Gill tries to reassure reeling Kansas fans

LAWRENCE — On Tuesday, Kansas football coach Turner Gill said the same things he's been saying about the Jayhawks' disappointing season — that this process is going to take time and that, eventually, KU will be fast and athletic and a team that plays with passion.

But there was one major difference in Gill's message, and it had everything to do with his intended recipients.

"I want to start off by speaking to our fans," is how Gill began his weekly news conference. In past weeks, he had said that he does not listen to what is being said about him and his reeling program. Something must have changed, and certainly, it would have been hard to miss the thousands of KU supporters in Memorial Stadium on Saturday who filed out before Texas A&M's 45-10 beating of Kansas was over.

"I want our fans to know that we're going through some ups and downs in our football program here," Gill continued, "and part of that is the transition with a new staff, and our players are getting to know us in a better way.... We are very, very confident that we will come through here and have a winning program on a consistent basis, and that's why we chose to come here."

It is part of Gill's job to cater to fans and alumni. And, since he hasn't been able to do that with his product on the field during his first seven games in command of KU's program, it was important for Gill to address his constituency. His comments — pretty vanilla as far as football coaches go — may not be enough for some. But this is Turner Gill. From the pulpit, he's not going to give you a lot of fire and brimstone and doomsday predictions.

According to his assistants, that's one of the best things about their boss.

"You don't get beat like we've gotten beat and have the record we have right now and it not affect you a little bit mentally," KU defensive coordinator Carl Torbush said, "but the great thing about Coach Gill is consistency, stability, dealing with it on an even keel, and that's one thing I truly respect not only about him but the rest of this coaching staff."

While it's Gill's responsibility to keep the fans happy, it's his staff's job to send the right vibes to an even more important group of people: Recruits. It'd be hard for them to do that if they didn't still trust in Gill's vision. Kids and parents could see right through it.

"We're not gonna say something about our football program or our football coach that we don't truly believe," Torbush said. "Everybody needs to understand, you're dealing with an outstanding head football coach. I've been around a bunch of them. He's not only a great football coach, he's a great man.... He's the type of man you want to be successful for. In my opinion, there are not many like him in America."

Gill's salesmen have been out and about, and so far, they've been undeterred by the recent string of blowout losses. The Jayhawks have secured 18 oral commitments, with the last two coming in the aftermath of the loss to the Aggies, according to Rivals.com.

Four-star running back Darrian Miller of Blue Springs and two-star cornerback Adonis Saunders of Olathe North joined up despite the negativity surrounding the program.

"In my past, some of our best recruiting classes have come out of our worst seasons," KU offensive coordinator Chuck Long said. "It's staying consistent in how you sell it."

Torbush and Long exude confidence in Gill because they've been here in the past. Working under Mack Brown at North Carolina, Torbush saw Brown start his tenure with back-to-back 1-10 seasons during 1988-89. Working under Kirk Ferentz at Iowa, Long watched as Ferentz debuted at 1-10 in 1999.

"I learned as much from that year as I did from a national championship season (at Oklahoma)," Long said, "in terms of setting a foundation and a mission and staying with it. (Ferentz) never lost his cool and never wavered."

Mecham expected to start — Gill said that starting quarterback Jordan Webb (shoulder injury) is doubtful and backup Kale Pick (concussion) is out for Saturday's game at Iowa State, which means junior transfer Quinn Mecham probably will start against the Cyclones.

"He's got a smile on his face, and he's ready to go," Gill said of Mecham. "He told me 'Coach, I"m ready. I'm ready for this opportunity' the other day. It's an opportunity for him, and you always want that opportunity to go out and see what you can do."

Long said wide receiver Christian Matthews, recruited to KU as a quarterback, would get some work at practice this week.

Gill also announced that wide receiver D.J. Beshears and running back Deshaun Sands will serve one-game suspensions for unspecified team rules violations.

Sands was arrested Oct. 21 on two counts of failure to appear in Lawrence Municipal Court relating to multiple traffic violations.

Gill said that injured true freshman safety/wide receiver Keeston Terry, a Blue Springs native, is going to seek a medical hardship year in an effort to reclaim what could be a lost year of eligibility.

This story was originally published October 27, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Gill tries to reassure reeling Kansas fans."