MacVittie, Stanley running most reps for the top spot at QB

After watching several football practices it is evident when the quarterbacks go through drills the top two are Thomas MacVittie and Carter Stanley.

MacVittie is a transfer from Mesa Community College and originally signed with Pitt out of high school. Stanley is a senior has played in 25 games for the Jayhawks and thrown for over 2300 yards in his career.

“It's been pretty even, I'd say, between Thomas and I,” Stanley said. “We go out there and alternate for the most part."

MacVittie arrived on campus in January giving him a chance to compete right away for the job. Since he showed up Stanley has been there to help as a teammate.

“Carter's a great dude,” MacVittie said. “He welcomed me to Kansas with open arms, and I think that was pretty, big for the beginning of our relationship. There's no hard feelings between us, and that's how I prefer it. The best quarterback is going to play, and we’ve got to support each other. As you can see, we're giving each other high fives. We're talking after each of us comes off the field. It's fun. It's how it should be.”

The Jayhawks have moved to an RPO offense this season after being an Air Raid style the last four. That’s the system MacVittie has been used to and one that Stanley feels comfortable in.

In the PRO the Jayhawks are installing a lot of practice time has come with the quarterbacks under center. Stanley joked he hasn’t been in an offense under center since the eighth grade when his father coached him.

Some of the concepts they used in 2018 were closer to the RPO than the previous years.

“We had it more last year than any other year,” Stanley said of the offense. “We didn’t have as much my freshman and sophomore year, but I'd say this past year was the most familiar I became with it. I've always felt comfortable with RPOs. I feel good about it. It really just comes down to making the play right for the offense.”

Now that MacVittie has been on campus for a couple months he has become more familiar with the program and the coaches around him.

“I’m just more comfortable,” he said. “I’m more comfortable with the guys and the playbook. We get a new install every day. It's pretty quick, because we don't get to practice it too much. I'd say just adapting to it and just preparation are the biggest things.”

With a new system both players are starting from scratch and the competition is a fair start. Over the last four years Stanley has gone through several quarterback coaches and systems. He is adapting to what new offensive coordinator Les Koenning is installing.

“Coach Koenning is great,” he said. “He's obviously got a ton of experience. He's been a lot of places and had some great success. He's put some guys in the NFL, so anytime I'm around a coach with that much football wisdom or just wisdom in general, I definitely listen. I've learned so much from him just in 10 practices, so I’ve got to just continue learning under him and continue to get better.”