Laith Marjan did not know he set the record at KU after his kick

Kansas kicker Laith Marjan etched his name into the Jayhawk record book on Saturday, converting a 39-yard field goal that gave him 12 consecutive makes. That broke the school record previously held by Dodge Schwartzburg, who made 11 straight in 1984.

The kick was normal at the time for Marjan, since he didn’t realize his record-breaking kick until later.

“The kick just seemed routine,” Marjan said. “And then, you know, after the game, I checked my phone and I saw it, so definitely made me happy.”

Marjan said not knowing about the record beforehand probably helped him approach the moment with focus.

“I mean, I don’t know. Probably not. Like, you kind of just have to force those things in the back of your mind and not let them take over,” he said. “But, yeah, it was definitely easier to not have to think about, you know, oh, this is going to be the one that breaks the record.”

The record-setting moment capped off a near-perfect season for Marjan. Entering this weekend, he’s one of just six FBS kickers who have made at least 10 field goals without a miss in 2025.

Dating back to his time at South Alabama, Marjan has now made 23 straight field goals, with his last miss coming on Sept. 12, 2024, against Northwestern State.

Confidence has been a steady theme for Marjan, who credits the consistency of the special teams unit around him.

“Like I said, I mean, it was a routine kick for us,” he said. “We’re more than in range. And I trust our guys that they send out there, and so I entrust myself to do my job.”

When asked what it means to leave his name in the KU record book so soon after transferring in, Marjan admitted it’s something he takes pride in.

“It’s huge. It’s really important to me,” he said. “You know, I made an impact at South Alabama, and, you know, one of my things was, if I’m going to transfer, I don’t want to transfer somewhere where I’m just going to peter out. I want to make an impact somewhere.”

That mindset drove him throughout the offseason as he set out to prove himself in a new program.

“That was my challenge to myself over the offseason, how do you keep your edge?” Marjan said. “And we talk about that a lot within our program, within our culture. So, I’m glad that some of that hard work is starting to come to fruition. I can say that, hey, I’ve left a mark at KU.”

Deciding to transfer to Kansas

Kansas coaches believed Marjan could make an immediate impact when they recruited him out of the transfer portal.

“They said, we want to bring you here to make field goals and be the guy,” he said. “Obviously, a few things have to come together before that plan can be shown to everybody else. But it does feel like stuff is coming together in a good way. Like, everybody’s really clicking.”

Part of Marjan’s decision to come to Lawrence was based on his prior relationship with special teams coach Kyle DeWeen, who previously coached at East Carolina when Marjan was there.

“I just knew the type of coach he was,” Marjan said. “I’ve transferred twice, and one of them (South Alabama) I’m taking a really big risk here. I don’t know anybody in the state of Alabama, let alone Mobile. Really didn’t know anybody in Lawrence, Kansas either. But I knew Kyle DeWeen. I know the type of coach he was and the way he’s going to stick up for his guys and really try to put them in the best possible situations to succeed. And that’s really important for me my last year.”

Even with the record in hand, Marjan has not forgotten about his last field goal miss.

“Yeah, of course I remember it,” he said of his last miss. “Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday. It’s just one of those things, you know, people miss. Like, I’m human, you know, people do. It has been a while and that’s a good thing. Hoping to just continue to increase that and make the record harder to break.”

And while he’s been automatic from most distances, Marjan talked about his maximum distance. Earlier this season, he connected on a 55-yard field goal and said he’s confident from even farther out.

“It obviously depends on the conditions,” he said. “When you’re talking about the 55, 60-yard range, that’s a real thing. That 55-yarder was good from pretty deep. Some people say it would have been good from 62 or 63. So, you just kind of have to see.”