92 Days Until Kansas Football: Reasons for Optimism

The countdown pivots to look at some of the best reasons why this might be a special season for the Kansas Jayhawks.

The end of last season gave fans of the Kansas Jayhawks something that they hadn't truly experienced in nearly a decade: a legitimate glimmer of hope.

I can't really count the number of times that I've truly thought that THIS time it was different, or THIS player was going to be the spark the program needed, or THIS close game/win was the sign the program had turned the corner, only to be disappointed with another blow-out.

But no matter how "objective" you try to be, it's hard to argue that there haven't been some positive signs. You can even make the argument that the Jayhawks are poised for a big improvement this season. If they make that leap, here are some potential explanations:

QB Play

Jalon Daniels thrilled Kansas fans in the final three games of last season. His breakout game against Texas was followed up by two strong performances against TCU and West Virginia. While his performances weren't perfect, the spark he provided was a welcome change of pace. 

But it's not like Daniels was the only quarterback that impressed. Jason Bean was effective against Oklahoma, putting together multiple long drives and scoring at opportune times throughout the season.

And both QBs were impressive in the spring game. So much so that even those that cover other teams around the conference were impressed:

Just watched Kansas' Spring game. They look good.

— Travis Roeder (@Travis_Roeder) May 6, 2022

I'm not saying that you should be putting in bets for Daniels to win Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, but you shouldn't be shocked if he gets recognized in some fashion for how well he plays this year.

Returning Talent

We talked about this earlier in the countdown. Kansas is returning one of the largest percentages of their production from last year. That's not necessarily a good thing when the results were as poor as they were last season.

However, there is no denying that there is some value to seeing players come back. Just like players benefit from having the same coaches from one season to the next, there is a benefit to coaches being able to work with and refine the same group of players from one season to the next.

There was a concerning exodus via the transfer portal from the wide receiver position, but the decision of Lawrence Arnold to return to Kansas after initially indicating he would be transferring limited the damage and actually put Kansas in a good position to build off of the success at the end of last season.

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