"  

That's pretty much the universal reaction when people watch Reesing. And after that, amazement turns to wonder. Wonder, as in just how, exactly, does one of the smallest quarterbacks in the country - for the record he's an inch shorter than listed - get the job done?

"I think a lot of people would like to know," Reesing said.

Suffice it to say, there is no magic formula or ground-breaking strategy the Jayhawks staff has come up with. You tailor the offense to the strengths of your players, starting with your quarterback, and give him a game plan that's going to put his skills on display.

Reesing's an athletic guy with a pretty good arm and he when his feet are planted he can throw it with the best of them. But when you're half a foot shorter than some of your offensive linemen and can't see over them, that presents a new set of challenges. 

So Kansas has spent the last three years working tirelessly to perfect Reesing's pocket navigation. While most programs want their quarterback - who probably stands at 6-foot-2 or taller - to be stationary in hopes of increasing accuracy, Kansas can't do that. They need to move Reesing around a lot

And he's become extremely adept at stepping up in the pocket, going to his left or right and utilizing the throwing lanes his front five creates. Sometimes he slides outside the pass rush to find a window because he's not throwing over his offensive line. Warinner has put the onus on Reesing that any tipped ball on the line of scrimmage is his fault - not his linemen's. So about 75 percent of the drills Warinner and the Kansas coaching staff run Reesing through consist of him moving in all different directions and throwing, many times on the run.

"Sometimes he has to hold the ball longer to find some open throwing lanes," Warinner said. "He can't just throw it right on the break because there could be somebody 6-foot-5 in front of him."

It's an unorthodox style that the Jayhawks practice, preaching that Reesing run all over the pocket just to find the right widow, but he's expertly developed the skill of throwing accurately when he's on the move. His highlight reel is filled with plays in which most quarterbacks would have either taken sack or simply thrown it away.

"The whole connection between the quarterback and the receiver is based on him being in the right spot at the right time. So there are plenty of times when I can't see my receiver when I let go of the ball and I'm sure as hell that he can't see me." Kansas QB Todd Reesing

Most quarterbacks don't like to move around in the pocket that much. Not Reesing. He thrives on bouncing around and he just might be the best quarterback in the country at extending plays with his feet, waiting patiently to find the right spot to let it loose.

"I'm just one of the guys who is going out there to prove and defy what everyone says is the norm," he said.

Reesing burst onto the scene his sophomore season, guiding the Jayhawks to the No. 2 ranking in the country and the program's first BCS bowl game. And as he made his way through the Big 12 for the first time, league officials would come into the Kansas locker room after the game - totally unsolicited - just to tell the coaching staff how impressed they were with Reesing's poise.

"It's about taking those reps," Reesing said. "Once you do it enough and have a feel of how your receivers run their routes then you get that timing down and it's just like clockwork."

And when Reesing talks about reps, he's talking about a lot of reps. More than he can count. That's the only way to explain how he and receivers have a sixth sense on the field. Kansas doesn't beat you with smoke and mirrors or the kind of athletes you would find at Florida or Southern California. The Jayhawks, out of the spread, do it with precision timing, precision passing and, of course, a little bit of faith.

"The whole connection between the quarterback and the receiver is based on him being in the right spot at the right time," Reesing said. "So there are plenty of times when I can't see my receiver when I let go of the ball and I'm sure as hell that he can't see me."

Yet they connect. At least five times a game Reesing is throwing a completely blind pass, Warinner said, but rarely does he get hurt by it.

"A lot of people would throw that many and have just as many picks," the coach said.

"He just has great anticipation," Warinner added. "He knows where the spots are and where people are supposed to be. Even though he may not have a crystal-clear view he just puts the ball to that spot and with a confidence that his receivers will be at that spot."

Reesing, with the help of a very talented and underrated supporting cast, finished 2008 ranked in the top 10 in the nation in passing yards, total offense and completions. He saw his completion percentage jump up to 66 percent last season throwing to two of the top receivers in the Big 12 in Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier. With very little fanfare - par for the course at Kansas - Briscoe and Meier put up big numbers. No pair of receivers in the Big 12 combined for more yards receiving than the two and only one pair of teammates (Rice's James Casey and Jarett Dillard) combined for more nationally.

"We have great players," Warinner said. "People don't realize how good they are until they walk off the field and go `Holy Cow.' That's what people say about Todd."

The under-recruited, under-appreciated and, of course, undersized quarterback now has one final season to wow them all again. This time, and for the first time, the Jayhawks will be considered the team to beat in the Big 12 North. The bulls-eye in that division has largely been reserved for the likes of Kansas State, Missouri and most notably Nebraska. But not this year. The Jayhawks have the most seasoned and most accomplished quarterback in the division. Reesing's the one Kansas hopes to ride all the way to the Big 12 Championship game in Arlington, Texas - at the new Cowboys Stadium - this December.

"He's like the smallest horse in the Kentucky Derby that wins the Derby," Warinner said.

Just call Reesing college football's Mine That Bird. He's the long shot who has paid his supporters quite handsomely.