KU wide receiver Darious Crawley leaving the program

By Matt Tait     Jun 3, 2016

Nick Krug
Kansas wide receiver Darious Crawley (12) eyes the ball as Texas defensive back Holton Hill (5) swoops in to bat it away during the third quarter on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 at Darrell K. Royal Stadium in Austin, Texas.

Second-year Kansas University wide receiver Darious Crawley on Thursday announced on Twitter that he was leaving the program.

The former three-star prospect from Cypress Ridge High in Houston appeared in 15 games during his two seasons with the Jayhawks and spent time at both wide receiver and running back.

Crawley’s 244 receiving yards during the 2015 season ranked fourth on the team and his 18 catches ranked fifth. He also tied for second on the team with two receiving touchdowns. Crawley played in the first 10 games of the 2015 season and did not play in the final two.

Crawley, who was on KU’s two-deep depth chart most of last season, spent the bulk of his KU career battling in a logjam at a deep position, and never was able to consistently separate himself from the rest of the pack. With KU’s top returning wideouts all younger than Crawley and second-year head coach David Beaty continuing to add receivers to the roster, playing at a crowded position may have contributed to Crawley’s decision to leave the program.

On his way out the door, however, the former Houston standout complimented the KU program and spoke highly of his time in Lawrence with a goodbye note titled “Once a Jayhawk, Always a Jayhawk.”

The Tweet has since been removed and Crawley still appears on the KU roster, but he’s back home in Houston and will not return. KU likely will update its roster next week after the remaining Class of 2016 freshmen report to campus this weekend.

Crawley’s departure serves as another blow to KU’s overall roster number, which has slowly improved but still remains below the maximum of 85 scholarship players allowed and behind the rest of the Big 12. But it also comes at the right position, given KU’s depth and talent at wideout and the number of already-committed Class of 2017 prospects expected to join the Jayhawks next February.

Here’s a list of the returning receivers who will be asked to help account for Crawley’s production:

• LaQuvionte Gonzalez, jr.

• Steven Sims, soph.

• Jeremiah Booker, soph.

• Tyler Patrick, soph.

• Bobby Hartzog, jr.

• Emmanuel Moore, soph.

• Shakiem Barbel, sr.

• Austin Moses, sr.

• Chase Harrell, rs-fr.

• Keegan Brewer, fr.

PREV POST

Ranking KU basketball's 2016-17 non-conference games

NEXT POST

48995KU wide receiver Darious Crawley leaving the program

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.