I can somewhat throw my weight around here because very few people have been as close to KU football as I have over the last 25 years. Very few.
I have covered seven head coaches and got to know a lot of people on the inside of every program. I have heard the stories behind the scenes that rarely make it to the public on the inner workings of every program. I know the structure, organization, recruiting and culture that is built or not built with every staff.
I can tell you as Lance Leipold and his staff get ready for year two that everything tells me this program is heading in the right direction. Now, maybe I am biased because everyone who follows this site knows when I put the first Hot Board out Leipold was my first candidate listed and I was vocal he had to be the top candidate.
Having talked with people off the record, getting to hear the players and see how they react and talk, watching the organization, and getting a feel for things this program has a strong foundation. Sometimes I am not big fan of the word "culture" because it gets thrown around a lot. Everybody talks about it. You hear that word in schools, business, etc all the time and I think it a buzz word that has lost meaning.
But not for KU football. It has been impressive to watch a culture get built in a short amount of time. I thought it would take a couple years for it to change but Leipold has done it in less than that. When I talk about culture I mean it where everybody believes in the same message, they are all pulling in the same direction under the same belief to get to the same finishing point. There is a structure in place to where the message is clear to everyone how the daily operations work from the top to the bottom.
This goes beyond the on-field coaches. This goes for the strength and conditioning, inside operations, recruiting department, nutrition staff, equipment managers, and everyone involved.
This team is much better than what you saw last year. It is improved two-fold. The players are together and believe what they are being coached.
What does this mean in terms of wins? I really have no idea. I asked some media friends yesterday what their thoughts were and I got answers ranging from 2-4 wins. Wins are so hard to predict because you don't know how injuries will play a factor. You don't know when teams will get hot. Look at KU last year from the middle of the season to end. They were a different team. They got some confidence and started playing better. You never know when one of those games comes up where the other team lays the ball on the carpet three times and throws a pick. Predicting wins over a three month season is difficult because too many things change over the course of that time.
One thing I do know is this team and program has grown a lot in a year and I think you will see it.
I have covered seven head coaches and got to know a lot of people on the inside of every program. I have heard the stories behind the scenes that rarely make it to the public on the inner workings of every program. I know the structure, organization, recruiting and culture that is built or not built with every staff.
I can tell you as Lance Leipold and his staff get ready for year two that everything tells me this program is heading in the right direction. Now, maybe I am biased because everyone who follows this site knows when I put the first Hot Board out Leipold was my first candidate listed and I was vocal he had to be the top candidate.
Having talked with people off the record, getting to hear the players and see how they react and talk, watching the organization, and getting a feel for things this program has a strong foundation. Sometimes I am not big fan of the word "culture" because it gets thrown around a lot. Everybody talks about it. You hear that word in schools, business, etc all the time and I think it a buzz word that has lost meaning.
But not for KU football. It has been impressive to watch a culture get built in a short amount of time. I thought it would take a couple years for it to change but Leipold has done it in less than that. When I talk about culture I mean it where everybody believes in the same message, they are all pulling in the same direction under the same belief to get to the same finishing point. There is a structure in place to where the message is clear to everyone how the daily operations work from the top to the bottom.
This goes beyond the on-field coaches. This goes for the strength and conditioning, inside operations, recruiting department, nutrition staff, equipment managers, and everyone involved.
This team is much better than what you saw last year. It is improved two-fold. The players are together and believe what they are being coached.
What does this mean in terms of wins? I really have no idea. I asked some media friends yesterday what their thoughts were and I got answers ranging from 2-4 wins. Wins are so hard to predict because you don't know how injuries will play a factor. You don't know when teams will get hot. Look at KU last year from the middle of the season to end. They were a different team. They got some confidence and started playing better. You never know when one of those games comes up where the other team lays the ball on the carpet three times and throws a pick. Predicting wins over a three month season is difficult because too many things change over the course of that time.
One thing I do know is this team and program has grown a lot in a year and I think you will see it.
