Kansas football coach Lance Leipold shares fan appreciation day update
Check out everything Kansas football coach Lance Leipold had to say Saturday at fan appreciation day for the Jayhawks during spring ball.
LAWRENCE — Kansas football coach Lance Leipold said he was pleased with the team’s progress Saturday, after 12 practices during spring ball and the Jayhawks’ fan appreciation day at its indoor facility.
Here are a few more takeaways:
Which Kansas football players are emerging as leaders?
Leipold outlined that until things are fully established, coaches do a lot of the leading. Considering the team brought in so many new faces, those new faces have to gain comfort with the routine and expectations before they can take steps forward as leaders. But he did start to list a number of players to watch in this area overall.
On the defensive side of the ball, look at redshirt sophomore safety Taylor Davis, redshirt senior defensive tackle D.J. Withers and redshirt senior defensive end Dean Miller. Those three are all players who are back from last season’s squad. One to watch who wasn’t is redshirt senior linebacker Bangally Kamara, a transfer from South Carolina that Leipold highlighted probably needs to step up in some regards at that level of the defense.
On the offensive side of the ball, look at redshirt senior offensive linemen Bryce Foster and Kobe Baynes, not to mention redshirt senior tight end DeShawn Hanika, redshirt senior running back Daniel Hishaw Jr., redshirt senior quarterback Jalon Daniels and redshirt sophomore quarterback Cole Ballard. Baynes is someone Leipold praised for taking initiative in this regard, and Hanika someone who’s battled through a lot. Considering Daniels has been limited this spring due to injury, Ballard’s presence has been a noticeable one.
How is the health of the Kansas football team?
Leipold acknowledged the health of the team likely isn’t where he’d want it to be at this point, before later volunteering it’s probably where one would expect at this point. The team didn’t go live in practice Saturday, and running back is a position that’s more banged up than others. Although he didn’t mention names, he did say there were three or four guys unavailable.
However, given all of that, Leipold said they are right on course for the amount of live snaps they’ve taken in previous springs at Kansas. He also thought there had been more success in “thud periods” than past years. So, overall, he didn’t come across as overly concerned.
How is Jalon Daniels progressing?
Daniels’ rehabilitation timeline has become a common topic of conversation during spring ball, and for good reason. He’s set to start for the Jayhawks this fall. Leipold reiterated Daniels has started to throw more and do some things.
What Leipold did highlight, most importantly, was as they hit summer workouts Daniels will be 100%. That’s a positive sign for a Kansas team that’s working to reach another bowl game and compete in the Big 12 Conference. There are also a number of new wide receivers, and the ability to develop chemistry with them will be important for Daniels and the team in general.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
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