Despite being a laughing stock during the 2017 season, Jayhawks football had eight players garner all-conference honors this year. So talent was not the issue.
When we look back on what went wrong with the Kansas Jayhawks football season in 2017, talent should not be the issue. The Big 12 has handed out their postseason awards for the year, and the Jayhawks were not the worst team in the conference…even though their record says they should easily be.
All in all, Kansas garnered nine mentions in postseason honors, including eight players mentioned for the All Big-12 Team. Those total mentions actually put KU ahead of Texas on the year, even though the Longhorns won the in-season match-up in a blowout.
On the whole, nine mentions really isn’t a lot when you consider all of the possible awards to be won. However, it does show that this team had some talent on the roster. In fact, they had a lot more talent than anyone would think based on how the season went. That will be something that leads to more questions about the state of the program.
Honors Are Well-Deserved
There is certainly one name that stands out above all the rest on this list of Kansas Jayhawks football players. Defensive lineman Daniel Wise was awarded first team honors on the all-conference team, and was an honorable mention for Defensive Lineman of the Year. If you saw him play this year, you shouldn’t be surprised.
Kansas had three players make it onto the second team as well. Tight end Ben Johnson, defensive end Dorance Armstrong, and linebacker Joe Dineen were all listed to the all-conference squad. Between Armstrong, Dineen, and Daniel Wise, it’s hard to understand how this team gave up so many points.
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The rest of the postseason awards for Kansas came in honorable mentions for the all-conference team. Hakeem Adeniji, Gabriel Rui, Steven Sims, and Bryce Torneden all had their names in the running for the All Big-12 Team. While not an official honor, being an honorable mention for a Power 5 conference is still very noteworthy.
Not Much To Build On
One thing you always look for as a program when it comes to postseason honors is who will be returning. For Jayhawks football, the news looks less than ideal. Of the eight players to garner postseason mentions, only Bryce Torneden and Hakeem Adniji are not draft eligible this year. With the team going 1-11, it will be hard to convince anyone to stay.
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That doesn’t mean all of the juniors on this list will be leaving for sure. However, it is hard to see players like Dorance Armstrong and Joe Dineen turning down their current draft stock. The rest of the group might consider staying, but that will largely come down to their own draft prospects rather than anything the program can offer.
It will continue to be an uphill battle for Jayhawks football moving forward as the top stars of the team are moving on, and there doesn’t appear to be a firm group of underclassmen to replace them. This highlights some of the major struggles currently facing the Jayhawks program.
Kansas Jayhawks football continues to sit at the bottom of the Big 12. However, we are now seeing that this team had some real talent on the roster. They just weren’t able to turn that talent into wins, which points to an even bigger problem. Changes will need to be coming at some point for KU. We’ll see if, and when, that happens.