Kansas football: The long march from the bottom begins
By Phil Poling
Offense
The Jayhawks offense wasn’t particularly better than their defense a season ago, ranking 120th out of 130 in points per game. They only managed 18.7 points per game, but do bring back a number of explosive weapons.
Junior running back Khalil Herbert posted the Big 12’s single-best rushing performance in 2017 when he tallied 291 rushing yards against West Virginia. It was nearly half of his season total on the ground, but Herbert showed he can be a workhorse, totaling 36 rush attempts.
Steven Sims, Jr., a top 10 wide receiver in the Big 12, returns to Kansas for his senior season. The Houston native was first on the Jayhawks in receptions (59), receiving yards (839) and receiving touchdowns (six) in 2017.
Senior signal-caller Peyton Bender is the fastest Jayhawk to reach 1,000 career passing yards, having done so in only three games in 2017. The JuCo transfer has some excellent weapons at his disposal, making Kansas an actual threat while the offense is on the field.
Kansas returns 29 lettermen from last year’s 1-11 team. Although they didn’t experience much winning, they still played and (hopefully) progressed during the offseason. With that expected transition to a better all-around football team, Beaty’s offense could keep the Jayhawks alive in some games.