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Kansas Jayhawks Football: 2015 Season Preview and Prediction

By Joey Ciccarello

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Can the Kansas Jayhawks find a modicum of success under first-year head coach David Beaty in 2015?

Six long have seasons have passed since the Kansas Jayhawks won the 2008 Insight Bowl, a victory that secured them back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1991-1992. Since then, the Jayhawks have cycled through three coaches, won just four conference games, and have finished either last or next-to-last in the Big 12 every season.

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Last year’s 3-9 season was the tipping point for Charlie Weis, who was fired after four games last year. In his absence, interim coach Clint Bowen won just once in eight tries, leaving the Jayhawks no choice but to look elsewhere for their next coach.

Enter David Beaty, the wide receivers coach for the Jayhawks from 2008-2009, who returns to Lawrence via Texas A&M to take on a massive rebuilding job. Beaty will try to do what Turner Gill and Weis failed to do; make Kansas a player in one of the country’s toughest conferences. While everything may look lost from the outside, there are a few glimmers of hope for the Jayhawks and their increasingly impatient fan base.

Offensive Outlook

Simply put, the Jayhawks were putrid on offense last season, ranking 118th out of the 128 FBS teams in total offense. Improving the offense starts with consistency at quarterback, which, at Kansas, has been difficult to come by. For Kansas, finding consistent quarterback play projects to be a huge issue.

Beaty initially had to choose between two dual-threat players: senior Michael Cummings and junior Montell Cozart. Unfortunately, a knee injury to Cummings, who passed for 1,715 yards and scored 13 total touchdowns, has left his playing status very much in doubt.

Cozart’s athleticism brings lots of promise, but inconsistent play cost him the job last year. He threw for just 701 yards, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions in the seven games that he appeared in. With Cummings out, Cozart looks to be in the lead, but he is being pushed by true freshmen Carter Stanley and Ryan Willis. Beaty has yet to name a starter, but for now, it seems like the ball is in Cozart’s court.

Finding play-making around either quarterback will prove to be a challenge. Wide Receivers Nigel King and Nick Harwell, and tight end Jimmay Mundine, the top playmakers from last season’s team, have all moved on. Taking on Mundine’s role will likely be sophomore Ben Johnson, who caught eight balls for 80 yards last season. The Wide Receivers are inexperienced; after the recent dismissal of senior Rodriguez Coleman, junior Tre Parmelee, who caught 4 passes for 21 yards, is the most experienced returner.

The running backs looked to be much more established; however, sophomore Corey Avery, who ran 151 times for 631 yards and five touchdowns, was dismissed with Coleman for a violation of team rules. Stepping up will be senior De’Andre Mann, who carried the ball 85 times for 399 yards and no touchdowns.

Mann will be joined by fellow senior Taylor Cox, as well as junior college transfer Ke’aun Kinner and true freshman Taylor Martin. Production at the running back position is necessary, as Kansas can’t afford to repeatedly put themselves in third-and-long situations.

Defensive Outlook

Kansas was terrible on offense last year, but it wasn’t much better on the defensive side. The Jayhawks ranked 110th in total defense in 2014, and lose their top four tacklers from last year. Senior Jake Love retired from football so he leaves a void at his linebacker position after a relatively productive year in which he totaled 53 tackles, 39 of them solo, and 3 sacks.

Junior Courtney Arnick returns at linebacker as well, and looks to improve off his 2014 campaign which saw him finish with 45 total tackles. The defensive line is headed by senior tackle Andrew Bolton and senior end Ben Goodman Jr., but those two only combined for 2.5 sacks and 37 tackles.

The secondary does not look to be much better, especially after senior safety Isaiah Johnson transferred to South Carolina. Johnson finished 2014 with just one interception, but his 75 total tackles had him at the top among returning defensive players, so he’ll be missed.

Cornerback Matthew Boateng fared well in his true freshman campaign, appearing in eight games and grabbing an interception. Ronnie Davis is the only senior corner that Beaty has, but he will likely spend most of his time as a special teamer. As hard as it is to believe, Kansas’ defense could take major steps back in the wake of the departures of standout linebacker Ben Heeney and defensive backs Cassius Sendish and Fish Smithson.

Final Thoughts and Prediction

As bad as it has been for Kansas over the past few years, it could get worse this year. Of course, playing in the Big 12 does them no favors; an October 3rd date at Iowa State could be their best and only chance at a conference win. They’re fortunate enough to get conference powers Baylor, Oklahoma, and Kansas State at home, but it will take nothing short of a miracle to beat any of those teams.

They could be almost 30 or 40-point underdogs at TCU, and trips to Texas and Oklahoma State will not be easy either. Outside of the Big 12, they open with back-to-back home games with South Dakota State and Memphis, and follow that up with a trip to Rutgers on September 26.

The best case scenario for Beaty and the Jayhawks is that Cozart takes major steps forward, and will Kansas to three or four shootout victories this season.

With that being said, the worst case could be 11 straight losses following a victory over South Dakota State in week 1. Unless the Jayhawks get major contributions from their young talent, this will be another excruciating season in Lawrence.

Next: Ranking The New Head Coaching Hires

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