Kansas football: One story stood out in 2017
By Stan Unruh
We are in the final week of 2017. The Kansas football program experienced some ups and a few downs over the past 12 months. One story stood out.
The Kansas football program had a challenging year on the field and off in 2017. There are several items that could be considered the top story of the year. Head coach David Beaty bringing in new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham is certainly worthy of consideration. I was especially glad to see Beaty steal him away from the Fort Worth Frogs.
At times, fans enjoyed Meacham’s Air Raid offense this past season. On the other hand, there were times the personnel on the field kept the Air Raid grounded. Meacham’s offense will improve along with the Jayhawk offensive line.
The Jayhawk football program and University of Kansas Athletics did something in 2017 few expected. Getting Mark Mangino back to Memorial Stadium is definitely on the list of highlights over the past year. I think all Jayhawk fans enjoyed watching Mangino and his 2007 Orange Bowl team back in Lawrence. It was the right thing to do and it says a lot about coach Beaty and Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger.
In September, Kansas running back Kahlil Herbert ran for nearly 300 yards against West Virginia. Unfortunately, the Big 12 didn’t even recognize him for any weekly conference honors. I still don’t understand how the league ignored his big day.
A story from the past week is also among this season’s highlights for Kansas football. Beaty and his staff recruited a 3-star running back away from big time college programs LSU and Nebraska. As a matter of fact, getting Anthony Pooka Williams to sign with the Jayhawks certainly says something exciting about the future of football at KU.
One story stands above the others this year.
The biggest Kansas football story of 2017 is the Raise the Chant Campaign and David Booth’s $50 million gift. The project will bring so many important things to Kansas football. It was wonderful to see the Kansas Board of Regents approve KU’s request to rename the stadium for Booth.
Next: Christmas came early for Kansas football
The man and his family are so very important to KU. To better understand Booth, you must watch ESPN’s “30 for 30” on his purchase of James Naismith’s original rules of basketball “There’s no place like home.” Booth is the biggest story for Kansas football in 2017 and probably for many years to come.