It's been a long road for Dayne Crist since he was a Parade All-American and the No. 3 QB in the country as a high school senior in 2008.
After signing with Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, the 6'4, 235 Californian looked poised to become the latest in a growing line of Fighting Irish QB's -- Brady Quinn, Jimmy Clausen -- that Weis had sent to the NFL.
Instead, Crist struggled with injuries, Weis was fired and his replacement (Brian Kelly) never warmed to the previous regime's recruit. Now, after graduating from Notre Dame and transferring to Kansas to be re-united with his old coach, Crist has is grateful for one more chance to make his mark in college football as a 22-year old fifth-year senior.
"Not nervous, (I'm) very anxious, very excited. I just can't wait," Crist said when asked about the Jayhawks opener against South Dakota State. "I haven't been this happy or this excited in a long time. I'm just so grateful and so thankful for the opportunity. I just can't wait to go out there and compete with my teammates."
He has a better pedigree than almost any signal caller to come through Lawrence in a very long time, so he won't be the only one excited to see what he can do in 2012.
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