KU offensive line off to a solid start

By Matt Tait     Sep 10, 2015

Kansas running back Ke'aun Kinner (22) sprints around South Dakota State defensive back Jimmie Forsythe (25) on a long run in the third quarter on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015 at Memorial Stadium.

Any time an offensive line can get the view that Bryan Peters (76), De’Andre Banks (62) and Keyon Haughton (70) have in the picture above, things are are going well.

That was absolutely the case for the Kansas offensive line in last week’s season opener, which went down as a 41-38 loss for the team but should be considered a win for the offensive line, which included the three guys mentioned above along with tackles Jordan Shelley-Smith and Larry Mazyck in the starting lineup.

It’s been a number of games, and years, really, since we’ve watched a Kansas football game and not noticed the offensive line in some way, shape or form. That’s a good thing, by the way. Because, the way things typically go, the more that O-Lines are noticed, the bigger the concern.

Don’t get me wrong, there were a few offensive linemen called for holding and there was even one false start, but those things happen. Nobody likes it when they do, but they do.

Three of the seven penalties enforced against KU in last Saturday’s opener were called on the offensive line, with Banks and Haughton each whistled for a hold and Mazyck flagged for a false start. Again, these things do happen. And the best part about the previous sentence was that it did not show any repeat offenders.

Kansas offensive lineman Jordan Shelley-Smith (79) makes his way off the field as the Jackrabbits celebrate their 41-38 win over the Jayhawks on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015 at Memorial Stadium.

Outside of the penalties, which I’m guessing was a fairly acceptable number in O-Line coach Zach Yenser’s meeting room this week, the line was terrific.

It took care of junior quarterback Montell Cozart and kept him upright and able to move around and find receivers when required.

It blew open holes for Ke’aun Kinner and allowed him to rumble for 157 yards and 2 TDs in his Kansas debut.

And, as we had been told it would, the O-Line did a great job keeping up with KU’s tempo and allowing the Kansas offense to play as fast as possible. KU ripped off 90 plays in last week’s loss — good for seventh most in the country during Week 1 — and not one time do I remember seeing Cozart or the offense having to wait for the linemen to get set before getting a play off.

Generally speaking, offensive lines are like umpires and referees. When they do their job, nobody really talks about them and everything is right in the world. When they don’t, all hell breaks loose and people have been known to pick on them for days.

The fact that no one in the local media asked KU coach David Beaty a single question about KU’s offensive line following Saturday’s loss or during this week’s press conference shows you all you need to know about that group that spent much of the spring and almost all of preseason camp working together to develop the necessary chemistry to succeed up front.

In fact, the only thing we really heard about this group this week was an unsolicited tip of the cap by Beaty, who mentioned the big boys up front when asked on Saturday who stood out during KU’s opener.

> One of the groups that I’m really
> proud of is our O-line,” Beaty said. “I’ll be honest
> with you, in spring that group
> struggled pretty badly. So the fact
> that they’re getting better, that
> gives me some hope moving forward that
> we’ve got a chance to get a little bit
> better even than that. So Zach Yenser
> and those guys have done a really good
> job with them.”

As Beaty and company have said all along, “you’re only as good as your next,” so even with its solid Week 1 performance the Kansas O-Line must back that performance again in Week 2 if it hopes to continue receiving love from the KU coaches and fans.

If not… Well, you all know how umpires and referees are treated.

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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.