Grades from KU’s 61-6 loss to Baylor and what’s ahead for Les Miles in recruiting
For Kansas coach Les Miles, the build toward 2020 was set to begin Sunday.
Shortly after a 61-6 loss to Baylor, Miles vowed to be taking recruiting visits the next day, saying he’d be in houses to “talk about Kansas and talk about the future.”
“We’re looking for those kinds of players that would develop, do some special things,” Miles said. “And I think that guys that will want to come to Kansas will look forward to that.”
Miles also was asked about what the coaches would be prioritizing when it came to roster additions.
“Certainly we need a quarterback, and we like (Thomas) MacVittie. We like the other Miles (Kendrick) lad,” Miles said. “But if we can find a great quarterback in this class, we’ll take one, although we have another — we have a pretty good quarterback that could be a part of us already.”
Miles was referring to Davonshai Harden, a two-star Rivals quarterback from Topeka who committed to KU in March.
Overall, Miles and staff have 24 of their 25 commitments secured for the 2020 class, though because those pledges are non-binding, some additions and subtractions should be expected in the upcoming weeks.
Big picture, KU’s recruiting has been impressive to this point, with the Jayhawks tied for 30th in Rivals’ team rankings. That currently puts them third in the Big 12 behind only Texas and Oklahoma while slightly ahead of programs like Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.
That could easily change once those schools add more commitments. If KU is still able to hang around the top 50 nationally, though, it would be a major accomplishment for Miles, especially given the team’s recent lack of on-field success.
“Considering where we were at at this time last year, we’re miles ahead and we’ll have an opportunity to be in a lot of real quality homes,” Miles said. “So I think our recruitment will be very positive.”
Here are grades for all three Kansas units and a highlight from Saturday’s loss against Baylor.
Play of the game
The only score: KU quarterback Carter Stanley voluntarily took himself out of the game late in the third quarter, saying he wanted Manny Miles to get a chance to make his own Senior Day memory.
Manny — coach Les Miles’ son — came through with a third quarter touchdown throw, finding Andrew Parchment in the end zone for an 11-yard score just before taking a big hit.
Grades
Offense: F. It’s sort of crazy how hot and cold KU’s offense was in the final six Big 12 games this season. The Jayhawks were spectacular against Texas, Texas Tech and Iowa State, but also were completely ineffective in losses to Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Baylor. Saturday was one of those down days, as KU mustered just 4.2 yards per play while giving it away four times on interceptions. Going 2-for-14 on third downs didn’t help matters either.
Defense: F: Baylor’s first three possessions went like this: four plays, 73 yards, touchdown; one play, 51 yards, touchdown; nine plays, 75 yards, touchdown. The rout was on from there, and while KU’s defense was put in poor field positions most of the day, that didn’t hide the fact that the Jayhawks continued to create little havoc while also struggling to get off the field in crucial third down situations. In short, KU has plenty to address on the defensive side of the ball this offseason.
Special teams: F. KU football lost two fumbles ... on punt returns. Miles — historically known for strong special teams — even commented about those gaffes after the game, saying “you can’t win football games doing it that way.” Kyle Thompson had some booming punts with the wind, but even those aren’t enough to keep KU from a failing grade here. All season, the Jayhawks failed to even execute the simple things on special teams, which means some sort of offseason staff change with this unit appears likely.
Next up
KU will open the 2020 season with a home game against FCS opponent New Hampshire.
