Dawson to debut vs. Jayhawks

After spending seven years in charge of strength and conditioning at Kansas University, former strength coach Chris Dawson will be stationed on the visitor’s sideline during Thursday night’s game.

When former KU coach Mark Mangino resigned last December, the rest of his staff was forced to find work elsewhere. It didn’t take Dawson long, as the Houston native and 1995 graduate of Oklahoma quickly made the trip down I-70 looking for a position with Kansas State. In January, Dawson was hired by KSU coach Bill Snyder.

While coaches moving between the two Sunflower State schools is not unheard of, it is a rarity. However, K-State defensive back Tysyn Hartman said at Big 12 Media Days this summer that welcoming Dawson to Manhattan was made easier by the fact that former K-State player and coach Joe Bob Clements made a similar jump from Kansas to Kansas State a year earlier.

“I think it was easy because we had coach Clements come over from KU the previous year. That helped the transition out,” Hartman said. “He came from KU, and he’s OK, so I think we’ll be all right.”

Former KU player and defensive coordinator Clint Bowen also entertained the idea of moving to Manhattan after Mangino’s departure, so he knows exactly what Dawson went through when making the leap.

“Bill Snyder is recognized across the country as a really great coach,” Bowen said. “And if you have an opportunity to go work for a guy like that as an assistant coach, you kind of put the mascots aside and say, ‘Hey, this is going to make me a better football coach, and it might increase my chances of having success in this business.'”

A request to interview Dawson went without a response.

After the coaching transition at Kansas, John Williams was hired to take over as KU’s strength coach under Turner Gill. Those who trained under both men said Dawson’s program focused more on running and conditioning while Williams has focused more on building power and strength.

Turnovers, please

Through the first five games of the season, Gill has made no secret about his desire to see his defense create more turnovers.

Each week, when Gill lists off his keys to the game, turnovers are always mentioned. Typically, Gill will say something to the effect of, ‘We need to win the turnover battle,’ or, ‘We need to be plus-2 in turnovers.’ This week, Gill went a step further.

“Something that is really important for us is we must create turnovers,” he said. “We need to get three turnovers. Whether it’s our defense causing turnovers or our special teams, we must get three or more turnovers in the game.”

On the flip side of the equation, Gill said he wanted to see his offense cough up just one turnover or less.

Through five games, Kansas has given eight turnovers — four fumbles and four interceptions — and taken just three. Isiah Barfield snagged an interception against North Dakota State, Phillip Strozier picked one against Southern Miss, and Drew Dudley recovered a fumble recovery against Georgia Tech.

“I think you have to talk about the word physical,” Gill said. “If you play physical and you play confident, I think (turnovers occur). If you’re a little bit hesitant, you’re not sure of what you want to do or need to do, you won’t quite play with the intensity you need to play with to cause turnovers.”

Terry to miss third straight contest

Initially believed to have a chance to play this week, freshman safety Keeston Terry has been ruled out for Thursday’s game because of a leg injury he suffered during the second half of KU’s loss to Southern Miss.

After listing him as questionable at the beginning of the week, Gill confirmed Tuesday night that Terry would not play.

In other injury news, Gill said Monday that tight end AJ Steward (shoulder) and defensive end Tyrone Sellers (leg) would play, backup quarterback Kale Pick (leg) was questionable and senior safety Strozier (leg) was doubtful.