Princess compares Freeman to Russell

[Blackshirt]

No doubt about it, it's Freeman's team

Joshua Kinder jkinder@themercury.com

 

Josh Freeman will only be a sophomore, but already Kansas State head coach Ron Prince is making comparisons to former LSU quarterback and possible top NFL draft pick JaMarcus Russell.

 

Although the comparisons at this point are only based on Freeman's size.

 

"I hear people talk about this JaMarcus Russell from LSU and how big he is," Prince said last week. "If JaMarcus Russell and Josh Freeman stood next to each other right now, they'd probably look very similar."

 

Freeman, who enters next season as the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback, said he's already up to 255 pounds, despite being listed at 238 in the Spring Football Prospectus.

 

"I feel stronger and faster," said Freeman, who passed for 1,780 yards and six touchdowns last season. "My body's been maturing and things are coming easier to me."

 

That's good because Prince is counting on Freeman to take more responsibility and have "more latitude to exploit his skills." That also goes for Carson Coffman, a 6-foot-2 redshirt freshman from Peculiar, Mo., the only other quarterback on the roster.

 

"I think that this spring is a good opportunity to develop our quarterback position," Prince said Tuesday. "Our quarterbacks are going to have the opportunity to make another move and take another step towards maturity.

 

"With all the preparation and work they're doing, this can be a very good step for our program. We can go ahead and take the level of our quarterback play up a little bit."

 

One thing is certain, unlike a year ago - this is Freeman's team and he knows it.

 

"It's my team," he said confidently. "This year the team knows I can play and have an expectation as to what I can do."

 

In a better place now

 

Jordy Nelson trudged through last season with a chip on his shoulder.

 

He battled through injuries and then closed himself off from the media.

 

Now though, Nelson is smiling again.

 

After all, he'll be a senior next year and he's healthy again as he hopes to return to form that saw him grab 45 balls and score eight touchdowns as a sophomore.

 

"I feel good again," he said Tuesday. "I'm ready to get going."

 

As for last season, he said he just got frustrated.

 

"When you get injured and everyone gets banged up, it just gets old — get tired of doing treatment, get tired of doing this, tired of doing that," said Nelson who had 39 receptions for 547 yards and one touchdown a year ago. "I just got tired of talking about it."

 

Though he still led the Wildcats in receptions and yards, he said it was like no other season's he's ever had, even at the high school level.

 

"It kept me from playing at my best level, at least early, I had to deal with it and kind of got tired of getting reminded about it," the Riley County product said.

 

Coaching carousel, who cares?

 

When asked whether the loss of so many assistant coaches this offseason "shocked" the team, Freeman emphatically said, "no, not at all. Those coaches felt like they had a better opportunity somewhere else," he said. "We're not going to sit around and cry about it.

 

"Auburn, Nebraska, Texas — they don't care about our coaches leaving. They care about beating us."

[HuskerJosh82]

Got to watch out for that kid, he will be good.