Todd Reesing

Injuries and inadequate play at the quarterback position forced coach Mark Mangino to remove Reesing's redshirt through a conference game against Colorado. Reesing led the Jayhawks with three touchdowns to a 20–15 come from behind win. Shortly thereafter, Kerry Meier returned from an injury, and Reesing served as the backup quarterback through the end of the season.

Despite not starting a game the previous season, Reesing competed for the starting position for the 2007 season. He then beat out Kerry Meier for the starting job.[1] On November 3, Reesing passed for 354 yards and 6 touchdowns while the Jayhawk offense scored 76 points against Nebraska, the most points ever scored in one game against Nebraska. Reesing led the Jayhawks to a school-best 11–0 record before falling 36–28 to the 10–1 Missouri Tigers in the Border Showdown. Despite this loss, Kansas was selected to play in the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl against 11–2 Virginia Tech. In the Orange Bowl, Reesing was 20 for 37 for 227 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He led Kansas to victory over Virginia Tech 24–21 and the Jayhawks capped off their best season in school history at 12–1. He finished the season ranked 14th in the NCAA and fourth in the Big 12 Conference in passing efficiency (148.82). Reesing also threw for a school-record 3,486 yards and 33 touchdowns, while completing 61.9 percent of his attempts. He was named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, which is awarded to the best collegiate quarterback each year. By the end of the season, he had already broken the career passing touchdown record for Kansas.

Reesing opened the season with a 37-of-52 performance against the FIU Golden Panthers, setting career highs for passes completed and attempted. During week three against South Florida, Reesing threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, but his interception in the final minute put South Florida in a position to win with a field goal. In a win against Kansas State, Reesing completed 14 of 23 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, he rushed for a season-high 47 yards and a touchdown. Against rival Missouri, Reesing completed 37 passes for 357 yards and four touchdowns including a late touchdown pass to Kerry Meier late in the fourth quarter. Following this win, the Jayhawks earned an invitation to the 2008 Insight Bowl to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In this game, Reesing completed 27 of 35 passes for 313 yards and 4 touchdowns. Reesing finished the season with 329 completions for a school-record 3,888 yards and 36 touchdowns.[2]

The Jayhawks entered the 2009 season ranked 25th. After the first five games, Reesing helped lead the Jayhawks to their second 5–0 start in three seasons. Through the first five games, Reesing threw for 1,579 yards 13 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. After the 5–0 start the Jayhawks were ranked 17th. Their first loss came on the road against Colorado. The Jayhawks went on to lose seven consecutive games finishing the season 5–7, making the Jayhawks ineligible for a bowl game for the first time since 2004. Reesing finished the season with 3,616 yards 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Reesing broke several Kansas football records, some of which he broke by a large margin. He owns the records for passing yards, passing touchdowns (which he broke in just 16 career games), quarterback rating (minimum 200 attempts), completions, attempts, and completion percentage (minimum 200 attempts).[3] He is also top 10 all-time in the Big 12 in passing yards and passing touchdowns.