Small Kansas QB has big plans for the future

Always, the comparisons.

Believe him, he's heard 'em all. For example: Older guys who have watched the Kansas quarterback scrambling around and making plays drop Fran Tarkenton's name.

"It's happened a couple of times," Todd Reesing said. "From some of the older people who watched him play when they were younger."

More often it's Doug Flutie, Boston College's little big man from the 1980s.

There is a reason, of course. It's not every day that a relative Lilliputian -- Reesing is listed at 5-11 in Kansas' media guide, but that might be stretching it by an inch or two -- makes such a big splash at such a high level.

When the Gophers play the Jayhawks on Wednesday in the Insight Bowl they will be facing a quarterback who will be trying to win his 20th game over two seasons. He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 17 consecutive games, and he already holds school records for pass completions (592), career attempts without an interception (213) and career passing yards (7,265). He is one of the biggest reasons Kansas is playing in consecutive bowl games for the first time.

And he's only a junior.

But this is where the comparisons with most of college football's top quarterbacks end. Reesing lives for Saturdays but doesn't expect to play on Sunday. He likely will graduate having thrown for 10,000 or more yards for the Jayhawks, but ask him about his future plans and he talks about travel and study.

"I have one more year left of college," he said. "After that there are things I want to do. I want to study abroad, travel a little, experience different cultures. I want to get my graduate degree, either an MBA or find a program where I can get my law degree and an MBA. We'll see what happens."

Football and much more

Reesing is an athlete who views football as just another part of the college experience, not the college experience. His dad was his main influence growing up when it came to sports. But his mom, Debi, a schoolteacher, is the one who demanded that her son eventually gain a graduate degree.

"She grinds us about academics," Reesing said.

He listened. The stats show that Reesing holds his own in the pass-happy Big 12 Conference. But he dominates in the classroom, earning first-team all-conference academic honors. Reesing has a double major in economics and finance. His favorite reading material is The Economist. After games, on the bus, while his teammates are playing video games, Reesing reads up on the world economy.

"They don't look at me as any brainiac or anything," Reesing said. "They know I care about school and do well in it."

Football? He cares about that, too.

"I'm not a guy who enjoys lifting weights, running workouts, but I love playing football," he said. "There is nothing I like more than that, making plays on Saturday. That's always going to be there, the passion."

At a time when the prototypical college QB towers over guys like Reesing, his path from Austin, Texas, to Kansas is unique. Despite being the 4A player of the year as a junior at Lake Travis High School and the Central Texas Player of the Year as a senior, Reesing was not heavily recruited by big-time schools. Todd's father, Steve Reesing, had a friend get a tape of his son to Kansas. Credit head coach Mark Mangino and offensive coordinator Ed Warinner for recognizing Reesing's potential and offering a scholarship.

''He made a lot of plays,'' Mangino said. ''He threw the ball well, he scrambled, but kept his poise. When he had lemons he made lemonade.''

The difference a season makes

Reesing played sparingly as a freshman, then beat out Kerry Meier last season. Meier moved to wide receiver and leads the team in receptions this year.

As a sophomore Reesing led Kansas to an 11-1 record and a victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

This season hasn't been as successful. Kansas lost its bookend offensive tackles after last year and hasn't run the ball as well. That has put more pressure on Reesing, who was sacked 27 times. Still, Reesing threw for more than 300 yards five times, including a four-touchdown, 375-yard performance in Kansas' 40-37 victory over Missouri in the regular-season finale.

The key to his game? Gophers defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg sees a unique blocking pattern, in which the KU offensive line tries to spread out the defensive linemen on pass plays, trying to create throwing lanes. Mangino said Reesing's ability to move in the pocket creates those lanes down the middle of the field.

Reesing has remained productive despite less of a running game to support him.

"It was a tough year at times," Reesing said. "We played some darned good teams. We played two BCS teams and a Cotton Bowl team. But the fact we're going to back-to-back bowl games, with a chance to win 20 games in a two-year period? Neither has been done here."

But what about when Reesing is done at Kansas? If a pro option is present, he'll certainly listen. But he's not burning for it.

"I'd like to be able to travel and see different parts of the world while I'm still young," he said. "I want to do something different."