Kansas football: Staff changes may impact Jayhawk recruiting
By Stan Unruh
Major changes are developing on Kansas football coach David Beaty’s staff. The coach needed to take action but also lost one important connection to Texas high schools.
Die hard Kansas football fans learned some good news late last week. There is also news that may upset a few Jayhawk fans. One reason Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger hired David Beaty to lead Kansas football was his connection to the Texas high school football pipeline. The past two seasons, Jeff Jordan worked for Beaty as the Director of Player Personnel.
Jordan is taking his 30-years of Texas high school football experience back to the Lone Star State. SMU announced over the weekend that Jordan will now work for new Mustang head coach Sonny Dykes. Most Kansas football fans were pleased when Jordan joined Beaty’s staff. How his departure will impact recruiting remains to be seen.
In addition to Jordan’s departure, Beaty took action to hopefully improve the Jayhawk offensive line and special teams. Both need significant attention. I expected this news in December. On the other hand, I’m just glad Beaty took action.
The Jayhawk offensive line had few good moments during the 2017 season. The unit did an outstanding job against West Virginia. Kahlil Herbert ran for almost 300 yards in the Big 12 opener. The week before, Mid America Conference Ohio embarrassed the Jayhawk line and their coach Zach Yenser. As a matter of fact, one play was so bad ESPN featured it on their ‘Cmon Man segment.
Beaty had Yenser coach his offensive line the past three seasons. Since the head coach is on one of the hottest seats in college football, it was time to make a change and Yenser is out, as reported in a media release from KU. I hope Beaty has someone in mind to whip this unit into shape.
In addition to the offensive line, the performance by special teams hurt the Jayhawks in several games in 2017. Remember the mistakes in the Iowa State game or the Sunflower Showdown? It’s painful to think about D.J. Reed’s 99-yard kickoff return for a score. He also returned a punt for 37-yards. I’m not sure why anyone would kick right to him? Someone else will get to make that decision next season instead of Joe DeForest.
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Beaty cut those two assistants and promoted offensive analyst Justin Johnson to an on-field coaching role. While there is something positive about consistency, the results indicated Beaty had to go in a different direction. It will be interesting who takes over the responsibilities on Beaty’s staff and who will help him with recruiting in Texas.