Kansas football: Culture shift happening with Jayhawks’ roster
By Dillon Davis
Kansas football is seeing a change with players transferring out. Newcomers and returning players are looking to make a difference to the struggling program.
By now, Kansas football fans are probably used to hearing announcements regarding the college football transfer portal.
Last week, it was announced that offensive lineman Jalan Robinson would be entering the transfer portal, becoming the 20th member of the 2020 roster to do so, according to 247sports.com.
Running back Pooka Williams Jr. has recently declared for the NFL Draft and linebacker Dru Prox is also no longer on the roster.
A majority of the transfers are seniors who are choosing to use their extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19, to play elsewhere. And it is not hard to understand why.
Kansas is in the midst of a complete rebuild. It is going to take time to produce wins and some of these seniors have pro football aspirations. It is in their best interest to showcase their talents at schools where they will get more exposure and experience more winning.
While it hurts to lose good talent, this multitude of transfers does present a silver lining: it shows the culture at Kansas is beginning to change.
Im still standing where I started at Lets work @KU_Football
— Kenny Logan 1️⃣🎋 (@Kennylogan23) January 4, 2021
The players that are leaving do not want to be here, for one reason or another. And to build this program back to respectability, they need guys who want to be here. They need players who want to take on a challenge.
They also need good, young, talented players who are hungry to prove themselves. They should get exactly that with their highly touted incoming recruiting class.
The class is currently ranked No. 32 in the country, according to Rivals.com, and No. 3 in the Big 12. The class got a promising boost recently, thanks to four-star wide receiver Quaydarius Davis’ commitment.
“I want to go in there and turn it around,” Davis told JayhawkSlant.com. “I think it can be special up there.”
This type of mindset is going to help propel this team forward.
Additionally, veteran transfers from winning programs like the program recieved recently with center Colin Grunhard from Notre Dame. This will help contribute to the leadership and help show our younger players how to be successful.
Really bout to be a whole new team with a whole new identity with a whole new work ethic with a whole new vibe. Love that I’m apart of this process.
— Amauri pesek-Hickson (@amauripesek23) January 3, 2021
The remnants of David Beaty’s teams are leaving town. The players that remain are the ones that have the power to finally make a difference, and that is exactly what they appear ready to do.