Moran Norris is a selfless sort, which is a good thing since he plays fullback for Kansas University's football team.
Norris, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound junior from Houston, played extensively in all 11 games last season and made every start -- six -- in which the Jayhawks opened with a fullback.
He had all of five carries during the season and none so far this season heading into the Jayhawks' home opener against Cal State Northridge today. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
"I want the rock," Norris said. "Everybody wants the rock. But it's coach's decision. If he chooses not to give me the rock, I'll be satisfied. I'll block and it'll be good. I want my running back to get 100 yards every game. I'm happy just to block for those guys."
He'd better be, because with the likes of diminutive David Winbush and Mitch Bowles at tailback, Norris well could be in for another long season of just a few touches.
"Really, that's fine with me," Norris said. "Sure, I'd like to carry the ball more, but we've got great runners back there -- Winbush, Bowles, HenrÃ- Childs. They're used to running the ball and making reads and I'm used to blocking."
Norris didn't touch the ball until the second week of last season, and that was a pass reception for minus-one yard. He didn't get a carry until the fifth week, and all five of his runs -- for 14 yards -- came in just two games.
Of course, it didn't help that among those five carries, Norris had one fumble.
"I gotta concentrate on holding onto the ball more," he said. "I only had one in a game, but I had some in practice. I think I've gotten a whole lot better."
Whether he touches the ball today remains to be seen, but he well could factor heavily into Kansas' fortunes regardless.
All week the Jayhawks (0-1) have talked about dominating the Div. I-AA Matadors (1-0) early and often, and that usually entails a punishing running game.
"Yeah, we gotta shove it down their throats right away," Norris said. "I could see myself blocking all day."
So could KU coach Terry Allen, who, as an eight-year veteran in the I-AA ranks, has preached the importance of Kansas not overlooking the small-class Matadors.
"We have to come out and do it from the start," Allen said. "We have to establish dominance on the line of scrimmage. That's why the first quarter is so important. We have to establish dominance. We can't let them get in their minds they can play."
The Matadors have every reason to expect they can.
"We've played I-A's before," interim CSN coach Jeff Kearin said. "We beat the heck out of Boise. We beat New Mexico State. We were with Hawaii in the fourth quarter. Hey, I love these I-A games. This is one of the biggest games in the history of our school. It'll be a big-time crowd, a big-time stadium and a big-time team, and we'll come in with the intent of winning the thing."
Kearin, too, has stressed the importance of a quick start. That's exactly what he didn't get last week, when the Matadors trailed into the third quarter before rallying to a 38-19 victory over NCAA Div. II Western Oregon.
"I'm sure there will be some big eyes when we walk into that stadium," Kearin said. "But we can't let that bother us. Playing catch-up would be difficult for us. We had to do it last week, but they're a Div. II team. We could play catch-up with them, but Kansas is a different story.
"So, we'll come in and we're going to play free-wheeling. We've got nothing to lose."
That's precisely what Allen -- who went 3-5 in his career as a I-AA coach against I-A teams -- has been saying all week.
"I've got a little cloud around my head right now," Allen said.
He well knows a convincing victory over CSN could chase those clouds away, but he also knows a loss today would be downright stormy.
"We gotta win that football game and play well," Allen said. "If we stay healthy, we think we can be a pretty decent football team. I'm not setting us up for failure. I just want to get this game going, have some success and head to Boulder."
KU will open its Big 12 season next Saturday at Boulder. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m.
-- Andrew Hartsock's phone number is 832-7216. His e-mail address is ahartsock@ljworld.com.
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