Kansas natives understand significance of Missouri rivalry
Most of the current Jayhawks were in preschool or kindergarten the last time Kansas played Missouri in football in 2011. However, Topeka native Deshawn Hanika, in his seventh college season by way of a lengthy injury history, has been able to experience the rivalry firsthand.
Hanika attended a Kansas/Missouri game growing up. While he wasn’t 100% sure of the year or result of the rivalry, the atmosphere stood the test of time.
“The atmosphere there was electric,” Hanika said. “It’s one of the great rivalries in college football that just doesn’t get talked about for some reason, probably because we haven’t played since 2010. But, no, it’s a special thing for each state.”
Lawrence native Calvin Clements is a few years younger, with his view of the rivalry being a little different. Clements said his generation feels more aligned with the in-state rivalry, but understanding the importance of the Missouri rivalry is important.
“It’s a very old rivalry and we haven’t played in a while,” Clements said. “In recent history, the big rivalry for I guess my generation has been K-State, but understanding the volume of this rivalry is definitely a big thing for us. And for me, just being from Lawrence, I have a better understanding of it.”
For the rest of the team who may be unfamiliar with the context of the rivalry, they received a crash course in history at the start of the week. The team took in the video well, which featured Darrell Stuckey and other former players.
“I think the guys really grasped that video really well,” Hanika said. “They’ve also done their own research and seen their own things on social media and, you know, they didn’t realize how big of a rivalry it was until that time. And you know, I think everyone kind of figured it out real quick.”
Hanika experienced the Cy-Hawk rivalry when he played for Iowa State and also mentioned Texas Tech as a strong environment. He doesn’t really know what to expect from Faurot Field, but has heard stories from guys like Stuckey and is excited to see the hostility.
“I love playing in hostile environments. I love being on the road,” Hanika said. “Makes it feel like the team, you know, we only have each other to lean on. It’ll be a good test for our team, you know, with how many new people we have here and new coordinators, and it’ll be a good test for us to see where we stand.”
