Kansas football: Tough to predict offensive capability for 2020 season

There are a lot of questions about what Kansas football will look like this season, but one of the toughest to answer at this point is what the offense will look like.

While Kansas football lost a bunch of starters on from last season’s team on defense, the offense didn’t lose many players. The problem is that the offensive players that did graduate were extremely important. Starting quarterback Carter Stanley is gone now, and First-Team All-Big 12 team member Hakeem Adeniji left a hole in the offensive line that will need to be filled.

The returning Jayhawks do have some talented members though. Back to back First-Team All-Big 12 member Pooka Williams is ready to go for his junior season as he continues to be considered a legit NFL prospect.

Kansas will also be returning three out of their four key receivers from last season. Andrew Parchment, Stephon Robinson, and Kwamie Lassiter II should be impact players for the Jayhawks, and Parchment has already been named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team along with Williams.

As if the combination of open roster spots and returners wasn’t complicated enough, this will also be offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon’s first full offseason with the team. Dearmon is definitely a positive addition to the program though after taking over the offensive coordinator role midway through last season.

With all of these variables, it’s tough to gauge just how good the Kansas offense will be. The potential for an explosive offense is there, but a lot of that will depend on the offensive line and quarterback situation, which will probably be kept a secret until game day.

The top candidates for the position were mentioned by Miles last Saturday in a press conference:

"“I generally don’t name a starting quarterback until I get to the season. To me, I think you’ll look at Miles Kendrick, Thomas MacVittie, Miles Fallin, a number of guys that are there that really, frankly, are going to work and improve at quarterback and continue to improve.”"

Kendrick and MacVittie definitely seem like the favorites, and both are completely different. MacVittie is a traditional pocket passer standing at six-foot-five. Kendrick, on the other hand, is a dual-threat QB who’s five-foot-ten. Whoever ends up winning the job will undoubtedly affect how the offense is run, adding to the uncertainty when it comes to what to expect from the offensive unit.

If Kansas football can put a competent offense on the field, they should at least have a chance to win a few Big 12 games next season. With the number of moving parts though, there’s really no way to predict just how good the offense will be until we see them on the field against Coastal Carolina on September 12.