Back on August 17, I expressed some concern over Kansas Jayhawks head coach not naming a starting quarterback. It was already a few weeks into camp and they had been going through offseason workouts....yet Gill couldn't decide on a starter.
I think KU needs to go ahead and make a decision sooner rather than later. Quarterback isn't like linebacker or running back where you can pretty much plug someone right in there and move along without much interruption. There isn't a position in team sports that's more important than quarterback.
Quarterbacks need that confidence knowing they're "the man" and, most importantly, they need to take as many first team reps as possible.
Two days later Gill announced that it would be Kale Pick getting the job. Sure, it was a little late for that announcement. Pick had been in a competition with Jordan Webb which means he had only gotten half of the first team reps up to that point.
That brings us to my biggest issue with the way Gill handled this quarterback competition. If you want your quarterback to be prepared, then why did you go through the majority of the offseason giving him only half the first team reps? I understand the idea of a quarterback competition but he had all offseason to make the decision.
What took so long?
Moving forward to the Jayhawks first game of the season against North Dakota State. Pick struggles through three quarters and can't put any touchdowns on the board. Gill makes a quarterback change -- remember this is week one -- and puts Webb in the game.
Now what Gill has done at this point is shattered the confidence of both of his quarterbacks. Pick made it through three quarters before being replaced after Gill saw him play an entire offseason. Could Gill's read on Pick's ability be that wrong?
He's given the job to Webb now but clearly Webb has to understand that a bad half could get him booted from the game. That's not exactly spewing confidence in your starting quarterback.
So here KU stands with a quarterback who's already been benched and a quarterback who knows he's three bad quarters away from being benched.
Yeah...it's going to be a long season for KU.
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