Kansas football: 3 players to watch against Iowa State
By Stan Unruh
The Kansas football team travels to Ames, Iowa this weekend. Here are three players to watch on the team that just knocked off the nation’s #3 ranked team?
The Kansas football team needs a road win. It’s been a while since that happened. Head coach David Beaty has his hands full preparing for a team that shocked the college football world last Saturday. The Cyclones are not special. This summer, many Kansas football fans believed the Jayhawks could win this game. As a matter of fact, I think the Jayhawks are ready for a Big 12 road victory. Here are three players to watch Saturday.
Cyclone backup quarterback Kyle Kempt is one of the heroes of last Saturday’s upset of Oklahoma. In two games this season, the redshirt senior has completed 75 percent of his passes. He picked apart the Sooner defense last week for three touchdowns with no interceptions.
Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register wrote this week about Kempt’s journey to stardom. The Jayhawks need to bring him back to backup quarterback reality this week.
On defense, how do the Jayhawks prepare for do everything player Joel Lanning? The former quarterback turned linebacker also completed a couple of passes and successfully ran the ball against the Sooners. When he returned to Ames he took over the police department.
This just in: Joel Lanning to also play Chief of Police upon return to Ames.
— Ames Police (@AmesPolice) October 7, 2017
Lanning got a quarterback sack and 8 tackles against the Sooners. He is among the Big leaders in tackles, has an interception and a fumble recovery through the first five games. During this week’s media briefing, David Beaty praised the redshirt senior.
"I’m sick of Lanning, I want him to graduate. He is a talented guy, man, he really is."
Next: Coach David Beaty supports his Defensive Coordinator
If the game is close and comes down to a kick, the Cyclones redshirt senior kicker is consistent. Garrett Owens has made 7 of 8 kicks on the season. He hit three big field goals against Oklahoma including one from 42-yards. His only miss came on a 25-yard in the third quarter against Akron.