A head nod, heave and hurricane: How Carter Stanley helped Les Miles to first KU win
Carter Stanley prayed every day, asking for guidance on what was to come next.
This was November of last year, and the Kansas quarterback fully understood his circumstances — and also the writing on the wall.
KU football was about to hire a new coach. Most likely, that guy was going to bring in his own quarterback.
And Stanley, who was getting ready to graduate, had the chance at a fresh start, with an opportunity to grad transfer to the school of his choosing for his fifth and final season.
“Just a lot of uncertainty with the program,” Stanley said. “I talked to my family a lot.”
This is where to start when dissecting KU’s 24-17 victory over FCS opponent Indiana State on Saturday in front of 32,611 at Booth Memorial Stadium: Stanley was here, on the field, leading KU to a game-winning drive and helping new coach Les Miles to his first win with the Jayhawks.
And though Miles has impressed outsiders with his recruiting for the 2020 class, he likely deserves some kudos for Stanley as well.
Convincing Stanley he’d get a fair shot at the QB job? Turned out that was a pretty important moment too.
“Was he perfect? Absolutely not,” Miles said of Stanley. “But he was good enough — and significantly, a leader enough to win.”
Before getting to the game-winning drive — and the head nod that helped KU win — it’s worth examining the circumstances of how it came to be.
Not only was Stanley at KU when he didn’t have to be.
He also was playing — for the first time in his college career — without his two biggest fans watching from the stands.
So what convinced Stanley to stay at KU? He says it was a feeling that struck him after the new staff arrived.
“Really just these coaches, how these players were reacting to the coaches,” Stanley said. “Just the feel of the buzz around the program. It was just a new spark.”
The reality of the situation didn’t change, though, even after Stanley chose to stay.
Miles brought in his own quarterback: junior-college transfer Thomas MacVittie, whom he’d previously recruited to LSU. Miles had precious few scholarships to give in his initial 2019 recruiting class because of previous coaching decisions, so taking on a two-year player like MacVittie only deepened the investment that KU had in him.
Stanley chose to make the best of his circumstances. He became roommates with MacVittie, as the two became close friends.
Though Miles spoke in July about MacVittie having the edge in the quarterback competition, Stanley continued to produce in preseason practices. He only learned just before the game that he’d won the starting job.
Coaches repeatedly showed faith in him Saturday. After Stanley lost his third fumble of the game late in the fourth quarter — Indiana State’s Inoke Moala recovered in the end zone to help give the Sycamores a 17-16 lead with 4:24 left — Miles and staff didn’t waver. They left Stanley in to finish the game.
KU center Andru Tovi said Stanley gathered his offensive teammates right after they surrendered the lead: “Hey, one routine play at a time.”
Stanley also referenced a saying that now is painted on the team’s meeting room wall, a slogan created by KU’s leadership council to help the team re-focus in tough situations.
“1/11”
If everyone could just do their one-eleventh the next drive, KU would have a great chance to still come back and win.
And if everyone could keep their minds centered on football — just like they’d had to do the last few days — the team would have a chance.
The flight out of Orlando was scheduled for Friday morning, but Beth and John Stanley never boarded.
It was a direct order from their son Carter.
Though the two had never missed one of Carter’s college games, this would be the first exception. The Vero Beach, Florida natives spent the last few days preparing their house for Hurricane Dorian, which is projected for landfall sometime Monday.
Stanley called it a stressful time, as his parents had gone to stay with family west of town after making the final call Thursday to stay home.
They weren’t the only ones who’d made that decision.
KU starting running back Khalil Herbert received a call Friday from his dad, Khari, asking if he could help put up window shutters on the family’s Fort Lauderdale house. It turned out Khari had misdialed, intending to call Khalil’s brother, K.J., who lives in Florida.
Khari did tell Khalil, though, that the earlier plan was to make it to Lawrence on Saturday.
“They were gonna surprise me,” Khalil said. “But hurricanes.”
KU receiver Andrew Parchment — he played youth football against Herbert — also had his brother and cousin contacting him from Fort Lauderdale about the upcoming storm. He said the topic was so present on the players’ minds that they met before the game with Miles about it.
“We can only focus on what we control,” Parchment said, “and just let God take care of everything else.”
With 4:24 left, Stanley — needing 75 yards for a game-winning touchdown drive — cleared his mind as best he could.
And a few minutes later, he delivered his best throw of the day with help from some trust.
Daylon Charlot says the custom began in practice — a sixth sense developed between quarterback and receiver.
It’s hard for him to describe. When Charlot looks a certain way at Stanely, sometimes with a head bob, the two understand what’s next.
“Whenever we give each other ‘the eyes,’” Charlot said, “he knows, ‘Just throw it up.’”
Stanley had reason to look Charlot’s way on that final drive from the Indiana State 22.
The Sycamores’ safeties were rolled to the opposite side, leaving Charlot with man coverage. Stanley had the option of looking to a post route, but he didn’t like the early read there.
And then ... well, Charlot gave him the look.
“Right before the snap, I was kind of thinking it. So we did do one of those,” Stanley said of the eye contact. “We’ve definitely done that in the past.”
Never at a more important time than this one.
Stanley says Charlot is the best jump-ball receiver he’s played with, blessed with strong hands and a knack for clearing out space.
He gave his receiver a chance here. The ball was lofted the corner of the end zone and just underthrown, with Charlot rising over the defender and snatching it with two hands.
Stanley pointed a finger in the air to celebrate.
“He did a great route,” Stanley said, “and sure enough, did what he does best.”
A few minutes later, Miles was walking off the field with his first KU win. It didn’t come as expected.
The Jayhawks had to complete a fourth quarter comeback. They also won with a quarterback they probably long believed would be their backup.
Most importantly for Miles, though: Stanley chose to stay in Lawrence.
He’d thought and talked and wondered and prayed, but he never did leave the KU football program.
“(The coaches) give everyone the opportunity to show what they got,” Stanley said. “And I’m certainly thankful for that.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2019 at 7:25 PM with the headline "A head nod, heave and hurricane: How Carter Stanley helped Les Miles to first KU win."
