NUpolo8
Banned
Jesus,
All that's missing from the Prince/Freeman alliance is the guy from Dateline coming out of the kitchen....from Yahoo Sports
Quarterback-coach bond lifts struggling Kansas State
By Jeff Sheldon, Daily Nebraskan
October 12, 2006
(CSTV U-WIRE) MANHATTAN, Kan. -- In the photograph, the coach and the quarterback are just coming into a joyous embrace.
It's a congratulatory moment with an "attaboy" frozen on the coach's lips as he beams at his star pupil. And though you can't see the players around Ron Prince and Josh Freeman celebrating Kansas State's last-minute win over Oklahoma State, believe me, they're there, but in that snapshot they are unimportant.
In that moment there is the coach, expressing his pride, and the quarterback, listening, always listening.
ADVERTISEMENT
***
If you didn't know any better, it would have seemed like a throwaway line during Ron Prince's weekly, half-hour session with reporters.
But when asked how Josh Freeman, Prince's 18-year-old true freshman quarterback, would handle the weeklong drama of preparing for Saturday's game against Nebraska, Prince didn't merely espouse his quarterback's maturity or beyond-his-years physical skills. The answer was almost ... paternal.
"He has me here to help him with that," the first-year Kansas State coach said.
Prince and Freeman. No head coach-quarterback tandem in the Big 12 Conference has its fate tied together more closely than this one, both of whom were brought to Manhattan for the sole purpose of pulling from the doldrums a program that has failed to receive a bowl bid in back-to-back seasons for the first time in more than a decade.
By now, the story of Prince's courting of Freeman -- who originally committed to Nebraska during his junior year at Grandview (Mo.) High School, only to spurn the Cornhuskers and sign with Kansas State - is well chronicled.
It's no secret Freeman eventually landing in Manhattan was a major triumph for Prince, who earned instant credibility with Wildcat fans by one-upping Nebraska before he even conducted a fall practice.
From Prince's side, the change-of-heart in Freeman's recruitment had little to do with NU but more with the relationship he quickly forged with the 6-foot-6, 235-pound quarterback once he arrived at K-State.
Prince first targeted Freeman while working as offensive coordinator at Virginia, but text messages and e-mails can only accomplish so much in getting one of the country's hottest prospects to spend the next four years halfway across the country in an unfamiliar program.
So when Prince was the surprise choice to succeed longtime Wildcat Coach Bill Snyder, the logistics of making a real run at Freeman became much more reasonable.
"I was real pleased we could get back in the conversation about him coming to Kansas State," Prince said. "I think we must've made quite an impression."
After he was named head coach, Prince introduced himself to Freeman for the first time. One of his first priorities was to give the quarterback a face to put with the countless phone calls and text messages he had received. Once Prince showed up at the Freeman household, the tide began to turn in the Wildcats' favor.
"The way Coach Prince came into my house," Freeman said, "you can just tell he's a special man and had some special things going for him."
The Freeman family kept their options open but finally visited Manhattan and met with Prince, where they became convinced the dynamic with the energetic, young coach would go beyond teaching Josh how to execute hot reads and throw post patterns.
"His parents said they felt comfortable with me and how they thought our relationship would be and the fact I'd make him go to class and do well in school and be a good person and all that stuff," Prince said. "I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision."
Nor was the call to rush Freeman into service.
Any football follower can tell you playing a freshman quarterback is risky, but the gamble seemed inevitable upon Freeman's signing with Kansas State.
Freeman graduated high school early so he could go through spring practice in Manhattan. Landing on a roster with three other quarterbacks with starting experience, the freshman quickly ascended the depth chart as Allen Webb and Allan Everidge transferred out of KSU. Redshirt freshman Kevin Lopina also left the program and is now at Washington State.
Rumors swirled that Prince was taking steps in practice to let it be known his prize recruit would be handed the reigns sooner than later.
Sooner ended up coming in the second half of the Wildcats' 17-3 loss at Baylor on Sept. 30. After senior Dylan Meier, who started each of K-State's first five games, was ineffective, Prince gave Freeman his first significant action of the year, letting the freshman play the entire second half.
Despite Freeman's average performance (11 for 33, 196 yards, three interceptions), Prince stunned many Wildcat followers when he announced following the game it was time to see what the kid could do. Freeman would be the starter for the foreseeable future, beginning with last Saturday's game against Oklahoma State.
Prince defended his decision as scuttlebutt from Manhattan implied several of the team's veteran players took exception to Meier being benched and questioned whether the coach's decision was a nod to the program's future at the expense of the present.
While the decision took many in Wildcat Land by surprise, the only shocker to Freeman was that it took so long. The quarterback said Tuesday he had expected to start the season opener against Illinois State, yet found himself on the bench while Meier led the offense. Freeman didn't come to K-State to be patient.
"I was a little surprised, being the competition was so tight," Freeman said. "I dealt with it and kept grinding on plays and trying to do as good as I could do at practice, get as good as I could be."
And while the fallout from the decision may not be completely over, Freeman's fourth-quarter poise in a comeback win against the Cowboys certainly showed flashes of what Prince has seen all along.
Freeman rallied the Wildcats from a 10-point deficit in the last 4 minutes, 25 seconds of the game, leading scoring drives of 92 and 58 yards. He electrified the crowd with a 21-yard touchdown scramble with just more than a minute left as Kansas State beat Oklahoma State 31-27.
Prince gambled on the strategy to keep the game close and then let Freeman make plays to beat the Cowboys late -- a risk that paid off not only in the win column Saturday, but one that also may ease the uncertainty within the team about its new, young leader.
"Coach said that's the way it would be all week," senior wide receiver Yamon Figurs said. "We had confidence in him in spring game, practice and everything. He's got an arm. He's got a cannon."
Added Freeman: "I think I've earned respect from the whole team. They see that I can do it. We just all have a lot of confidence in each other."
K-State fans hope that confidence -- something it seems Freeman has in no short supply -- carries over to Saturday's game against Nebraska, a school that still carries some resentment toward the quarterback it wooed for two years and considered all but signed, sealed and delivered.
But Prince and Freeman both took steps to paint the NU game as just another contest, an opportunity to run their record together to 2-0 following their first wild win where Prince's faith was rewarded by a coming-of-age that came sooner than maybe anyone expected.
Anyone except for the quarterback and coach -- who with each additional step of growth prove they were exactly right about each other.
The evidence is right there in the photograph.
"He came and grabbed me on the field as we were going over to sing the fight song, and we had some personal words and it was good," Prince said, pausing to grin.
"That's what coaching is all about."
All that's missing from the Prince/Freeman alliance is the guy from Dateline coming out of the kitchen....from Yahoo Sports
Quarterback-coach bond lifts struggling Kansas State
By Jeff Sheldon, Daily Nebraskan
October 12, 2006
(CSTV U-WIRE) MANHATTAN, Kan. -- In the photograph, the coach and the quarterback are just coming into a joyous embrace.
It's a congratulatory moment with an "attaboy" frozen on the coach's lips as he beams at his star pupil. And though you can't see the players around Ron Prince and Josh Freeman celebrating Kansas State's last-minute win over Oklahoma State, believe me, they're there, but in that snapshot they are unimportant.
In that moment there is the coach, expressing his pride, and the quarterback, listening, always listening.
ADVERTISEMENT
***
If you didn't know any better, it would have seemed like a throwaway line during Ron Prince's weekly, half-hour session with reporters.
But when asked how Josh Freeman, Prince's 18-year-old true freshman quarterback, would handle the weeklong drama of preparing for Saturday's game against Nebraska, Prince didn't merely espouse his quarterback's maturity or beyond-his-years physical skills. The answer was almost ... paternal.
"He has me here to help him with that," the first-year Kansas State coach said.
Prince and Freeman. No head coach-quarterback tandem in the Big 12 Conference has its fate tied together more closely than this one, both of whom were brought to Manhattan for the sole purpose of pulling from the doldrums a program that has failed to receive a bowl bid in back-to-back seasons for the first time in more than a decade.
By now, the story of Prince's courting of Freeman -- who originally committed to Nebraska during his junior year at Grandview (Mo.) High School, only to spurn the Cornhuskers and sign with Kansas State - is well chronicled.
It's no secret Freeman eventually landing in Manhattan was a major triumph for Prince, who earned instant credibility with Wildcat fans by one-upping Nebraska before he even conducted a fall practice.
From Prince's side, the change-of-heart in Freeman's recruitment had little to do with NU but more with the relationship he quickly forged with the 6-foot-6, 235-pound quarterback once he arrived at K-State.
Prince first targeted Freeman while working as offensive coordinator at Virginia, but text messages and e-mails can only accomplish so much in getting one of the country's hottest prospects to spend the next four years halfway across the country in an unfamiliar program.
So when Prince was the surprise choice to succeed longtime Wildcat Coach Bill Snyder, the logistics of making a real run at Freeman became much more reasonable.
"I was real pleased we could get back in the conversation about him coming to Kansas State," Prince said. "I think we must've made quite an impression."
After he was named head coach, Prince introduced himself to Freeman for the first time. One of his first priorities was to give the quarterback a face to put with the countless phone calls and text messages he had received. Once Prince showed up at the Freeman household, the tide began to turn in the Wildcats' favor.
"The way Coach Prince came into my house," Freeman said, "you can just tell he's a special man and had some special things going for him."
The Freeman family kept their options open but finally visited Manhattan and met with Prince, where they became convinced the dynamic with the energetic, young coach would go beyond teaching Josh how to execute hot reads and throw post patterns.
"His parents said they felt comfortable with me and how they thought our relationship would be and the fact I'd make him go to class and do well in school and be a good person and all that stuff," Prince said. "I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision."
Nor was the call to rush Freeman into service.
Any football follower can tell you playing a freshman quarterback is risky, but the gamble seemed inevitable upon Freeman's signing with Kansas State.
Freeman graduated high school early so he could go through spring practice in Manhattan. Landing on a roster with three other quarterbacks with starting experience, the freshman quickly ascended the depth chart as Allen Webb and Allan Everidge transferred out of KSU. Redshirt freshman Kevin Lopina also left the program and is now at Washington State.
Rumors swirled that Prince was taking steps in practice to let it be known his prize recruit would be handed the reigns sooner than later.
Sooner ended up coming in the second half of the Wildcats' 17-3 loss at Baylor on Sept. 30. After senior Dylan Meier, who started each of K-State's first five games, was ineffective, Prince gave Freeman his first significant action of the year, letting the freshman play the entire second half.
Despite Freeman's average performance (11 for 33, 196 yards, three interceptions), Prince stunned many Wildcat followers when he announced following the game it was time to see what the kid could do. Freeman would be the starter for the foreseeable future, beginning with last Saturday's game against Oklahoma State.
Prince defended his decision as scuttlebutt from Manhattan implied several of the team's veteran players took exception to Meier being benched and questioned whether the coach's decision was a nod to the program's future at the expense of the present.
While the decision took many in Wildcat Land by surprise, the only shocker to Freeman was that it took so long. The quarterback said Tuesday he had expected to start the season opener against Illinois State, yet found himself on the bench while Meier led the offense. Freeman didn't come to K-State to be patient.
"I was a little surprised, being the competition was so tight," Freeman said. "I dealt with it and kept grinding on plays and trying to do as good as I could do at practice, get as good as I could be."
And while the fallout from the decision may not be completely over, Freeman's fourth-quarter poise in a comeback win against the Cowboys certainly showed flashes of what Prince has seen all along.
Freeman rallied the Wildcats from a 10-point deficit in the last 4 minutes, 25 seconds of the game, leading scoring drives of 92 and 58 yards. He electrified the crowd with a 21-yard touchdown scramble with just more than a minute left as Kansas State beat Oklahoma State 31-27.
Prince gambled on the strategy to keep the game close and then let Freeman make plays to beat the Cowboys late -- a risk that paid off not only in the win column Saturday, but one that also may ease the uncertainty within the team about its new, young leader.
"Coach said that's the way it would be all week," senior wide receiver Yamon Figurs said. "We had confidence in him in spring game, practice and everything. He's got an arm. He's got a cannon."
Added Freeman: "I think I've earned respect from the whole team. They see that I can do it. We just all have a lot of confidence in each other."
K-State fans hope that confidence -- something it seems Freeman has in no short supply -- carries over to Saturday's game against Nebraska, a school that still carries some resentment toward the quarterback it wooed for two years and considered all but signed, sealed and delivered.
But Prince and Freeman both took steps to paint the NU game as just another contest, an opportunity to run their record together to 2-0 following their first wild win where Prince's faith was rewarded by a coming-of-age that came sooner than maybe anyone expected.
Anyone except for the quarterback and coach -- who with each additional step of growth prove they were exactly right about each other.
The evidence is right there in the photograph.
"He came and grabbed me on the field as we were going over to sing the fight song, and we had some personal words and it was good," Prince said, pausing to grin.
"That's what coaching is all about."
