KU football coach David Beaty wants to emphasize Kansas

When David Beaty was hired as the Kansas football coach in December, his recruiting prowess in the Dallas-Fort Worth region was thought to be one of the likely elements in the revival of the program.

But Beaty says he won’t go back to his familiar roots in trying to turn the Jayhawks around after six straight losing seasons.

Speaking to the media before a meet-and-greet with fans gathered at Larry Bud’s on Thursday evening, Beaty made it clear he believes homegrown talent is the answer.

“For us to do what we want to do, we have to have a team that’s made up primarily of Kansas players,” Beaty said. “There’s a lot of great players in this state and we’ve got to do a great job of giving them something they want to stay home for.”

During his introductory press conference, Beaty mentioned that he would emphasize in-state recruiting more. But he took it a step further on Thursday.

His first recruiting class at KU included 17 players from Texas, but that is due to the circumstances, Beaty said, and will not be the norm.

“When you come in as late as we did, you’ve got to go from the pool that you know and the guys you’ve been recruiting,” Beaty said. “Now we have to kind of switch our pools over to where you come to.”

That means events like the one Thursday are important to a coach like Beaty, a personable Texan who has forged an impressive resume on the recruiting trails because of his ability to develop relationships.

So Beaty is traveling to every corner of the state, talking to as many fans, coaches and players as he possibly can. Making a good first impression is important, but maintaining and nurturing that relationship after the first meeting is just as important.

Connecting with high school recruits and their coaches is a part of the job Beaty loves. In fact, he still considers himself to be one of them.

“I think that’s how we’re going to get our help from the guys in-state because they know I’m one of them,” Beaty said. “I’m a high school coach who happens to be coaching college football. And I’ll never relinquish that tag, I think it’s made me who I am today.”

Of course, his job requires more than just shaking hands and charming crowds.

The challenge awaits this spring and summer. Beaty has a new spread offense to install, a defense to revamp, and an entire program to restore.

It’s not an easy job by any means, but it’s one that Beaty is confident he can do.

“They want a winner,” Beaty said. “They want something they can be proud of, and that’s our job to try to create that.”

This story was originally published February 26, 2015 at 7:59 PM with the headline "KU football coach David Beaty wants to emphasize Kansas."