A brand new start

LAWRENCE — Kansas held its first practice Thursday afternoon and new head coach Charlie Weis released his first depth chart Wednesday as players reported for preseason camp.

True freshman placekicker Austin Barone, a St. Mary’s Colgan graduate, sat at No. 2 behind junior Ron Doherty, along with sophomore Nick Prolago.

Doherty, a two-year letterman who doubles as punter, went 3-for-4 on field goals and averaged 42.8 yards per punt last season for the 2-10 Jayhawks. The Augusta (Ga.) Sports Council named Doherty (Klein High School, Klein, Texas) to its Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List of 25 players eligible for the award honoring the nation’s best collegiate punter.

Barone called signing with KU a dream come true for a Jayhawker at heart.

“It’s unbelievable,” Barone said in April. “When you grow up in Lawrence and you go to the games and you the see the atmosphere up there, you really fall in love. When you’re a kid, everybody says ‘I want to be a Kansas Jayhawk, I want to wear the jersey, I want to run out of the tunnel and I want to do all that.’ The fact that it’s happening soon is unbelievable.”

Barone attended Bishop Seabury Academy in Lawrence his freshman year and transferred to Colgan his sophomore year. Football was not his background.

“The first year I kicked was my junior year,” Barone said. “I transferred down here my sophomore year because we felt like a Catholic education was what we wanted and (because I didn’t live with my parents) I wasn’t able to play right away. I didn’t go out until the third week of the season. Coach Smith (Colgan head coach Chuck Smith) came up to me my sophomore year and said ‘We really want you to be a part of the team’ and from then on, I went out and did everything the team did, except for I couldn’t play any games.”

Barone proved himself a valuable football player his junior and senior years on Colgan teams with a combined 24-2 record and one appearance in the Class 2-1A state championship. He accounted for 163 points over two years — 17 field goals made in 19 attempts and 112 extra points in 122 attempts. His ability to kick the ball high enough and deep enough on kickoffs helped Colgan win the crucial field-position battle week after week.

It was obvious watching Barone play that he dedicated himself to kicking.

“I felt like I learned how to kick so now I can focus in on trying to get better rather than trying to just figure out what it’s about,” Barone said. “I can control my destiny now. Whether I want to work my butt off and become a really good kicker I can or if I don’t, it’s something . . . I bear that.”

Barone sat in the crowd at Chatters Bar and Grill when Coach Weis made a stop in Pittsburg back in May.

Weis quickly made his personality felt in Lawrence, dismissing several players for a variety of reasons including behavioral issues or a desire to play somewhere else.

“It’s not change the culture, it’s every head coach has their own personality and they have their own way of doing business,” Weis said. “So it’s not changing the culture, it’s getting them to know this is your personality and this is the way that you do business. What you’re really doing is that you’re getting them to understand that this is the way I know, this is the way it’s done and it’s not up for debate.”

Keeston Terry, a starting safety last year dismissed by Weis, transferred to Pittsburg State — defending national champions in Division II. Terry said that he was dismissed after Weis found out Terry was seeking a transfer.

Kansas (featuring 27 new players) practices its first two days in shorts and helmets, following NCAA regulations, and then works out in full pads Monday, followed by its first two-a-day practice session Tuesday.

The Jayhawks open their 2012 season Sept. 1 with South Dakota State at home and begin conference play Sept. 15 against Big 12 newcomer TCU, coached by former Pittsburg State assistant coach Gary Patterson.