Mangino and Reesing; Match From Heaven, Made On Earth

I don't think Todd Reesing is the best player in the nation.  I don't think he's the best quarterback in the nation either.

I'm not about to vouch for Reesing as a Heisman contender, the most underrated player in the nation, the best 'little guy' story, or anything like that; I'll leave those exciting pieces of way-overdone to The University Daily Kansan.

Instead, I'd like you to take a moment to picture this.

At this exact instant, Mark Mangino now has to start from absolutely nothing.  He has no players, schedules, facilities, coaches or even a game-plan.  He has little more than a vision of his perfect football team, and has to build this team completely from scratch.

I can guarantee you, right now and without a doubt, that the first thing Mark Mangino would do is convince 5'10", 200 pound senior quarterback Todd Reesing to come play for Kansas.

Mangino could set his sights anywhere in the world; Tim Tebow, Ndamukong Suh, 'Quizz Rodgers, or Robert Quinn. 

Forget them all. 

With only the knowledge of what Todd Reesing has achieved and the understanding of his capabilities, Mark Mangino would immediately focus every penny of his attention on obtaining Reesing.

Mangino's style of coaching is not a complex one; it is based on simple principles and sound execution of fundamental football techniques.  The good ol' coach would choose Todd Reesing before any other college athlete in the nation to build his team around because it takes a truly special player to make a spectacular success out of such a basic system.

For instance...

Mangino wants an accurate quarterback who can weigh big risks and still avoid big mistakes.  Reesing has 69.3 percent of his passes (seventh in the nation) despite constant issues with dropped passes.

Only Riley Skinner and Case Keenum have bettered that percentage while still throwing more touchdowns (15 and 17 against Reesing's 13), and only Nick Foles, Arizona's starter of late, has done so with fewer interceptions (two to Reesing's three).

Mangino has to have an improvisational quarterback that can make time for his big, athletic receivers and still take off when need be. 

Sure Todd Reesing has been sacked seven times, but only Aaron Opelt and Case Keenum have dropped back more and been sacked less (five sacks apiece).  Did I mention that KU has one of the most inexperienced offensive lines in all of college football?

Reesing has also rushed 42 times for 101 yards and three touchdowns so far.  Take off seven carries (from the sacks) and the appropriate lost yardage, and you'll notice that Reesing is no slouch as a scrambler either.

Mangino needs his quarterback to produce; offenses are best when they move down the field, after all.

Todd Reesing is currently tied with many for number six in the touchdowns column (with 13), but only Max Hall of BYU has to compete with more team rushing touchdowns (17) than KU (14). 

Also, Reesing and A&M superstar Jerrod Johnson are currently tied for ninth in passing yardage.  Of the eight signal-callers in front of him, only Max Hall, Riley Skinner and Case Keenum can match his yards per attempt or his completion percentage.

Finally, Mark Mangino's system, in order to be successful, needs a quarterback who can win games.  He needs a franchise face to take not only the credit, but the blame as well.  He must be a motivator, a play-maker, and a leader.

Having a quarterback whose team has a great record is a very overrated stat, especially when one looks at KU's schedule so far.  However, of every quarterback out there, great or not, only Tony Pike, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, Ricky Stanzi, Greg McElroy, Andy Dalton, Kellen Moore, B.J. Daniels and Todd Reesing still lead undefeated teams.

I can promise you that not one of those teams (Cincinnati, Texas, Florida, Iowa, Alabama, TCU, Boise State, and USF) is currently playing defense as poorly as Kansas is or lacks the special teams consistency that Kansas does.  None of the aforementioned quarterbacks have had to match opposing offenses, drive-for-drive and 75 yards a pop, in order to sneak out a win the way Todd Reesing has had to for Kansas.

I am confident that, of this group, only Tim Tebow could without a doubt motivate his team in a more animated and more effective fashion that Todd Reesing can, and even then, who would you rather have throwing a deep ball in the clutch, Tebow or Reesing?  I'm not saying the answer is Reesing, but its definitely a fun question to consider.

There always have been and always will be many quarterbacks that have much more size, talent, potential, intangibles or trophies than Todd Reesing does, and deservedly so.  However, sometimes its just about finding the right guy behind center and putting the right pieces around him.

No one fits into every one of these categories as definitively as Todd Reesing, and none could do the job Mark Mangino requires his quarterback to do quite as well.

That kind of recognition won't win him many Heismans, but personally I don't think he cares; it's just not his style.

Something tells me he'd prefer to leave college as a long-shot, just like he came in.  He will still have the satisfaction of knowing that he changed an entire program, won the hearts of ten-thousands upon ten-thousands of fans, and indisputably became the greatest football player in the history of the University of Kansas.