Countdown to College Football Kickoff: Top NFL prospects at Kansas
College football is scheduled to return Saturday, August 29. Each day until then, NFLDraftScout.com will be evaluating the rosters of the best teams in college football, including all 64 within the Power Five conferences.
Kansas Jayhawks
Head Coach: Les Miles (second season)
2019 Record: 3-9
2020 NFL Draft Picks: Hakeem Adeniji, OL, Cincinnati Bengals – 6th Round, No. 180 overall
Overview: The great Les Miles experiment at Kansas did not come with the immediate results some hoped, with the Jayhawks finishing his first season with the identical 3-9 record and last-place finish in the conference standings which helped push former coach David Beatty out the door.
That isn’t to suggest there weren’t signs of growth. In Week Three, for example, Kansas went to Boston College and doubled up the Eagles 48-24, with their own star running back Pooka Williams essentially duplicating BC’s best player, A.J. Dillon with 121 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in the big win. Dillon, who the Green Bay Packers selected 62 overall this past spring, posted 149 all-purpose yards and a score, as well.
Dillon’s tough running over a leaky Big 12 opponent at home was to be expected. Kansas running for 329 yards and three scores that day was not.
The victory was Kansas’ first on the road against a Power 5 opponent in 48 games.
Miles was able to reward Jayhawks fans with his first conference victory with an October 26th home win over Texas Tech 37-34. Either home or on the road, the win was just the sixth in the Big XII by the Jayhawks since 2008, when Mark Mangino was leading Kansas. That was the last year Kansas had multiple conference victories in the same season.
If that abysmal record isn’t concerning enough, consider the low points in Kansas’ 2019 season, which include losing at home 12-7 to the Sun Belt’s Coastal Carolina in Week Two and the 61-6 drubbing by Baylor (also at David Booth Memorial Stadium) which ended the year with a whimper.
The Jayhawks face all sorts of questions moving forward, not the least of which is at quarterback where the team must replace graduated senior Carter Stanley. JUCO transfer Thomas MacVittie threw an interception on his only attempt last year but looks like the favorite for the starting role in 2020. Hopefully, an offseason spent with fellow new addition and offensive coordinator Brent Dearman should help. Fortunately, there is talent at the “other” skill positions and the healthy return of standout linebacker Dru Prox should help the defense improve, as well.
Featured 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Pooka Williams, RB, 5-10, 175, 4.40, JR
It isn’t often that four-star recruits choose Kansas over LSU, Mississippi State, TCU and UCLA (among many others) but that is the path this Louisiana native took three years ago, signing with the Jayhawks as one of the real shockers of the 2017 signing period.
To say Williams was a star in high school isn’t giving the constellations in the sky enough credit. Williams sprinted for 3,118 yards and 37 touchdowns during his senior season alone, taking Hahnville High School to the 5A state title game, where the Tigers lost despite their star back rushing for 210 yards and a score.
It took Williams all of one game to live up to his hype, earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors in his college debut, rushing for 125 yards and two touchdowns (on just 14 carries) in a rare win over Central Michigan. He exploded for 158 yards and another score a week later against Rutgers, becoming the first freshman in KU history to eclipse the 100 yard rushing mark in his first two games.
Williams wound up rushing for a total of 1,125 yards (with a 7.0 yard per carry average!) as well as seven touchdowns, while chipping in another 289 yards and two scores on 33 receptions. Along with Philadelphia Eagles’ latest first round pick – former TCU wideout Jalen Reagor – Williams was one of just two players in the Big 12 to record both a 100-yard rushing and 100-yard receiving game in 2018.
Williams earned Conference Newcomer of the Year honors from the media, as well as First Team All-Big 12 accolades from coaches, the latter of which he received after the 2019 season, as well, when he finished with 1,061 yards (in 11 games) and three scores with another 214 yards and two scores coming off of 27 receptions.
Strengths: Lightning in a bottle. Remarkable stop-start quickness and elusiveness which makes corralling Williams one-on-one in the open field the stuff of nightmares… Terrific vision and feel for defenders, zipping to and through holes when they are there but also showing creativity in bouncing runs outside or cutting back against the grain.
Only needs a crack and shows no hesitancy in running through traffic. Freezes defenders in the hole with his lateral agility, taking full advantage of a quality hesitation move and his explosive acceleration.
Stronger than he looks, running through arm tackles and dragging defenders, at times.
Quality receiver out of the backfield, showing good concentration and soft hands to pluck outside of his frame. Quickly corrals the pass and puts it away, helping trim his fumbles (four as a freshman, including two lost) to just one in 2019. Comfortable fielding the ball in the flats but shows the ability to do more, tracking the ball nicely over his shoulder for touchdowns against TCU and Iowa State and using his terrific quickness and burst to easily gain separation on quick arrow routes and wheel routes up the sideline or seam.
Quality kick returner who averaged 22.4 yards on 11 returns as a freshman…
Weaknesses: Built more like a slot receiver than a running back, projecting for some as more of a decoy in the NFL than a primary weapon. Too much freelancing as a runner, turning in some highlight reel plays when he catches the defense napping but losing yardage too often by attempting to simply outrun opponents. Stronger than he looks but is still severely undersized for a back with defenders able to knock him down with strong shoves, at times… Has not been used as often as a receiver or returner as his abilities warrant, raising questions about his ability to handle multiple roles… Entering his junior season at Kansas with 424 touches already… Teams will want to investigate a December, 2018 domestic violence charge against Williams in which he was accused of punching an 18-year old woman in the stomach and grabbing her throat. For the misdemeanor, Williams was suspended by Kansas for the 2019 season-opener (Indiana State) and ordered to 40 hours of community service and completing an anger management course as part of a year-long diversion agreement signed with the Douglas County District Attorney’s office... Miles was vocal in his support of Williams during the investigation and after the proceeding, welcoming him back to the team. Williams has no other known off-field concerns.
NFL Player Comparison: J.D. McKissic, Washington – Williams is significantly lighter than the 5-10, 190 pound McKissic but offers a similar complementary skill-set as a runner and receiver. The fifth-year pro out of Arkansas State initially broke into the NFL with Seattle, spending three years there before a year in Detroit. He’s only scored three touchdowns during that time but has averaged 4.6 yards per carry and caught 90 passes during that time, injecting big play potential every time he’s on the field. Williams is an even more explosive athlete and could provide quite the immediate impact (think Tarik Cohen or Phillip Lindsay) if his future NFL team committed to feeding him the ball.
Current NFL Draft Projection: Fifth Round
The Top 10 NFL Prospects at Kansas:
1. Pooka Williams, RB, 5-10, 175, 4.40, JR
2. Dru Prox, OLB, 6-2, 220, 4.65, SR
3. Andrew Parchment, WR, 6-1, 185, 4.50, SR
4. Davon Ferguson, S, 5-10, 197, 4.60, rJR
5. Stephon Robinson, Jr., 5-09, 175, 4.55, SR
6. Kyle Mayberry, CB, 5-10, 180, 4.55, SR
7. Malik Clark, OG, 604, 315, 5.20, SR
8. Malcolm Lee, DE, 6-5, 285, 4.95, JR
9. Thomas McVittie, QB, 6-4, 215, 4.85, rSR
10. Sam Burt, DT, 6-3, 285, 4.90, SR
*All 40-yard dash times are estimates
