Lance Leipold wants to build program into consistent winner

Before Kansas gets ready to start fall camp and kick off the 2025 season, head coach Lance Leipold and some of the Jayhawks traveled to Frisco, Texas, for the Big 12 Media Days. Throughout Leipold’s day of interviews, he discussed what he’s seen from Jalon Daniels, his expectations for the season, and his thoughts on starting the year with a Week 0 and Friday night game.

Leipold said Daniels is comfortable and confident

Daniels made the return to Kansas for a sixth season to provide a cornerstone for an offense that will have a lot of new pieces. He’s battled injuries in the past and inconsistencies in 2024, but Leipold said Daniels still belongs in the conversations of top players in college football.

“I see him as probably the most confident and comfortable he’s been in a couple years. I think last year we never really had the whole receiving corps and everybody working together. He didn’t go through spring that year with a new coordinator. It took us a while to probably get in rhythm of thought process and what we’re doing,” Leipold said. “I thought he’s one of the better players in college football a couple years ago, and right now he doesn’t really get mentioned in the top in this context anymore. I want this to be a special year for the young man because he deserves it.”

Daniels has been hard at work over the offseason connecting with a largely-new wide receiver room. He recently took the wide receivers to work out in his home state of California, and Leipold said he feels good about where the wide receivers are at.

Leipold complimented Daniels’ loyalty to the program and is excited for his 2025 season.

“He’s been so loyal to the University of Kansas and what he’s done to help us turn our program around. He’s ready to go, he’s excited,” Leipold said. “And the thing about him is even when things haven’t gone well for him, he’s never made an excuse. He’s the same guy day in and day out. He’s been such a great leader for our program.”

‘We want to be a consistent winner’

In Leipold’s four years at Kansas, the Jayhawks have made a bowl game twice. After falling a game short of reaching bowl eligibility for three straight seasons, Leipold is looking for Kansas to remain a consistent winner.

“It’s good to have expectations in Kansas because there weren’t any before,” Leipold said. “And, and to get there, we want to be a consistent winner. You want to be in bowl games consistently and that’s what we need to do.”

There have been surprise teams in the Big 12 in recent years, with Arizona State and TCU making the College Football Playoff in what was seen as overperforming expectations. Leipold said Kansas has the opportunity to compete in what will be a balanced conference.

“So anybody can do it.,” he said. “We know this conference is so balanced top to bottom and you got to be there, but we can be one of those teams if we play our best football.”

Leipold felt Week 0 would be good opener with new stadium

Kansas’ season-opening game against Fresno State on August 23rd will be the earliest in program history. The Jayhawks will be one of five games being played on Week 0, before the traditional opening of the college football season. The game will be played in primetime on FOX and gives Kansas the opportunity to showcase the renovations to the stadium.

“It’s timing up very well with the new stadium,” Leipold said. “As you know, there’s a limited amount of games on in week zero. We feel it’ll be a great time and exposure for our program and our new stadium.”

Kansas will play its Week 1 game against FCS opponent Wagner on Friday night. The Jayhawks played Lindenwood on Thursday in 2024, and Missouri State, Tennessee Tech, and South Dakota on Fridays under Leipold. It’s been Kansas’ traditional format and it also gives the Jayhawks an opportunity at an extra day of prep before going to play Missouri in Week 2.

“The Friday game again is another opportunity to kind of play and as we go into the third game of the year then then we have a chance for an extra day of prep,” Leipold said. “So we feel that we played a lot of our FCS opponents on a weeknight and we felt it would be good to stay in that format.”