Kwamie Lassiter II was destined to play at Kansas. After all, his dad was an All-Big 8 performer and an Aloha Bowl champion defensive back for the Jayhawks. The elder Lassiter then went on to have a 10-year NFL career – spending eight of those seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
Andrew Parchment is a preseason first-team All-Big 12 selection, a Biletnikoff Award nominee and the clear go-to receiver for the Kansas Jayhawks. The stage is set for a memorable senior campaign and perhaps an NFL future as well. But get this – it almost didn’t happen.
He’s the most prolific passer in KU football history. He helped engineer the greatest two-year stretch the program has ever seen. Todd Reesing is as legendary as it gets when it comes to Kansas Football.
Since Big 12 play began in 1996, there’s only been one Jayhawk football player to win the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award. That player is Nick Reid and he did so at a position he never played prior to arriving at KU.
Pooka Williams needs no introduction to Jayhawk fans. The talented and electrifying running back has already established himself as one of the best in Kansas history, becoming just the second Jayhawk to rush for more than 2,000 yards in his first two seasons. And in his eyes, he’s just getting started.
Darrell Stuckey overcame a lot early in life along the road to an Orange Bowl championship and NFL Pro Bowl. His journey to the peak of college and pro football success was long and winding, filled with plenty of adversity.
Every football season, there’s a handful of new freshman Jayhawks for fans to get excited about. Their high school careers over, now they’re ready for the bright lights of major college football. But how do they get discovered? And what goes into getting them to Lawrence?
Mark Mangino has referred to him as perhaps the “most important player” he ever had at Kansas. That’s high praise from the former KU coach who famously led the Jayhawks to their greatest season ever in 2007.
Dave Robisch was a two-time All-American and a two-time Big Eight Player of the Year. But he also led the Jayhawks to the 1971 Final Four and helped a campus and community heal.
It’s hard to top winning an Olympic gold medal. For Kansas softball coach Jennifer McFalls, that dream came true in 2000. But once you win a gold medal, what do you do for an encore?
