Don’t look now, but July has arrived and, like it or not, before we know it, it’s going to feel an awful lot like football season around here.
For now, the KU men’s basketball team’s run at the World University Games in South Korea is keeping much of the focus away from KU football, as is the fan base’s absence of much hope for the upcoming season. Both are valid reasons to keep football on the back burner, but seeing how football is the reason they pay me, I’m not quite as able to turn my attention away from it. Nor do I want to.
This season likely will be rough. But I continue to be impressed by this coaching staff, the direction the program is ultimately headed and, most of all, the incredible effort being put forth by the players this summer. This KU team might lack depth and it might even lack Big 12 talent, but you’d never know it from the way these guys are working.
I know it sounds like you’ve heard that before, and you probably have. But if it’s true, you can’t just ignore it. Does that mean the work they’re putting in now will lead to wins this fall? That’s probably not very likely. But it does mean that they already have bought in to this new staff and are not wasting any time putting in the first bricks in what they hope someday will be a strong house.
Enough about all of that, though. Let’s jump into some interesting tidbits that won’t make or break the season but might be interesting enough to get you to that next KU hoops game….
**• During my weekly viewing of the official KU football roster** (always have to make sure I’m aware of any updates that might have taken place) I noticed that senior defensive lineman Ben Goodman is no longer going to wear No. 93, which he has worn since he arrived on campus four years ago. Goodman, instead, will be wearing No. 10 this fall. We haven’t had the chance to talk to these guys in quite a while but I’ll definitely be interested to hear why Goodman decided to make the change.
**• Speaking of numbers,** everyone loves quarterbacks and it’s probably not too early to start scouting which KU QBs will wear what numbers this fall. Montell Cozart, who seems like a virtual lock to start the season opener on Sept. 5, will still be wearing No. 2. Newcomers Carter Stanley (No. 9) and Ryan Willis (No. 13) are also worth noting. The most recent QB to wear No. 9 at Kansas was 2013 starter Jake Heaps, who, by the way, caught on with the New York Jets and is one of five quarterbacks to sign with the Jets heading into camp. He’s still a long shot to make the final roster, but I always love when good dudes get a fair shot and Heaps is getting his. I can’t find or recall the last KU QB to wear No. 13. Anyone?
**• A couple of other interesting players will wear one of the most dynamic numbers in KU football history this fall.** Freshman wide receiver Chase Harrell (6-4, 200) and freshman defensive end Dorance Armstrong (6-4, 225) will suit up in the No. 3 jersey made available by the departure of speed demon Tony Pierson. Of course, Pierson was merely the latest ultra-talented Jayhawk to wear No. 3, following in the footsteps of two-way threats Aqib Talib and Charles Gordon. In more recent years, and before Pierson got the number, former running back Darrian Miller, who had a monster freshman year, also wore No. 3. Of course, just because the number has been so good to those guys — or is it the other way around? — does not mean it’s a guarantee that Harrell and Armstrong are in for big things. I happen to think both are, but back in 2008 it was none other than the infamous Jocques Crawford who wore No. 3, so take it with a grain of salt.
**• I always love watching what happens to old numbers of superstars** after they leave and this year will be no exception. For example, I remember thinking it was hilarious when Greg Brown (5) and Corrigan Powell (10) wore the numbers of Todd Reesing and Kerry Meier following their final seasons in crimson and blue. This year, the number that jumps out the most in that department is 31, worn for four years by Ben Heeney. Suiting up in Heeney’s old number will be the only linebacker in the 2015 recruiting class, Osaze Ogbebor. It’s far too early to know how well Ogbebor will rep the number, but here’s guessing he’ll get a chance to show it this season and won’t be quite as much of a wild man.
**• One other guy who joined Goodman in moving to a new number** for the 2015 season was sophomore cornerback Matthew Boateng, who, last season as a true freshman, wore No. 1 and now will be wearing No. 33.
