Just a couple of short hours after the news that Kansas had landed Notre Dame fifth year transfer Dayne Crist, the Jayhawks are on the board with another high profile quarterback transfer.
Jake Heaps, a sophomore from BYU will join the Jayhawks in January. After the obligatory one year spent ineligible per transfer rules, Heaps will be positioned to take control of the Kansas starting job in 2013 as the successor to Crist. The news that both Crist and Heaps will continue their careers under Charlie Weis at Kansas means that the Jayhawks will have secured pro-style quarterbacks the next three years that were rated #2 and #1 in their respective recruiting classes.
These are two quarterbacks tailor made for the offense Charlie Weis plans to run and Dayne Crist comes in with immediate eligibility and familiarity as a fifth year who played under Weis at Notre Dame. For Heaps this will be a new system but he will have a year to sit out and learn the system under a player in Crist that knows it, has lived it and the two could be absolutely huge in turning the fortunes of Kansas football back in the right direction.
The reason that both of these former high level recruits have decided on Kansas is clearly Charlie Weis. His offensive track record and experience with big name quarterbacks carries with it a big reputation and while Sheahon Zenger was confident that the Weis hire could catapult Kansas football, he probably couldn't have predicted this type of immediate impact..
The commitments from both Crist and Heaps provide potentially program turning stability to the Kansas Jayhawks on the offensive side of the ball. Provided Weis and his staff (Tim Grunhard) can develop the big guys up front and the skilled weapons to support these two, the Jayhawks could turn around an abysmal offense in a hurry. Now all eyes will turn to the defensive side of the ball where Weis has yet to name a defensive coordinator. If his recent additions to the Kansas program are any indication, it would seem that Kansas football is in good hands early on.