Greatest Kansas Football Players of All-Time Bracket: David Jaynes vs Bobby Douglass

(5) David Jaynes

Jaynes quarterbacked the Jayhawks from 1971-73. A Bonner Springs native, Jaynes turned down scholarship offers from Stanford, Miami, and Alabama, among others, to stay close to home at Kansas, and what a career he had.

He led KU in passing for three consecutive seasons, culminating in his senior year of 1973 that saw Jaynes earn first team All-Big 8, first team All-American, and finish fourth in the Heisman balloting.

He is still the only Jayhawk to be a Heisman finalist.

He sits fourth in the Kansas career record books in passing yards and second in career touchdown passes (a mere 55 TDs behind Todd Reesing). However, at the time he left KU, he was tops in both categories.

He was drafted 66th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1974 NFL Draft and first overall by the Houston Texans of the World Football League, but once again elected to stay close to home. Unfortunately, his professional career only lasted three years, cut short by injuries.

He is enshrined in the Ring of Honor at KU’s Memorial Stadium.

(4) Bobby Douglass

Raised in El Dorado, KS, Bobby Douglass played the quarterback position at KU from 1966-68. He was named first team All-Big 8 in 1967 and 1968, and was also first team All-American in 1968, when he led KU to the Orange Bowl.

Douglass was never a great passer, finishing his Kansas career with 20 TD passes vs 20 INTs. However, his 3,832 yards of total offense puts him at 9th in the KU record books, and his overall 39 TDs puts him 5th.

Douglass was taken 41st overall by the Chicago Bears in the 1969 NFL Draft. He sat out most of his rookie year, but started the last game of the season and threw four TD passes - with a broken wrist on his throwing hand. The Bears tried to make him a dropback passer, but eventually gave up and let him run, and run he did. In 1972, he set an NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback, a record that stood until Michael Vick broke it in 2006 (by 71 yards, in 16-game vs 14-game seasons).

In 1975, Douglass was traded to the Chargers, and would bounce around in the league for a few years (Saints, Packers) before retiring following the 1978 season.

Here’s some Bobby Douglass as a Chicago Bear highlights!

Douglass is enshrined in the Ring of Honor in KU’s Memorial Stadium.

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