Mangino's Sunday thoughts, Game 7 edition

Knowing Kansas running back Jake Sharp, it wasn't at all surprising to learn on Sunday night from KU coach Mark Mangino that Sharp has not been playing at full strength since returning from injury last weekend against Colorado.

Sharp has struggled to get going on the ground in back-to-back losses, carrying just 20 times for 43 yards.

"The fact of the matter is that he doesn’t have entire strength in that leg back yet," Mangino said. "He just doesn’t, and he’s playing because he really is a tough kid and wants to play and wants to contribute. It’s not where it was prior to his injury."

Mangino said that was most evident when Sharp got out into the open field Saturday on a shovel pass from Todd Reesing and wasn't able to break away for the touchdown.

"A month ago, that doesn't happen," Mangino said. "There's no way."

Mangino said the Jayhawks are monitoring Sharp's workload closely in practice and that he didn't know whether Sharp would be full-strength the rest of the season.

"We're very hopeful of that but I think that the type of injury that he has sustained does take time," Mangino said. "He's made major gains in the healing process and things are coming along, but it needs time."

* During Saturday's game, true freshman cornerback D.J. Beshears made his first start and was flagged for two obvious pass interference penalties. They looked pretty similar to the ones that took original starter Anthony Davis out of the lineup after the first game of the season. Mangino didn't sound like he was going to pull Beshears.

"I saw a young man that is really trying hard," Mangino said. "He got caught in a mismatch, just got tangled up. He played pretty decent for his first start. Does he have a lot to learn? Absolutely. What we like about DJ, he's a very confident young man. He's not afraid to go in there full-speed and make plays."