Turner Gill Plus Chuck Long Equals Happy Kansas Quarterbacks

What do you get when you hire a former Heisman candidate quarterback as your head coach and he, in turn, hires a former Heisman candidate quarterback as an offensive coordinator?

Did I mention that both have coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, too?

I think the obvious answer is one happy quarterback at the University of Kansas.

I'm not about to coronate Kale Pick as next season's starter. I've mentioned before that I think redshirt freshman Jordan Webb bears a strong resemblance to Todd Reesing and that Christian Matthews is simply a great playmaker.

Don't forget that head coach Turner Gill has already drawn in a fairly touted JuCo quarterback in Quinn Mecham who will be in the running for the job, too.

However, you have to feel that if a single signal caller at the University of Kansas has any sort of advantage, it's probably Pick. The Division I football experience, decent measurables, great athleticism, and reportedly more than serviceable arm make him seem like an ideal place for Gill and offensive coordinator Chuck Long to start.

It is not the purpose of this article to make Pick's case. However, for the purposes of this article, let's say Pick takes the majority of snaps over the offseason.

Pick is 6'2", weighs 200 pounds, runs a 4.5 40 and was the 13th-rated dual-threat quarterback nationally coming into college despite not playing most of his senior year in high school.

If anyone can help Pick utilize every ounce of that athleticism, isn't it Turner Gill? This is the same guy that helped Tommie Frazier and Eric Crouch become two of the most dangerous men to ever line up under center in the history of Nebraska.

Another guy on that "most dangerous quarterback" list is Gill himself. I start drooling at the idea of Pick being turned loose in the open field.

Then again, in this day and age, a quarterback has to have some sort of arm too, unless your last name is Dobbs and this is where Chuck Long comes in.

How do 10,000-plus passing yards, nearly 800 completions, and 74 touchdowns through the air in his time at the University of Iowa hit you?

Pick didn't receive many opportunities to use his arm last season during mop-up minutes, but former head coach Mark Mangino always vouched for the quality of Pick's throwing abilities.

If Pick has any arm at all, you can bet that Long is going to squeeze the absolute most out of it. Jason White and Josh Heupel never had the true tools for professional football necessarily, but Long turned them into guys considered among the millennium's best tossing the pigskin.

Kansas will return an experienced offensive line and a youthful but talented group of wide receivers. That may be all Pick and Long will need to work with next year.

I'm not predicting greatness for Kale Pick, I'm not even daring to predict that he may start.

I'm simply saying that Kansas fans don't have to worry about the quarterback position just because Todd Reesing is gone.

On the contrary, rather, I'm quite looking forward to seeing it.

If any two guys can take care of the most important position in football, it's Turner Gill and Chuck Long.

The best part about Kansas' quarterback situation is that while implementing a new offense, a rather talented group of at least four young men will all have an equal opportunity at the job and the competition should bring out nothing but the best in them.

Fear not, Jayhawk faithful. Every time Jeremiah Hatch snaps the pigskin next season, it is sure to land in good hands.