KU football’s Christmas gift? QB commit Berglund

Last Monday night, shortly after hearing about prep quarterback Brock Berglund switching his commitment from Colorado to Kansas, I couldn’t help but think of Bubba Cunningham.

Odd, huh? I mean, it would make sense if Berglund’s commitment made me think about KU quarterbacks Jordan Webb or Quinn Mecham. Todd Reesing, even. But why on earth would the Tulsa athletic director come to mind?

Here’s why.

A little more than a week ago, the KU football community was obsessed with landing junior-college quarterback Zack Stoudt. Fans posted messages imploring Stoudt to come to Kansas. A couple of current Jayhawks even did the same on their Twitter pages. But Stoudt chose Ole Miss and left Jayhawk fans to lament over the idea of watching their team play another season — perhaps longer — without a Big 12-caliber QB.

There’s no telling if Berglund will change any of that, but, to quote the Magic 8 Ball, “all signs point to yes,” so far.

Although the Jayhawks didn’t get the first guy they went after, they might be better off in the long run. Sound familiar? It should. Because the same is true with the school’s athletic director search, which nearly ended last week with the naming of Cunningham but continued on after Bubba backed out.

Not to worry. As is the case with the quarterback position, KU will be better off when the AD search ends, too. Cunningham was an excellent choice. He seems like a great guy. But if he wasn’t ready for Kansas and didn’t truly want to be here, then Kansas can — and will — do better.

Think about it. When Berglund’s a junior, Stoudt’s college career will be over. And, by then, the Jayhawks could be on the cusp of becoming a consistent winner. Several of the top players from this year’s squad will be juniors and seniors in 2013. Guys like Tyler Patmon and Keeston Terry; James Sims and Jimmay Mundine; and a whole bunch of offensive linemen who, ultimately, will have a lot to say about how much the next quarterback will succeed at Kansas.

From the beginning, people said the combination of head coach Turner Gill and offensive coordinator Chuck Long would give KU an advantage in working with and recruiting quarterbacks. Just a year in, we’ve already seen that to be true.

Berglund is not the second-coming of Reesing, but he seems to be more talented than anyone KU had on its roster when Gill and Long arrived. Landing him shows two things. One, they were able to identify KU’s glaring need at the game’s most important position. And, two, they were determined to do something about it. While Berglund might not be Reesing, he’s also not chump change. He has an above-average arm, good size (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) and can do damage with his legs when a play breaks down.

What’s more, he’s not lacking in the confidence department. That might change when he gets to college and starts competing with grown men. But I doubt it. Berglund emits that “it” factor that quality quarterbacks always have. He’ll have to back that up with his play for it to matter, but talking the talk is a good start.

This is a great get for Gill and the Jayhawks. No box, no bow, just a Brock who can throw.

Christmas came early for the Kansas football program.