Kansas football: Highs and lows from the 2019-20 season
Low: Khalil Herbert leaves the team
The Jayhawks were coming off of a competitive home loss to West Virginia when they hit the road to face TCU in Fort Worth. Quite literally right before game time, news began to break on Twitter that senior running back Khalil Herbert would be redshirting the year with the intention to transfer.
The news came out of nowhere and didn’t seem to make any sense at all. Herbert was considered a leader on the team, as he was voted to be a team captain the week before against West Virginia. Not only that, but just a couple of weeks ago, Herbert had a career game against Boston College rushing for 187 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries.
The TCU game was an abject disaster, and the departure seemed to have an effect on Kansas, as the Jayhawks got blown out 51-14. To explain his decision to redshirt and subsequently transfer, Herbert sent a tweet:
— Khalil Herbert (@JuiceHerbert) October 4, 2019
Losing Herbert was a huge blow to the team, he was a captain, the leading rusher, and a senior. His absence was a serious low point for the season, but another departure just a couple of weeks later would prove even more dramatic.