Weis Junior learning a new offense

Most people the age of Charlie Weis Jr. get to take summers off and get away from school. While his summers have usually been busy this past one was even more hectic.

Between going to summer school and being around the Kansas football program he experienced something new. He did his first internship in the NFL. He could have gone with several teams but chose New England.

On the first day he arrived he was tested on the Patriots offense and the new young intern in camp surprised people.

"On the first day people were quizzing me and I was getting some of it right," Weis Jr. said. "They were surprised to see that."

Maybe didn't know he had a head start. Back when he was sophomore in high school he helped hold up the play cards at Notre Dame to change personnel. That's when he first learned and started to grasp the pro-style offense. So when he started his internship with New England he was well ahead of most.

"I knew probably 75-80 percent of it," he said. "The run game protections and all of that stuff was the same. They changed a little bit in the passing game. Other than that it was pretty identical. I knew a lot of it because they do the same offense that my dad installed back when he first got there. Their practice is the exact same as ours and the scripts are written the same way. The play calls are the same. Hearing all of that there were tons of similarities."

Weis Jr. understood the offense in high school but really started to absorb it when he was a student at Florida. Most of his knowledge has been built around the pro-style so the last eight months has been a change. Since the Jayhawks are moving to a spread under offensive coordinator John Reagan it will help him broaden his experience.

"I think it is awesome to be able to learn both of them and see all of the terminology," Weis Jr. said. "In the spread you can see some of the tempo that is used and that is good for our guys. You can use tempo as an equalizer, then go no huddle and to be able to get the right play call in. For me to be able to take some of that knowledge and learn from that and what I learned from my dad's system helps me get my own ideas going."

With all of the summer work and internship Weis Jr. is still holding onto a 4.0 GPA at KU. He joked he has had some close calls lately but his streak is still intact.

The Patriots played the Redskins on Thursday the same day Kansas football players reported to camp. The first practice was on Friday so he was hustling to get back to Lawrence.

"The game got over at 10 that night and we got back to the hotel," Weis Jr. said. "I slept there that night and the next morning I left it 6:00 AM. I got back here about noon and was walking on the practice field not too much later. It was a quick turnaround."

He will be spending his third season working in the Kansas program. He is a student manager and is allowed to be involved in a non-coaching capacity. One of his jobs is signaling in plays to the offense.

He will soon be heading out into the job world once he graduates. He hopes to land something for next year but doesn't know what that will be.

"Whatever opportunity opens up for me whether it be here or somewhere else I'm keeping the door open," he said. "It would be awesome to be able to work for your dad or have a chance to go someplace in the NFL."