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Kansas football needs improvement in all phases this upcoming season
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Kansas coach David Beaty looks on from the sidelines. The Jayhawks went 0-12 last season, and hope to secure their first win since 2014 in their upcoming game against Rhode Island.
► WESLEY DOTSON
@WesleyDee23
A new season is almost upon Kansas football, and there couldn't be more relieving news for second-year head coach David Beaty and his team.
Year one was highlighted by an abysmal 0-12 record for Beaty, but that doesn't mean the season was necessarily a complete failure.
A foundation was built, and the team appears headed in the right direction.
"The great thing about our program is [that] we created an environment from the day that we got there that is based on caring for your teammate more than you care for yourself," Beaty said at Big 12 Football Media Days on July 18.
That's a positive sign for the 2016 season, as the Jayhawks will need to see improvement on both sides of the ball in order for the improvement of the program to translate into success on the football field.
Win Column
It's pretty clear this is the most glaring need for improvement for Kansas, simply to improve their national image and local support.
Beaty will be searching for his first career win as a head coach — and first win for the Jayhawks since November 8, 2014, against Iowa State — when the
team takes on FCS Rhode Island in its home opener.
This first game of the year is an ideal opportunity for Beaty to secure his first win, as the Rams went 1-10 and ranked last in total offense and second-to-last in total defense in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2015.
"We are completely focused on the most important game in the history of our program, which is the next one, Rhode Island," Beaty said.
Securing that first win under Beaty's tenure would certainly provide the instant improvement the Jayhawks are searching for this season.
Quarterback
Kansas sophomore quarterback Ryan Willis showed glimpses of becoming a potentially effective starting quarterback last season after he took over for redshirt-junior quarterback Montell Cozart after the first four games of the season.
As a team, the Jayhawks threw only 12 touchdown passes, compared to 14 interceptions, last season. The Jayhawks also finished eighth in the Big 12 in pass offense, and the offense desperately needs that to improve in 2016 in order to sustain more consistent success.
While Willis threw for a Kansas freshman record 1,719 yards and nine touchdowns, there were still growing pains along the way—most notably, his 10 interceptions and 52 percent completion rate.
That has made the starting quarterback spot an open competition heading into fall camp, which includes Willis, Cozart, sophomore Keaton Perry, and redshirt-freshman Carter Stanley.
"That competition at the quarterback spot is not unlike any of the other spots." Beaty said during Kansas Football Media Day on August 6. "They've got to earn it. The first day, I didn't think anybody separated themselves."
Since that first day, Willis has become the best quarterback at practice and has started to separate himself from the pack. Still, Willis, like the other quarterbacks on the roster, will need to show consistency in fall practices in order to win the job.
Wide Receiver
The loss of Tre' Parmalea is notable, as he led all Kansas receivers with an average of 59.9 yards per game last season. However, the receiving corps could see a rise in production with the addition of junior transfer LaOuvionte Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, a former four-star recruit, was coached by
Beaty during his first two seasons at Texas A&M before he transferred to Kansas and sat out last season.
"We can't put too much on Quiv," Beaty said. "He's not the answer to all the ills that we have. He is just a piece of it. He can't do too much."
"We had a kid at Rice named Sam McGuffie, came from Michigan. Sam was a tremendous player, very much like Quiv. The thing we did, we put too much on Sam that year. We learned a hard lesson and he was not as productive as he could have been."
The great thing about our
program is [that] we created an environment from the day that we got there that is based on caring for your teammate more than you care for yourself."
David Beaty Kansas coach
It will be key for Beaty to maximize Gonzalez's talent, because he has the potential to provide instant offense.
["The quarterbacks] know that kid's talented and if they can get it close to him at the right spot, he can do something extra with it," Beaty said. "We can throw it to him short and he can turn it into something big. That's been really good for him and good for them."
Kansas also added Keegan Brewer, who was the top receiver in the spring game, and have 6-foot-3 Chase Harrell in the fold after he redshirted last season.
Defense
The Jayhawks allowed a Big 12 conference-high 560 yards per game and seven yards per play last season.
Beaty believes the defense will improve this season due in large part to the job that strength and conditioning coach Je'Ney Jackson did in the offseason.
"Our kids in the summertime, credit to our strength staff, have come back in really good shape, looking really good, performance numbers have increased," defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said.
A stronger defense should come on the shoulders of sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. and junior linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. the most this season. They have the biggest potential to thrive in Bowen's system this season.
Armstrong, who tweaked
his leg early in camp, should be healthy when the season starts. Last season, Armstrong recorded 23 tackles, as well as four pass breakups and 3.5 sacks — both second on the team.
"Dorance, obviously, is one of our better players on defense, a kid that did a great job for us last year and has continued to develop," Bowen said.
As for Dineen, he recorded 86 tackles and three sacks last season, which were third on the team.
"Joe is one of those guys who has developed himself," Bowen said. "You know they gain weight, and at the same time add speed to it, so his running and changing direction is good. He's probably 15 pounds heavier, but he's continued to be able to move even faster and change direction better. He's a guy that got to play a lot of football last year so that experience is critical for kids."
Notable players like Willis, Gonzalez, Dineen and Armstrong can't lead the improvement in these areas all by themselves, but they will be the major factors toward that improvement.
If the Jayhawks can improve collectively in these areas, they should see more success in the 2016 season.
Soccer begins 2016 with new faces and same resolve
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Grace Hagan (right) kicks the ball past an Oregon State defender during a 1-0 loss last season.
SKYLAR ROLSTAD @SkyRolSports
Kansas soccer sophomore Grace Hagan stepped to penalty spot in the 22nd minute of Kansas soccer's final exhibition match
against Creighton.
Particularly for her, Hagan said, a penalty kick would normally be a nerve-wracking task. But on this humid August evening, it was nothing but a warm-up for Hagan. She
Entering her sophomore year as one of the many offensive threats Kansas possesses, Hagan and a number of underclassmen serve
buried the penalty, Kansas' second goal in a 3-0 exhibition win over Creighton.
as the replacements to last season's linchpins — Colombian midfielder Liana Salazar and forward Ashley Williams. Last season, Salazar would have stepped up for the penalty kick.
In replacing Salazar and Williams, who combined for 11 goals and eight assists in 2015, Kansas still focuses on building off the ups and downs from last season. Kansas coach Mark Francis focused on building on the Big 12 tournament final loss to Texas Tech. Kansas was unlikely to advance to the final, but narrowly lost the match 1-0.
"Last year we were one win away from winning a championship," Francis said. "That's the biggest thing these guys take from it is they want to win, you know. They don't want to be second place."
Kansas jumps back in 2016 with a lot of the same goals as 2015, but not with the scorers or key players.
But Francis added several players who will likely creep into starting line-ups over the offseason. Icelandic midfielder Erna Gudjonsdottir drew praise from Francis, who said she could distribute the ball like Salazar could. Austrian freshman defender Sophie Maierhofer is likely to start at center defender for the Jayhawks.
The highest-scoring return ing player is Hagan.
Even the returning players on the Kansas squad are a little new. Forward Ashley Pankey put in two impressive performances in preseason exhibitions, recording a couple in each game. Pankey played in 21 games last season but didn't make a single start. A senior, Pankey is expected to start at forward this season.
["Pankey's] starting right now and she didn't start for us last year," Francis said. "She made a lot of improvements and worked
The Jayhawks' depth in 2016 can make the team more versatile. It also will help resolve an issue Francis and his team struggled with through much of last season: creating opportunities. Right now, Francis said they're better there than they were a year ago.
really hard this summer. She's getting to play more because of that. Ashley's just tough to deal with for the other team."
But they're still working on turning those opportunities into goals.
"We still have to be better at finishing them; we're not clinical enough in the box," Francis said. "In the tight games it just comes down to one play. We had 22 shots (in a 3-0 exhibition win over Creighton).
"The good news is we created that many chances. We just have to be better at executing them."
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