Angus Quigley: Back on Track
Sept. 4, 2010
As the Kansas Jayhawks take the field for the first time in the 2010 season there will be many noticeable changes in the roster, including 19 newcomers and 10 returning players changing positions from last season. But the player who possibly best represents the roster turnover is Angus Quigley.
Quigley is returning to his original position of running back after playing linebacker in 2009, but the biggest adjustment is the fact that Quigley is even on the roster at all. Quigley, a fifth-year senior last year, was one of the 15 Jayhawks recognized prior to the Nebraska game last November as part of Senior Day. At the time, Quigley truly believed that would be his last time playing in front of a sell-out crowd at Memorial Stadium.
“Honestly, that’s why I participated,” Quigley said. “I felt like that was my last run out at Memorial.”
However, after Turner Gill was introduced as KU’s new head coach on December 14, Quigley began to consider a return. All it took was one meeting with Gill and Quigley knew he wanted to come back for a sixth year.
“It was very easy-going. I wrote down on paper that I wanted to play running back and he called me in and said, `Hey, you want to play running back? I know you played running back here in the past. That’s what we’ll put you at and see what you can do.’ And we ended up talking about how he knew my high school coach and things like that. He remembered being at Nebraska and watching tape of me out of high school. It was real comforting to go into the coach’s office and he knew something about you. It was real inspirational. Once I saw that, I was whole-heartedly here.”
Quigley applied for a sixth year of eligibility and the NCAA granted it because Quigley missed the first two seasons of his career due to injuries.
Quigley has made the most of his six years both on and off the field. He graduated last December with a degree in African and African-American studies and is currently working toward a second degree in American studies.
On the field, Quigley averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored five touchdowns in only 76 rushing attempts during his two years at running back. To begin his final season, he has earned the starting job and his teammates have selected him to be one of the five team captains for 2010.
After thinking his career as a Jayhawk had come to a close, Quigley is excited by this extra opportunity to prove he can excel at the position he originally came to KU to play.
“This is probably the most excited I’ve been, just having a chance to compete and be `the guy’ at running back. I’ve never really had that opportunity coming into a season. I’m proud that I can be atop the depth chart at running back and I’ll do everything in my power to be the guy that they think I can be.”
Kyle West is a senior media relations student assistant from Ellsworth, Kan. He is majoring in business management.
