Weis looks to shore up QB reserves

By Matt Tait     Jan 25, 2012

With quarterbacks Brock Berglund and Jordan Webb off of the roster, and BYU transfer Jake Heaps forced to sit out the 2012 season because of NCAA transfer rules, Kansas University coach Charlie Weis has a pretty big hole to fill at quarterback, despite having landed projected starter Dayne Crist from Notre Dame.

Although the current KU roster includes quarterbacks Michael Cummings and Blake Jablonski, neither has any game experience, and that appears to be reason enough for Weis to continue his search for a backup quarterback.

According to a report from JayhawkSlant.com, that search will include City College of San Francisco QB Turner Baty, who is scheduled to meet with Weis and KU recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello sometime today in San Francisco.

In helping lead CCSF to a junior college national championship last season, Baty, 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, tossed 42 touchdowns and ran for 300 yards and seven more TDs.

The self-proclaimed pro-style quarterback visited Michigan and drew interest from Oklahoma, but roadblocks both places prevented the mutual interest from going any further. With time running out on recruiting the Class of 2012, Baty is hoping for a chance at Kansas.

“I know (KU) put me on their recruiting board,” he told Jon Kirby, of JayhawkSlant.com. “They said they would take another quarterback commitment. We’ll see how it all holds up, and I hope to go out there on a visit.”

Tavai down to two?

Kansas appears to be one of the finalists for El Camino (Calif.) Community College defensive tackle Jordan Tavai, a 6-3, 280-pound junior college All-American, who recently visited KU and hit it off with new defensive coordinator Dave Campo.

It looks as if Texas Tech is the three-star tackle’s other finalist, and Tavai will visit the Red Raiders this weekend.

“My first thought (about KU) was I was just going on a visit,” he told Kirby. “But once I got there and started going through it, I realized I really like it. Now I will go see if I see Texas Tech the same way.”

Already loaded with three junior-college defensive linemen committed in the Class of 2012 (Chaq Reed, Butler County CC; Ty McKinney, Trinity Valley Texas CC, and Keon Stowers, Georgia Military College), the addition of Tavai would add even more depth, talent and experience where KU needs it most.

Dates to remember

Feb. 1 marks the beginning of the 2012 signing period, and that’s the day that most of the prospects who make up KU’s current recruiting class will make their non-binding oral commitments official.

While Weis recently said he expected this year’s class to be in the 20s, sources have said throughout the past several weeks that there could be a surprise or two in store on signing day. In the past, most, if not all, of KU’s commitments had been pretty well known heading into signing day. However, with a couple of targets still on the fence and Weis holding a few spots for future transfers, anything is possible one week from today.

As of Tuesday night, KU had 15 commitments in its current class. Six were junior-college players, six were high school seniors and three were mid-year transfers, who already are on campus.

While most commitments choose to sign on the opening day of the signing period, they are not required to do so. Recruits in the Class of 2012 have until April 1 to sign their letters of intent.

Once signing day passes, a couple of other key dates to remember are: March 27, the opening day of spring football, and April 28, the day of the annual spring game.

KU also is expected to host a pro timing day for graduating seniors preparing for the NFL Draft sometime in early to mid-March.

PREV POST

City agrees to rename street for Fambrough

NEXT POST

39835Weis looks to shore up QB reserves

Author Photo

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.