Kansas football: Three reasons the Jayhawks will be better in 2020
Kansas football has been trying to become something other than a perennial loser in the Big 12, and 2020 could be the season.
When people ask how I feel about Les Miles and the future of Kansas football, my answer is almost always the same: cautious optimism. While it’s good to be hopeful, it’s also important to remember that the Jayhawks haven’t won more than three games in a season in over a decade.
Still, the optimism persists. Here are three reasons why Kansas football will be better in 2020 than they were last season.
Reason No. 1: Stability on the coaching staff
Last season, Miles fired his offensive coordinator halfway though the season and promoted Brent Dearmon. This was a necessary move, but that probably didn’t make the switch any easier on the team or coaching staff.
Now that the coaching staff seems to be more in place, the team can focus more on actual football operations instead of totally changing schemes. Stability is necessary for wins, and it looks like the Jayhawks should have that box checked for 2020.
Reason No. 2: Returning players
Kansas football is returning most of their key skill players from last season, including receivers Andrew Parchment, Stephon Robinson, and Kwamie Lassiter II. Of course, First-Team All-Big 12 running back Pooka Williams will be back too, and he should be set up for a big season.
While the Jayhawks don’t have an obvious starting quarterback yet, Dearmon has been hailed as a great QB developer, so we’ll see if that holds true. If Kansas has a half-decent quarterback, they should be a threat, at least offensively.
Reason No. 3: New arrivals
Kansas football is bringing in a few freshman who could get some playing time early in their careers. Lawrence Arnold could possibly get some reps at the receiver position, and trying to find QB Jalon Daniels some playing time should be a priority.
The 2020 class ranks No. 56 in 247 Sports‘ rankings which is decent. It’s hard to know for sure who’s going to step up and play an important role at this point, but there will probably be at least one or two freshmen that become key contributors.
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While the Jayhawks might not be leaps and bounds better than they were last season, there’s reason to believe that this team could show improvement, which is important. It’ll probably take a few seasons to get Kansas to a point where they’re competing for bowls, so even just a little bit of development is a huge step.