The 2009 Kansas Jayhawks football team (variously "Kansas", "KU", or the "Jayhawks") represented the University of Kansas in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, which was the school's 120th season and the eighth and final year under Mark Mangino, who resigned following the season under pressure from both an internal investigation into his treatment of players and discontent from the season's results. It was Ed Warinner's third season as offensive coordinator and fifth year overall. The Jayhawks played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas and were members of the Big 12 Conference

After beginning the season with five victories, the team lost their next seven games to finish the season with a 5–7 overall record (1–7 in the Big 12 Conference). It was the worst overall record since 2004 (when the Jayhawks won just four games) and the worst conference record since their winless 2002 season (in which they could only win two non-conference games).

Pre-season Coaching changes Less than a month after being promoted to defensive coordinator at Louisville Bill Miller resigned and joined the Jayhawks as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, replacing previous linebackers coach Steve Tovar.

Tom Sims replaced Joe Bob Clements, who left for Kansas State, as defensive line coach. Sims spent the last four seasons with Illinois. A few weeks earlier, Kerry Locklin of Fresno State accepted the defensive line coaching job, but subsequently accepted a job with the NFL's New York Jets and Sims was hired instead.

Recruiting Following the 2009 signing day, the Jayhawks recruiting class was ranked 31st by Rivals and 50 by Scout. Expand the list below to see the full class.

Schedule

Roster In February, reserve quarterback Tyler Lawrence left the team to graduate early. Running back Sean Ransburg was listed as a transfer at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe. Wide receiver Xavier Rambo is listed as a transfer at Delta State University. Running back Jocques Crawford's transfer to an unnamed school was announced July 24. KU announced Ben Lueken's departure August 6. 2009 Kansas Jayhawks football roster (starters in bold)Quarterbacks  2 Jordan Webb – Fr.  5 Todd Reesing – Sr.  7 Kale Pick – Fr. 12 Christian Matthews – Fr. 15 Chase Knighton – So. 16 Jacob Morse

Running backs  1 Jake Sharp – Sr.  6 Rell Lewis – So.  8 Daniel Porter – Jr. 35 Toben Opurum – Fr. 36 Deshaun Sands – Fr. 37 Ryan Burton 40 Tyler Hunt – Fr. 46 Steve Mestan

Wide receivers  3 Reece Petty – Jr.  9 Raimond Pendleton – Sr. 10 Kerry Meier – Sr. (also QB) 19 Isiah Barfield – So. 23 Gabe Cunning 24 Bradley McDougald – Fr. 28 Willie O'Quinn – So. 38 Jeff Hickerson 80 Dezmon Briscoe -Jr. 81 Jonathan Wilson – Jr. 83 Chris Omigie – Fr. 85 Rod Harris – So. 88 Erick McGriff – Fr. 88 Patrick Schilling – Fr. 89 Tertavian Ingram – So.

Tight ends 11 A.J. Steward – So. 43 Ted McNulty – So. 82 Nick Plato – Fr. 86 Tim Biere – So. 87 Bradley Dedeaux – Jr. Offensive line 54 Justin Carnes 55 Darius Parish – So. 56 Kayl Anderson – Sr. (long snapper) 59 Sal Capra – Jr. 62 Alex Smith – Jr. 63 Ian Wolfe – Jr. 65 Mike Martinovich -So. (TR) 66 Tom Mabry – Fr. 68 Carl Wilson – Jr. 69 Trevor Marrongelli – Fr. 70 Gavin Howard – Fr. 71 John Williams – Fr. 72 Tanner Hawkinson – Fr. 73 Joe Semple – Fr 74 Jeff Spikes – So. 76 Brad Thorson – Jr. 77 Jeremiah Hatch – So. 79 Riley Spencer – Fr.

Defensive line 50 Tyrone Sellers – Fr. 54 Kevin Young – Fr. 64 Randall Dent – Fr. 75 Travis Stephens – Jr. 78 Shane Smith 84 Jeff Wheeler – Sr. 90 Maxwell Onyegbule – Sr. 91 Jake Laptad – Jr. 92 Patrick Dorsey – So. 93 Quintin Woods – Jr. 94 Caleb Blakesley – Sr. 95 D.J. Marshall – Fr. 96 Dustin Spears – Sr. 97 Richard Johnson Jr. – So. 98 Duane Zlatnik – Fr. 99 Jamal Greene – Jr. Linebackers  9 Vernon Brooks – Jr. 22 Angus Quigley – Sr. 29 Ryan Nelson 31 Steven Foster – So. 34 Huldon Tharp – Fr. 38 Josh Richardson – Fr. 40 Jacoby Thomas – Fr. 41 Arist Wright – Sr. 45 Justin Springer – Jr. 49 Drew Dudley – Jr. 50 Jordan Fee – Fr. 51 Dakota Lewis – Jr. 52 Steven Johnson – So. 57 Chea Peterman – So. 58 Jake Schermer – Sr.

Cornerbacks 15 Daymond Patterson – So. 16 Chris Harris – Jr. 17 Calvin Rubles – Jr. 20 D.J. Beshears – Fr. 20 Taylor Lee – Fr. 23 Ryan Murphy – So. 27 Greg Brown – Fr. 30 Anthony Davis – So. 33 Tyler Patmon – Fr. 35 Corrigan Powell – So.

Safeties  4 Prinz Kande – Fr. 13 Lubbock Smith – Fr. 25 Darrell Stuckey – Sr. 26 Phillip Strozier – Jr. 32 Dexter Linton – Fr. 37 Brian Blackwell – Fr. 44 Olaitan Oguntodu – Jr. 46 Justin Thornton – Sr. 47 Brandon Hawks – Fr.

Punters 18 Alonso Rojas – Jr.

Kickers  4 John Milsap – Fr. 14 Jacob Branstetter – So. 18 Alonso Rojas – Jr.

Game summaries

Northern Colorado Kansas won its first ever match-up against Northern Colorado in convincing fashion as the 25th ranked team in the nation. This was the sixth straight home-opener win for Kansas. It was also a new attendance record with 52,530 fans in attendance.

Senior Quarterback Todd Reesing directed the Kansas offense to success from the start of the game. He threw for 208 yards on 13 attempts and 2 touchdowns. Furthermore, he also ran for 79 yards and scored 2 rushing touchdowns. This was Reesing's most successful game in terms of rushing since the 2007 season. Reesing found numerous opportunities to run as Northern Colorado was preoccupied with slowing Kansas' passing attack. Kansas' passing attack was also hurt by the 1-game suspension of leading wide-receiver Desmond Briscoe. Senior running-back Jake Sharp led Kansas in rushing with 123 yards on 21 carries and 2 touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 receiving). Senior wide-receiver Kerry Meier led the team with 5 receptions for 115 yards.

Freshman running-back Toben Opurum had a notable first game in a Kansas uniform. He ran for 79 yards on 8 carries and scored 2 touchdowns. Backup red-shirt Freshman Quarterback Kale Pick also played his first minutes in a Kansas uniform in the 4th Quarter.

UTEP

Senior DE Maxwell Onyegbule and the Jayhawk defense set the tone early as the University of Kansas football team rolled past UTEP 34–7 in front of 31,885 fans in the Sun Bowl. Senior QB Todd Reesing guided the offense to over 575 yards of total offense as KU improved to 2–0 for the sixth straight season, while the Miners fell to 0–2.

In the first half alone, Onyegbule had two sacks and four total tackles for loss to lead a defense that finished the half with five sacks, 11 tackles for loss, an interception and a pair of quarterback hurries. UTEP was forced to punt on six of its seven possessions of the half and mustered just three first downs. For the game, the defense held UTEP to just 208 yards and seven first downs. Seven players recorded tackles for losses led by Onyegbule with five. Add to that line six quarterback hurries, three passes broken up and an interception, and it was a good night for the defense in El Paso.

Reesing finished 25-of-41 for 260 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Kansas racked up 576 total yards and outdid the Miners 23–7 on first downs.

The win also improved Mark Mangino's overall record to 47–41 at Kansas which tied him with Glen Mason as the second-winningest coach in school history. A.R. Kennedy owns KU's best coaching record at 52–9–4 from 1904 to 1910.

Duke

Kansas senior quarterback Todd Reesing threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns and also collected 51 yards on the ground to lead Kansas to a 44–16 win over Duke on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The win improved Kansas to 3–0 on the season, marking the second time in the last three seasons the Jayhawks opened the season with three-consecutive wins. The loss dropped the Blue Devils to 1–2.

Reesing completed 28-of-41 passes against the Blue Devils, including touchdowns to three different receivers. His 338 yards in the air marked his seventh-straight game with 200 or more passing yards and his 14th career 300-yard passing game. Briscoe finished the game with 117 yards receiving, his sixth-straight 100-yard receiving game. He now has nine 100-yard receiving games in his career, the most in KU history.

Senior safety Darrell Stuckey led the Jayhawk defense with a season-high 10 tackles. Freshman linebacker Huldon Tharp recorded a career-high 10 tackles, while junior linebacker Drew Dudley finished with a career-best eight tackles. Sophomore cornerback Daymond Patterson also had eight stops. Senior nickelback Justin Thornton and junior cornerback Chris Harris each added six tackles. KU finished with five sacks on the afternoon, giving the Jayhawks 14 sacks on the season.

Southern Miss

Senior wide receiver Kerry Meier hauled in 10 passes for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns and senior quarterback Todd Reesing passed former Texas quarterback Vince Young for seventh on the All-time Big 12 total yards list as No. 19 Kansas defeated Southern Mississippi 35–28 at Memorial Stadium. The victory improved Kansas to 4–0 on the season, marking the second time in the last three seasons the Jayhawks opened the season with four-consecutive wins. The defeat dropped Southern Mississippi to 3–1 ending the nation's second longest winning streak at eight games.

Reesing completed 30-of-41 passes against the Golden Eagles, including touchdowns to two different receivers. His 331 yards in the air marked his eighth-straight game with 200 or more passing yards and his 15th career 300-yard passing game.

The game was a back-and-forth battle that was tied late in the game when Kansas received ideal field position for the second-straight drive after Darrell Stuckey posted a 50-yard kick return to place the ball at the Southern Miss 40-yard line just before the end of the third quarter. This time the Jayhawks took advantage of the kick return, and Reesing found Meier uncovered for a 12-yard touchdown, his second of the game, to make the score 35–28.

Both teams traded possessions before Kansas' defense forced Southern Mississippi to punt with three minutes remaining. But the Jayhawks couldn't muster a first down, giving the Golden Eagles an opportunity to tie the game. The Jayhawk defense then stepped up to the challenge as junior defensive end Jake Laptad sacked Davis on third down and sophomore cornerback Daymond Patterson batted down two passes to force a turnover on downs and seal the victory.

Iowa State

Kansas senior wide receiver Kerry Meier set a school record with 16 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns, while senior quarterback Todd Reesing tied a school record with 37 completions for a career-high 442 yards and four touchdowns as No. 16 Kansas outlasted Iowa State 41–36. Before a crowd of 48,203 at Kivisto Field at Memorial Stadium, Kansas improves to 5–0 for the second time in three years, and 1–0 in Big 12 Conference play. Iowa State drops to 3–3 overall and 0–2 in league play.

Reesing's main two targets for the afternoon were Meier, with his record-setting 16 receptions and junior wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe, who had 12 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Meier and Briscoe ended the day as KU's career receptions leaders with Meier first at 167 and Briscoe at 165. For Reesing, it was his second 400-yard passing day.

Despite the offensive firepower displayed by the Jayhawks, the team needed a fourth-down stop at its own 31-yard line to solidify the win. Trailing by five with 2:36 remaining in the game, ISU regained possession on its own 34-yard line and marched to the KU 31 before the Jayhawks' defense held fast to produce a turnover on downs. KU defensive back Chris Harris made a huge tackle of Iowa State receiver Jake Williams on second-and-10 and then broke up the third-down pass, resulting in a fourth-and-nine attempt for the Cyclones. On fourth down, pressure forced ISU quarterback Austen Arnuad's pass to sail incomplete.

Colorado