Could it be that fourth-year Kansas football coach David Beaty actually has chosen a starting quarterback but is keeping it quiet so as not to tip off Nicholls State? I suppose so, but I don’t think so.
If the players know who’s starting they aren’t saying, and the way they answered questions about it Thursday told me they don’t know and that the job still is not settled.
“It’s definitely a close competition,” receiver Evan Fairs said. “Just as a receiver, me seeing it, I know it would be hard for me (to pick one), so I know for the coaches it must be even harder.”
Why is it difficult?
“I feel like I love all of them individually the same,” Fairs said. “I feel like they all have different traits, but at the same time they all play at the same level, so it’s definitely going to be hard to make the decision.”
Receivers aren’t paid to make such decisions but can offer insights. I asked Fairs if Bender distinguishes himself from the group by throwing the best deep ball, Miles Kendrick by being the best runner. He didn’t see it quite that way.
“I’ve caught very deep balls from all three of them throughout the spring and the summer, so I feel like they all can be accurate on the deep balls,” Fairs said. “I feel like Peyton can put the ball in tight spots more, and Miles, I feel like his feet are good, but I feel like Carter can do the same things with his feet as well, sprinting out of the pocket.”
Fairs reiterated that the defense won’t be able to creep up without fear of getting burned long no matter which of the three passers is in the game.
“As far as their arms, I feel like all three of them have big arms,” Fairs said.
How about how easy it is to catch their passes?
“All of them throw tight spirals,” Fairs said. “As far as how the ball is coming to me when I catch it, they’re all the same.”
Slimmed-down defensive tackle J.J. Holmes didn’t sound as if he had any idea as to the identity of KU’s starting quarterback.
“I don’t know,” Holmes said. “There is a lot of competition still continuing, a lot of people fighting for spots. It’s still early. It’s still early.”
And getting later by the day.
