Kansas stopped paying Charlie Weis at the end of 2016. Now it’s time to stop blaming him.
No doubt, David Beaty inherited a skeletal scholarship situation from Weis, but the former Texas A&M assistant coach is heading into his fourth season. He had plenty of time to get up to full speed and isn’t in part because he lost so many transfers.
As it is, Beaty will have an estimated 75 players who spent every season at KU on scholarship, 10 short of the maximum allowed and about four short of what most schools carry at any given time. Injuries and last-minute transfers keep teams below the maximum.
Any coaching change comes with inevitable transfers, so on that front you can’t put the blame on Beaty for losing Weis recruits such as Montell Cozart, Darious Crawley, Aaron Garza, Colton Goeas, Kyron Watson and D.J. Williams.
Beaty also lost 14 of his own recruits: Shola Ayinde, LaQuvionte Gonzalez, Chase Harrell, Travis Jordan, Maciah Long, Quincy Perdue, Ian Peterson, Stephan Robinson, Joshua Stanford, Tyriek Starks, Jace Sternberger, Justin Williams and Ryan Willis.
The reasons for the departures range from behavior issues to playing time to lacking the talent to play at the FBS level.
The house Beaty inherited had a cracked foundation. Nobody disputes that. He’s had time to repair it, and a daunting 2018 schedule awaits. Nobody is buying the blame-Charlie approach any longer. It has evolved from legitimate explanation to an excuse. Time to move on.