Kicking game could be bonus for Kansas football

The last Kansas football game played at Memorial Stadium came down to a winning kick in overtime. Do the Jayhawks have quality kicker this season?

There were a number of big plays that contributed to the November win over Texas that ended the Jayhawk 19-game conference losing streak. As a matter of fact, you cannot overlook the late 80-yard touchdown driver or the Mike Lee interception in overtime.  Both were huge.

Nobody would remember those plays without the work of kicker Matt Wyman. His 36-yard field goal sent the game into overtime.  On a hot, fall Saturday in September of 2013, Wyman kicked a 51-yard game winner over the Skip Holtz coached Louisiana Tech. It was an exciting end to a rather dull game. Wyman’s 25-yard game winner over Texas turned last season around in many ways. It is the biggest kick by a Jayhawk in a long time.

There are 3 kickers listed on 2017 Kansas football roster including freshmen Liam Jones, Cole Brungardt and senior Gabriel Rui. Reporter Benton Smith at kusports.com did include a comment from Coach Beaty on Jones.  The coach thinks he is talented and it makes him smile that he is in Lawerence.

Jones must be talented because he is also the only kicker on scholarship and under a lot of pressure to earn the kicking job. The Kansas football team needs his left leg.  While fans obsess on who will play quarterback, the depth at wide receiver or if the defensive secondary is up to the task, the kicking game has to improve.

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We’ve seen the Jayhawks make a big defensive play and the offense sputter only to miss a field goal. That deflates the entire team. Beaty and this team cannot afford mistakes by a kicker this season. Liam Jones should be a great weapon for the Jayhawks.