The end of an era. Sure Jon Cornish was the starting RB at Kansas for just one year, but in retrospect Cornish, Clark Green and the troubled John Randle represented an era of sorts in the backfield. Clark Green battled it out for four years between the tackles while Randle, then Cornish came in and provided the flash. The Canadien Comet had the spotlight mostly to himself in 2006 and delivered on the promise, but even Jon could see that life was different as an everyday back. We didn't see the 72-yard streak for a touchdown ala Nebraska '05 (heck, Jon even toasted the Longhorns during that rout in Austin in '05). Fatigue and injuries are part of the deal when you carry the load in the backfield. This year, it was Jake Sharp providing the flash while Jon was the workhorse. Setting the career rushing record is a fitting end to the era.
Time Marches On
Despite the relative in-experience in backfield and the loss of Cornish, Kansas football fans are actually excited about the prospects in the backfield. Fullback Brandon McAnderson (6-0/235) will be a senior next year and has been a solid contributor. This should be the year that KU features B-Mac a little more. The one positive I took out of the Terry Allen era was that mixing in a big back (see Moran Norris) that likes to punish defenders and can catch the ball in the flat is something that can really put a defense off balance. Get the guy to the line of scrimmage with a little momentum and the fun begins. Especially when you mix it up with some lightning quick speed and moves -- enter Jake Sharp (5-10/190, Soph in 2007). Though McAnderson isn't nearly as big as Norris (6-1/254), he is a punishing runner. I'd love to see him get early carries to soften up the "D" then start hitting them with Sharp late in the first quarter. Sharp just gave us a tease in 2006, but his 6.1 yards per carry average says it all about this speedster.
The Unknowns
We only got a glimpse of Angus Quigley (6-2/210, RS Soph in '07), but what we saw in last year's spring game was pretty awesome. He displayed a combination of speed and power that had KU fans salivating. Unfortunately, Quigley went down for the season in August with some sort of muscle tear and based on the following quote from Mark Mangino in a recent KUsports.com article it looks the recovery is still in progress:
From there, KU fans are pretty much in the dark. Donte Bean (5-9/195, RS Fresh in '07) came in as a three star recruit in 2006 and all the talk is that he has the potential to be explosive. I guess the question is how does he move ahead of Jake Sharp? KU fans will be watching #34 closely this spring. Sam Archer (6-1/225) is the back-up at fullback which means pretty limited playing time in this offense. He should start to factor in more in 2008.
Incoming
The Jayhawks feel like they got a big-time player at running back with three-star recruit Carmon Boyd-Anderson (6-1/200/4.5) out of Jacksonville, Texas. He is rated as the 33rd best prospect at running back in the nation and it's a possibility that he will contend for playing time as a freshman. Steven Foster (6-3/230/4.68) out of Sedgewick, Kansas joins the fray at fullback and already has good size and speed for the position. Brian Murphy (5-8/163/4.57) out of Lawrence will join KU as a non-scholarship player.
RB
Angus Quigley
Jake Sharp
FB
Brandon MacAnderson
Sam Archer
35 Brandon McAnderson -- FB/Sr. -- 6-0/235 -- ***
(2006 stats: 31-124 yards, 3.9 ave, 5 TDs -- rec: 6-70 yds, 0 TDs)
1 Jake Sharp -- RB/So. -- 5-10/190 -- ***
(2006 stats: 21-131 yards, 6.1 ave, 0 TDs -- rec: 6-73 yds, 0 TDs)
On the Roster:
28 Sam Archer -- FB/So. -- 6-1/225
34 Donte Bean -- RB/Fr. RS -- 5-9/195 -- ***
43 Nick Kurtenbach -- RB/Sr. -- 5-10/208
22 Angus Quigley -- RB/So. RS -- 6-2/210 -- ***
30 Brian Roulhac -- RB/Sr. -- 6-0/215
2007 Recruits:
HS Carmon Boyd-Anderson -- RB/Fr. -- 6-1/200/4.5 -- ***
HS Steven Foster -- FB/Fr. -- 6-3/230/4.68 -- ***
HS Brian Murphy -- RB/Fr. -- 5-8/163/4.57 -- **
Ranking Source: Rivals.com