Notebook: Beaty in no hurry to name No. 1 QB for upcoming season

Spring football came and went at the University of Kansas without Peyton Bender or Carter Stanley wowing head coach David Beaty to the point of naming a starting quarterback for the 2017 season.

Frisco, Texas — Even though Kansas football’s preseason camp begins the first week of August, a decision on the Jayhawks’ starting quarterback might not be imminent.

Third-year head coach David Beaty said Monday at Big 12 Media Days he looks forward to watching the QB battle resume between redshirt sophomore Carter Stanley and junior Peyton Bender. But Beaty also hinted he may wait until much closer to KU’s Sept. 2 season-opener versus Southeast Missouri State to make — or announce — a final verdict.

“It’s going to be an interesting, fun battle in Lawrence, Kansas now,” Beaty began during an afternoon breakout session with a group of reporters at Ford Center. “I’m just going to be honest with you. There’s no way that we’re going to name a starter until the time is right.”

Added the head coach on the eventual conclusion: “I don’t care when that is, and you might not know until we trot him out there.”

All quiet on Border War front

While KU basketball coach Bill Self hasn’t minded addressing the currently defunct rivalry series between Kansas and Missouri lately, Beaty wasn’t eager to weigh in on the possibility of the Jayhawks and Tigers clashing on the football field in the future.

“I really don’t have any thoughts. The position with that situation is a university position,” Beaty said, when asked about the Border War. “It is a department decision that I have no control over. You’ve got no chance of me saying anything about that.”

KU hasn’t faced Missouri since 2011, because the Tigers left the Big 12 for the SEC.

Gonzalez’s versatility lands him on watch list

Senior receiver and kick returner LaQuvionte Gonzalez on Monday saw his name included on the Paul Hornung Award watch list, given annually to major college football’s most versatile player.

In Gonzalez’s debut season at KU in 2016, the former Texas A & M player produced two scoring plays of 95 or more yards.

The 5-foot-10 passing target and specialist finished his junior year with 62 receptions and 729 yards, while turning in 1,311 all-purpose yards as a punt and kick returner in 12 games.

Gonzalez took a kickoff against Ohio 99 yards for a touchdown, and as a receiver, he was partly responsible for the third-longest pass play in Kansas history — a 95-yard TD from Stanley at Kansas State in the season finale.

Gonzalez is one of 46 players on the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award.