[2023] For the Record: a look at Kansas' individual player performances

[Bundy]

The Kansas Jayhawks rebounded at the end of the season, winning three straight regular season games against Iowa State and rivals Kansas State and Missouri to clinch a bowl game appearance at 7-5 (5-4). They then survived a first quarter scare in the Las Vegas Bowl against Fresno State, putting up 24 points to Fresno's baseball score 5, to bring home the second consecutive bowl win in as many appearances.

The season had ups and downs, and a well-documented struggle at the quarterback position kept everyone on edge. The 3-headed rushing attack from 2022, when Cody Casspi and fullback Marcell Maysonet each cracked 1k yards, with Bene' Humber falling just short of the number, was less effective with Humber graduating to the life of an NFL practice squad, and Maysonet all but vanishing from the gameplan. With an offense so reliant on pounding the rock, the Jayhawks struggled to put up points at time, save for explosions against Minnesota (37 points) and BYU (40 points), with lows coming in losses to TCU (12) and surprisingly, Cincinnati (12). But the defensive unit, made of aggressive players but not aggressive playcalling, excelled, with the Jayhawks finishing the year's 13 games allowing just 19.7 points per contest. When you score more points than your opponent (23.15 ppg), you tend to win more often than not. 

 

There were a number of individual successes as well to the 2023 Jayhawks squad.

Passing Feats

"Tyler Summers sucks", was a phrase often heard on Kansas City sports radio. While the Chiefs were busy earning an NFL playoff spot, the Jayhawks were largely under the radar in terms of KC-based coverage, and a lot of that had to do with the passing game, or lack thereof, for the 2nd year in a row. Ian Morgan eclipsed the 3k passing yards mark in 11 starts in 2021, while Summers, who has started 15 games over 2022-2023, has yet to eclipse 2k. Summers has 8 career passing touchdowns, and 20 career INTs thrown, leading to little to talk about in an ever-increasing passing dominated league and media. 

On the season, Summers set the KU Single-Season Interceptions Thrown mark, tieing Morgan's 14, albeit on 28 less attempts than Morgan had completions in 2021. 

Rushing Records

Bene' Humber was Kansas' first marketable star, a household name throughout the KU alumni base, and a fan favorite. Cody Casspi took over the lead RB duties in 2022, and continued his dominance in 2023. 

Single Game Marks

Casspi was a workhorse when Kansas needed him most. Against West Virginia, he had a Single Game Rush Attempts Record with 39 totes of the rock. In a devastating blowout loss to Oklahoma, he was one of few players who never put his head down, gaining a Single Game Yards Record of 228! And against Minnesota in week 5, he had a Single Game Rush TD mark with a hat trick 3. 

Single Season Stats

While Casspi had the advantage of playing in a bowl game, and thus, 13 games to Humber's 12 in 2021, he rushed for Single Season Rush Yards totaling 1,222. He also found the end zone a record 11 times!

Career

While Casspi already holds most individual rushing marks, he still trails Humber in carries. However, he sits alone at the top of career marks for rushing yards (2,292) and touchdowns (19), with a season of eligibility remaining.

Receiving

With the QB situation being unfortunately dire, there has been little to highlight in exciting, flashy performances from KU catchers, and looking at their all-time recruiting classes, there isn't much hope in terms of stardom. However, there were some notable (for KU) marks recorded in 2023,

Single Game

It's hard to put up numbers when your QBs throw the ball ~200 times a year, but Alex Atkins did the unthinkable, with a multi-TD performance, coming in his final collegiate game, the Las Vegas Bowl against Fresno State, Gronk-spiking two touchdowns.

Atkins also had a TE-specific record of 19.75 yards/rec (minimum 4 receptions) in Week 7's drubbing of BYU. 

Season

Atkins may not have been targeted a ton, but he still set the TE-mark of 15.77 yards/rec over the season, surpassing his 2021 mark by nearly a full yard.

Career

Atkins finishes his career as the most accomplished Kansas receiver to date. Targets (282), Receptions (164), Yards (2,306 - no one else has reached even 1k), and touchdowns (12) all seem like numbers that could stand for awhile.

Running backs Cody Casspi and Aaron Diaz each sit atop the RB receiving TD throne, with 3 a piece hauled in this year.

Offensive Line

Though KU has only tracked offensive line starts officially since the 2022 season, it's hard to knock the greatness of 2022 graduate Ben Gohara, who found his way to the NFL, or Rashad Shaw, who was a dominant right tackle. This year, Kansas often rotated their offensive line's positions based on opponent, so outside of center, there will be few "consecutive starts at ____ tackle or ____ guard" for awhile.

For career starts, Gohara "unofficially" started 25 career games dating back to 2021, but officially he, Shaw, center Pete Blythe, and Jose Moustakas were "tied" at 13 starts.

STARTS

C Pete Blythe - 26

OG Jose Moustakas - 26*

OT Zach Rogers - 24

OT Drew Solano - 15

OT Rashad Shaw - 13*

OG Ben Gohara - 13*

OG David Hager - 13

 

Pancake Blocks have only been tracked by simCFB since 2022. Therefore, KU does not place asterisks by these stats.

PANCAKES - SEASON

1    16 - OT Zach Rogers, 2023
2    15 - OT Rashad Shaw, 2022
3    13 - OG Jose Moustakas, 2023
4    12 - OG Ben Gohara, 2022
5    7 - OG Jose Moustakas, 2022

PANCAKES - CAREER

1    20 - OT Zach Rogers, 2022-2023
2    20 - OG Jose Moustakas, 2022-2023
3    15 - OT Rashad Shaw, 2022
4    12 - OG Ben Gohara, 2022
5    10 - TE Alex Atkins, 2022-2023

DEFENSIVE STATS

TACKLES

If Bene' Humber was the early star to the Kansas offense, Ziggy Sands was the equivalent on the defensive side of the ball. The first captain named in the inaugural 2021 season, Sands was dominant and always a presence in the run game.

When Sands graduated last spring, Kansas had a massive question mark at ILB. But Sung Franzese, a true freshman OLB recruit out of Rochester, Minnesota, stepped up during the first summer practices, and showed out when it came time for games. 

Franzese earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors for defense, and it was with little hesitation from selecting coaches. Franzese set a team record with 90 tackles over 13 starts, 14.5 more than Sands best season. 

Career Tackles

Kansas has cycled through some talent on defense, but of the top career tackle leaders, there's Sands at #1 - and then seven guys who were still on the team in 2023. 

1    132.5 - ILB Ezekiel "Ziggy" Sands, 2021-22
2    119.5 - OLB Aaron Freeman, 2021-23
3    115  - CB Chaz Tuivailala, 2021-23
4    103.5 - DT Dante Gates, 2021-23
5    90 - OLB Sung Franzese, 2023
6    85 - FS Kevin Suarez, 2022
7    83.5 - DE Randal Holmes, 2021-23
8    72 - DE Eli Reyes, 2021, 2023

TFL - Season

Mike Brantly was an absolute menace at DT in 2022, recording a still-standing 22 TFL. But his departure was made avoidable with DT Dante Gates stepping into the role, recording 20 TFL and DE Randal Holmes adding 15 of his own. These were the 3rd and 4th best individual TFL performances.

1    30 - DT Dante Gates, 2021-23
2    28 - ILB Ezekiel "Ziggy" Sands, 2021-22
3    27 - DE Randal Holmes, 2021-23
4    23 - DT Mike Brantly, 2021-22
5    12 - DE Eli Reyes, 2021, 2023
6    10 - OLB Nelson Velasquez, 2021
7    8 - DE Marvin Machado, 2021
8    8 - Daniel Dekker, 2021
9    8 - OLB Aaron Freeman, 2022-2023
10    6 - DE Chris Barreto, 2023

SACKS

Single Season

Kansas has been one of the most dominant pass rushing collectives the past two seasons, and it might be time to take note that - while their individual pass rushers aren't going to win national awards, the unit themselves is a scary force for opposing quarterbacks, especially with shoddy OL play.

1    9.0 - DE Randal Homes, 2023
2    7.0 - DT Mike Brantly, 2022
3    7.0 - DE Zack Luke, 2022
4    6.0 - DT Dante Gates, 2023
5    6.0 - DE Eli Reyes, 2023
6    5.5 - DE Randal Homes, 2022
7    4.5 - DE Chris Barreto, 2023
8    4.0 - DE Marvin Machado, 2021
9    4.0 - DE Eli Reyes, 2021
10    4.0 - DT Daniel Dekker, 2021

As seen above, Randal Holmes set the team record for sacks in a season this year, with a whopping 9.0. Gates and Reyes rounded out Top 5 seasons, with Chris Barreto in the mix playing in the interior. When Reyes went down with injury, missing the Missouri and Fresno State games, there was some disappointment among fans, who wanted to see what the first 15.0 sack bookend duo in school history could do against their hated rival. 

Career

1    15.5 - DE Randal Homes, 2021-23
2    11.5 - DT Dante Gates, 2021-23
3    10.0 - DE Eli Reyes, 2021, 2023
4    7.0 - DT Mike Brantly, 2022
5    7.0 - DE Zack Luke, 2022
6    4.5 - DE Chris Barreto, 2023
7    4.0 - DE Marvin Machado, 2021
8    4.0 - DT Daniel Dekker, 2021
9    0.5 - OLB Sung Franzese, 2023

Only 9 players, a lot of them individual seasons, have recorded sacks over 3 years, but that means A LOT of pass rushing experience has endured. Holmes finishes his career the top edge rusher in school history, while Gates joins him in graduating as #2 all-time. Reyes, a JR who was a backup to Zack Luke in 2022 after starting in 2021, has his eyes set on a monster 2024 season to round out his career.

PASS COVERAGE

INTERCEPTIONS

Chaz Tuivailala was supposed to be a "nobody 3-star" when he started as a true freshman in 2021, but he has been among the most electric defensive players in the entire country. 

Season

1    8 - CB Chaz Tuivailala, 2023
2    7 - CB Chaz Tuivailala, 2021
3    6 - Chaz Tuivailala, 2022
4    3 - FS Shawn Johnson, 2021
5    3 - FS Kevin Suarez, 2022
6    3 - CB Ryan Gilliam, 2023
7    2 - ILB Ezekiel "Ziggy" Sands, 2021
8    2 - CB Chasen Joseph, 2021
9    2 - OLB Aaron Freeman, 2023
10    2 - CB Ross Patton, 2023
    2 - FS Eric Gaherty, 2023

Tuivailala has only gotten better as time goes on, owning all of the top 3 spots, with a record-setting 2023 of 8 interceptions! Opposing quarterbacks have started to throw towards other defenders - leading to Ryan Gilliam, Ross Patton, and another true freshman, safety Eric Gaherty, hauling in multi-pick seasons. Aaron Freeman made sure his name would go in the record books as well, with a pair of INTs.

Career

1    21 - CB Chaz Tuivailala, 2021-2023
2    4 - FS Kevin Suarez, 2022-2023
3    3 - FS Shawn Johnson, 2021
4    3 - CB Ryan Gilliam, 2023
5    3 - OLB Aaron Freeman, 2021-2023
6    2 - ILB Ezekiel "Ziggy" Sands, 2021
7    2 - CB Chasen Joseph, 2021
8    2 - CB Ross Patton, 2023
9    2 - FS Eric Gaherty, 2023

Tuivailala's dominance has been concerning for the Big 12, and he still has another year of eligibility to chase a 30 INT mark that would make him a national legend. 

PDs

Season/Career

1    5 - CB James Davidson, 2022
2    3 - CB Ryan Gilliam, 2023
3    1 - OLB Aaron Freeman, 2023

Kansas has struggled with pass break ups, but with Tuivalala's mere existence, and the pass rush excelling, many QBs simply sail the ball high, where only their guy can try to make a play.

SPECIAL TEAMS

KICKING

LONG

Jake Ramirez was a top 4 kicking recruit in the 2021 class, and he drilled a record 57 yarder this season.

FGA

George Jones, a one week wonder back in Kansas' inaugural game, attempted 29 field goals through the 2021 season. Ramirez only attempted 25 as a freshman, but added 30 more this year, giving him both the season and career marks.

FGM

Ramirez has been a reliable kicker, hitting over 78% of his attempts, making 23 this season and 43 to date.

PUNTING

Kansas has attempted less punts each season, so true freshman Craig Longergan may need to wait another year to make a career mark.

[tsweezy]

Wtf why is your pass rush so good at getting sacks 

[Bundy]

7 hours ago, tsweezy said:

Wtf why is your pass rush so good at getting sacks 

in practice we tell them to hate the QB and take it out on Summers, which gives them ferocity in games but also makes our QBs scared