IRVING, Texas -&nbsp;The Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences have announced the 2020 matchups for their women’s basketball challenge. Kansas will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to face Ole Miss as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

The matchup between the Jayhawks and the Rebels will be the third all-time meeting between the two programs. Ole Miss leads the series 2-0 after defeating Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse, 78-76, in 2006.

Kansas is 3-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, having defeated Florida in 2019-20 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU's last two challenge victories came on the road at LSU in 2018-19 and at home over Arkansas in 2017-18.&nbsp;

Every team from the Big 12 will participate, while 10 teams from the SEC will take part. The format features five home games on campus sites for each conference per year.

Game dates and tip times, along with television designations, will be released when available.

“The SEC/Big 12 Challenge proved to be a successful event for both conferences since its inception in 2014,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “These contests provide high-quality matchups that prepare our teams for the rigors of Big 12 play, while showcasing the excitement of women’s basketball.”

The inaugural challenge was held in 2014. The 10-team format began in 2016 with the two conferences splitting the challenge in 2017 and 2018. The Big 12 won the event in 2019 with eight of its teams collecting victories.

The full&nbsp;Kansas women's basketball nonconference schedule will be announced at a later date.

2020 SEC/Big 12 Women’s Basketball Challenge matchups

--<a href="http://kuathletics.com">kuathletics.com</a>--

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1590805943574.jpeg" alt="Image courtesy <a href="http://kuathletics.com">kuathletics.com</a>" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy <a href="http://kuathletics.com">kuathletics.com</a></figcaption>
 </figure>IRVING, Texas -&nbsp;The Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences have announced the 2020 matchups for their women’s basketball challenge. Kansas will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to face Ole Miss as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.The matchup between the Jayhawks and the Rebels will be the third all-time meeting between the two programs. Ole Miss leads the series 2-0 after defeating Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse, 78-76, in 2006.Kansas is 3-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, having defeated Florida in 2019-20 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU's last two challenge victories came on the road at LSU in 2018-19 and at home over Arkansas in 2017-18.&nbsp;Every team from the Big 12 will participate, while 10 teams from the SEC will take part. The format features five home games on campus sites for each conference per year.Game dates and tip times, along with television designations, will be released when available.“The SEC/Big 12 Challenge proved to be a successful event for both conferences since its inception in 2014,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “These contests provide high-quality matchups that prepare our teams for the rigors of Big 12 play, while showcasing the excitement of women’s basketball.”The inaugural challenge was held in 2014. The 10-team format began in 2016 with the two conferences splitting the challenge in 2017 and 2018. The Big 12 won the event in 2019 with eight of its teams collecting victories.The full&nbsp;Kansas women's basketball nonconference schedule will be announced at a later date.2020 SEC/Big 12 Women’s Basketball Challenge matchupsKansas at Ole MissBaylor at ArkansasSouth Carolina at Iowa StateKentucky at K-StateOklahoma at GeorgiaAlabama at Oklahoma StateTCU at MissouriTexas A&amp;M at TexasTexas Tech at VanderbiltTennessee at West Virginia--<a href="http://kuathletics.com">kuathletics.com</a>--

KU women to play Ole Miss in SEC/Big 12 Challenge

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs assistant coaches recently talked football with the media. Following are their comments.

ASSISTANT SPECIAL TEAMS COACH ANDY HILL

Q: Growing up in Trenton, Mo., were you a Chiefs fan? And you were in camp with the Chiefs in 1985. What do you remember about that experience?

HILL: “Trenton, Mo., is 1000 percent Kansas City Chiefs. My parents used to take me down to the training camp at William Jewell. In 1985, when I was lucky enough to have the choice between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs, I obviously chose the Chiefs to come to training camp. Back then, they used to cut the Monday after preseason games, so every Monday, you’re holding your breakfast tray hoping the ‘turk’ wouldn’t get you and make eye contact with you. I made it until the last cut. I know that was the year they cut back, but they had a bunch of good receivers – Carlos Carson, Stephone Paige, Henry Marshall, a bunch of guys that were really good players and I was very fortunate just to get the tryout.”

Q: The NFL owners approved a couple of things today, but they also tabled the 4th and 15 discussion as a replacement to the onside kick. What are your thoughts on the conversation that they’re looking at creating an alternative to the onside kick and the fact that they’ve tabled it for right now?

HILL: “Well, that’s certainly a question for Andy Reid and Dave Toub in the sense that I’m sure that the reason they tabled it is because it’s such a wide-ranging variety of what people think about it. I saw what Coach Reid said and I’ll stick with what Coach Reid said, I think that we’ve got guys that can make the play either way. As a special teams guy, you’d like to keep it (the onside kick) in there.”

Q: Joining the coaching staff, what’s it been like for you to get acclimated to the team in terms of your fellow coaches and the players?

HILL: “Well, I was there in the very first part of March and so the Super Bowl win was still very fresh in the building. The positive mojo and the positive vibes from all the Chiefs – not just the coaches, but all the personnel in the entire building – was something that really was phenomenal for me, was certainly a breath of fresh air, and was something that if we can keep that chemistry going and all the positive vibes going, it’s really special.”

Q: You and Dave Toub go back quite a long time. How’s that friendship been, what’s it meant to you and do you have any good Dave Toub stories?

HILL: “Well I’m in my basement right now and Dave Toub, before he got hired by Andy Reid in Philadelphia, was finishing out my basement. If you ask about half the people in Columbia, Missouri, if they have a house addition or a basement finished, Dave Toub was probably doing it at the time he was here. But Dave and I have kept in great touch. When he was lucky enough to get to the NFL with Coach Reid back in Philadelphia, I didn’t ever go out to Philadelphia, but when he got hired at the Chicago Bears back early in the 2000s, I went up several times to visit him and all their other coaches because I was coaching some special teams at the time but also mostly wide receivers and different positions. So, I would go to the Bears. I’ve been very fortunate the last couple years when he’s been with the Chiefs in Kansas City, I recruited Kansas City for the Missouri Tigers back then, and I’d stop by practice this time of year actually, after Memorial Day, when they were in phase three of OTAs and I had the chance to go by a practice or two. The last couple of years we had Jeremy Maclin, Chase Daniel, Mitch Morse and some guys and so I was very fortunate to get in there and see them. Our relationship has been pretty much the same the entire time.”

Q: I know Willie Gay is just getting started, but looking at his skillset, what do you think he brings to your group that maybe you didn’t have last year?

HOUSE: “We really love his athleticism. He’s got a good frame, he’s big and he can run.”

Q: How has the experience been for you and your players to go through this offseason virtually? You feel like the players have been attentive and picking up on things that you’re working on?

HOUSE: “Yeah, I’ve been very pleased with the linebacker room and how they’ve embraced what we’re doing. I think they’ve grown within our scheme during this time.”

Q: The organization is invested in a guy like Willie Gay after using a draft pick on him. But with this being such an odd time with only being virtual and not being on the field, what do you think you’re missing in terms of the details for a guy like him who is completely new?

HOUSE: “Well, I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t really looked at it that way. As coaches, our job is to adapt and adjust, and in the times that we’ve been in, that’s kind of what we’ve been doing. Really, it’s been great because I don’t know if you get this much individual meeting time normally because you are racing to get out on the field. So hopefully it clears up any questions that he has in his mind so that when we do get out on the grass, we can hit the ground running.”

Q: Every team is going through a similar situation right now, and there’s no real blueprint for it. How much do you enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to handle this offseason?

HOUSE: “Yeah, I think the good thing is it’s still teaching. Coaching is just teaching. One of the things, we’ve had to use different platforms, but at the end of the day, you’re still teaching off of the same concepts and using video and using the different avenues you have available to yourself and the group. There’s some trial and error for sure, but all-in-all, it’s still teaching in my mind.”

RUN GAME COORDINATOR/DEFENSIVE LINE COACH BRENDAN DALY

Q: You’ve had some movement on the defensive line. What does Taco Charlton bring to the group? And how important is this upcoming year for a guy like Breeland Speaks?

DALY: “Well, you’re right. Both of those guys are coming back into the fold or are new to the group, and we’ve got some other guys in that category as well that spent some time injured or are coming to us, but specifically with those two, Breeland has done a nice job in terms of his rehab, in terms of working post-surgery, he’s had some good time in terms of recovery. We’ll see. I’ve got high expectations for him. The third year, I’ve found over the course of my career, is a year that guys kind of define themselves in a lot of instances. Hopefully we’re going to see that out of Breeland. I’ve got great anticipation and hope for what we’re going to see out of him when we can get back on the field. As far as Taco is concerned, we’ve had him for a couple of weeks. I would say it’s probably a little bit early to make some of those judgements based on not having seen him move around at all or having been with him on the field. He’s done a great job in our meeting settings, I’ve been impressed with his work ethic in terms of trying to learn the system and get up to speed with our vocabulary, terminology and on the same page with the rest of the group. We’ll see how that goes. I look forward to getting him out there and seeing what that looks like, to be honest.”

Q: As someone who coaches with passion and likes to have that one-on-one interaction with his players, how difficult has this time and the virtual offseason program been for you?

DALY: “I would say I’m missing that element of things, for sure. But it is what it is. You’ve got to be able to adapt, to change and adapt to the situation, and that’s what we’ve tried to do. The meetings have been really good, I’ve been pleased with what we’ve gotten out of them, I think they’ve been productive. I credit the players for doing a great job in terms of their attention. They’ve brought some things to the table there, I think it’s been engaging, as best we can make it. Obviously, it’s not the same as being on the field, but we’re all working under the same parameters and are trying to do the best job that we can with the situation as it’s been unfolding.”

Q: How do you think the players have received the virtual teaching on their end? And as far as the rookies, how do think they’re picking things up?

DALY: “In terms of the format, I would say there have been some challenges both from a coaches’ standpoint in preparing things, and from a players’ standpoint in functioning in that environment. That’s good, I think that’s invigorating in a lot of ways, and those types of challenge ultimately help you improve. If you don’t get out of your comfort zone ever, you kind of just stay stagnant and do the same old thing. I have certainly found that to be the case with my preparation for the meetings, it’s challenged me to come up with creative things to keep it interesting, different ways to come at presenting information or quizzing information. So, I won’t say that it’s been easy by any means, but it has been challenging and interesting. The players, you’d have to ask them. I don’t know if they’d have the same perception of how that’s going or not. It’s new, it’s different, and I do think that there are probably some pieces of it that will probably last, even moving forward, just in terms of teaching. It’s been fun in some elements of it from that regard. You get this with every rookie class, you get some separate time with those guys on their own, just the young guys, and that’s invaluable time. A lot of times they’re not willing to jump out there in a group setting and ask questions and admit they don’t know things – even though you know they don’t have it all figured out. So those individual segments when you have them are important and you really do get to see a lot more personality out of them, a lot more about who they are in a more relaxed environment. Both Mike (Danna) and Tershawn Wharton have been fantastic in that setting. I’ve really been impressed by those two guys, most specifically in their work ethic and the time they’re putting in on their own when we’re not actually engaged on a call. That’s been one of the most impressive elements for those two guys.”

DEFENSIVE BACKS/CORNERBACKS SAM MADISON

Q: What are your overall impressions of L’Jarius Sneed and BoPete Keyes?

MADISON: “I love it, man. I told [Brett] Veach last year that we didn’t get any corners and he was like, ‘Sam, just relax there’s going to be some more’. Then luckily for these two guys and we get them into the room now and we understand and see why he felt that way. These guys have been spot on, very good with the questions that we ask on a consistent basis. The things that Coach Spags [Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] asks of them they’re doing their best right now. So, if they’re willing to do this and continue to do it throughout the course of their career that means they did some really good work on the backgrounds of these kids. Me and Coach [Dave] Merritt are enjoying them every day.”

Q: From what you’ve seen from Antonio Hamilton on film. What does he need to do to get some playing time with the Chiefs?

MADISON: “Playmaking ability. Coach Spags is always talking about it and we preach it. Getting the ball back to the offense as many times as possible. We had guys in positions last year and looking forward we’re looking for guys to make those plays. In your first year in the scheme, in the defense you don’t really know how to make the plays because you don’t understand the scheme, but now they’ve been into it for a year. They understand how to make the plays, where the play is going to be made because now they understand Coach Spags’ system and what’s the reasoning behind the things that he’s doing. So that’s the part we’re looking for Hamilton to come in and be versatile just like the majority of our secondary guys and he’s doing very well so far in these virtual meetings.”

Q: What do you think worked for Charvarius Ward in your first year working together and what do you think his attitude is going into the second year in the scheme, with the possibility of him growing even more?

MADISON: “Understanding his strengths and his weaknesses and he was able to display it. He was able to take criticism of it when he wasn’t doing good and when he was doing great, he was able to continue to fight through the high points when he was getting the praise. Now he’s got to put it all together. He’s going into his third year, he’s gotten the reps. That was the great part about it, getting those guys the reps to understand, to see, to know what the route concept is. Tyrann [Mathieu] he’s played a lot of football games. He understands route concepts, what people want to do. Just getting these guys to understand how to study film was one of the great things that Coach Merritt was able to implement with these guys and now they understand why we’re doing certain things. Just clearing up the technique. Like the gentleman asked before, what do we have to do when we get back? Little small techniques were the things that really hurt a lot of us in the plays that we gave up. Should’ve had some big plays out of all of these guys, but those are the things that they’ll have to correct and get better at going forward.”

Q: Other than Charvarius Ward and Bashaud Breeland, what options do you feel like you have at the cornerback position and why those players fit?

MADISON: “Hamilton. We brought him in to be able to come out and compete but when you look at the landscape of offenses this year, you’re going to have three wide receivers on the football field every single time so you need to find that third corner. Having an opportunity to draft Sneed, a big corner, physical guy, knows how to attack the ball at the highest point. Those are the things for each and every last one of our guys that we need to get better at as the percentage is 50/50 of balls thrown downfield. Sneed, Keyes, you look at Hamilton, we brought in men to come in and solidify themselves. One guy I’m excited about is Rashad Fenton. You look at later on in the season, even going into the Super Bowl the kid, he made plays. He has to see those concepts, understand them, Tyrann was able to help him and work through them and we were able to put a pretty good run with these guys. Going later on when Breeland went down a couple of series, he went out there and he played corner and he held his own. We’re going to put these guys, just like we did last year, in a lot of different places and see what comes up. Coach Spags has a really good mixture of guys that he can play with. We can coach these guys up and get them to understand how to play together, the sky is the limit, going out there and making plays.”

RUNNING BACKS COACH DELAND MCCULLOUGH

Q: What does Clyde Edwards-Helaire bring to the table?

MCCULLOUGH: “I like his short-area quickness, his ability to make guys miss in short spaces. I like the fact that he makes the first guy miss either by just making him miss or running through him. Probably the number one thing I like is his disposition, his demeaner, his football mind. He’s very smart. It’s been evident through what we’ve seen through the combine process and everything leading up to the draft. And he’s not disappointed at all during the process with all the virtual meetings he’s in.”

Q: What tells you that Damien Williams can continue to be your starter? And how did he take the news of the team drafting a running back in the first round?

MCCULLOUGH: “One thing is looking at Damien’s past, I think since coming to the Chiefs, we’ve gotten a whole lot out of him. He’s been able to show not only us, but whoever looked at him previously that he’s a higher-end player. Consistency is something he wants to continue to work on. But I think when he shined, he shined at a level to help us get over a hump in a few games, and obviously helped win the Super Bowl. As far as how he reacted to the drafting of Clyde, Damien is a veteran. He’s going to continue to do the things he needs to do, control what he can control, embracing guys and continue to move forward.”

Q: What do you think Clyde’s role in this offense will be? What about Darwin Thompson in year 2?

MCCULLOUGH: “Everybody in this offense, all the halfbacks need to be able to do everything. They need to be able to do everything, and then we’ll let everything sort itself out from there. Clyde, he’s not going to be pigeon-holed into ‘This guy is going to be a third-down back or this guy is this or this guy is that.’ He’s going to take on everything the offense has and we’ll let the chips fall as they may. Same thing with Darwin. It’s going to be an opportunity for him this year. Another guy I’m very excited about. He had a whole lot of things last year that didn’t necessarily work against him, but just the fact that he was a rookie. He had some limited opportunities. He did some things that were good. He did some things that he needed to improve on. He took inventory of the things that he needed to improve on, and he’s ready to come out and do those things. So, again, a room full of great competitors, bunch of great players, guys that can do a bunch of things. And the beauty of this is when we’re able to get back on the field, we’re going to be able to start sorting out where guys fall, but in the meantime, every man in that room is preparing to do everything.”

Q: Can you talk about the level of competition in the running backs room? And what are your thoughts on having a starting running back vs. doing it by committee?

MCCULLOUGH: “Like I said earlier, you want to get all these guys out there. You want to get going and see what we’ve got. One thing we know just looking at some guys’ pasts and snapshots we’ve got of guys, whether it be DeAndre Washington, obviously with Darrel (Williams) and Damien (Williams) and Darwin (Thompson) with us. And then you look at we drafted Clyde and what his body of work was in college, you know we have some high-end players in that room. And I know with some guys returning, guys we feel comfortable with, but again, you always want to enhance the room and create competition and raise the level of the room. I think that’s what we have. How it all shakes down ultimately, we’re going to let that thing play out on the football field. That’s the beauty of our game. We’ll get a chance to go out, and let’s see what’s what. So, our whole room knows that. The guys are looking forward to it. They get along well, very competitive, however, very supportive, also. And they know at the end of the day, what they do will speak to what their role is when the season gets started. I’m looking forward to that.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City Chiefs assistant coaches recently talked football with the media. Following are their comments.ASSISTANT SPECIAL TEAMS COACH ANDY HILLQ: Growing up in Trenton, Mo., were you a Chiefs fan? And you were in camp with the Chiefs in 1985. What do you remember about that experience?HILL: “Trenton, Mo., is 1000 percent Kansas City Chiefs. My parents used to take me down to the training camp at William Jewell. In 1985, when I was lucky enough to have the choice between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs, I obviously chose the Chiefs to come to training camp. Back then, they used to cut the Monday after preseason games, so every Monday, you’re holding your breakfast tray hoping the ‘turk’ wouldn’t get you and make eye contact with you. I made it until the last cut. I know that was the year they cut back, but they had a bunch of good receivers – Carlos Carson, Stephone Paige, Henry Marshall, a bunch of guys that were really good players and I was very fortunate just to get the tryout.”Q: The NFL owners approved a couple of things today, but they also tabled the 4th and 15 discussion as a replacement to the onside kick. What are your thoughts on the conversation that they’re looking at creating an alternative to the onside kick and the fact that they’ve tabled it for right now?HILL: “Well, that’s certainly a question for Andy Reid and Dave Toub in the sense that I’m sure that the reason they tabled it is because it’s such a wide-ranging variety of what people think about it. I saw what Coach Reid said and I’ll stick with what Coach Reid said, I think that we’ve got guys that can make the play either way. As a special teams guy, you’d like to keep it (the onside kick) in there.”Q: Joining the coaching staff, what’s it been like for you to get acclimated to the team in terms of your fellow coaches and the players?HILL: “Well, I was there in the very first part of March and so the Super Bowl win was still very fresh in the building. The positive mojo and the positive vibes from all the Chiefs – not just the coaches, but all the personnel in the entire building – was something that really was phenomenal for me, was certainly a breath of fresh air, and was something that if we can keep that chemistry going and all the positive vibes going, it’s really special.”Q: You and Dave Toub go back quite a long time. How’s that friendship been, what’s it meant to you and do you have any good Dave Toub stories?HILL: “Well I’m in my basement right now and Dave Toub, before he got hired by Andy Reid in Philadelphia, was finishing out my basement. If you ask about half the people in Columbia, Missouri, if they have a house addition or a basement finished, Dave Toub was probably doing it at the time he was here. But Dave and I have kept in great touch. When he was lucky enough to get to the NFL with Coach Reid back in Philadelphia, I didn’t ever go out to Philadelphia, but when he got hired at the Chicago Bears back early in the 2000s, I went up several times to visit him and all their other coaches because I was coaching some special teams at the time but also mostly wide receivers and different positions. So, I would go to the Bears. I’ve been very fortunate the last couple years when he’s been with the Chiefs in Kansas City, I recruited Kansas City for the Missouri Tigers back then, and I’d stop by practice this time of year actually, after Memorial Day, when they were in phase three of OTAs and I had the chance to go by a practice or two. The last couple of years we had Jeremy Maclin, Chase Daniel, Mitch Morse and some guys and so I was very fortunate to get in there and see them. Our relationship has been pretty much the same the entire time.”LINEBACKERS COACH MATT HOUSEQ: I know Willie Gay is just getting started, but looking at his skillset, what do you think he brings to your group that maybe you didn’t have last year?HOUSE: “We really love his athleticism. He’s got a good frame, he’s big and he can run.”Q: How has the experience been for you and your players to go through this offseason virtually? You feel like the players have been attentive and picking up on things that you’re working on?HOUSE: “Yeah, I’ve been very pleased with the linebacker room and how they’ve embraced what we’re doing. I think they’ve grown within our scheme during this time.”Q: The organization is invested in a guy like Willie Gay after using a draft pick on him. But with this being such an odd time with only being virtual and not being on the field, what do you think you’re missing in terms of the details for a guy like him who is completely new?HOUSE: “Well, I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t really looked at it that way. As coaches, our job is to adapt and adjust, and in the times that we’ve been in, that’s kind of what we’ve been doing. Really, it’s been great because I don’t know if you get this much individual meeting time normally because you are racing to get out on the field. So hopefully it clears up any questions that he has in his mind so that when we do get out on the grass, we can hit the ground running.”Q: Every team is going through a similar situation right now, and there’s no real blueprint for it. How much do you enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to handle this offseason?HOUSE: “Yeah, I think the good thing is it’s still teaching. Coaching is just teaching. One of the things, we’ve had to use different platforms, but at the end of the day, you’re still teaching off of the same concepts and using video and using the different avenues you have available to yourself and the group. There’s some trial and error for sure, but all-in-all, it’s still teaching in my mind.”RUN GAME COORDINATOR/DEFENSIVE LINE COACH BRENDAN DALYQ: You’ve had some movement on the defensive line. What does Taco Charlton bring to the group? And how important is this upcoming year for a guy like Breeland Speaks?DALY: “Well, you’re right. Both of those guys are coming back into the fold or are new to the group, and we’ve got some other guys in that category as well that spent some time injured or are coming to us, but specifically with those two, Breeland has done a nice job in terms of his rehab, in terms of working post-surgery, he’s had some good time in terms of recovery. We’ll see. I’ve got high expectations for him. The third year, I’ve found over the course of my career, is a year that guys kind of define themselves in a lot of instances. Hopefully we’re going to see that out of Breeland. I’ve got great anticipation and hope for what we’re going to see out of him when we can get back on the field. As far as Taco is concerned, we’ve had him for a couple of weeks. I would say it’s probably a little bit early to make some of those judgements based on not having seen him move around at all or having been with him on the field. He’s done a great job in our meeting settings, I’ve been impressed with his work ethic in terms of trying to learn the system and get up to speed with our vocabulary, terminology and on the same page with the rest of the group. We’ll see how that goes. I look forward to getting him out there and seeing what that looks like, to be honest.”Q: As someone who coaches with passion and likes to have that one-on-one interaction with his players, how difficult has this time and the virtual offseason program been for you?DALY: “I would say I’m missing that element of things, for sure. But it is what it is. You’ve got to be able to adapt, to change and adapt to the situation, and that’s what we’ve tried to do. The meetings have been really good, I’ve been pleased with what we’ve gotten out of them, I think they’ve been productive. I credit the players for doing a great job in terms of their attention. They’ve brought some things to the table there, I think it’s been engaging, as best we can make it. Obviously, it’s not the same as being on the field, but we’re all working under the same parameters and are trying to do the best job that we can with the situation as it’s been unfolding.”Q: How do you think the players have received the virtual teaching on their end? And as far as the rookies, how do think they’re picking things up?DALY: “In terms of the format, I would say there have been some challenges both from a coaches’ standpoint in preparing things, and from a players’ standpoint in functioning in that environment. That’s good, I think that’s invigorating in a lot of ways, and those types of challenge ultimately help you improve. If you don’t get out of your comfort zone ever, you kind of just stay stagnant and do the same old thing. I have certainly found that to be the case with my preparation for the meetings, it’s challenged me to come up with creative things to keep it interesting, different ways to come at presenting information or quizzing information. So, I won’t say that it’s been easy by any means, but it has been challenging and interesting. The players, you’d have to ask them. I don’t know if they’d have the same perception of how that’s going or not. It’s new, it’s different, and I do think that there are probably some pieces of it that will probably last, even moving forward, just in terms of teaching. It’s been fun in some elements of it from that regard. You get this with every rookie class, you get some separate time with those guys on their own, just the young guys, and that’s invaluable time. A lot of times they’re not willing to jump out there in a group setting and ask questions and admit they don’t know things – even though you know they don’t have it all figured out. So those individual segments when you have them are important and you really do get to see a lot more personality out of them, a lot more about who they are in a more relaxed environment. Both Mike (Danna) and Tershawn Wharton have been fantastic in that setting. I’ve really been impressed by those two guys, most specifically in their work ethic and the time they’re putting in on their own when we’re not actually engaged on a call. That’s been one of the most impressive elements for those two guys.”DEFENSIVE BACKS/CORNERBACKS SAM MADISONQ: What are your overall impressions of L’Jarius Sneed and BoPete Keyes?MADISON: “I love it, man. I told [Brett] Veach last year that we didn’t get any corners and he was like, ‘Sam, just relax there’s going to be some more’. Then luckily for these two guys and we get them into the room now and we understand and see why he felt that way. These guys have been spot on, very good with the questions that we ask on a consistent basis. The things that Coach Spags [Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] asks of them they’re doing their best right now. So, if they’re willing to do this and continue to do it throughout the course of their career that means they did some really good work on the backgrounds of these kids. Me and Coach [Dave] Merritt are enjoying them every day.”Q: From what you’ve seen from Antonio Hamilton on film. What does he need to do to get some playing time with the Chiefs?MADISON: “Playmaking ability. Coach Spags is always talking about it and we preach it. Getting the ball back to the offense as many times as possible. We had guys in positions last year and looking forward we’re looking for guys to make those plays. In your first year in the scheme, in the defense you don’t really know how to make the plays because you don’t understand the scheme, but now they’ve been into it for a year. They understand how to make the plays, where the play is going to be made because now they understand Coach Spags’ system and what’s the reasoning behind the things that he’s doing. So that’s the part we’re looking for Hamilton to come in and be versatile just like the majority of our secondary guys and he’s doing very well so far in these virtual meetings.”Q: What do you think worked for Charvarius Ward in your first year working together and what do you think his attitude is going into the second year in the scheme, with the possibility of him growing even more?MADISON: “Understanding his strengths and his weaknesses and he was able to display it. He was able to take criticism of it when he wasn’t doing good and when he was doing great, he was able to continue to fight through the high points when he was getting the praise. Now he’s got to put it all together. He’s going into his third year, he’s gotten the reps. That was the great part about it, getting those guys the reps to understand, to see, to know what the route concept is. Tyrann [Mathieu] he’s played a lot of football games. He understands route concepts, what people want to do. Just getting these guys to understand how to study film was one of the great things that Coach Merritt was able to implement with these guys and now they understand why we’re doing certain things. Just clearing up the technique. Like the gentleman asked before, what do we have to do when we get back? Little small techniques were the things that really hurt a lot of us in the plays that we gave up. Should’ve had some big plays out of all of these guys, but those are the things that they’ll have to correct and get better at going forward.”Q: Other than Charvarius Ward and Bashaud Breeland, what options do you feel like you have at the cornerback position and why those players fit?MADISON: “Hamilton. We brought him in to be able to come out and compete but when you look at the landscape of offenses this year, you’re going to have three wide receivers on the football field every single time so you need to find that third corner. Having an opportunity to draft Sneed, a big corner, physical guy, knows how to attack the ball at the highest point. Those are the things for each and every last one of our guys that we need to get better at as the percentage is 50/50 of balls thrown downfield. Sneed, Keyes, you look at Hamilton, we brought in men to come in and solidify themselves. One guy I’m excited about is Rashad Fenton. You look at later on in the season, even going into the Super Bowl the kid, he made plays. He has to see those concepts, understand them, Tyrann was able to help him and work through them and we were able to put a pretty good run with these guys. Going later on when Breeland went down a couple of series, he went out there and he played corner and he held his own. We’re going to put these guys, just like we did last year, in a lot of different places and see what comes up. Coach Spags has a really good mixture of guys that he can play with. We can coach these guys up and get them to understand how to play together, the sky is the limit, going out there and making plays.”RUNNING BACKS COACH DELAND MCCULLOUGHQ: What does Clyde Edwards-Helaire bring to the table?MCCULLOUGH: “I like his short-area quickness, his ability to make guys miss in short spaces. I like the fact that he makes the first guy miss either by just making him miss or running through him. Probably the number one thing I like is his disposition, his demeaner, his football mind. He’s very smart. It’s been evident through what we’ve seen through the combine process and everything leading up to the draft. And he’s not disappointed at all during the process with all the virtual meetings he’s in.”Q: What tells you that Damien Williams can continue to be your starter? And how did he take the news of the team drafting a running back in the first round?MCCULLOUGH: “One thing is looking at Damien’s past, I think since coming to the Chiefs, we’ve gotten a whole lot out of him. He’s been able to show not only us, but whoever looked at him previously that he’s a higher-end player. Consistency is something he wants to continue to work on. But I think when he shined, he shined at a level to help us get over a hump in a few games, and obviously helped win the Super Bowl. As far as how he reacted to the drafting of Clyde, Damien is a veteran. He’s going to continue to do the things he needs to do, control what he can control, embracing guys and continue to move forward.”Q: What do you think Clyde’s role in this offense will be? What about Darwin Thompson in year 2?MCCULLOUGH: “Everybody in this offense, all the halfbacks need to be able to do everything. They need to be able to do everything, and then we’ll let everything sort itself out from there. Clyde, he’s not going to be pigeon-holed into ‘This guy is going to be a third-down back or this guy is this or this guy is that.’ He’s going to take on everything the offense has and we’ll let the chips fall as they may. Same thing with Darwin. It’s going to be an opportunity for him this year. Another guy I’m very excited about. He had a whole lot of things last year that didn’t necessarily work against him, but just the fact that he was a rookie. He had some limited opportunities. He did some things that were good. He did some things that he needed to improve on. He took inventory of the things that he needed to improve on, and he’s ready to come out and do those things. So, again, a room full of great competitors, bunch of great players, guys that can do a bunch of things. And the beauty of this is when we’re able to get back on the field, we’re going to be able to start sorting out where guys fall, but in the meantime, every man in that room is preparing to do everything.”Q: Can you talk about the level of competition in the running backs room? And what are your thoughts on having a starting running back vs. doing it by committee?MCCULLOUGH: “Like I said earlier, you want to get all these guys out there. You want to get going and see what we’ve got. One thing we know just looking at some guys’ pasts and snapshots we’ve got of guys, whether it be DeAndre Washington, obviously with Darrel (Williams) and Damien (Williams) and Darwin (Thompson) with us. And then you look at we drafted Clyde and what his body of work was in college, you know we have some high-end players in that room. And I know with some guys returning, guys we feel comfortable with, but again, you always want to enhance the room and create competition and raise the level of the room. I think that’s what we have. How it all shakes down ultimately, we’re going to let that thing play out on the football field. That’s the beauty of our game. We’ll get a chance to go out, and let’s see what’s what. So, our whole room knows that. The guys are looking forward to it. They get along well, very competitive, however, very supportive, also. And they know at the end of the day, what they do will speak to what their role is when the season gets started. I’m looking forward to that.”

Chiefs assistants talk football

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5th annual Trojan Football Golf Scramble set for Aug. 1

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have moved -- not actually, but legally. 

The Royals changed their legal home from Missouri to Delaware last fall during the process of the team's sale from David Glass to a group headed by John Sherman. The switch was mentioned in court papers in a suit by minor leaguers against Major League Baseball. 

Kansas City Royals Baseball Corp., a Missouri corporation, became Kansas City Royals Baseball Club Inc., a Delaware corporation, on Nov 19. That corporation became Kansas City Royals Baseball Club LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have moved -- not actually, but legally. The Royals changed their legal home from Missouri to Delaware last fall during the process of the team's sale from David Glass to a group headed by John Sherman. The switch was mentioned in court papers in a suit by minor leaguers against Major League Baseball. Kansas City Royals Baseball Corp., a Missouri corporation, became Kansas City Royals Baseball Club Inc., a Delaware corporation, on Nov 19. That corporation became Kansas City Royals Baseball Club LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

Not in Missouri anymore: Royals move legal home to Delaware

MANHATTAN – Kansas State sophomore forward&nbsp;Kaosi Ezeagu&nbsp;(Brampton, Ontario/GTA Prep/UTEP)&nbsp;has received a waiver from the NCAA that will allow him to play immediately in 2020-21, head coach&nbsp;Bruce Weber&nbsp;announced on Wednesday.

A 6-foot-10, 245-pound transfer from UTEP, Ezeagu enrolled at K-State on January 17 for the Spring 2020 semester and was able to practice with the team. He sat out the remainder of the 2019-20 season and was expected to do so for the Fall 2020 semester before earning the waiver. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

“We are excited for Kaosi that he was able to gain this waiver and become immediately eligible,” said Weber. “When we signed him, I thought he filled a big need, giving us an older, experienced big guy that has played Division I basketball. He made big strides on the court and in the weight room this past semester and helped raise the physicality and competitive spirit in practice. He really helped push (departing senior) Mak (Mawien) down the stretch. We are appreciative to Coach (Rodney) Terry, his staff and UTEP for supporting this waiver.”

Prior to enrolling at K-State, the native of Brampton, Ontario played one season at UTEP for head coach&nbsp;Rodney Terry&nbsp;in 2018-19. He played in all 29 games for the Miners as a true freshman, averaging 3.2 points on a team-best 56.9 field goal percentage (37-of-65) with 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 12.4 minutes per game. He led the team with 24 blocked shots and registered at least 2 blocks in eight contests with a season-high 3 against Rice on February 23, 2019. Twice he scored in double figures, including 10 in his first game against UTPB on November 16, 2018 and a season-best 12 against Middle Tennessee State on March 6, 2019.

Ezeagu started each of the Miners’ last seven games, averaging 3.9 points on 47.8 percent shooting (11-of-23) with 4.3 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game. He nearly had a double-double in his final home game against Middle Tennessee State with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with 9 rebounds in a season-best 29 minutes.

Ezeagu was born in the Bahamas but went to prep school in Brampton, Ontario (a suburb of Toronto), where he was rated one of the top prep players in Canada after averaging 11.4 points and 10.4 rebounds at GTA Prep at Mississauga Secondary School in 2017-18. The only player in the league to average a double-double, he was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the National Preparatory Association. He was also selected as the co-MVP of the Signature All-Canadian Showcase.

Ezeagu joins an acclaimed recruiting class that includes community college transfers&nbsp;Rueadale “Rudi” Williams&nbsp;(Hamilton, Ontario/Forest Trail [N.C]/NE Oklahoma A&amp;M College)&nbsp;and&nbsp;Carlton Linguard&nbsp;(San Antonio, Texas/Stevens/Temple College [Texas])&nbsp;as well as high school seniors&nbsp;Davion Bradford&nbsp;(St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville),&nbsp;Luke Kasubke&nbsp;(St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade),&nbsp;Seryee Lewis&nbsp;(Chicago, Ill./Compass Prep [Ariz.]),&nbsp;Selton Miguel&nbsp;(Orlando, Fla./West Oaks Academy)&nbsp;and&nbsp;Nijel Pack&nbsp;(Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central).

The seven-man recruiting class ranks among the best in the country by several recruiting services, including No. 17 by&nbsp;Rivals.com&nbsp;and No. 30 by&nbsp;247Sports.com. Historically speaking, it is the highest rated recruiting class under Weber and the highest collective class by K-State since recruiting rankings have been kept. Three players (Selton Miguel,&nbsp;Nijel Pack&nbsp;and&nbsp;Davion Bradford) are rated among the Top 150 players by both&nbsp;247Sports&nbsp;and&nbsp;Rivals, while Williams and Linguard are both ranked among the best community college signees by&nbsp;247Sports.

--<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/" target="_blank">kstatesports.com</a>--

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1590806406186.jpeg" alt="Image courtesy <a href="http://k-statesports.com">k-statesports.com</a>" />
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 </figure>MANHATTAN – Kansas State sophomore forward&nbsp;Kaosi Ezeagu&nbsp;(Brampton, Ontario/GTA Prep/UTEP)&nbsp;has received a waiver from the NCAA that will allow him to play immediately in 2020-21, head coach&nbsp;Bruce Weber&nbsp;announced on Wednesday.A 6-foot-10, 245-pound transfer from UTEP, Ezeagu enrolled at K-State on January 17 for the Spring 2020 semester and was able to practice with the team. He sat out the remainder of the 2019-20 season and was expected to do so for the Fall 2020 semester before earning the waiver. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.“We are excited for Kaosi that he was able to gain this waiver and become immediately eligible,” said Weber. “When we signed him, I thought he filled a big need, giving us an older, experienced big guy that has played Division I basketball. He made big strides on the court and in the weight room this past semester and helped raise the physicality and competitive spirit in practice. He really helped push (departing senior) Mak (Mawien) down the stretch. We are appreciative to Coach (Rodney) Terry, his staff and UTEP for supporting this waiver.”Prior to enrolling at K-State, the native of Brampton, Ontario played one season at UTEP for head coach&nbsp;Rodney Terry&nbsp;in 2018-19. He played in all 29 games for the Miners as a true freshman, averaging 3.2 points on a team-best 56.9 field goal percentage (37-of-65) with 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 12.4 minutes per game. He led the team with 24 blocked shots and registered at least 2 blocks in eight contests with a season-high 3 against Rice on February 23, 2019. Twice he scored in double figures, including 10 in his first game against UTPB on November 16, 2018 and a season-best 12 against Middle Tennessee State on March 6, 2019.Ezeagu started each of the Miners’ last seven games, averaging 3.9 points on 47.8 percent shooting (11-of-23) with 4.3 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game. He nearly had a double-double in his final home game against Middle Tennessee State with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting with 9 rebounds in a season-best 29 minutes.Ezeagu was born in the Bahamas but went to prep school in Brampton, Ontario (a suburb of Toronto), where he was rated one of the top prep players in Canada after averaging 11.4 points and 10.4 rebounds at GTA Prep at Mississauga Secondary School in 2017-18. The only player in the league to average a double-double, he was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the National Preparatory Association. He was also selected as the co-MVP of the Signature All-Canadian Showcase.Ezeagu joins an acclaimed recruiting class that includes community college transfers&nbsp;Rueadale “Rudi” Williams&nbsp;(Hamilton, Ontario/Forest Trail [N.C]/NE Oklahoma A&amp;M College)&nbsp;and&nbsp;Carlton Linguard&nbsp;(San Antonio, Texas/Stevens/Temple College [Texas])&nbsp;as well as high school seniors&nbsp;Davion Bradford&nbsp;(St. Louis, Mo./Mehlville),&nbsp;Luke Kasubke&nbsp;(St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade),&nbsp;Seryee Lewis&nbsp;(Chicago, Ill./Compass Prep [Ariz.]),&nbsp;Selton Miguel&nbsp;(Orlando, Fla./West Oaks Academy)&nbsp;and&nbsp;Nijel Pack&nbsp;(Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central).The seven-man recruiting class ranks among the best in the country by several recruiting services, including No. 17 by&nbsp;Rivals.com&nbsp;and No. 30 by&nbsp;247Sports.com. Historically speaking, it is the highest rated recruiting class under Weber and the highest collective class by K-State since recruiting rankings have been kept. Three players (Selton Miguel,&nbsp;Nijel Pack&nbsp;and&nbsp;Davion Bradford) are rated among the Top 150 players by both&nbsp;247Sports&nbsp;and&nbsp;Rivals, while Williams and Linguard are both ranked among the best community college signees by&nbsp;247Sports.--<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/" target="_blank">kstatesports.com</a>--

K-State's Ezeagu earns waiver to play immediately in 2020-21

LAWRENCE (AP) — The University of Kansas athletic department has imposed pay cuts and furloughs for all employees in response to financial problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Kansas City Star reports that Athletic Director Jeff Long announced the moves in an email to donors Wednesday. 

Long, men's basketball coach Bill Self and football coach Les Miles already said last month that they would take 10% pay cuts for six months. 

The department's top-paid employees now face pay cuts of 10 percent and its lowest-paid employees will be furloughed for three weeks. Some employees will have a choice between a furlough and a pay cut.&nbsp;

LAWRENCE (AP) — The University of Kansas athletic department has imposed pay cuts and furloughs for all employees in response to financial problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Kansas City Star reports that Athletic Director Jeff Long announced the moves in an email to donors Wednesday. Long, men's basketball coach Bill Self and football coach Les Miles already said last month that they would take 10% pay cuts for six months. The department's top-paid employees now face pay cuts of 10 percent and its lowest-paid employees will be furloughed for three weeks. Some employees will have a choice between a furlough and a pay cut.&nbsp;

KU Athletics imposing new pay cuts, furloughs to cut costs

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football Writer

NEW YORK — Offseason shopping is still in full swing in the NFL. 

Teams continue to tinker with their rosters by adding players they hope will help them win even with the status of the upcoming season uncertain because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Plenty of big names remain unsigned and could end up filling major needs for someone. Among those are quarterback Cam Newton, defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney and Everson Griffen, guard Larry Warford, left tackles Jason Peters and Kelvin Beachum, running back Devonta Freeman, safety Eric Reid, and cornerbacks Logan Ryan and Darqueze Dennard.

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. AP Pro Football WriterNEW YORK — Offseason shopping is still in full swing in the NFL. Teams continue to tinker with their rosters by adding players they hope will help them win even with the status of the upcoming season uncertain because of the coronavirus pandemic. Plenty of big names remain unsigned and could end up filling major needs for someone. Among those are quarterback Cam Newton, defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney and Everson Griffen, guard Larry Warford, left tackles Jason Peters and Kelvin Beachum, running back Devonta Freeman, safety Eric Reid, and cornerbacks Logan Ryan and Darqueze Dennard.

Some big names remain unsigned late in NFL's odd offseason

The Salina Liberty, a member team of the Champions Indoor Football league, is still hoping to play its 2020 season despite delays caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We miss our fans, and we know the fans miss the Liberty,” said Francis Flax, general manager of the Salina Liberty. “We are anxious to start our season, and are dedicated to working with the staff at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center, as well as local and state officials to make sure we have a safe environment for our fans and players.”

“The Tony’s Pizza Events Center and Spectra are working hard to put enhanced cleaning, sanitizing and fan safety measures into place,” said Susan Trafton, General Manager of Tony’s Pizza Events Center. “We want to make sure that when we are together again that it is in the safest way possible.”

A decision regarding the 2020 season will be made by the first week of June. If Liberty plays and you can't make it to the games, you can listen to them on KINA (910 AM and 107.5 FM).  

The Salina Liberty, a member team of the Champions Indoor Football league, is still hoping to play its 2020 season despite delays caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.“We miss our fans, and we know the fans miss the Liberty,” said Francis Flax, general manager of the Salina Liberty. “We are anxious to start our season, and are dedicated to working with the staff at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center, as well as local and state officials to make sure we have a safe environment for our fans and players.”“The Tony’s Pizza Events Center and Spectra are working hard to put enhanced cleaning, sanitizing and fan safety measures into place,” said Susan Trafton, General Manager of Tony’s Pizza Events Center. “We want to make sure that when we are together again that it is in the safest way possible.”A decision regarding the 2020 season will be made by the first week of June. If Liberty plays and you can't make it to the games, you can listen to them on KINA (910 AM and 107.5 FM).

Salina Liberty season still a possibility

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid talked football with the media on Friday. Following are his remarks.

OPENING STATEMENT: “Good to be with you guys and ladies. It’s an interesting time and we’re making the best of it and getting a lot of work done. We’re still working through our Webex app that we have on our iPads and computers and it’s our way that we can meet with the players for two hours per day and interact with them and still do our installs. It’s been good for us that way. We’re not in the office, we’re in our basements and homes still, and that’s where I’m coming to you from right now. With that, time’s yours.”

Q: What are your thoughts on the proposed rule change to replace the onside kick with a 4th and 15? Are you in favor of it, and how do you think your team would be equipped to handle it if it passes?

REID: “Listen, I don’t know if it’s going to pass or not. I know the special teams coaches aren’t real big on that. It obviously takes away one of the elements of theirs, and it’s also the kickoff, which has been under scrutiny here, and kickoff returns. To keep the integrity of the game, you’d like that part of it. On the other hand, if it does pass, we’ve got a guy that can do 4th and 15s, he’d give us the opportunity to be able to do that. So, I’ve got kind of mixed thoughts on it. Being an old guy, I’d probably stick with the integrity of the game as it sits right now, but I can also see where the other part could be exciting too.”

Q: When going through installs virtually right now, how big of a challenge is it for you and your coaching staff to really know how it’s going? And how does that affect what you typically like to see out of your players in position battles in a normal year?

REID: “Yeah, because we can’t go on the field, the coaches have used unique tools with them as far as maybe calling on a player to do an install, to install a play, or whatever it might be. For us, it’s given all our coaches an opportunity to do installs as we go, just to keep the focus of the player and to keep it fresh. Other than that, it’s been great. Phase three for us, we’re kind of keeping the same schedule that we had before, for the most part, to this point. We’re going from two installs to three installs and then we work from there. But again, we’re still not able to be on the field.”

Q: Have you reached out to any coaches at the professional or college levels – in football or in other sports – for advice or how to navigate your team’s quest for back-to-back championships?

REID: “No, I haven’t. I was lucky to be on a team that did that one time, so I have that. But no, I have not. However, I have talked to a lot of coaches, but I haven’t had that actual discussion.”

Q: Do you think the team might be at a disadvantage if you have to go forward with games without fans or games with a limited fan capacity?

REID: “First of all, we love our fans. They are the loudest in the world and it’s ridiculous how loud it gets for our opponents. On the other hand, we’ll still go play and it’ll kind of be that way. There will probably be a lot of talking with the players that you can hear. Those guys get pretty creative out there in their conversations. The fans, we’ll miss them if that’s where it goes, but we’ll still be able to function.”

Q: Aaron Donald said that you can’t play the game without fans. What are your feelings about that if that becomes reality? And how long can you continue virtually preparing before you feel like you have to be able to put the pads on and actually start working that way?

REID: “Listen, we probably could do anything and still put out a good product. That’s how our mindset is as players and coaches. However, you sure would like to have the opportunity to get back on the field and do it, I think it’d make for a better game. As far as the fans go, I understand what Aaron [Donald] is saying. It just doesn’t feel like it makes sense to be without fans, but it’s also part of what we’ll all have to deal with, if that’s the situation that it comes to. My hope is that we can get everybody back out there and we can have a stadium full of people and everybody can stay safe. That is the most important thing as we go forward. And I’d say that same thing for your teams – all the teams around the world that are playing these different sports and are getting together now – I know safety ends up being the thing that’s talked about the most. And we make sure we’re doing that with our players.”

Q: Can you offer specifics about what you’re missing out on by not being able to be out on the field? What concerns you the most about not having enough on-field time with the guys?

REID: “So I’d probably tell you timing of routes, I’d tell you breakpoints on the secondary and linebackers. The offensive line is fundamentals and defensive line is more fundamental work. Then if you talk to medical people, you understand that injuries can go up if you’re not working change-of-direction or being tugged on like a running back would be tackled and he’s got to pull through a tackle, it has a tendency to up injuries. We saw that a little bit with the lockout year with Achilles tendons. Those things end up being important. From a pure football standpoint, it’s your timing, your breaks. The guys are still going to be competitive; they’re going to do the best they possibly can do with whatever we give them. It sure would help, I think, the injury area and the game if we have a little build up to it.”

Q: Typically at this point you are trying to get a rough idea of what your rookie class can do on the field, but with that not being the case this year is there anything that you’ve learned about your rookies in this virtual process and are there things you are starting to identify that you want to implement or have them work on when you get on the field?

REID: “I have staff meetings and I still ask about the players and who’s doing well and predominantly the rookies as far as learning. I think if we can overemphasize the learning part of it now, not that we don’t but we can really emphasize that now, there’s a chance that eliminates just an inch of that angst when they’re on the field where they can perform athletically or physically to the best of their ability. We’re kind of putting the hammer down on that and working it and emphasizing it to the player. I’m getting good reports back from the coaches on the rookies. The guys are working their tails off right now. The coaches give quizzes and all of those things too, so you get an idea of the feedback. I’d also go ‘Hey why don’t you explain to the guys 22ZN. Take us through it and detail it’. So you get a feel there on exactly what they know. Then with the rookies you’ve got a couple extra hours that you can work with them. The coaches have a little log time in there where they can get the rookies aside and visit with them.”

Q: Have you heard of any precautions that the league may take that make you feel better about guys getting back together on the field?

REID: “They’re going through a lot of things whether it’s studies of other sports that are starting up around the world. They’re keeping close track on that. I’m sure they’ve talked about everything. I haven’t been in the meetings, but I know they’re meeting a lot on player safety and fan safety. I know whatever they come up with will be good and it’s also the union that works, so the players union also works with them on that. So, they’ll come up with a good solution. I don’t know what those are right now, but I know it will be good once it happens.”

Q: We had talked about fans and their importance and Peter Vermes had said he believes if you don’t have fans you have no home field advantage. What are your thoughts on that?

REID: “There’s home field advantage with the fans. There’s home field advantage that you don’t travel and that you know the facility and where everything lays on that field. You have that part of it. I would tell you that we’d miss the fans if that’s the direction it goes. We’ve got the best fans in the NFL, so we’d miss the fans. Again, when you’re given these things you have to go through and say ‘This is what we’ve got fellas’ and you’ve got to muster it up and go play and still do all that. If nothing else, we know our fans are watching because the Kansas City fans don’t miss a beat. They’ll make sure that our players know that they’re behind us.”

Q: Patrick Mahomes is going to be giving the commencement speech tomorrow. As a guy who has spent a lot of time in front of a microphone what kind of advice do you have for him? Also, what do you guys like about Shea Patterson and how well have you gotten to know him through this distant coaching season?

REID: “I think it’s a real neat thing that he’s [Patrick Mahomes] having an opportunity to do with Texas Tech. He is passionate about sports, he’s passionate about Tech and I think it’s a neat thing that he’d have that opportunity to do it. Pat’s a pretty cool cucumber there. He’s a sharp kid and speaks well so I think he’ll have a nice presentation for them. The main thing is just to relax and enjoy the moment and what a great experience it is. Then as far as Shea goes, I started chuckling when you asked because you’ve got everything behind you Michigan State and here’s a Michigan kid, you guys are like archrivals. We’ve got a lot of Michigan background in our quarterback room with Chad [Henne]. Jordan [Ta’amu] and Shea actually played together at Mississippi, so they also know each other. We’ll see how he does. It’s an opportunity for him to make our football team and that’s how he has to look at it. It doesn’t matter how you get in the door, you’re in the door. Now whatever you do with it you do. You’ve got to handle yourself the right way and work with it. Jim Harbaugh spoke highly of him and I trust Jim.”

Q: With everything surrounding the Rooney Rule changes, it seems Eric Bieniemy has been thrust into a role he may not want? How do you think that’s impacted him as a coach and what advice do you give him?

REID: “First of all, keep being you. That’s the most important thing and it’s gotten him to this point. He’ll have an opportunity here as a head coach. Listen, I think anything that helps opportunity, I’m good with as long as it doesn’t put that person in a bind or disadvantage coming in whatever it is. I think in Eric’s situation and everybody that interviews, you’re in there for only a couple of hours with the owners. So, do they really get to know you in that time? I wish there was an extended period of time where they got to visit with you. Owners are always having to cram in these interviews, but to actually get enough time to get to know what the person is all about. I think that becomes an important thing. The more you’re with Eric Bieniemy, the more you appreciate him and understand him and know he’s a great leader of

men. Does an owner really have that time, or are we rushing? Some of it’s our schedule because of the playoffs. Are we rushing in and ‘OK, I have to get these three interviews done. Boom. Boom. Boom.’ And does that owner actually see the worth in that person interviewing. So, I worry more about those kind of things. Eric has had opportunities to interview, but it’s always a bang-bang thing. You get a couple hours and then you’re out. I mean, how well do you get to know a guy in a couple hours?”

Q: How have the installs gone with the young guys? Logistically, how are you making sure those guys are absorbing everything you’re giving them?

REID: “Yeah, we try to keep this time consistent. They’ve got a two-hour period with the veterans. That’s what you have. With the rookies, you have a five-hour period that you can work with them. We try to work in a couple extra hours for the rookies to meet. We were originally doing it with Dave Toub and the coaches, so Dave got a little bit of special teams introduction with the guys. Then the coaches got them for a nice block of two hours. You’ve got that extra time, and our coaches use that. They’ve gotten with them, and in some cases just one or two guys in a room or whatever. We’re calling these rooms but doing it this way here virtually. They get that time, and right now for those kids that time is important and your attitude and approach to that is important. Are you going to stay awake looking at this screen? Are you going to stay awake? We make them have their face showing and not click off the camera, so we see them. That’s a little interaction there. One of the things that we teach the guy is that when the coach is talking, try to make eye contact with him if you’re not writing something down so that you stay focused on it. Whether it’s on the field or in a meeting, eyes up and on the person that’s speaking. So, these guys are doing that. We’re at 100% participation, and they’re cranking. They’re going, and I’ve been very happy with that, with their approach. So far, so good.”

--<a href="http://chiefs.com">CHIEFS</a>--

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573517913595.png" alt="Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid. Photo courtesy Chiefs" />
 <figcaption>Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid. Photo courtesy Chiefs</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid talked football with the media on Friday. Following are his remarks.OPENING STATEMENT: “Good to be with you guys and ladies. It’s an interesting time and we’re making the best of it and getting a lot of work done. We’re still working through our Webex app that we have on our iPads and computers and it’s our way that we can meet with the players for two hours per day and interact with them and still do our installs. It’s been good for us that way. We’re not in the office, we’re in our basements and homes still, and that’s where I’m coming to you from right now. With that, time’s yours.”Q: What are your thoughts on the proposed rule change to replace the onside kick with a 4th and 15? Are you in favor of it, and how do you think your team would be equipped to handle it if it passes?REID: “Listen, I don’t know if it’s going to pass or not. I know the special teams coaches aren’t real big on that. It obviously takes away one of the elements of theirs, and it’s also the kickoff, which has been under scrutiny here, and kickoff returns. To keep the integrity of the game, you’d like that part of it. On the other hand, if it does pass, we’ve got a guy that can do 4th and 15s, he’d give us the opportunity to be able to do that. So, I’ve got kind of mixed thoughts on it. Being an old guy, I’d probably stick with the integrity of the game as it sits right now, but I can also see where the other part could be exciting too.”Q: When going through installs virtually right now, how big of a challenge is it for you and your coaching staff to really know how it’s going? And how does that affect what you typically like to see out of your players in position battles in a normal year?REID: “Yeah, because we can’t go on the field, the coaches have used unique tools with them as far as maybe calling on a player to do an install, to install a play, or whatever it might be. For us, it’s given all our coaches an opportunity to do installs as we go, just to keep the focus of the player and to keep it fresh. Other than that, it’s been great. Phase three for us, we’re kind of keeping the same schedule that we had before, for the most part, to this point. We’re going from two installs to three installs and then we work from there. But again, we’re still not able to be on the field.”Q: Have you reached out to any coaches at the professional or college levels – in football or in other sports – for advice or how to navigate your team’s quest for back-to-back championships?REID: “No, I haven’t. I was lucky to be on a team that did that one time, so I have that. But no, I have not. However, I have talked to a lot of coaches, but I haven’t had that actual discussion.”Q: Do you think the team might be at a disadvantage if you have to go forward with games without fans or games with a limited fan capacity?REID: “First of all, we love our fans. They are the loudest in the world and it’s ridiculous how loud it gets for our opponents. On the other hand, we’ll still go play and it’ll kind of be that way. There will probably be a lot of talking with the players that you can hear. Those guys get pretty creative out there in their conversations. The fans, we’ll miss them if that’s where it goes, but we’ll still be able to function.”Q: Aaron Donald said that you can’t play the game without fans. What are your feelings about that if that becomes reality? And how long can you continue virtually preparing before you feel like you have to be able to put the pads on and actually start working that way?REID: “Listen, we probably could do anything and still put out a good product. That’s how our mindset is as players and coaches. However, you sure would like to have the opportunity to get back on the field and do it, I think it’d make for a better game. As far as the fans go, I understand what Aaron [Donald] is saying. It just doesn’t feel like it makes sense to be without fans, but it’s also part of what we’ll all have to deal with, if that’s the situation that it comes to. My hope is that we can get everybody back out there and we can have a stadium full of people and everybody can stay safe. That is the most important thing as we go forward. And I’d say that same thing for your teams – all the teams around the world that are playing these different sports and are getting together now – I know safety ends up being the thing that’s talked about the most. And we make sure we’re doing that with our players.”Q: Can you offer specifics about what you’re missing out on by not being able to be out on the field? What concerns you the most about not having enough on-field time with the guys?REID: “So I’d probably tell you timing of routes, I’d tell you breakpoints on the secondary and linebackers. The offensive line is fundamentals and defensive line is more fundamental work. Then if you talk to medical people, you understand that injuries can go up if you’re not working change-of-direction or being tugged on like a running back would be tackled and he’s got to pull through a tackle, it has a tendency to up injuries. We saw that a little bit with the lockout year with Achilles tendons. Those things end up being important. From a pure football standpoint, it’s your timing, your breaks. The guys are still going to be competitive; they’re going to do the best they possibly can do with whatever we give them. It sure would help, I think, the injury area and the game if we have a little build up to it.”Q: Typically at this point you are trying to get a rough idea of what your rookie class can do on the field, but with that not being the case this year is there anything that you’ve learned about your rookies in this virtual process and are there things you are starting to identify that you want to implement or have them work on when you get on the field?REID: “I have staff meetings and I still ask about the players and who’s doing well and predominantly the rookies as far as learning. I think if we can overemphasize the learning part of it now, not that we don’t but we can really emphasize that now, there’s a chance that eliminates just an inch of that angst when they’re on the field where they can perform athletically or physically to the best of their ability. We’re kind of putting the hammer down on that and working it and emphasizing it to the player. I’m getting good reports back from the coaches on the rookies. The guys are working their tails off right now. The coaches give quizzes and all of those things too, so you get an idea of the feedback. I’d also go ‘Hey why don’t you explain to the guys 22ZN. Take us through it and detail it’. So you get a feel there on exactly what they know. Then with the rookies you’ve got a couple extra hours that you can work with them. The coaches have a little log time in there where they can get the rookies aside and visit with them.”Q: Have you heard of any precautions that the league may take that make you feel better about guys getting back together on the field?REID: “They’re going through a lot of things whether it’s studies of other sports that are starting up around the world. They’re keeping close track on that. I’m sure they’ve talked about everything. I haven’t been in the meetings, but I know they’re meeting a lot on player safety and fan safety. I know whatever they come up with will be good and it’s also the union that works, so the players union also works with them on that. So, they’ll come up with a good solution. I don’t know what those are right now, but I know it will be good once it happens.”Q: We had talked about fans and their importance and Peter Vermes had said he believes if you don’t have fans you have no home field advantage. What are your thoughts on that?REID: “There’s home field advantage with the fans. There’s home field advantage that you don’t travel and that you know the facility and where everything lays on that field. You have that part of it. I would tell you that we’d miss the fans if that’s the direction it goes. We’ve got the best fans in the NFL, so we’d miss the fans. Again, when you’re given these things you have to go through and say ‘This is what we’ve got fellas’ and you’ve got to muster it up and go play and still do all that. If nothing else, we know our fans are watching because the Kansas City fans don’t miss a beat. They’ll make sure that our players know that they’re behind us.”Q: Patrick Mahomes is going to be giving the commencement speech tomorrow. As a guy who has spent a lot of time in front of a microphone what kind of advice do you have for him? Also, what do you guys like about Shea Patterson and how well have you gotten to know him through this distant coaching season?REID: “I think it’s a real neat thing that he’s [Patrick Mahomes] having an opportunity to do with Texas Tech. He is passionate about sports, he’s passionate about Tech and I think it’s a neat thing that he’d have that opportunity to do it. Pat’s a pretty cool cucumber there. He’s a sharp kid and speaks well so I think he’ll have a nice presentation for them. The main thing is just to relax and enjoy the moment and what a great experience it is. Then as far as Shea goes, I started chuckling when you asked because you’ve got everything behind you Michigan State and here’s a Michigan kid, you guys are like archrivals. We’ve got a lot of Michigan background in our quarterback room with Chad [Henne]. Jordan [Ta’amu] and Shea actually played together at Mississippi, so they also know each other. We’ll see how he does. It’s an opportunity for him to make our football team and that’s how he has to look at it. It doesn’t matter how you get in the door, you’re in the door. Now whatever you do with it you do. You’ve got to handle yourself the right way and work with it. Jim Harbaugh spoke highly of him and I trust Jim.”Q: With everything surrounding the Rooney Rule changes, it seems Eric Bieniemy has been thrust into a role he may not want? How do you think that’s impacted him as a coach and what advice do you give him?REID: “First of all, keep being you. That’s the most important thing and it’s gotten him to this point. He’ll have an opportunity here as a head coach. Listen, I think anything that helps opportunity, I’m good with as long as it doesn’t put that person in a bind or disadvantage coming in whatever it is. I think in Eric’s situation and everybody that interviews, you’re in there for only a couple of hours with the owners. So, do they really get to know you in that time? I wish there was an extended period of time where they got to visit with you. Owners are always having to cram in these interviews, but to actually get enough time to get to know what the person is all about. I think that becomes an important thing. The more you’re with Eric Bieniemy, the more you appreciate him and understand him and know he’s a great leader ofmen. Does an owner really have that time, or are we rushing? Some of it’s our schedule because of the playoffs. Are we rushing in and ‘OK, I have to get these three interviews done. Boom. Boom. Boom.’ And does that owner actually see the worth in that person interviewing. So, I worry more about those kind of things. Eric has had opportunities to interview, but it’s always a bang-bang thing. You get a couple hours and then you’re out. I mean, how well do you get to know a guy in a couple hours?”Q: How have the installs gone with the young guys? Logistically, how are you making sure those guys are absorbing everything you’re giving them?REID: “Yeah, we try to keep this time consistent. They’ve got a two-hour period with the veterans. That’s what you have. With the rookies, you have a five-hour period that you can work with them. We try to work in a couple extra hours for the rookies to meet. We were originally doing it with Dave Toub and the coaches, so Dave got a little bit of special teams introduction with the guys. Then the coaches got them for a nice block of two hours. You’ve got that extra time, and our coaches use that. They’ve gotten with them, and in some cases just one or two guys in a room or whatever. We’re calling these rooms but doing it this way here virtually. They get that time, and right now for those kids that time is important and your attitude and approach to that is important. Are you going to stay awake looking at this screen? Are you going to stay awake? We make them have their face showing and not click off the camera, so we see them. That’s a little interaction there. One of the things that we teach the guy is that when the coach is talking, try to make eye contact with him if you’re not writing something down so that you stay focused on it. Whether it’s on the field or in a meeting, eyes up and on the person that’s speaking. So, these guys are doing that. We’re at 100% participation, and they’re cranking. They’re going, and I’ve been very happy with that, with their approach. So far, so good.”--<a href="http://chiefs.com">CHIEFS</a>--

Chiefs' Reid talks proposed rule changes, working virtually

By STEPHEN HAWKINS and STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writers

Southeastern Conference schools will be able to bring athletes in all sports back to campus for voluntary activities starting June 8 at the discretion of each university. 

The Big 12 plans to welcome football players back to campus a week later. 

These are the latest signs that a college football season will be launched in some form this fall. The move comes two days after the NCAA Division I Council voted to lift a moratorium on voluntary workouts on campus by football and basketball players, effective June 1. 

The NCAA now says voluntary activities will be allowed in all sports starting June 1.

By STEPHEN HAWKINS and STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports WritersSoutheastern Conference schools will be able to bring athletes in all sports back to campus for voluntary activities starting June 8 at the discretion of each university. The Big 12 plans to welcome football players back to campus a week later. These are the latest signs that a college football season will be launched in some form this fall. The move comes two days after the NCAA Division I Council voted to lift a moratorium on voluntary workouts on campus by football and basketball players, effective June 1. The NCAA now says voluntary activities will be allowed in all sports starting June 1.

SEC, Big 12 to allow football workouts on campus next month

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer

LEAWOOD — For the first time in nearly two decades, the Super Bowl champion Chiefs will have a new punter. 

Identifying who that will be in the midst of a pandemic is no easy task. 

The Chiefs have signed Tyler Newsome and undrafted rookie Tommy Townsend to compete for the job. But with healthy players barred from the practice facility, the organization is relying on videos of their private workouts to keep tabs on the race for the job.

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports WriterLEAWOOD — For the first time in nearly two decades, the Super Bowl champion Chiefs will have a new punter. Identifying who that will be in the midst of a pandemic is no easy task. The Chiefs have signed Tyler Newsome and undrafted rookie Tommy Townsend to compete for the job. But with healthy players barred from the practice facility, the organization is relying on videos of their private workouts to keep tabs on the race for the job.

Chiefs holding unique virtual competition for punting job

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer

The NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to lift a moratorium on voluntary workouts by football and basketball players effective June 1 as a growing number of college leaders expressed confidence that fall sports will be possible in some form despite concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. 

The decision clears the way for individual workouts by athletes, mostly on their own, subject to safety and health protocols decided by their schools or local health officials.

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports WriterThe NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to lift a moratorium on voluntary workouts by football and basketball players effective June 1 as a growing number of college leaders expressed confidence that fall sports will be possible in some form despite concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. A decision on other sports was pending. The decision clears the way for individual workouts by athletes, mostly on their own, subject to safety and health protocols decided by their schools or local health officials.

NCAA to lift moratorium on football, basketball workouts

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer

Changes designed to enhance opportunities for minorities to get executive, head coaching and coordinator positions were passed by NFL owners. 

The changes include addendums to the Rooney Rule, which has fallen short in its goal of increasing diversity. All clubs will now be required to interview at least two minority candidates from outside the organization for head coach vacancies; at least one minority candidate for any of the three coordinator vacancies; and at least one external minority candidate for senior football operations or general manager positions. 

The 32 teams owners held a conference call to replace their spring meeting. A plan to reward clubs that hire minorities as head coaches or general managers with improved draft-pick positioning was tabled.&nbsp;

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football WriterChanges designed to enhance opportunities for minorities to get executive, head coaching and coordinator positions were passed by NFL owners. The changes include addendums to the Rooney Rule, which has fallen short in its goal of increasing diversity. All clubs will now be required to interview at least two minority candidates from outside the organization for head coach vacancies; at least one minority candidate for any of the three coordinator vacancies; and at least one external minority candidate for senior football operations or general manager positions. The 32 teams owners held a conference call to replace their spring meeting. A plan to reward clubs that hire minorities as head coaches or general managers with improved draft-pick positioning was tabled.&nbsp;

NFL owners make changes to enhance diversity on many levels

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A year ago, Tyreek Hill was a pariah, accused by his fiancee of abusing his son. 

Now, he's a Super Bowl champion raising money to help with the COVID-19 response and handing out free food to front-line workers. And with the world gripped by pandemic, the great irony is that Hill finally has found a certain amount of peace in his life. 

He's spent more time than he thought possible with his four kids. He's getting a room added to his house. He speaks frequently with his mom. He's financially secure. And more than anything, he's happy.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589846918365.png" alt="Tyreek Hill. Photo courtesy Chiefs" />
 <figcaption>Tyreek Hill. Photo courtesy Chiefs</figcaption>
 </figure>By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports WriterKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A year ago, Tyreek Hill was a pariah, accused by his fiancee of abusing his son. Now, he's a Super Bowl champion raising money to help with the COVID-19 response and handing out free food to front-line workers. And with the world gripped by pandemic, the great irony is that Hill finally has found a certain amount of peace in his life. He's spent more time than he thought possible with his four kids. He's getting a room added to his house. He speaks frequently with his mom. He's financially secure. And more than anything, he's happy.

Chiefs' Hill completes year-long reclamation of himself

NFL teams can begin reopening their facilities on Tuesday if state and local governments will allow it. 

In a memo sent to the 32 teams Friday by Commissioner Roger Goodell and obtained by The Associated Press, he stressed that the clubs must be "in compliance with any additional public health requirements in their jurisdiction, and have implemented the protocols that were developed by (league medical officer) Dr. (Allen) Sills and distributed to all clubs on May 6." 

Facilities have been closed since late March due to the coronavirus pandemic. &nbsp;

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football WriterNFL teams can begin reopening their facilities on Tuesday if state and local governments will allow it. In a memo sent to the 32 teams Friday by Commissioner Roger Goodell and obtained by The Associated Press, he stressed that the clubs must be "in compliance with any additional public health requirements in their jurisdiction, and have implemented the protocols that were developed by (league medical officer) Dr. (Allen) Sills and distributed to all clubs on May 6." Facilities have been closed since late March due to the coronavirus pandemic. &nbsp;

NFL teams can reopen facilities Tuesday if OK with state, local officials

Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes is set to be part of the virtual graduation ceremonies for Texas Tech, his alma mater.

The star quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs will address the graduates along with two students receiving their degrees in a ceremony to be livestreamed on May 23. Commencement ceremonies normally held at Texas Tech’s basketball arena were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mahomes was a record-setting passer for the Red Raiders before the Chiefs drafted him 10th overall in 2017. He just finished his second season as Kansas City’s starter by leading a fourth-quarter comeback in a 31-20 victory over San Francisco in the Super Bowl in February.

The 24-year-old Mahomes is the son of former major league pitcher Pat Mahomes. The younger Mahomes was a two-sport standout in high school in East Texas and briefly played baseball at Texas Tech before focusing on his football career.

Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec says, “Patrick’s story and his rise to stardom, both here at Texas Tech and in the NFL, have been a great source of pride for Red Raiders and an inspiration for thousands.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573770531675.png" alt="Chiefs' QB1 Patrick Mahomes. Photo courtesy the Chiefs" />
 <figcaption>Chiefs' QB1 Patrick Mahomes. Photo courtesy the Chiefs</figcaption>
 </figure>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSSuper Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes is set to be part of the virtual graduation ceremonies for Texas Tech, his alma mater.The star quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs will address the graduates along with two students receiving their degrees in a ceremony to be livestreamed on May 23. Commencement ceremonies normally held at Texas Tech’s basketball arena were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.Mahomes was a record-setting passer for the Red Raiders before the Chiefs drafted him 10th overall in 2017. He just finished his second season as Kansas City’s starter by leading a fourth-quarter comeback in a 31-20 victory over San Francisco in the Super Bowl in February.The 24-year-old Mahomes is the son of former major league pitcher Pat Mahomes. The younger Mahomes was a two-sport standout in high school in East Texas and briefly played baseball at Texas Tech before focusing on his football career.Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec says, “Patrick’s story and his rise to stardom, both here at Texas Tech and in the NFL, have been a great source of pride for Red Raiders and an inspiration for thousands.”

Mahomes to be part of Texas Tech's virtual graduation

NASCAR has postponed its end-of-the-month races at the Kansas Speedway. From the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KansasSpeedway/">Kansas Speedway</a> Facebook page:

NASCAR has postponed its end-of-the-month races at the Kansas Speedway. From the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KansasSpeedway/">Kansas Speedway</a> Facebook page:<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKansasSpeedway%2Fposts%2F10160853455366509&width=500" width="500" height="440" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div>

NASCAR postpones races at Kansas Speedway

Kansas Wesleyan finished third in the HelperHelper NAIA Challenge, which tracks community service by student-athletes, marking the third consecutive year that KWU has finished within the Top 3 in the challenge.

Different from previous years, the HelperHelper Challenge was held over the entire academic year, rather than just a portion of the spring semester as the last two years.

“Such a strong finish in the NAIA HelperHelper Challenge is a testament to how strongly Kansas Wesleyan values its relationship with Salina,” said Kansas Wesleyan Athletic Director Steve Wilson. “Our community is a primary reason that we are so successful, and to see our student-athletes and coaches respond by giving back this way, it makes me proud to be a Coyote and to be from this community.”

For a second consecutive year KWU had the top two individual team finishes in the challenge. The KWU Softball team finished as the top team in the challenge for a second straight year, while the Tennis teams finished second.

KWU had two other teams finish in the Top 20 with Baseball finishing ninth and Women’s Soccer finished 12th.

Overall, the department had 65 percent participation amongst student-athletes, which yielded 4069 hours of community service.

Softball had a total of 989 volunteer hours in the competition, with an 86 percent participation rate. The team averaged 34 hours per participant.

Tennis logged 426 volunteer hours, with each participant averaging 25 hours of service.

Women’s Soccer and Baseball both boasted 100 percent participation. Baseball saw participants average 11 hours per participant and Women’s Soccer averaged 10 hours per participant.

“I am extremely proud of our coaches, student-athletes, and staff for caring so deeply for Salina,” Wilson added.

Top 10 NAIA HelperHelper Challenge Institutions

Top 20 NAIA HelperHelper Challenge Teams

2. Kansas Wesleyan Tennis (Men and Women)

12. Kansas Wesleyan Women’s Soccer

--<a href="http://KWUCoyotes.com">KWUCoyotes.com</a>--

Kansas Wesleyan finished third in the HelperHelper NAIA Challenge, which tracks community service by student-athletes, marking the third consecutive year that KWU has finished within the Top 3 in the challenge.Different from previous years, the HelperHelper Challenge was held over the entire academic year, rather than just a portion of the spring semester as the last two years.“Such a strong finish in the NAIA HelperHelper Challenge is a testament to how strongly Kansas Wesleyan values its relationship with Salina,” said Kansas Wesleyan Athletic Director Steve Wilson. “Our community is a primary reason that we are so successful, and to see our student-athletes and coaches respond by giving back this way, it makes me proud to be a Coyote and to be from this community.”For a second consecutive year KWU had the top two individual team finishes in the challenge. The KWU Softball team finished as the top team in the challenge for a second straight year, while the Tennis teams finished second.KWU had two other teams finish in the Top 20 with Baseball finishing ninth and Women’s Soccer finished 12th.Overall, the department had 65 percent participation amongst student-athletes, which yielded 4069 hours of community service.Softball had a total of 989 volunteer hours in the competition, with an 86 percent participation rate. The team averaged 34 hours per participant.Tennis logged 426 volunteer hours, with each participant averaging 25 hours of service.Women’s Soccer and Baseball both boasted 100 percent participation. Baseball saw participants average 11 hours per participant and Women’s Soccer averaged 10 hours per participant.“I am extremely proud of our coaches, student-athletes, and staff for caring so deeply for Salina,” Wilson added.Top 10 NAIA HelperHelper Challenge Institutions1. Doane (Neb.)2. Soka (Calif.)3. Kansas Wesleyan4. Fisher (Mass.)5. Ave Maria (Fla.)6. Eastern Oregon7. Midway (Ky.)8. Indiana-East9. Siena Heights (Mich.)10. Goshen (Ind.)Top 20 NAIA HelperHelper Challenge Teams1. Kansas Wesleyan Softball2. Kansas Wesleyan Tennis (Men and Women)3. Ave Maria Men’s Basketball4. Soka Women’s Cross Country5. Eastern Oregon Men’s Wrestling6. Eastern Oregon Volleyball7. Ave Maria Women’s Tennis8. Soka Men’s Cross Country9. Kansas Wesleyan Baseball10. Doane Women’s Soccer11. Indiana-East Volleyball12. Kansas Wesleyan Women’s Soccer13. Eastern Oregon Women’s Wrestling14. Doane Women’s Track15. Soka Men’s Soccer16. Ave Maria Lacrosse17. Doane Women’s Cross Country18. Doane Women’s Tennis19. Doane Men’s Track20. Soka Women’s Soccer--<a href="http://KWUCoyotes.com">KWUCoyotes.com</a>--

KWU Athletics 3rd in NAIA HelperHelper Challenge

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs players talked football with the media on Wednesday. Following are their comments.

Q: How has it been as a World Champion? Has it been everything you thought, more or less?

KELCE: “I think for the most part, it’s still been pretty surreal. I think the quarantine as made it almost like it was a dream because we haven’t been able to go out and be with our family members and visit everyone like we would if it wasn’t like this, but all in all, the biggest thing is that it’s very motivating. It’s very motivating to be able to do it again. I’ve already got the competitive mindset to gear up and start this thing all over again, to help recreate this team’s identity. And moving forward, we’re just excited because we have a lot of the pieces coming back.”

Q: How do you keep that hunger? How do you keep that fire going?

KELCE: “It’s ingrained in this team to fight, man, and to battle their tails off, to work their tails off. Everybody that we played with last year on the Chiefs, they made it fun to come into the office. We all enjoy being around each other, and I don’t see that chemistry changing or that camaraderie changing at all, especially with the leaders that we have coming back.”

Q: What gives you confidence with this current environment that you are going to be locked in and a step ahead? What gives you confidence that this group is going to be ready and going to handle this the right way?

KELCE: “One, the leaders, the leaders on this team and that includes Head Coach Andy Reid at the top. His scheduling, how he’s going about this whole quarantine and the virtual meetings and everything, nothing has really changed in terms of the bulk or the load of installs, the load of information that you’re going to have to be ready for once we do get out on the field. Yeah, it makes it a little bit tougher. You don’t get the opportunity to go out there and run these plays, especially the new plays the offensive minds have put together. It’s going to be a little difficult to catch up once we get out on the field and actually be able to perform these plays, but I think it’s, for the most part, the locker room guys, the core guys, everyone has the mentality of ‘We have to do this again.’ Last year doesn’t mean a thing. I don’t want to say we’ve erased it because it’s still, you know, it’s still fresh on our minds. But at the same time, it builds confidence and it builds some competitiveness to be able to repeat.”

Q: Can you talk about way this team grew last season and how that helps going into 2020?

KELCE: “Obviously, we started off with a bang, coming out and putting up 40 on Jacksonville, or however much we put up, but even from there, handling the ups and downs, handling the adversity throughout games, handling how we’re going to change the schemes at halftime. All in all, just believing in each other. All that takes it’s course to the end of the season, and then the playoffs almost start as a brand new season because you had to refocus your mindset because now it’s one-and-done. It’s an entirely different level of competitiveness. It’s a different level of accountability and what you’re doing in the office. I really think that we grew. Obviously, you can noticeably see the defense grow. Coach Spags (Steve Spagnuolo), Honey Badger (Tyrann Mathieu), 55 (Frank Clark), these guys helped mold what ended up being a championship defense. Not a lot of people saw that in the beginning, but as a player, you saw how hard everyone works throughout the week, day-to-day. You could see everyone getting better. It’s not that they weren’t good in the beginning. It was a chemistry. It was making sure that I’m being accountable for the guy next to me, knowing what the guy next to me is doing. So, it’s not that anybody was worse in the beginning of the season, it was just coming together, knowing that we had a new system. And we had a new way of doing things and just growing with that. And then on the offensive side of the ball, trying to minimize the mistakes. Trying to give Pat (Patrick Mahomes) the opportunity to throw the ball and stay on time as routes develop over the course of the season and just making sure we’re getting the ball down field and we’re putting up six because three points can get you in trouble.”

Q: What made the culture at the Chiefs attractive, and what did college teammate Frank Clark tell you about the team?

CHARLTON: “Yeah, it was a place I was looking forward to coming sort of right off waivers. So, once I cleared, me and Frank were on the phone, we were talking. Like I said, that’s why nothing else mattered to me, money-wise, nothing really mattered. I just wanted to play football, wanted to go to a good situation where I could play some good football and feel like I could add myself to a good defense.”

Q: With the opportunity to join the defending Super Bowl champions, and knowing that team continuity might be very important this upcoming season, how have you used this quarantine time to improve yourself as a player?

CHARLTON: “The good thing with me is I’ve got a home gym. I was able to add more to my home gym, and I’m still able to get a good amount of work in. And then my d-line coach is still out here in Dallas, so I’m still able to train and get a lot of work in during my quarantine. So, I’m staying in the house as much as possible, but I can work out in the house and still get a lot of work in, which is a good benefit for me.”

Q: What do you know Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his scheme? Have you heard anything that you like or is attractive to you? Or was this more about joining the organization overall?

CHARLTON: “It was everything about the organization, from hearing how great of a coach (Head) Coach Reid is. Then once I talked to Frank, he told me how great of a coach (Defensive Coordinator) Coach Spags (Steve Spagnuolo) is, how great of a person he is, and how I’d like to play for him. That’s all I needed. Once I saw that, once I got the chance myself to talk to him and talk to (Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line) Coach (Brendan) Daly, I was all comfortable with coming here and excited to see what I can bring here to Kansas City.”

Q: How would you describe your relationship with Frank Clark? Seems like you guys are close, but how similar are you on-the-field, off-the-field?

CHARLTON: “Me and Frank, we’re real close. Like my brother, like my big brother. He’s a person who at Michigan, he kind of took me under his wing and guided me. We continue that friendship and brotherhood whenever he left. We talk all the time. When I come to LA, I’m usually with him, or I go see him, link up with him, whatever it may be. We try to train with each other sometime during the offseason, or see each other, whatever it may be. Our friendship, our brotherhood has always been there. We always used to joke around about us playing with each other again if me and him had the opportunity. So now we have the opportunity to play with each other again and do something special. I definitely was on board with that and like I said, I’m excited.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs players talked football with the media on Wednesday. Following are their comments.TE TRAVIS KELCEQ: How has it been as a World Champion? Has it been everything you thought, more or less?KELCE: “I think for the most part, it’s still been pretty surreal. I think the quarantine as made it almost like it was a dream because we haven’t been able to go out and be with our family members and visit everyone like we would if it wasn’t like this, but all in all, the biggest thing is that it’s very motivating. It’s very motivating to be able to do it again. I’ve already got the competitive mindset to gear up and start this thing all over again, to help recreate this team’s identity. And moving forward, we’re just excited because we have a lot of the pieces coming back.”Q: How do you keep that hunger? How do you keep that fire going?KELCE: “It’s ingrained in this team to fight, man, and to battle their tails off, to work their tails off. Everybody that we played with last year on the Chiefs, they made it fun to come into the office. We all enjoy being around each other, and I don’t see that chemistry changing or that camaraderie changing at all, especially with the leaders that we have coming back.”Q: What gives you confidence with this current environment that you are going to be locked in and a step ahead? What gives you confidence that this group is going to be ready and going to handle this the right way?KELCE: “One, the leaders, the leaders on this team and that includes Head Coach Andy Reid at the top. His scheduling, how he’s going about this whole quarantine and the virtual meetings and everything, nothing has really changed in terms of the bulk or the load of installs, the load of information that you’re going to have to be ready for once we do get out on the field. Yeah, it makes it a little bit tougher. You don’t get the opportunity to go out there and run these plays, especially the new plays the offensive minds have put together. It’s going to be a little difficult to catch up once we get out on the field and actually be able to perform these plays, but I think it’s, for the most part, the locker room guys, the core guys, everyone has the mentality of ‘We have to do this again.’ Last year doesn’t mean a thing. I don’t want to say we’ve erased it because it’s still, you know, it’s still fresh on our minds. But at the same time, it builds confidence and it builds some competitiveness to be able to repeat.”Q: Can you talk about way this team grew last season and how that helps going into 2020?KELCE: “Obviously, we started off with a bang, coming out and putting up 40 on Jacksonville, or however much we put up, but even from there, handling the ups and downs, handling the adversity throughout games, handling how we’re going to change the schemes at halftime. All in all, just believing in each other. All that takes it’s course to the end of the season, and then the playoffs almost start as a brand new season because you had to refocus your mindset because now it’s one-and-done. It’s an entirely different level of competitiveness. It’s a different level of accountability and what you’re doing in the office. I really think that we grew. Obviously, you can noticeably see the defense grow. Coach Spags (Steve Spagnuolo), Honey Badger (Tyrann Mathieu), 55 (Frank Clark), these guys helped mold what ended up being a championship defense. Not a lot of people saw that in the beginning, but as a player, you saw how hard everyone works throughout the week, day-to-day. You could see everyone getting better. It’s not that they weren’t good in the beginning. It was a chemistry. It was making sure that I’m being accountable for the guy next to me, knowing what the guy next to me is doing. So, it’s not that anybody was worse in the beginning of the season, it was just coming together, knowing that we had a new system. And we had a new way of doing things and just growing with that. And then on the offensive side of the ball, trying to minimize the mistakes. Trying to give Pat (Patrick Mahomes) the opportunity to throw the ball and stay on time as routes develop over the course of the season and just making sure we’re getting the ball down field and we’re putting up six because three points can get you in trouble.”DE TACO CHARLTONQ: What made the culture at the Chiefs attractive, and what did college teammate Frank Clark tell you about the team?CHARLTON: “Yeah, it was a place I was looking forward to coming sort of right off waivers. So, once I cleared, me and Frank were on the phone, we were talking. Like I said, that’s why nothing else mattered to me, money-wise, nothing really mattered. I just wanted to play football, wanted to go to a good situation where I could play some good football and feel like I could add myself to a good defense.”Q: With the opportunity to join the defending Super Bowl champions, and knowing that team continuity might be very important this upcoming season, how have you used this quarantine time to improve yourself as a player?CHARLTON: “The good thing with me is I’ve got a home gym. I was able to add more to my home gym, and I’m still able to get a good amount of work in. And then my d-line coach is still out here in Dallas, so I’m still able to train and get a lot of work in during my quarantine. So, I’m staying in the house as much as possible, but I can work out in the house and still get a lot of work in, which is a good benefit for me.”Q: What do you know Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his scheme? Have you heard anything that you like or is attractive to you? Or was this more about joining the organization overall?CHARLTON: “It was everything about the organization, from hearing how great of a coach (Head) Coach Reid is. Then once I talked to Frank, he told me how great of a coach (Defensive Coordinator) Coach Spags (Steve Spagnuolo) is, how great of a person he is, and how I’d like to play for him. That’s all I needed. Once I saw that, once I got the chance myself to talk to him and talk to (Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line) Coach (Brendan) Daly, I was all comfortable with coming here and excited to see what I can bring here to Kansas City.”Q: How would you describe your relationship with Frank Clark? Seems like you guys are close, but how similar are you on-the-field, off-the-field?CHARLTON: “Me and Frank, we’re real close. Like my brother, like my big brother. He’s a person who at Michigan, he kind of took me under his wing and guided me. We continue that friendship and brotherhood whenever he left. We talk all the time. When I come to LA, I’m usually with him, or I go see him, link up with him, whatever it may be. We try to train with each other sometime during the offseason, or see each other, whatever it may be. Our friendship, our brotherhood has always been there. We always used to joke around about us playing with each other again if me and him had the opportunity. So now we have the opportunity to play with each other again and do something special. I definitely was on board with that and like I said, I’m excited.”DE FRANK CLARKQ: You seem to go on and off with social media, but you came back to let people know that you were going to make Taco Charlton into a legend. What was your thought process behind that?CLARK: “I feel like a lot of people are doubting Taco and for the first part of his career it hasn’t been to the standard that I’m sure he would want it to be. He’s had some great highlights and he’s done some good things in this league, but he has yet to do what I know he wants to do. Me and him being close friends we have a lot of talks and we talk about a lot of things and he’s been my bro since Michigan days. I spent a significant amount of time with him there. Actually, I call myself a leader and everything I’ve done. At Michigan I made a lot of mistakes but on that football field I did my share of leading those guys. One thing I did in that position room is change the way the position was being played, the rush in, and Taco followed suit. He listens and he does great things. I’m just excited. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do. Like I said, I want to turn him into a legend. First, just show him my work ethic. Show him how we do things with the Chiefs. It’s a certain standard that Coach Reid has us mounted to. There are certain things that you have to be able to live up to here. We’re the champs. We’re defending our ring and there’s going to be some standards that he has to live up to coming into that room.”Q: During Easter you did a pretty remarkable thing. Would you talk about going out and helping on Skid Row and why you decided to do that?CLARK: “I do a lot down there, more than I really make public or would ask for credit for. I don’t really want credit for what I do down there. I actually used to live down there. Growing up in Los Angeles, I actually spent a large portion of my life on Skid Row, particularly at the Union Mission the shelter down there. Particularly around that time, I had done it plenty of times before then, but on that time at Easter it was just in my heart. I woke up with it in my heart. I didn’t plan on doing it on Easter. I had just went down there a few days before with a few friends and we had passed out some food and some clothes and some cleaning supplies, but I just woke up that morning and it was on my heart. My family was up cooking and stuff and I just let them know I’d be back later, and I was about to go down and help with downtown. I just said I’ll be back, basically. I just left and the first place I thought of was a pizza spot. I ended up going to Little Caesars pizza, shout out to them because they did a great job. I actually went in there and I was like, ‘I need as many pizzas as you can give me’ and they were like ‘What?’ and I was like ‘Can I get 100 pizzas?” and they were like, ‘What? No, we don’t have 100.’ and there was like a line of people. I’m begging people to let me get in front of them and I’ll buy their pizzas. I’m like ‘Please!’ because it was about to close. I was like “I just need these orders please. I’m about to go down and feed the people.’ and they ended up being able to give me 55 pizzas, which is crazy. 55 pizzas, my number. They gave me 55 pizzas.I asked for as many as they could give me and they gave me 55 and I was like ‘What? That’s a coincidence. That’s crazy.’ So they gave me 55 pizzas and I went down there, me and my friend Nick Glass. We went down there and he helped me pass out the food to the homeless. We made sure we wore our protective stuff, but I feel like I’m more in touch with them than the average person. Just being down there and spending time down there I know the streets, I know the back streets, the alleys. So, it was one of those things.”Q: How did you view your 2019 performance and what do you see for yourself in 2020?CLARK: “I feel like it went alright. That’s every year I feel. It will never be what you want it to be, you have to set your goals high. That’s what I do all the time. Realistically, myself I’ll never tell anybody my actual goal. It’s either met or not met. Like, my goal is to break the sack record. I’ve been telling myself I want to break the sack record for the last two years, but things come with that, everyday stuff. I might get injured, I might tweak this, that might prohibit me or slow me down. So, it’s certain things like that that will always be my goal. Setting the single-season forced fumble record, things like that. You have goals, winning five Super Bowls. You have to set your goals high because what else are you working for. You have some people that set their goals as ‘I want to make it to the Super Bowl’ or ‘I want to make it to the NFL’ and I ask them ‘Well, what do you want to do after that? What’s next?’ and some guys fall short of that long-term success because they don’t have that ‘What’s Next?’ I feel like that’s what 2020 has in store. That ‘What’s Next?’ factor. What’s next? What do you want to do next, Frank? I wanna start my clothing line. I want to win more Super Bowls. I want to help my younger guys. I want to bring the younger guys along. I want to create more and do more things special.”Q: When you guys do this virtual workout program what excites you most with the core of the guys being back, with Steve Spagnuolo and what about watching yourself early last season will help you for this season?CLARK: “Number one when you get a chance to get your guys back, your core, that’s dope. The one thing you always want to see is your boys. The same team you went through it with. You all did that camp. Once you go through that camp together it’s like we solid, we dogs. You love to see guys who go on to success and they go off and get what they deserve as far as contracts and they do things that way. Hats off to those guys. We lost one from our room, one of our main guys Emmanuel Ogbah. That was my dog. He contributed so much. We might not have thought about it, but the time when he started contributing was the time where myself, I’m hurt and not really saying nothing but fighting through it every game, and then you got Alex Okafor, he’s hurt, he’s out at the time. He stepped in and he was doing his part contributing big. He was playing better football than me at the time. So, he was picking up a lot of slack for guys, honestly as a back up defensive end, then eventually became a starter once AO (Alex Okafor) got hurt. So, it’s hard, but also like you said we get our group back and I look forward to going back to the spot and seeing all my guys in that locker room. Us being able to reminisce and talk about it and then being able to have the desire to want more. We all understand. We’ve been there, so it’s not like 50% of your team got shipped off or this happened or the coaching staff, this happens. No, everybody’s back and it’s like you said the foundation is back and we get to revisit it. Like I said, have a short memory about it and then get back on the road because that’s the goal to get back on the road and keep it going.”--<a href="http://chiefs.com">CHIEFS</a>--