Levi Wentz on his first touchdown as a Jayhawk, playing Cincinnati
Levi Wentz scored the first touchdown of his KU career against West Virginia on a 41-yard strike from Jalon Daniels. The senior wideout, who is second on the team in receiving yards, said the play was something they went over consistently in practice.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a play that we practiced a hundred times before,” Wentz said. “I just knew the spot I had to get to. I was a little caught off guard when I turned around and there wasn’t anybody there, so I just had to get running.
“But I mean, we practiced it a hundred times. It was just routine. It was exciting though. It was definitely super exciting.”
For Wentz, the excitement wasn’t just about the score, but about what it meant in his journey to Kansas after transferring from Albany. Just the feeling of seeing the reaction from the fans and teammates.
“Oh, it was awesome,” he said. “I mean, I just looked up into the crowd and saw everybody going crazy, and it was kind of surreal for a second. Kind of like an out-of-body experience for a minute, but I knew we had more work to do,” he said.
A large part of Kansas’ offensive success has been its depth at receiver. With multiple players catching passes and finding the end zone this season, Wentz believes the Jayhawks’ strength lies in their ability to pull for each other.
“I think what makes it so dangerous is we have a bunch of guys who have the ability but are also unselfish,” Wentz said. “Like, if your number is not getting called this play, you’re still going to run your route as hard as you can. And I think that’s extremely important for our offense to be able to click.”
That attitude, according to Wentz, has been there since he first arrived in Lawrence before spring football. He said it was clear from the beginning that the receiver room’s focus was on winning above all else.
“As soon as I got here in the spring just being around these guys and talking to guys, you kind of sense we all want to win,” Wentz explained. “At the end of the day, we want to win. We all have obviously individual goals, but we know team success brings individual success. I think that’s something we all have in common, like a shared mindset, and it shows up on Saturdays.”
The Bouncer
Wentz has also taken on a nickname from wide receivers coach Terry Samuel, “the bouncer.”
It’s a label he said he’s tried to live up to through his physicality and presence on the field.
“I think I’m a physical guy,” he said. “I hope that whenever a DB lines up across from me, they’re a little nervous about if I’m gonna put my hands on them. I do take a lot of pride in my physicality and especially in the run game, just trying to create some spring blocks for guys to get some extra yardage. I’ve kind of owned it. Makes me laugh every time I hear ‘the bouncer,’ but yeah, I’ve tried to own it to the best of my ability.”
That physicality will be needed today against Cincinnati. Wentz has been impressed with what he’s seen from the Bearcats on film, calling them as a disciplined and well-coached unit.
“They fly around, man. They’re a well-coached team, disciplined, all that,” he said. “On tape, they show some things that hopefully we can take advantage of. But, you know, they’re a well-coached team. They fly around and this is going to be a fun game.”
Cincinnati’s defense also features a different wrinkle with its rover position in the secondary. But Wentz believes they will be prepared, particularly going up against their own defense in practice, has them ready.
“There’s nothing we haven’t seen before,” Wentz said. “I mean, our defense does a great job of giving us all types of looks that help us prepare for whatever defense throws at us. So, we’re gonna prepare accordingly and just go to work.”
