It turned out to be one helluva weekend for the Kansas football program both on the field and off.
One of the people in attendance at Kansas’ stunning upset of Texas Saturday was Peyton Bender, a junior college quarterback in Lawrence for an official visit. Not only did the Jayhawks secure a win over the Longhorns, they secured a commitment as well as, on Sunday, Bender gave his verbal to David Beaty‘s football program.
Bender will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2017.
“I’m just really excited for the opportunity and it is a good fit for me,” Bender told the Lawrence Journal-World. “I think I can go in and compete and hope for some playing time. I think it is a good fit overall and I can go in there and hopefully have an impact.”
In June of this year, Bender was ruled academically ineligible at Washington State for the entire 2016 season. He subsequently moved on from Wazzu to Itawamba Community College.
Bender spent the 2015 season as Luke Falk’s primary backup. Because of an injury to the starter, Bender started the Apple Cup loss to Washington in late November. He was also forced into action in two other games because of injuries to Falk.
All told, Bender completed 53-of-91 passes for 498 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions in five games last season. 288 of the yards came in the rivalry loss to close out the regular season.