On Monday, after the first practice of preseason camp, KU linebacker Trey Lathan made a bold claim that he might have a tough time backing up.
‘You ask me personally, I think I’m the fastest (player) on the team,” Lathan said. “Any position. I think that was true last year, too.”
There are numbers and data that suggests that’s inaccurate. Take, for example, the fact that KU strength coach Matt Gildersleeve called 2025 KU wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson the fastest player he had ever coached.
Gildersleeve witnessed and recorded Henderson running 23 mph in pads last season. So, even though Lathan has pushed his wheels from a top-end mark of 19.8 mph when he arrived at KU to around 21 mph today, the title of fastest player on the team still eludes him.
In fact, Gildersleeve said Tuesday that defensive back Jalen Todd, at 22.7 mph, is currently this team’s fastest player.
So, what did he make of Lathan laying claim to the speed king tag?
“I think mental confidence is really, really important, and we try to exude not only physical preparation but mental preparation, as well,” Gildersleeve said while trying to contain his sly smile.
The speed question came up as part of a broader discussion about improved speed across the board for this Kansas team. Especially on defense.
That was by design through intentional efforts in the offseason strength and conditioning program. And Lathan said the fact that everyone on the roster bought into it led to major improvement.
At the end of the summer of 2025, KU had just three guys who ran faster than 22 miles per hour. Today, the Jayhawks have 11. Similarly, at the end of the summer of 2025 KU had 15 guys who topped 21 mph at any given time. Today, that number has ballooned to 39, while the team’s average speed grew from 19 mph last year to 20.2 mph today.
“I think for sure we’re a much faster defense,” Lathan said this week, adding that the competition within the roster played a big part in that.
“For sure it does,” he added. “Like, when you see a guy next to you passing you up, it’s like, ‘Man, I can’t let him do that to me.’ So, it inspires you to go faster.”
That was the precursor for Gildersleeve to gush about everything Lathan has done in the last 6-8 months, speed ranking notwithstanding.
“Trey’s made a ton of progress, man,” he said. “Trey’s been awesome. …Not that he was in a bad place, but he’s just in such a good place right now.”
And not just with his speed gains.
After initially looking to enter the transfer portal in the offseason, Lathan, who came to KU from West Virginia, elected to return to Kansas for another season with the Jayhawks.
From that moment on, Gildersleeve saw a different man.
Lathan was no longer just about his own game and what it could mean for his football future. Instead, he opted into the important role of team leader and, according to KU’s strength coach, decided to give everything he had to KU and his teammates, day in and day out.
“Trey’s investment in our program the last six months, I just can’t say I ever saw that coming,” Gildersleeve said. “When a guy flips the script and decides he wants to pour in and invest into the program, it’s obviously very apparent. And he made that conscious decision and it’s been amazing. It’s why you coach. It really is.”
Gildersleeve and others have been so impressed by Lathan’s evolution in the human part of the game that it’s made them overlook the 50 pounds he has added to his squat and bench press or the 11 pounds of good weight — he’s 228 pounds now, up from 217 when he arrived in January of 2025 — that he’s added through modeling the kind of work that others want to follow.
“That’s all secondary to the leadership part,” Gildersleeve said. “He’s a different guy.”
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