By now, it’s a well-known fact around KU Nation that the Denver Broncos have two former Jayhawks starting in their secondary.
When Denver added free agent Aqib Talib to its roster in the offseason, the signing reunited the former KU cornerback and star of the Jayhawks’ victory over Virginia Tech in the 2008 Orange Bowl with his running mate from that game, Denver cornerback Chris Harris.
For many KU fans, having a couple of their favorite former Jayhawks on the Broncos’ roster is a nightmare since so many of them are also fans of the Kansas City Chiefs. But Sunday night, during the Broncos home game with San Francisco on Sunday Night Football, Talib gave KU fans a reason to smile whether they dislike the Broncos or not.
For the first time in years (if not ever) Talib gave a shout-out to KU during his introduction that plays along the bottom on the screen on all Sunday night games.
In recent years, Talib often represented his hometown or his high school or said North Dallas after introducing himself. Not Sunday. This time, he simply said, “Aqib Talib, Kansas.”
There was some speculation that Talib started leaving KU out of his intro because of his displeasure with the way KU coach Mark Mangino was treated during the end of his time with the Jayhawks. I’ve never heard that confirmed, but do know it’s a popular opinion.
As for why it changed, I don’t know the exact details but I know that Talib’s snub of the Jayhawks during his intros always rubbed KU fans and several people within the football program the wrong way and I heard that someone at KU reached out to Talib and talked to him about giving KU some love. I even heard one account that Talib spoke to the team before this year’s spring game and former KU coach Charlie Weis asked him to start saying KU during the intros. Who knows? But whatever it was, it obviously worked.
During Denver’s only other primetime game on NBC this season, they mysteriously did not introduce the Broncos’ defense, so this was the first time we were able to see Talib make the change.
As for Harris, he’s always been proud to rep KU. He typically says “Chris Harris, Kansas University,” but on Sunday he said, “Chris Harris, Kansas Jayhawks.”
Regardless of what they say during the intros, it’s still so wild to see two former Jayhawks starting for one of the best teams in pro football.
