Lance Leipold describes changes in this camp vs. his first at Kansas

The Kansas Jayhawks are gearing up for their fifth season under head coach Lance Leipold. This comes a year removed from a frustrating season where the Jayhawks missed a bowl, and now Leipold is looking to find a way to avoid repeating that next year.

Fall Camp is now underway for Kansas. This comes in a season where Kansas has heavily invested in a new roster, bringing in 27 incoming transfers and a full freshman class. It could easily have the feel of a camp early in Leipold’s tenure, when the entire roster is adjusting to something new. However, as he recently shared, the Jayhawks aren’t dealing with as many of those transitional issues as one might expect.

“Yes. I would say that,” Lance Leipold said. “And part of it was I thought with as many newcomers that we have, like 50 new scholarships, I thought we’d have a lot more transitional type things, like we did in the first couple of years. We really haven’t. That’s a credit to the players, our leadership within the locker room, our strength and conditioning staff, and our assistant coaches that our guys are in a pretty good routine.”

Lance Leipold first got to Kansas in 2021. At the time, the Jayhawks were coming off an 0-9 season, shortened by COVID-19. That capped a disastrous and brief Les Miles tenure, and at the time, Kansas had not made a bowl game since 2008. Leipold would get the Jayhawks to two straight bowl appearances, but after taking a step back in 2024, there are some expectations that Kansas will bounce back.

“I think with some of the evolving rules, that our time with our players helps build this kind of consistency and routines within our days,” Leipold said. “But, I’m really pleased that way. Same thing with new coordinators. Again, we tweak as we move along, but we still believe fundamentally in how we go about our practices and what we’re striving for. So, that part, I don’t think is [different].”

Last season, Kansas ran into some awkward issues with its facilities. That forced Kansas to play its home games in Kansas City. It also made for a bit of an awkward Fall Camp last season, which Leipold is happy to not have to deal with next season.

“I think the one that we tried not to make an issue last year,” Leipold said. “What I really liked is the continuity about where we’re practicing in our daily routines for what we’re doing. It’s really helped us.”

Kansas is hoping to prove it’s better than last year’s team quickly. The Jayhawks open with a Week 0 game against Fresno State at home on August 23rd. That only gives the Jayhawks a few more weeks to get ready for the season.