Greatest Kansas Football Players of All-Time: Reesing vs Jaynes

Time to get this tournament started back up. We’re down to the Sweet 16!

Todd Reesing has moved through this bracket without losing a single vote, but can he keep that up against David Jaynes? Reesing has eliminated Asheiki Preston and Chip Hilleary while Jaynes knocked out Bobby Douglass in a tight one in the second round after getting past Mark Williams in the first round.

(1) Todd Reesing

Reesing owns basically every passing record at Kansas, both in a career and in most cases in a single season: attempts, completions, yards, TDs, even completion percentage (which is incredible considering how many more passes Reesing attempted in his career, 527 more than Frank Seurer). In fact, only one player in KU history has played in more games at the QB position than Reesing’s 41 (Frank Seurer again, with 44).

Reesing may be one of the most popular players in recent history at KU after leading the Jayhawks to a 12-1 season and a victory in the 2008 Orange Bowl. However, unlike many of his competitors in this bracket, Reesing never received any first team All-Conference or first team All-American nominations.

(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.

When Jaynes stepped foot on campus, freshmen weren’t eligible to play NCAA football. But a year off didn’t slow him down. 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 invited to New York as a Heisman finalist.

Jaynes 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.

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

———

Who was the greater Jayhawk? Register your vote in the comments below. Other matchups can be found here.