Kansas’ David Beaty draws optimism from small victories during winless season

About seven months ago, in his early days at Kansas, David Beaty got in the car with his daughter, Averie, and went for a ride. Averie, a high school student, had just started to learn how to drive, and as Beaty settled into the passenger seat, he was, in his own words, quite terrified.

“I was scared to death,” says Beaty, Kansas’ first-year football coach.

There are few things that can terrify a father more than watching his oldest daughter gain the freedom that comes with a learner’s permit. But as the head coach of a winless and rebuilding football program, Beaty has spent most of this season feeling a similar sensation. Three months ago, Beaty would talk about his team and say things like, “We’ll be surprised how we ever got off a play,” and he was mildly sincere. On Saturday, Beaty will lead his Jayhawks, 0-9, down to No. 13 TCU, where they will face another top-25 program and try to snap a 37-game road losing streak.

“We’ve still got a long way to go,” Beaty says.

But for all the losses and injured quarterbacks, all the demoralizing blowouts and somber postgame news conference, Beaty has still retained his optimism, an ability to see small gains and small victories, to be excited about measured progress. To this point, none of that progress has come on the scoreboard — save perhaps for a narrow loss against Texas Tech — but the Jayhawks have pressed forward.

“(The) most encouraging thing is, as I watch the tape, man, I see us getting better in some areas; I really do,” Beaty says. “(It’s) very encouraging and exciting.”

Sometimes, Beaty says, he will board a plane after a loss and fret the coming 24 hours of dissection and evaluation. Then he will put on some game film and see reasons to be excited — even little things.

“You think it’s going to be a tough Sunday morning, getting up and rolling until you get done watching that tape on the way back,” Beaty says. “And you’re like, ‘Man, I can’t wait to get back in there,’ because we’re this close to being that much better. And I think our guys see that too.”

The Jayhawks will finish the season in a little more than three weeks, facing 8-1 TCU at 11 a.m. Saturday before home games against West Virginia and Kansas State. At the moment, the Jayhawks have little to play for, other than pride in the present and hope that a future laid now will bolster the future. In some ways, the Jayhawks are not an especially young team, but they are playing a large group of true freshmen. Beaty, along with offensive coordinator Rob Likens, are hopeful that these growing pains — this investment in the future — will pay off in the long run.

In other words: From the offensive line, to quarterback, to the secondary, the Jayhawks have thrown freshmen the keys and let them drive.

Which brings us back to his story about his daughter. Earlier this week, on Monday, Beaty jumped into the car with his daughter for another ride. Seven months ago, he wasn’t sure if she could see over the dashboard. On Monday, he felt calmer. The situation felt normal. The ride was smooth.

“It was amazing,” Beaty says.

Some things, he says, just need time. The Jayhawks’ plan for the future remains the same. They will continue to restock their talent level through recruiting. They will continue to work on developing their own players. In a year, Beaty is hopeful the ride is smoother. For the moment, he’s still trying to hold on.

“The truth of the matter is we have a long way to go,” Beaty says. “We started a long ways away, and it’s a long journey.”

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Kansas’ David Beaty draws optimism from small victories during winless season."