Kansas Football Recruiting 2012: Quarterback And Running Back

The offensive backfield is one of the more closely watched areas of the field. Between the quarterback and the running backs, this group is responsible for every single offensive play in one way or another. For Kansas this is also a position that is experiencing a substantial amount of change.

Jordan Webb and Darrian Miller are no longer with the program. Webb will wrap up his degree and use the transfer rule to his benefit and play elsewhere. Miller's future remains in question but both contributors from a season ago will not be back. At the same time Kansas has added a key piece at the quarterback position through the transfer rule themselves. But as far as traditional recruiting goes, Kansas has added one player at each position from the junior college ranks and both will come in expecting to compete from the start.

Turner Baty

QB | 6-2 | 225 | San Francisco California / City College of San Francisco

Highlight Video Available at HUDL

Baty's story has been covered very recently with his commitment just days ago. Baty was the quarterback for the JuCo National Champions and he comes to Kansas with four years to play three. That's a pretty rare situation and it's the case because Baty went the JuCo route by choice and not because of any academic short comings. That means he's set to transfer after a one year grayshirt and one season where he accounted for 42 touchdowns.

Baty is a competitive player and has been quoted as saying that he expects to compete for the starting job from day one. He'll get that shot but with Dayne Crist as a pretty clear frontrunner, Baty could prove a valuable piece of the puzzle as a backup/redshirt option in year one and a viable starting candidate beginning in year two. Either way he helps answer some questions surrounding depth at this position.

A word to the wise. If you happen to find yourself sitting next to Baty's mom in the stands, keep your thoughts to yourself or she might take the initiative to remove you herself.

Taylor Cox

RB | 5-11 | 200 | Weed California, College of the Siskiyous

Yes Jayhawk fans have reason to be a little bit gun-shy when it comes to junior college running backs. The last time Kansas was relying on one for production it didn't turn into a very good ending. The good news is that Kansas isn't relying on Cox completely. The Jayhawks have a proven back in James Sims who is a decent option and might be a very solid option in the Weis offense. Kansas also had Tony Pierson and Brandon Bourbon who have shown sparks at times.

Still it's a nice boost to land an all American from the junior college ranks and that's what Cox brings to the table. Cox is labeled as an all-purpose back and leaves the College of Siskiyous as the schools all time leading runner. Cox received interest from Kansas, Texas Tech and Indiana but the reputation of Weis and the publicity associated with the high profile transfers seemed to be a big selling point for Cox. Basically he felt as if the Kansas offense is going to be a good place to be.

Cox finished his two year JuCo career with over 2700 yards rushing and that included a 326 single game outburst. Cox amassed 28 touchdowns during that time including a 5 TD single game performance as well. He finishes with a 5.8 yard average and should provide immediate competition for the starting job this fall.