Most Crucial Jayhawks: No. 13 – OL Keyon Haughton

By Matt Tait     Jul 16, 2014

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KU offensive-line transfer Keyon Haughton.Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014

Here’s the latest installment in our series that examines the Jayhawks who stand to have the biggest impact for KU football this fall.

No. 13: Keyon Haughton, Junior C
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Centers, not unlike third-base coaches in baseball, tend not to get noticed on the football field unless they mess up. They were the centers of attention for KU a year ago, which is not a good thing.

In 2013, Mike Smithburg was used there in the spring, but snapped the ball so poorly in the spring game that the experiment ended there. He had a strong year at guard. Pat Lewandowski was next man up, but didn’t snap the ball particularly well and was overpowered at times and moved to tackle. Snaps weren’t the issue for Dylan Admire. He didn’t have the strength to keep defensive tackles at bay and moved to tight end. Fifth-year senior Gavin Howard stabilized the position. Now the job falls to Haughton, a 6-foot-2, 310-pound recruit from Georgia Military College, where defensive lineman Keon Stowers played before coming to KU.

Best-case scenario: Haughton stays healthy and performs so well he holds down the job for two years while a pair of players recruited out of high school build their bodies and refine their technique before getting their shots. That has been the goal at every position on the offensive line, a position where Charlie Weis didn’t inherit many bodies or much talent and has had to turn to junior college recruits. There is reason to believe that at center, more than any other position on the line, the approach could work.

Haughton, called a “bad muchacho” by Weis, appears to have plenty of strength to play the position. If he can handle the snaps fine and becomes a little better every day in practice, that would enable red-shirt freshman Joe Gibson and true freshman Jacob Bragg to develop behind him. Gibson, recruited to KU out of Rockhurst High in Kansas City, Mo., as a walk-on, earned a scholarship by impressing coaches this past season. Bragg (6-4, 308) earned spots in national all-star games after a standout career at Nacogdoches (Texas) High. When Haughton runs out of eligibility, Bragg will have three remaining years, Gibson two. Of course, should the talent at guard not hold up, it’s possible any of the three players could shift positions, but ideally that won’t happen and KU can develop every position on the line the way center appears to be shaping up.

Stowers helped in the recruitment of Haughton and juco teammate Devon Williams, a 6-5, 335-pound left tackle for Georgia Military, which played in the juco national-title game. Haughton played guard for GMC, but said he prefers center because he enjoys the responsibility of calling out blocking assignments. A former lacrosse player, he didn’t take up football until his freshman season at DuBois High in Baltimore. A mid-year transfer to KU, Haughton had a solid spring and didn’t encounter difficulties snapping the ball.

**Top 25 Most Crucial Jayhawks for 2014:**

No. 25 – LB Jake Love

No. 24 – DB Greg Allen

No. 23 – DB Cassius Sendish

No. 22 – OL Zach Fondal

No. 21 – WR Justin McCay

No. 20 – DL Ben Goodman

No. 19 – K John Duvic

No. 18 – DB JaCorey Shepherd

No. 17 – DB Isaiah Johnson

No. 16 – TE Jimmay Mundine

No. 15 – DB Dexter McDonald

No. 14 – RB Brandon Bourbon

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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.