KU football lost big to TCU. A surprise pregame announcement might have played a role
Carter Stanley was emotional about this ... and that shouldn’t be a surprise.
The Kansas quarterback was standing in front of a temporary backdrop in the bowels of Amon G. Carter Stadium following KU’s 51-14 loss to TCU when he was asked about teammate Khalil Herbert.
The team leader. The star running back.
And also the senior who’d decided before the game to sit out, most likely to pursue a redshirt and then graduate transfer away from KU.
“It was tough,” Stanley said, his eyes starting to glisten. “Khalil’s a really good friend of mine, great football player. I don’t know too much about it, but just seems like a personal deal. For us, it’s all about next man up, and we’ve got to be able to move on from that.”
For a day, that certainly seemed difficult.
KU was out-manned from the start. TCU scored touchdowns the first five times it touched the ball, and KU’s offense couldn’t answer while punting on five of its first six possessions.
Some of this, though, seemed like it could have been the result of a shock to the system.
Herbert, who was one of the team’s four representatives at Big 12 media days, did not play because of “personal reasons,” according to KU.
The pieces were put together from there. With a recent NCAA rule change, all football players are eligible for redshirts if they play four games of fewer in a season.
Miles was asked afterward, then, if Herbert missing the game could result in a redshirt year then a transfer.
“I don’t want to spend time here on anybody other than who played in the game,” Miles said. “I will say this ... this is (after) the fourth day, the fourth game, that someone would be allowed to not play in and still redshirt. (That scenario) makes sense to me.”
It came as a surprise.
Stanley was asked if Herbert had talked to his teammates before making his decision; the quarterback looked to the ground, shaking his head no twice without saying a word.
Team captain Bryce Torneden also said he didn’t learn about Herbert’s absence until right before the game began.
“We all have a very good relationship with Khalil,” Torneden said. “But I think at the end of the day, with the maturity of the guys on this team, we know that we’ve got to get the job done, and we can’t let little things, whatever the case may be, hold us back or hinder us in any way.”
Perhaps that’ll be an easier task moving forward than it was Saturday.
Herbert, after all, entered the game as one of the main faces of KU’s program. Not only was he second in the Big 12 in rushing this year, but he also sat 16th in the Jayhawks’ all-time record book.
This week, Herbert had been voted by teammates to be the honorary team captain against TCU. Heck, he even spoke on air during Miles’ live radio show on Tuesday, asking Miles a question about how he first met his wife, Kathy, before later showing off his personal handshake with teammate Pooka Williams.
“I don’t know exactly what caused his issues,” Miles said after the game, “but he was not with us (today).”
It’s too early to know whether this will be a season-defining moment for KU.
With a long rebuild ahead — and Miles just starting his first year — will Herbert’s decision impact team morale? Or potentially create a blueprint for others thinking about a change?
Torneden, for his part, said it was important for him to keep a good mindset over the next few days.
“I know the team’s looking up to me, and I can’t give them any signs of let down or slowing down,” Torneden said. “I gotta take it to that next level and be there to provide for my team.”
As for the actual football .... it wasn’t great for KU in any facet.
The Jayhawks’ game plan of lining up early in I-formation to attempt a power run game did not work. KU’s defense, meanwhile, was often gassed on a hot afternoon and appeared especially hamstrung while playing without linebacker and leading tackler Dru Prox.
“This thing’s not built in a day,” Miles said. “It’ll take some work, and we’re ready to do that.”
The Jayhawks’ mettle should be tested immediately.
KU, now 2-3, will host sixth-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday, just hours after the men’s basketball team’s annual Late Night in the Phog celebration at Allen Fieldhouse.
Saturday was an obvious step back for a program that appeared to be progressing in the weeks prior. Now, the challenge will be responding to the gut punch of a main contributor stepping away.
And also doing so unexpectedly.
“It’s all about next man up really,” Stanley said. “Obviously today we did have some different guys in there, but it’s something that we can’t allow to affect us.”
