Is Kansas inching towards competitiveness?

Did you think we’d skip the Jayhawks?

It’s always tempting, but while the Jayhawks are almost definitely not winning the Big 12 next year, they’re a lot closer than normal. Lance Leipold was a fantastic hire and it was easy enough to see at the time. Anyone who could build a winning program around defense and a run game while recruiting 2-star players from the Midwest had obvious utility at Kansas.

The Jayhawks have made several attempts at the “hire a top notch recruiter who can bring players to Lawrence from the South” and it just hasn’t been a winning method. The good Mark Mangino teams didn’t look like that either, they were heavy on Kansas and Oklahoma kids.

However the new staff hasn’t exactly followed the Mangino plan. Leipold has been super active in the portal, including the addition of a third lineman from Buffalo (tackle Nolan Gorczyca), and has recruited Texas and Georgia like most everyone else is doing.

Their 2022 class has five signees, a committed player for NSD2, and seven incoming transfers. The transfers are from all over the place, the incoming recruits are from a wide area ranging from Dexter (southeast Michigan) to Southlake Carroll (DFW). I’ve driven that distance a few times, as well as from southeast Michigan to Buffalo, there’s a lot of country in between and much of it is actually represented on the roster.

This team has infused a lot of transfer talent and began to take shape late in 2021 with their 57-56 win over Texas and then hard-fought 28-31 and 28-34 losses to TCU and West Virginia to close the season. Their trajectory heading into 2022 is decidedly positive.

Roster infrastructure

This facet of the Jayhawk program is stronger than it’s been in a very long time. For the first time since perhaps Todd Reesing, Kansas has a talented quarterback who fits their system in Jalon Daniels.

I was high on the kid coming in and was unsurprised when he played as a freshman in 2020, but he was wild and took a gazillion hits trying to hero-ball the Jayhawks into games when he didn’t know what he was doing. Last year they spent most of the season running spread-option with Jason Bean of UNT before turning to Daniels late in the year and running their intended zone/boot, pro-style offense.

It turned out he was very well suited for it. Daniels has a strong arm and throws well on the move, so setting him up with opportunities to throw on the move or off the threat of the run game was a winning strategy. He ended up throwing 117 passes for 860 yards at 7.4 ypa with seven touchdowns to three interceptions. Daniels also ran for three touchdowns, he’s a powerful and quick runner who can pull the ball on zone-option plays or truck it in from up close with his 6-foot-0, 215 pound frame.

The offensive line is in increasingly good shape, thanks mostly to having three transfers from Buffalo although having an actual system as also been a boon. They’re on the wide zone train like Baylor and for everything Dave Aranda has said about that system philosophically, a crucial detail is that it’s a good fit for a program who can’t recruit O-linemen like you see at say, Georgia. Prospects like 2022’s Joe Baker, a 6-foot-4, 250 pound left tackle from Southlake Carroll, are often a good bet to develop into good 6-foot-4, 290 pound guards in this system. It’s about quickness, motor, and unit cohesion rather than sheer size and athleticism.

Kansas has four starters back on the offensive line, they need to figure out left guard but everything else is in place. It’s possible they shuffle the lineup to make room for a fifth best player who’s not a left guard if one of the current tackles can slide inside effectively to guard.

Tight end is in solid shape, now bolstered by the emergence of walk-on Jared Casey who was tossed in for the two-point conversion against Texas, caught the game-winner, and ended up catching three touchdowns before the season was over. At 6-foot-0, 245 pounds he’s basically a fullback but if you will block and can catch the ball when it hits you in the hands, you can have value.

The defensive infrastructure got two big wins this offseason when leading tackler Kenny Logan (strong safety) announced he’d return for another year and freakish athlete Craig Young (linebacker) transferred in from Ohio State.

This defensive staff wants to play a Chris Ash/Phil Parker style of defense. A 4-3 quarters scheme with three true linebackers on the field leveraging the ball in the run game and simple zone coverages behind them. They don’t want to let you throw it deep or run it easily, but instead earn your way throwing the ball.

They have their main two linebackers from 2021 returning but added Young, who will probably play the hybrid space role with his sub 11.00 100m track speed at 6-foot-3, 223 pounds, and UCF super-senior Eriq Gilyard as well. With defensive tackles Caleb Sampson and Kenean Caldwell also both returning, Kansas figures to be a lot more stable and effective in the middle of the field on defense.

You couldn’t say that about most previous Kansas teams, they were not particularly good or stable up the middle on either side of the ball. Hence the constant losing.

Space force

Kansas hasn’t typically been amazing here either. This shouldn’t be a shock, they’ve been plain awful for a long time now, but while they’ve had a linebacker here, a defensive tackle there, or a trio of solid safeties once or twice, they are generally defined by having a lot of players who are below average relative to the rest of the league.

Last year they were still weak in the space force department (left tackle, deep threat receiver, island cornerback, edge rusher). Things are starting to look better for 2022.

Left tackle is still an issue. Earl Bostick (6-foot-6, 290 pounds) and Bryce Cabeldue (6-foot-6, 282 pounds) return and they add Buffalo transfer Nolan Gorczyca (6-foot-6, 289 pounds) so they have a type and a lot of options. None of them have as of yet shown the capacity to say, fend off Felix Anudike-Uzomah when left 1-on-1 on a dropback passing play.

Wide receiver is possibly worse, although you never know when some shifty skill guy will put it together once unlocked in a good system with run/pass conflicts and capable quarterback play. Leading target Kwamie Lassiter is moving on but the next three up are Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold, and Trevor Wilson who were all young in 2021.

Speaking of young guys, Kansas played some young cornerbacks last season and took their lumps in order to develop promising athletes. The best to come out of it was Jacobee Bryant, who had a pair of picks including a pick-6 against Hudson Card and Texas. Then they added a few more through the transfer portal for spring, including Kalon Gervin from Michigan State. The prognosis on the perimeter is “good, not great.”

Pass-rush is a bigger question, speedy but undersized Kyron Johnson has finished his career and Steven Parker transferred without ever becoming a true Edge. They took in a transfer who could have a big impact here in Lonnie Helps, a 6-foot-3, 247 pound Edge who had 13.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks last year for Miami of Ohio. Phelps is a good athlete who will spice up their pass-rush.

Overall they aren’t great here unless some guys make a leap this offseason. You don’t want to totally rule it out though given the presence of an actual system and good coaching in Lawrence, those preconditions make it easier for young athletes to maximize.

Can Kansas contend in 2022?

They’d need a dozen big things to break in their favor to be a serious contender by November of the season. They do have one big trait we haven’t mentioned yet though.

In addition to returning Devin Neal, who was quite good last year as a freshman, the Jayhawks also added Ky Thomas from Minnesota (166 carries for 824 yards and six TDs) and Sevion Morrison from Nebraska (30 carries for 116 yards and three TDs) through the transfer portal. They have a more veteran offensive line, a system, a quarterback with the skill to constrain their run game, and now multiple running backs with some real athleticism.

The Jayhawks figure to try and match the new flavor of Big 12 strategy, playing sturdy base defense with a plus athlete on the field in Craig Young and running the ball. To dispatch them with any real ease you’ll need to be able to attack them in the passing game or stop up their run game. Some teams will do so, but fewer than in the past.

Will Kansas ever contend under Lance Leipold? Discuss for free on the Flyover Football board!