On Saturday, Duke's defense will line up with the primary objective to slow down Todd Reesing, Kansas' stud quarterback. As Reesing goes, so do the Jayhawks.
But it didn't have to be this way -- after all, Reesing was this close to to matriculating to Duke before settling on Mark Mangino's squad. As I wrote last September, when The New York Times profiled Reesing, Duke was one of the schools the two-star prospect considered most, thanks in part to prodding from his mother. That's right! Even big-time recruits (or at least, recruits who will blossom into Saturday stars) listen to their mothers.
His father, Steve, sent him to summer camps and helped put together highlight video tapes and a résumé that emphasized the fact that Todd was ranked No. 4 academically in his high school class. His mother, Debi, a schoolteacher, thought Northwestern and Duke, which had showed interest in her son, were fine universities to prepare for graduate school, something she has made a requirement for each of her three children.
It's a pretty safe bet that Duke's defense, for one, wishes Reesing had listened to mom all those years ago; its task wouldn't be so daunting in Lawrence. I'm sure Thaddeus Lewis and Sean Renfree don't feel the same way, though. Two competent quarterbacks is enough.
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