Daniel Hishaw injury update: Lance Leipold clarifies status of Kansas RB

The Kansas Jayhawks were forced to make do on Saturday against Cincinnati without starting running back Daniel Hishaw. That comes after he exited the West Virginia game in the first quarter a week before with an undisclosed injury.

Now, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold has shared what he knows about Daniel Hishaw in an injury update. Unfortunately, what he could share is that it’s a new injury, not a reaggravation of a previous issue. However, his timeline to return remains up in the air for now.

“It’s slightly different than what he’s had before,” Lance Leipold said. “It’s not a recurrence from that. Something that had slowed him earlier this year and has now kind of magnified itself. Not really sure a timeline there yet right now.”

Lance Leipold would go on to say that the hope is to be able to better clarify injuries on Wednesdays moving forward. That should give time to analyze things and how players have been progressing over the course of the week. With that in mind, there is plenty of time for Daniel Hishaw’s status to continue to improve.

Hishaw came to Kansas as a three-star recruit in the Class of 2020 from Moore, Oklahoma. He was the 1,655th-ranked player overall and the 65th-ranked athlete in that recruiting cycle.

During his time with the Jayhawks, Hishaw has appeared in double-digit games just once. That came in 2023, when he appeared in 13 games for Leipold and Kansas. Among those injuries that he’s battle through are a season-ending hip injury in 2022 and another undisclosed injury in 2024 that cost him four games. For the most part, however, during that time, he’s acted as a backup to Devin Neal, waiting for his opportunity. The 2025 season was supposed to be that opportunity to be the full-time starter, and it’s now been at least partially derailed by injuries again.

In the time he has played this season, Hishaw has rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. That’s 5.1 yards per carry. He’s also caught two passes for three yards.

In Daniel Hishaw’s place, Lance Leipold turned to Leshon Williams as Kansas’ primary running back against Cincinnati. He’d rush for 64 yards on 10 carries in the losing effort. This is, notably, Williams’ first season with Kansas after spending the last four years with Iowa.

As a team this season, Kansas is 48th nationally in rushing offense, averaging 183.4 yards per game. They’re set to take on UCF this week. The Knights have a rushing defense ranked 97th nationally, giving up 163.5 yards per game on the ground. So, there is an opportunity there when these two faceoff in Orlando on Saturday.