Reporter Larry Moritz can be reached at 822-1410, or by e-mail at lmoritz@salina.com
By LARRY MORITZ
Salina Journal
Hoping to avoid a repeat of last season, Kansas State football is looking for a rebirth with the 2008 team and a revival of the Wildcats' glory days.
K-State will hold the first of 14 spring practices Saturday, leading up to its annual Purple and White Spring Game on Saturday, April 19 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
During the next three weeks, the Wildcats will take the first steps toward putting 2007 behind them.
"The results of last year would make us very anxious to believe the team needs to be reborn," said head coach Ron Prince. "Some individuals had some very good years, but as a collective group -- as an organization, as an offense or defense or kicking unit -- we left a lot of performance on the field and as close as some of these games were, we couldn't afford to do that.
"We found multiple layers of things we could improve on, and that's what we've spent the last 10 weeks working on in addition to recruiting."
The 2007 Wildcats were 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12 in late October after a 51-13 victory over Baylor in Manhattan. That start included a 41-21 victory the final Saturday of September over then No. 7-ranked Texas.
But a four-game losing streak to end the season cost K-State an opportunity to compete in a bowl game in Prince's second season as head coach.
There wasn't one specific area that led to the Wildcats' downfall, but Prince believes his coaching staff and players are ready to fix what was broken.
"Every year the team has to be reborn," Prince said. "I think that's critical in every circumstance, and that's the case this year. None of the things that were positive for us a year ago will cause us to win in the future, and none of those things that were less than positive will prohibit us from having anything positive in the future.
"It's a matter of what we put together now. I think that's a very liberating point of view, particularly for many of these players."
The Wildcats will have 44 lettermen returning, including seven starters on offense and five on defense. Prince also noted that K-State will have 10 players on each side of the ball that have started at least one game, and those returning players will be joined by a solid group of junior college transfers, several who are already on campus and working with the team this spring.
"We always want to work on our systems, to make sure each players leaves the spring game knowing exactly what the coaches are going to ask of him this fall," Prince said.
"This is a coach's favorite time of the year. Coaches love spring. Fans and players might not care for it that much except for the fact that you get to see some new players."
Seniors Jordan Bedore and Antwon Moore are both looking forward to spring drills after having their 2007 season cut short by injuries. Bedore started the first five games at center before he was sidelined with an elbow injury.
"I'm just excited to be able to play again and get back in there," said Bedore, a Goodland native. "I think everybody on the team is pretty excited to get back in there.
"(Coach Prince ) has talked quite a bit how each team has to be reborn and what we did last year isn't going to matter to what we do this year."
Moore had two sacks in the Wildcats' first two games against Auburn and San Jose State before a knee injury forced the linebacker to miss the last 10 games.
"Changes are being made, and it's something that needs to happen," Moore said. "You can't live off your past. We're going to do a lot of different things in many different ways.
"We're not doing the same things that put us in a slump at the end of last year."
The Wildcats will go through spring drills without four players because of academic reasons -- senior wide receiver Deon Murphy, senior linebacker Chris Patterson, junior linebacker Ross Diehl and junior offensive lineman Eric Benoit.
Among the four, Murphy made the largest contributions to the Wildcats a year ago. He was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year after making 57 catches for 605 yards and five touchdowns.
"Those four players will not practice with us," Prince said. "They will be on the team, and we expect them to return. But they have enough work, and it's a considerable amount of work, that I want them to focus on those things."
* Reporter Larry Moritz can be reached at 822-1410, or by e-mail at lmoritz@salina.com
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