@Jayhawk_69 I feel the same way about JD as I did about KJ and Juan on the basketball team. Great dude I wish all the success in the world but they were very detrimental to their teams success. JD with the game on the line the last two years is quite simply put the worst QBing I’ve ever seen in my life. That’s with me watching my sons 4-6th grade teams the last two years. I’ll always wonder what would have been if not for the injuries because he just wasn’t the same after those. People forget he was on a preseason Heisman list prior. That being said the 3 turnovers a piece vs UNLV and Illinois in 2024. Add in back to back fumbles in Manhattan, if we kneel and punt we prob win the game. If I’m not mistaken he had something like 17 turnovers in 5 games that season and it was just back breaking. Last season he was better but still had some of the bone headed fumbles. The Missouri game where he had ample time to just throw it away instead changed the entire game with a safety on 2nd down. The Cincinnati game the defense was atrocious, that being said if he don’t reach the ball out to the goal line we have first and goal inside the 1 and go up two scores. Then the Utah game where he had 3 picks, two of which were in the end zone. He tried way too hard to be the hero and it was terrible. Sometimes you just have to make the smart or simple play and live to play another down. He never had that in him and it was very costly.

I’m starting to question Lance a little bit on his team building capabilities. The back to back bowl appearances were with roster loaded with Les Miles recruits.

@approxinfinity said in Previewing the 2026 season:

@kjayhawks2.0 lol hopefully Coack K makes us greater than the sum of our offensive parts

I think he will help but don’t see a ton of talent on that side of the ball. I’d be very happy to be wrong but not seeing a single prediction that has us better than 12th in the 15 team B12. At least we have baseball now lol

Well it’s now August friends and that means fall camp in Lawrence is currently underway. A QB competition is in full swing as this years roster will feature a lot of new faces with only 11 returning starters. This season figures to be a rough rebuilding year by pretty much all accounts. I think I’d be fine with that if we had finished games and made it to the post season the last two. I get a feeling coach LL’s seat will be very hot by the time December rolls around.

Offense:
As stated above the QB spot has yet to be decided between Ballard and Marshall. I look for Ballard to win the job and Marshall to have several packages that he is on the field. The two biggest stories of the offense during the offseason was the return of Coach K and all of his pre-snap madness. Then addition of Dylan Edwards at the running back position. No doubt in my mind Edwards is an NFL caliber RB as long as he can keep his head in the game. WR group looks very pedestrian at best basically returning one guy in Cam Pickett. The line has a few returning but is a lot of new faces. I look for this group to struggle, the only hope is Edwards turning into Reggie Bush. I don’t see this group averaging more than 18 ppg.

Defense:
The defense I think has a fair chance to make a stride forward from last season which was statistically the worst defense under coach LL outside of year one. One of the big stories on this side of the ball has been the return of leading tackler Trey Lathan after he had initially entered the portal following last season. With him staying in Lawrence we have 6 of our top 8 tacklers back in the fold. I think we have a good group of linebackers and some good young talent at DB. The question lies on the defensive line a spot where we lost all 4 starters from one year ago and we hit the portal in those positions. So it will be a guess til we
Get on the field.

Special teams:
New kickers all around this season after Marjan was automatic most of last season. Just hoping they all do their jobs and don’t cost the team any games.

Outlook and predictions:
This is the least excited I’ve been going into a football season since David Beaty roamed the sidelines. This will be a very inexperienced team at several key positions. Lots of question marks at the LOS on both sides. The last 2 years we were only able to win 5 games with NFL talent on both sides so that doesn’t bode well for this season. The only way I see us being competitive is to run the ball successfully and milk the clock as much as we can. The schedule is very tough and having one bye week after the trip to London meaning we have 8 straight game weeks doesn’t look good on paper. I also hate losing a home game for it and it seems most of the teams that play the over seas game are completely burnt out by mid season. I think Mizzou destroys us by 40 plus in our new stadium. I’m Officially predicting 2 wins this season, even wearing blue and red glasses I don’t think I could see more than 4 if the ball bounces our way. I think LL seat is on fire by the end of the season and he is fired after 4 straight losing seasons in 2027. But we will have millions invested and a new stadium to be 1/4 full to watch us go straight back to where we started at before him.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in KU trivia to beat summer doldrums:

Next trivia question:

Who averaged move points per game in the NBA, Markieff or Marcus Morris?

Markieff, Marcus was the better College player but Markieff was better in the pros. Fun fact, during their Junior years my cousin dated Marcus at KU.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I’m glad to see it, guys getting heated and shoving each other under the basket isn’t good but happens often in basketball but the way he acted after the buzzer was definitely ridiculous. To top it off he then got on twitter and bragged about it. Thats thug mentality and he needs to be in jail for his actions injure or kill someone else.

https://x.com/projanskymatt/status/2081945450526003396?s=46
Looks like Keene couldn’t handle a D2 player locking his ass up and forcing 7 turnovers.

Is Marcus Garrett hurt? I don’t believe I saw him on the sideline tonight. Kensucky’s size is very worrisome to me feel like we lack a true post player.

@crimsonblu22 ya the refs we’re absolutely terrible in this one. Not necessarily in the foul calls but the lack of control
of game. Give a few techs early and that stuff is done. Anyone else mad Chalmers seemingly got ejected for getting forearmed to the floor?? I get if you have to eject guys leaving the bench but what the hell did he do?

Mason calls game again in enemy territory, WSU a bunch of classless goons

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in TBT The Basketball Tournament:

@kjayhawks2.0 Vegas is a good base for a lot of national parks in the region like Zion, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Mojave, Joshua Tree, etc.

I’d definitely enjoy that, almost everytime I end up in the big cities, I’m counting the hours til I can leave.

@mayjay I’ve never been to Vegas not sure from what I’ve heard of I’d ever like to go. I’d probably enjoy camping with y’all more than the city lol.

@RockChalkinTexas-0 Wowsers ya crazy that we won without Billy doing much but Zeke also had that huge game. I remember Zeke being that way the one year he was here would look like a stud for a game them disappear for 6 or 7 games. Great for him he’s a really good kid, a friend of friend of mine knows his family very well. I’m personally shocked we won this series. I thought when they added Beasley they’d get us but he seemed it be more concerned with putting on a show than winning.

@rockchalkjayhawk I believe it’s back in Manhattan

@rockchalkjayhawk yes best of 3 games @crimsonblu22 i still think the 18 team has a shot a natty with Billy on that team. I realize Nova shot lights out but he would’ve been a great college player.

@wissox83 the Dook whistle is definitely real, I remember about 10 years ago I was working a Pfizer at the time on night shift and I’d be up late watching random games. I watched the 86 final four and the 1991. I can into those games knowing g we lost but still got mad at the terrible officiating in both of them.

Beasley is just so much better than anyone on the KU roster for this. The Mildcats are beating their chest pretty hard but this is like KUs D team at best. KU guys that aren’t old are mostly still playing in the NBA.

@BigBad that is also very true and you can’t help folks that don’t want to be helped.

One of the saddest stories in recent memory has now moved from the basketball court to the real world. I remember early in the season a team that looked like it could get back to the final four with wins over Michigan State, Tennessee and Villanova. Vick had some off the court issues but was the gonna be one of the main guys on this team. Early on he was great and had his name in the first round of a lot of mock drafts. Then Doke was injured and lost for the season. Marcus Garrett was hurt for several games, then Vick got into a physical altercation with Self at half time in Manhattan. Which my sources said Vick spit in Selfs face after his effort was questioned, he was essentially kicked off the team at that point. Dedric Lawson whom was solid as a 2nd or 3rd option, wasn’t ready or skilled enough to be Batman and the season tanked.

When I read this had happened, I was both infuriated and saddened. This guy was one of the best all around athletes I’ve ever seen in a Kansas uniform. He belonged on the NBA court but chose drugs and violence over himself. Thats the maddening part as a guy that had to work his ass off to be an average athlete. I had one offer to be a preferred walk-on at a local NAIA program after high school. If I had half of the natural ability of this young man, I could’ve gone D2 and possibly played over seas or semi pro here in the states. Then the sadness of realizing Lagerald Vick is sick and didn’t get the support he needed. It’s sad because of how much his mom cared for him while he was in Lawrence and all the great things I heard about her and their relationship. Thankfully the other person involved is alive and hopefully Vick can get
The help he desperately needs.

I’m happy to see him doing well, fairly disappointed in some of the negativity Jayhawk nation has shown him on social media. It stinks that he didn’t do some of this stuff here for sure but I just don’t understand the logic against rooting against this young man.