Dylen Smith's first impression of Mark Williams was not at all favorable.
Back on Christmas Day, 1995, Williams was Kansas University's football quarterback, and Smith was a junior QB at Santa Monica (Calif.) High.
Smith, a lifelong UCLA fan, tuned into the 1995 Aloha Bowl in time to see Williams, a shifty, 6-foot-1, 180-pound run-pass threat, lead Kansas to a 51-30 thrashing of Smith's beloved Bruins.
"I didn't like him at the time," said Smith, a shifty, 6-1, 190-pound run-pass threat. "But he was a good player."
Because of their deportment on the field -- and their similar California junior college backgrounds -- Smith and Williams often have been compared favorably.
All of which inevitably brings up the Colorado game. Williams, a senior at the time, used CU as a breakout game, leading the Jayhawks to a stunning victory over then-No. 4 Colorado, a victory that catapulted the Jayhawks to a 10-2, top-10 season.
Can history repeat itself Saturday, when the Jayhawks return to Boulder, Colo.? That remains to be seen, but despite all their similarities, on one point, at least, Smith and Williams vary greatly heading into CU: Williams was the starter, while Smith is Kansas' backup.
"We'll start Zac (Wegner)," Kansas coach Terry Allen said, "and Dylen will play a bunch."
Allen isn't big on two-quarterback systems, but he's resigned to one now that Smith has established a firm grasp of the KU offense.
Through two games, Smith has completed 17 of 24 passes (70.83 percent) for 197 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His QB rating of 181 points ranks third in the Big 12.
Wegner, the senior incumbent starter, has completed 18 of 33 passes (54.55 percent) for 225 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. His rating of 125.8 points ranks 10th in the Big 12.
"Zac will take command of things," Allen said. "Dylen still has a way to go with things. We like our approach. We're comfortable with it. Dylen is very good. It's not that there's a (talent) gap there. It's just how we can best use it.
"I like the setup. Our senior captain can come in and get things going, but we have the fiery right-hander coming off the bench."
Both the senior captain and the fiery right-hander say they're fine with the arrangement, too.
"I know it's obviously on everybody's mind," Wegner said. "But it's something you can't let bother you our you'd play like crap. I'm doing the best I can. I can't ask anymore. If it's not good enough, I can't do anything other than that. I'd like it to be mine, but at the same time, I can see what he can do.
"He gives us an added dimension. He's not just a pro-style, drop-back passer. It's good. It helps the team be successful. I want the team to be successful. I want to be playing somewhere for Christmas."
Smith also said he didn't mind relieving. In fact, he almost prefers it. Almost.
"It doesn't bother me at all," he said. "It gives me a chance to see what's going on and helps me play better so it's not all on me. Zac tells me what they're doing. It's kind of like cheating in a way.
"(But) anybody would like to start. If they asked me to start, I wouldn't be mad about it. But I'm happy where I am."
If nothing else, having two distinct quarterbacks makes preparations more difficult for the Buffs. In Wegner, they face a prototypical drop-back passer. In Smith, they face a gifted scrambler who also can fling it.
Despite Smith's nifty running, Allen insists Smith is not a running quarterback.
"The thing that separates him from a lot of athletic quarterbacks," Allen said, "is that he has escapability, but he has the presence to find people down field. A lot of athletic guys can avoid the run and the ball's not going anywhere."
Allen used last Saturday's 71-14 rout of Cal State Northridge as an extended tryout for Smith, and Smith passed. Allen said the quality of opponent didn't much matter.
"What was he, 13 of 15?" Allen asked. "Nine out of 10 of those were the right reads. He had one bad ball. The others, he scrambled around and threw downfield."
Allen admitted the NCAA Div. I-AA Matadors might have made Smith look a little better than, say, the Buffaloes might. But "
"There's an awful lot of talent there," Allen said. "He did that against Div. I-A Notre Dame. He got away. There was one of those I couldn't believe anybody go out of."
Smith knows his best college game came against a small-class college. Now he's eager to see what he can do against CU.
"I think I improved between Notre Dame and Northridge," Smith said. "I think I ran the offense better. But Notre Dame and Northridge are two different teams. We'll see Saturday how well I do. But I think I've come a long way since Notre Dame."
-- Andrew Hartsock's phone number is 832-7216. His e-mail address is ahartsock@ljworld.com.
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