Lance Leipold says they have a chance to be a 'really good team'
Kansas has entered its first game week, opening the season in a renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on August 23rd against Fresno State.
Lance Leipold met with the media on Monday, looking at the depth chart on offense, what he thinks of the team currently, and how he wants his team to stay focused ahead of an exciting opener.
Looking at the depth chart
Two of the biggest position battles throughout fall camp occurred along the offensive line at left guard and right tackle. Amir Herring turned it on late to win the job at left guard, while Nolan Gorczyca came out on top over Enrique Cruz at right tackle. Both positions are listed with an OR on the depth chart – with Tavake Tuikolovatu behind Herring at right guard – and Leipold said both will be rotational positions.
“I see those as rotational right now. And that’s what [Daryl Agpalsa] sees it,” Leipold said. “You know, the way it’s listed is the direction we’ll end up probably starting at this point… Others would rotate, but those will be more designated rotation right off the bat.”
At wide receivers, returners shook out on the top of the depth chart ahead of some of the transfers. Doug Emilien and Keaton Kubecka are listed with ORs with Cam Pickett and Levi Wentz, and Emmanuel Henderson starting at the other position. Leipold said all of them are going to play, with starters dependent on personnel.
“They’re all going to play,” Leipold said. “And some of the time, as we told them, as we go through some of it, may be how it progresses through the packages that they’re going to be in on, at least in the first, as we roll through things and what we decide as far as opening series plays.”
Deshawn Hanika is on top of the depth chart at tight end, with all four listed with ORs. Leipold said they can all do different things, and he expects all of them to play.
I think it’s one of our deeper positions. There’s things there that they all do well,” Leipold said. “They understand that they’ll all have roles, and I expect all four to play. And situationally, whether it be different packages or things, but as we know, as we go through it, people will start charting what are you doing with which guys in the game. So we want to make sure that they all know what they’re doing in all the packages, and we continue to see that as a competitive position.”
Leipold says this can be a good team
Leipold thinks this Kansas team has a chance to be really good, but it’s time to go out and prove it against someone other than itself. He thinks they improved during camp and are a coachable group.
“This group is willing. They’re very coachable,” Leipold said. “It’s come together in a way that we had hoped it would with the additions. Now it’s a matter of going out, though, and producing and doing it the way it has, the way you want it to be on game day. And Saturday will be the first evaluation of this football team.”
Leipold is excited to see the Jayhawks play, complimenting their makeup and disposition. He thinks they’ve turned the corner from fall camp and are ramping up for the opener.
“I thought Saturday’s practice after our mock game on Friday,” he said. “I thought they turned the corner as far as kind of legs starting to come back feeling good. They had great energy. I think they’re, you know, we’re on a good pace and we’re excited about kickoff.”
Leipold wants Kansas to eliminate distractions ahead of an exciting opener
There’s unexpectedly a lot of buzz heading into Kansas’ season opener, playing on national TV and unveiling a half-new stadium. Leipold emphasized that it will be exciting, but it’s the Jayhawks’ job to go out and play football.
“There’s a lot of things that can be distracting and that our jobs get ready to play and we’ve had a chance to practice in there,” Leipold said. “I’ve said the word exciting a lot today. It’s going to be exciting. Hopefully the energy is something that we can thrive off of and things like that. But our job is to get ready to play a football game.”
Leipold likened the opener to a Homecoming game with the pageantry. But at the end of the day it’s the team’s job to play the game. The ceremonial stuff is out of their control, but they can control playing their best game.
“Our job, like I always say, like our homecoming games, play our best football and find a way to win the game,” Leipold said. “Everything else around it, the pageantry and all the other ceremonial things, is outside of what our responsibility is at the moment. Our job is to go out and play our best game for our fans.”
