Wednesday,  August 29, 2012 • Vol. 13--No. 045 • 22 of 34 •  Other Editions

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mind, but at the last second had to change his plan. He called out an audible the team had heard of but never practiced.
• Crist and coach Charlie Weis crafted the play three years ago and had not touched it since, but Weis recognized it almost immediately. The play resulted in a 30-yard run down the left side, the kind of success that surprised everyone but Weis.
• The Jayhawks' new coach called that kind of play an "'Atta boy." When it works out, Crist gets praised. When it doesn't, Weis asks, "What are you doing?" The fact that Crist even has the gumption to call such a play is what makes Weis beam whenever he talks about him.
• "I'm flattered that I have the ability to have an arsenal," Crist said, "but I think it

goes back to the relationship that we have with each other."
• Weis recruited Crist to Notre Dame, and the oft-described quarterback guru mentored him for two years. But Weis was fired and things soured quickly for Crist under a new coaching regime, and he began to look elsewhere to play.
• After two season-ending knee injuries at Notre Dame, Crist decided to follow Weis to Kansas, where they're hoping to rebuild a program not long removed from the Orange Bowl, but much more recently of the 2-10, bottom-of-the-Big 12 varieties.
• Both of them will get their first chance to show whether progress has been made on Saturday night against South Dakota State.
• Weis has no doubt that Crist is the man for the job. He talks about his leadership ability and raw talent, not to mention the convenience of someone who knows his system.
• "Great quarterback, great leadership," said sophomore running back Tony Pierson, who is expected to start behind Crist on Saturday. "He brings experience."
• Pierson is just one of the many options Crist will have on offense, including a couple who are familiar. Tight end Mike Ragone, his former teammate at Notre Dame, took advantage of the same fifth-year transfer rule to enroll at Kansas and join the program immediately.
• Crist had little trouble connecting with the rest of his teammates, the holdovers from last year and the freshman class that Weis had to pull together in short order after Turner Gill was fired. That was evident when Crist was voted captain despite only being with the team for a semester.
• "It was a great honor and it's very flattering that my teammates felt that way, but at the same time it is a great deal of responsibility and it's something that I really

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