Cliff’s Notes: Charlie Weis press conference, 9/11/12

Here is the Cliff’s Notes version from Kansas football coach Charlie Weis’ comments at his press conference today.

Also, here’s the depth chart (not many changes; Brandon Bourbon is no longer at fullback; Jake Love is back in as a backup at SLB; plus, a few minor changes in the secondary).

Audio has been posted.

Weis confirmed that linebacker Prinz Kande is out for the year with a torn ACL. Weis says Kale Pick, Brandon Bourbon and Lubbock Smith are all day-to-day. If KU was playing today, Weis said those guys probably wouldn’t play. Still, KU will put those guys through treatment and see how they feel by the end of the week.

Weis expects KU to be able to run the ball against TCU. He said KU schemed its running game well against a similar defense to TCU’s last week (Weis said Rice’s defense is similar schematically to TCU’s).

Weis said he let the team be in the tank Saturday night because he was in it too. The best medicine in sports is to go out there and play again. Once KU gets out there Saturday afternoon, you’ve already moved on.

Weis said he is happy with both Tony Pierson and Taylor Cox. Those guys are doing their jobs and doing what they can do.

Weis would say he isn’t happy with the passing game right now. He said that might be an understatement on his part. The passing game has a lot of room for improvement. It had better come on in a hurry, because as opponents improve, you’re going to have to score more than 24 points.

• Weis said Aslam Sterling made a lot more mistakes than Randall Dent, so Dent played more at right guard on Saturday against Rice.

KU is going to play a team this week that is going to try to pound it. That’s why Weis shifted some bigger guys like Jake Love onto the depth chart.

Weis said linebacker Anthony McDonald is ready to play.

• Dayne Crist is going to tell reporters today that he’s disappointed. Everyone expects to be more efficient in the passing game. KU made strides from Week 1 to Week 2, but it’s going to have play much better to compete with the big boys.

Weis talked to Crist on Monday night. He told him to just do his job.

Kande was playing well before he was injured, and he was playing two positions. He was providing decent snaps. It hurts. Weis feels bad for Kande, who was taking advantage of a new chance with a new coaching staff.

TCU is saying it wants to make a statement with its first Big 12 conference game. But Weis says we should look at this from a practical perspective. TCU is looking at film of KU after losing to Rice. It might be tough for TCU to get motivation for this game. Weis has been on that end as a coach, too. It’s tough to get motivated to play games like that.

Weis says he’s laid mousetraps around the locker room when his team has been favored in the past to get the team to focus on a “trap” game. He said if you are the favorite, you use any means necessary to get your team’s attention.

TCU is definitely an upper-level team in the Big 12. Weis has looked at tape of all the teams in the conference, and TCU can hang with the best. TCU is well-coached. Weis says his team could win or lose any game it plays in the Big 12 just based on its preparation. Most people don’t think that, but Weis believes that.

The way the games have played out, it’s presented itself in a way that Tony Pierson has been able to go more than 15 touches. Like last week, Rice had a 17-play drive, and Pierson had about 20 minutes on the sideline. Weis joked that he could have taken a nap. Pierson was well-rested, and the game was tied, so Weis decided to go with his best player.

Weis said he still has confidence in his kicking game. He said he knew he was taking a chance on a 53-yard field-goal attempt. On the 36, a punt might only net 16 yards. He took a chance there. The 40-yarder, though, is one you plan on having. Weis has been known as a guy that goes for it a lot on fourth downs already. If the kicking game does continue to struggle, that might play into his decision-making on fourth down. Weis said he’s not at that point yet.

Weis’ conversations with defensive coordinator Dave Campo in the last 48 hours have been more about personnel than about scheme. First the discussion was about KU’s personnel, then it was about TCU’s personnel. A lot of times the average fan doesn’t know that much of coaches’ preparation is based on a team’s personnel. The personnel is who that team is.