Diamonds in the rough

Originally Published: October 7, 2005
By Craig Haubert | Scouts, Inc.
Ask football fans what the first thing they think of when you ask them about western Pennsylvania and they would probably say great quarterbacks, like Joe Montana and Dan Marino. Ask football fans what the first thing they think of when you say "Kansas," and they would probably say "The Wizard of Oz."

As western Pennsylvania is to quarterbacks, Kansas is to running backs. The state covered with wheat fields has turned out three Hall of Fame running backs in Gale Sayers, John Riggins and Barry Sanders. That is a pretty impressive list of football greats from a state that few think of when they think football.

The residents of Kansas support two major Division I football programs in Kansas and Kansas State. It is also home to the Jayhawk Conference, one of the most competitive and highly recruited junior college football leagues, and to Pittsburg State, the winningest program in Division II football.


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Craig Haubert | email

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