Todd Reesing was the best and most dominant quarterback in Kansas football history. To put it simply, he was ‘the man.’
Todd Reesing is without a doubt the best quarterback in Kansas football history. He led the Jayhawks to their best season ever, two bowl victories, and multiple top rankings. Even his stats are still ridiculous to this day.
As a Jayhawk, Reesing passed for over 11,000 yards in his career, a school record. He’s also the only Jayhawk ever to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season, which he did three times. In addition to his career and season records, Reesing also owns the most passing yards in a game when he threw for 498 against Missouri in 2009.
The most ridiculous stats for Reesing are his touchdown numbers. As a Jayhawk, he threw for 90 touchdowns over his career, the most in school history. The next highest is Carter Stanley who threw for 37(!). Keep in mind that Kansas football has fielded a team every year since 1890.
Not only were Reesing’s stats off the chart, but he also led the Jayhawks to some of their most important wins in program history.
The 2007 win over Nebraska was a big one. Reesing threw six touchdown passes against the blackshirts, leading to a 76-39 beatdown of the Cornhuskers. It was the second win for the Jayhawks out of their previous 39 games against Nebraska.
Obviously, the 2007 Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech was one of the most important wins in the history of Kansas football. Reesing ended the game with a touchdown, one interception, and 227 passing yards on the way to the Jayhawks’ biggest bowl win in program history. Not only was Reesing a large part of why the Jayhawks won that game, but he also got them there with his incredible play throughout the season.
Reesing’s signature moment came against Missouri in the 2008 Border War though. With time running down in the fourth quarter, Reesing tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the game to Kerry Meier, giving the Jayhawks the lead and win. Watching Reesing escape a near sack and then float a beautiful pass to Meier just never gets old.
It almost feels like forever ago when Kansas football had a truly great quarterback. Carter Stanley was by far one of the most successful of the 2010s, but that really isn’t saying much considering the gutter Kansas has been in.
With Brent Dearmon as the Jayhawks’ quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, Kansas may have found a QB coach that can really develop young talent. It’ll be interesting to see how next season’s quarterback performs, particularly because there just aren’t any names that jump off the page.
Regardless, Reesing will always be a Kansas football great, accomplishing more during his time as a Jayhawk than any other Kansas quarterback.