D.K. McDonald gives Missouri's offense high praise

Kansas will face a Missouri offense that put up 61 points and almost 600 total yards in its season opener. Defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald praised the Tigers’ offense when he met with the media on Tuesday. He also touched on the depth in the linebacker room after a couple of injuries, and what he’s seen from the young secondary.

Missouri has one of the most talented teams since McDonald has been in college

McDonald has a lengthy coaching career, spending some time at Iowa State before a stop in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. He said this Missouri team reminds him of the Oklahoma team with Baker Mayfield where “everyone was a draft pick.”

“They’re probably one of the most talented teams that I’ve seen since I’ve been in college,” McDonald said. “They’re big up front, they fit the profile that you’re looking for… Run game, pass game, I think they’re able to do anything when you put up the type of yards and type of numbers that they put up. So it’s going to be a huge challenge for our guys.”

Missouri’s offense starts with Penn State transfer QB Beau Pribula, who completed 23 of 28 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers’ season opener. Pribula is also a threat with his legs, picking up two rushing touchdowns on 65 yards. McDonald is excited for the challenge Pribula presents.

“He’s an amazing quarterback, probably one of the best that I’ve seen in my college time,” McDonald said. “Just what he’s able to do with his feet and his arm and so that always adds a little extra to it, and it’s a huge challenge for us, and so we’re just excited to go out and play him.”

Kansas has depth at linebackers with injuries present

Bangally Kamara went down with a non-contact injury last Wednesday and is expected to miss at least a few weeks. Bowling Green transfer Joseph Sipp has yet to make his debut this season, leaving the linebacker room depleted. However, McDonald is excited about the depth Kansas has in the room.

“I’m just thankful we got, you know, depth at pretty much all the positions. So if somebody goes down, we do have somebody who can step in,” McDonald said. “So we’re just happy we got some depth and those guys are playing well and they played at a high level so far, and we just got to keep that going and them getting practice reps and everything like that is just helping us to improve.”

McDonald mentioned Jon Jon Kamara, who’s listed as a starter at linebacker this week, as someone who did a good job on a couple of plays. Kamara was disqualified for targeting during the Wagner game, which McDonald called a learning experience on a bang-bang play.

Bangally Kamara had been utilized in different ways, with Kansas lining him up on the edge and back in coverage. McDonald said that Kansas has the ability to differentiate its defense to best fit its personnel.

The great thing about our defense is that we got a lot of different ways to adjust and do a lot of different things with some guys, but yet keeping it simple,” McDonald said. “So we got things in our game plan that can fit, Bangally, you know, if he’s able to get out there for us. And then we got things to, you know, fit Jon Jon if he’s in. You know, even with Logan, we got things to fit him. So that’s the beauty of the defense and what we’re able to do.”

Young corners playing with confidence

The Jayhawks are starting two underclassmen at corner in sophomore Jalen Todd and redshirt freshman Austin Alexander. Kansas limited Fresno State and Wagner to 179 and 90 passing yards respectively. McDonald said the success with the young corners started with the work the coaching staff put in.

I think Coach Shelby and Coach Birkett have done a heck of a job with that crew, getting them going,” McDonald said. “The amount of work that they have put into those guys behind the scenes is just unbelievable. And I think it’s paying off with the confidence that those guys are playing with.”

McDonald is overall pleased with the depth of his defense. That depth at corner comes in the form of Alabama transfer Jahlil Hurley and Utah State transfer DJ Graham II, who made his season debut against Wagner after missing the opener. McDonald said Hurley has been making plays and getting Graham back was awesome ahead of a big test.

“A good thing about this team right now is they like to compete, and we got depth,” McDonald said. “And so I think that’s really coming through for them, and they’re going to be in for a big challenge this week. And so they got to get their big boy pads on and be able to go against one of the best receiving corps in the country.”