Kansas closes out season with Senior Day against No. 11/11 Texas

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football will conclude the 2018 season on Friday, Nov. 23 as the Jayhawks host No. 11/11 Texas for Senior Day. The game is set to kick off at 11 a.m. from David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, with the television broadcast designated to FS1.

TRIPLE OPTION
Kansas freshman running back Pooka Williams Jr.,  has recorded touchdowns in three different ways: rushing, receiving and passing. He is one of 13 players in the FBS in 2018 to do so and is one of just three true freshman in Big 12 history to accomplish the fete.

BEND IT LIKE BENDER
Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender is moving up in the KU record books, despite only having two seasons in the Crimson and Blue. Bender currently ranks ninth on KU’s all-time passing chart with 3,344 yards. Additionally, Bender currently ranks third in the Big 12 Conference single-season record books for interception percentage (0.8) and tied for eighth for touchdown-to-interception ratio (6.0) for his efforts in 2018. Bender has completed 165-of-286 passes for 12 touchdowns, while throwing just two interceptions.

GOING SOLO
A pair of Jayhawks are among the NCAA’s active leaders on the defensive side of the ball as junior safety Mike Lee is the top current player in solo tackles per game (5.67) and senior linebacker Joe Dineen Jr., ranks second among active players in total solo tackles (260) and third in solo tackles per game (5.42).  Additionally, Dineen is the top active player among the Power 5 conferences in total tackles with 363 in his career.

POOKA MAGIC
–Pooka Williams’ 312 yards of all-purpose yards against Oklahoma marked the highest all-purpose output in the Big 12 in 2018 and the sixth-most in an FBS game this year.
–Pooka Williams’ 252 rushing yards at Oklahoma marked the highest rushing output in the Big 12 in 2018.
–Pooka Williams now has 1,022 rushing yards, marking the 15th 1,000 yard rushing season in KU history and the first since James Sims collected 1,110 yards on the ground in 2013.
–Pooka Williams 1,022 rushing yards ranks third on KU’s freshman rushing records behind June Henley (1993/1,127 yards) and Kerwin Bell (1980/1,112 yards). KU legend Gale Sayers recorded 1,125 yards in his rookie season as a sophomore.
–Pooka Williams is the first freshman in the Big 12 with 600+ rushing yards and 200+ receiving yards since Corey Avery also did so for Kansas in 2014.
–Pooka Williams became the first true freshman in Big 12 history and just the third player in the FBS in 2018 to have a 100-yard rushing game and 100-yard receiving game to his credit as he collected a career-high 102 receiving yards on a career-best seven receptions, including two touchdowns, in the win over TCU.

DEFENSE DEFENSE
Junior defensive back Hasan Defense has made his presence felt since making the move to safety from cornerback, as he has had his hand in forcing four turnovers. Defense recorded two interceptions off of Heisman Trophy candidate Will Grier of West Virginia (10.6.18) and then snagged another interception in KU’s game at Texas Tech (10.20.18) and also picked up a fumble against the Red Raiders, nearly returning it for a touchdown. Behind the the stellar play of Defense, Kansas’ defense continues to lead the Big 12 and ranks sixth in the FBS in turnovers gained with 25 on the season.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Hasan Defense has collected three interceptions and one fumble recovery on the season, and he turned those turnovers into yards. Defense has racked up 125 yards in interception returns, which ranks third all-time in KU single-season history and is the most since 2007 when Aqib Talib tallied 195 return yards on five interceptions. Defense has recorded interception returns of 28, 60 and 37. In addition, he returned his fumble recovery seven yards, narrowly missing the end zone.

BALL HAWKS
Eleven different Jayhawks have snagged a total of 14 interceptions, with three being returned for touchdowns. Junior CB Hasan Defense leads the way with three picks. Seniors CB Shakial Taylor is next with two INTs, while seniors LB Joe Dineen Jr., and LB Keith Loneker Jr., juniors S Mike Lee, S Bryce Torneden, S Jeremiah McCullough and CB Elmore Hempstead Jr., sophomores S Davon Ferguson and S Ricky Thomas and freshman CB Corione Harris have each gotten in on the action. Taylor (55 yards), Torneden (39 yards) and Lee (31 yards) have each made their way to pay dirt following their interception.

TFL TANDEM
With 2.5 tackle-for-loss in KU’s loss at K-State, Joe Dineen Jr., pushed the Kansas career TFLs record up to 44.5. Dineen turned in a Big 12-best 25.0 TFLs in 2017, which also marked a new KU single-season record. Fellow senior Daniel Wise is right behind Dineen with 41.0 career TFLs, ranking third in Jayhawks history.

SIMSATIONAL
Senior wide receiver Steven Sims Jr., is approaching several career milestones. He currently ranks second in career receiving yards (2,569) and career touchdown receptions (19). Sims ranks third in career receptions (209).

PHENOMENAL FRESHMAN
Kansas running back Pooka Williams Jr., has had an impressive start as he leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks fifth in the FBS in all-purpose yards. Williams is averaging 154.5 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks second among true freshman in the FBS.

FLIPPING THE FIELD
Sophomore punter Kyle Thompson is having a strong 2018 season as he has booted the ball 62 times, averaging 43.0 yards per punt. He has recorded 15 punts of 50 or more yards, including a career-long 65-yarder at Baylor in the Big 12-opener. Additionally, he has dropped 23 punts inside the 20-yard line. Thompson is tops in the Big 12 Conference and 30th in the FBS.

GREAT START
Through the first 10 games of his career, Kansas freshman running back Pooka Williams Jr., has posted the third-best rushing output of any first-year player in KU history with 1,022 rushing yards.

MORE POOKA
Pooka Williams Jr., is the first player in FBS history (with records dating back to 1996) to have a 40+ yard rush in each of their first four games. Williams is also the first Kansas player (records dating back to 1996) of any class to have four-straight games with a 40+ yard-carry. The only Kansas player with a streak of three-consecutive games with a rush of 40+ yards is Khalil Herbert in 2017. Additionally, Williams and Memphis’ Darrell Henderson are the only players in the FBS to post a four-game streak with a 40+ yard rush in 2018.

OPPORTUNISTIC DEFENSE
Kansas has put together a +15 turnover margin through 11 games of the 2018 season, which ranks tied for third in the FBS. The Jayhawk defense and special teams have combined to force their opponents into 25 turnovers, including six in consecutive wins over Central Michigan and Rutgers, after producing just nine turnovers by its opponents in all of 2017.

2018 PLAYER HONORS
As the 2018 season rolls along, the following is a cumulative list of honors earned by Kansas players:
Hasan Defense
–CBS Sports Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 7)

Joe Dineen Jr.
–Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 12)
–Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week Nominee (Nov. 11)
–Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week Nominee (Oct. 28)
–Senior CLASS Award finalist (Oct. 24)
–Lott IMPACT Trophy Quarterfinalist (Oct. 18)
—Sports Illustrated Midseason First Team All-American (Oct. 16)
–Senior CLASS Award top 30 candidate (Sept. 26)
–Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week Nominee (Sept. 18)
–Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week (Sept. 11)
–Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10)

Gabriel Rui
–Big 12 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 29)

Pooka Williams Jr.
–Athlon True Freshman of the Week (Nov. 19)
–Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (Nov. 19)
–Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (Oct. 29)
–Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll (Oct. 29)
–Midseason True Freshman of the Year by The Athletic (Oct. 16)
–ESPN Midseason Freshman All-American (Oct. 15)
–Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week (Oct. 1)
–Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (Sept. 10)
–ESPN True Freshman of the Week (Sept. 10)

CAPTAINS
A trio of seniors in wide receiver Jeremiah Booker, linebacker Joe Dineen Jr., and defensive tackle Daniel Wise were selected by their teammates to serve as permanent team captains for the 2018 season. Booker and Wise are each filling the role for the second-straight season, while Dineen is in his third season as a designated leader of the team. Dineen is in rare company when it comes to three-time captains as he is only the third player in KU’s 128-year history to serve as a captain three-consecutive seasons joining QB Zac Wegner (1998-99-2000) and linebacker Banks Floodman (2003-04-05).

THE GRADUATES
In 2018 Kansas fields a team with 11 players on it who have already earned their undergraduate degrees. KU is one of 16 FBS schools with 11 or more graduates suiting up in 2018.

THE MAYOR GIVES BACK
A native of Lawrence, Kansas, senior Joe Dineen Jr., has always known the benefits of giving back to his community, but roughly two years ago he became passionate about one cause in particular – childhood cancer. Due to his devotion to raising awareness and funds to fight the disease, for the second year in a row Dineen was nominated to the Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team and named to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list, which honors college football’s top community servant. Dineen’s dedication to helping the cause started when Cole Hayden (son of Shanda Hayden, Assistant Athletics Director for Academic and Career Counseling) was diagnosed with cancer. Since the diagnosis, Dineen has led his teammates in a number of activities to help benefit those diagnosed with the disease, by visiting kids at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, participating in the Hilltop Hustle 5K (in which all proceeds were donated to Children’s Mercy in honor of Cole), and taking part in a local baseball game that raised funds for childhood cancer research. Most recently, Dineen put together the first-ever “Cole’s Christmas in July” in which he and his teammates donated toys that were gifted to Cole before his passing to kids in Children’s Mercy.FOLLOW

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