So I go out to spring football practice today at Kansas, and who do I see wearing a red No. 9 non-contact jersey? None other than KU basketball walk-on and campus heartthrob Conner Teahan.
KU football coach Turner Gill said that Teahan, a former all-district quarterback at Rockhurst High in Kansas City, would be receiving a spring tryout to see if he had the skills – after three years away from football – to potentially compete for the KU starting quarterback job in the future.
Gill said Teahan, who hasn’t been able to crack Bill Self’s rotation in basketball, would have three years of eligibility in football if he made the team.
“Conner and I have gotten permission from Coach Self for him to tryout for the football team at the quarterback position,” Gill said. “It is a tryout through spring practice. At the end of spring we will evaluate and go from there.”
Self said Teahan intends to play both sports if all goes well, but Gill made it clear it will be a tough task for Teahan early on.
“Obviously, it’s a long shot,” Gill said, “starting from all over. We’re already two days in. He’s catching up on some terminology and all those things. The biggest thing is we are just trying to see what he has skill-wise. He’s not going to be able to learn all the terminology. These guys have had it for the last month.
“We want to get him here to see him throw and do some things of that nature and then just see at the end of spring practice, can he be at the top of the list as far as challenging for a starting job here.”