Step Aside, Todd Reesing: Josh Freeman Is Tops in Kansas

The state of Kansas is known for its basketball. Names like James Naismith, Danny Manning, and Michael Beasley can be heard in every local bar and restaurant no matter what season it is.

Like the famous Bob Dylan song, in the Sunflower State, "Times are Changing."

This state is proud to boast about its Jayhawks. While they may have won the 2008 NCAA Div. 1 Men’s Basketball Championship, an even bigger accomplishment for the school may be when the Jayhawks football team was invited to participate in the Bowl Championship Series. In the Orange Bowl, the Jayhawks stunningly knocked off the Virginia Tech Hokies in convincing fashion.

Led by quarterback Todd Reesing, the Kansas football program elevated beyond expectations last season by finishing 12-1 overall. Reesing, by nearly all published accounts, is the best passer in the state of Kansas, or so you may be led to believe. Reesing, the pride of Lawrence, is an exceptional passer with a cool collectiveness in the pocket, but let's not forget about the passer that was made in Manhattan—Josh Freeman.

The Kansas State Wildcats went 5-7 last season. Despite their struggles, a brilliant passer emerged from behind center. Freeman, a 6’5”, 250-pound gunslinger, took several large steps a year ago after starting just eight games as a freshman in 2006

Freeman passed for 3,353 yards, 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last year. In the first five games, Freeman looked antsy. He gave up seven of his 11 interceptions in those games, including three against the rival Jayhawks.

What made Freeman look impressive was his poise and ability to learn from his mistakes. In the first five games of 2007, Freeman threw four touchdowns, seven interceptions, and averaged 261.8 passing yards per game. In the final seven games of the season, he passed for 14 touchdowns and three interceptions while averaging 292 passing yards per game.

In the first five games, Freeman faced superior and inferior competition: Auburn, San Jose State, Southwest Missouri State, Texas, and Kansas. In the following seven games, Freeman improved against the following schools: Colorado, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri, and Fresno State.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks' very own Todd Reesing was lights-out last season. He had nine games where he threw multiple touchdowns. After the Orange Bowl, Reesing finished with 3,476 yards, 33 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Undoubtedly, his touchdown-to-interception ratio is why most critics claim that Reesing is the superior quarterback in the state of Kansas.

With all due respect to what Reesing has accomplished, we must agree to disagree. Freeman has the size and intangibles to become a highly likeable prospect within the NFL Draft circuit. Reesing, on the other hand, is considered a “runt.” At 5’10”, 200 pounds, one scout referred to Reesing as a poor man’s Paul Smith.

For your information, Paul Smith is now a former quarterback for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. He graduated last year and went undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft. Reesing’s physical traits compare well to Smith’s. To Smith’s credit, though, he did pass for 47 touchdowns in 2007 for Tulsa.

At the end of the day, though, Todd Reesing is the quarterback getting all of the respect in the state of Kansas. Josh Freeman, on the other hand, ironically enough considering their heights, is playing in Reesing’s shadow.

With a tough in-conference schedule, the Kansas State Wildcats could struggle down the stretch, but the nation will get its first glimpse of what Freeman can do on Sept. 17, when the Wildcats travel to Louisville to play the Cardinals. This game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

The poise and improvements Freeman made last year tell us that he is ready to break out and be one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12—a conference littered with elite signal-callers from top to bottom.

All eyes will be on the quarterbacks of the Big 12 Conference. Josh Freeman may be an afterthought right now, but, by December, draft pundits will be bouncing off the walls after watching him pick apart defenses for three months.