Update: I said 4 wins, and I meant it!!!
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This is for the "1 or 2 wins in Leipold's first year" crowd, including JK. As a collective, we all need to RAISE OUR EXPECTATIONS. This team is built to win RIGHT NOW. I'm walking into The Booth on Sept 3 to see a blowout win, and you should be too. Then, we're walking into Coastal's house and squeezing a ranked opponent to death on the road. Believe it.
If you're skeptical about 2021, then just ask yourself this question: Do you think Lance Leipold will recruit higher caliber talent to Lawrence, KS than Les Miles was able to do these last couple years? If you answered "probably not" to that question, then why in the heck are you writing off the 2021 season? What are you waiting for? You think just having Spring ball in 2022 means we're going to win a bunch of games? Nonsense.
Next year's team will NOT be any more talented than this year's. Period. We didn't hire Leipold to recruit better than Miles. We hired Leipold to coach better than Miles. Albeit the team will be more experienced in 2022, and with a full offseason under Leipold's staff, but so many of these young kids took a bunch of snaps in 2020, which particularly accelerates development in the early years. This is one reason you're hearing about all the "body transformations" over the summer. Kids take their biggest leaps between years 1, 2 and 3.
You will see this leap in the Win column in 2021.
Les Miles recruited the best back-to-back classes that KU has seen since forever. The 2020 and 2021 classes were special, not just because they were back-to-back top 50 classes, but because Miles decided to take 100% high school, despite desperately needing immediate help, and included 13 lineman (an urgent need).
KU Class Rankings:
2021: 45
2020: 49
2019: 70
2018: 48 (Beaty Juco/transfer disaster)
2017: 55
2016: 95
2015: 66
2014: 55
2013: 46
2012: 75
Lance Leipold is NOT taking over the same kind of locker room that David Beaty or Les Miles inherited. This roster is more talented and higher character/intelligence than the previous two HC received. We can see this in the Rivals class rankings, and in the number of HS qualifiers. That doesn't even include all the high quality players Leipold was able to bring with him from his previous team (which neither Miles or Beaty were in position to do).
Finally, we don't just WANT Leipold to come out and win 4 games in year 1, we NEED him to. Folks, we're out of time. Alignment is here. Winning 1 or 2 games is a complete nonstarter. Winning 4 to 5 games is the ultimate signal that things are different this time, and would build the momentum needed to continue recruiting and building.
I am confident that Leipold can do this in 2021, and I expect him to do it.
Rock Chalk
