The next time the calendar flips to Friday will mark the eve of the first Kansas football game of the 2025 season.
And with it, the opening of the brand-new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which, in and of itself, figures to make this season opener one to remember.
The Jayhawks will kick off the season against Fresno State in a 5:30 p.m. Week Zero game that will be televised on FOX.
As they wrap up preseason camp in the next couple of days and start to turn their attention to the start of an actual game week on Monday, there are signs surfacing that this team is ready to go.
KU coach Lance Leipold and his offensive and defensive coordinators shared what they’ve seen in that regard during Thursday’s Media Day press conferences.
“When they’re sick of practicing against each other,” said Leipold when asked if there’s typically been one indicator that has signaled that it’s time for the season to begin.
“You’re at a point now with some of the things that you can tell they’re getting anxious,” he added. “I don’t want to say it’s getting monotonous, but there’s a routine and you have to embrace some of the monotonous things in order to be great at something, those tasks that kind of require repetition and embrace that kind of grind.”
Leipold said the Jayhawks looked a little “heavy-legged” during Thursday’s practice, which served as another reminder that it’s time to turn the page.
“That happens at this time of camp,” he said. “And, as things start to taper here the next couple of days, as we approach game week, I think we’ll have them in a great spot and be excited for kickoff.”
The newness will start to kick in today, as the team works through its mock game scenario to remind the old guys and teach the new guys how Kansas operates on Saturdays.
“I don’t think there’s a specific indicator,” KU OC Jim Zebrowski said Thursday. “What I can feel now is the kids are like, ‘Let’s get to Fresno State.’”
“We’re kind of in that position where camp’s kind of over, but it’s not. That’s a good thing, because I think they’re very confident in what they’re doing.”
One pleasant indicator of that, Zebrowski said, has shown up in their recent execution at practice.
“There’s not many mistakes going on,” he said. “And that’s really exciting. Maybe, yeah, a throw’s not perfect or we miss a block. But, schematically, not many mistakes. So, that’s where I feel like I’m kind of excited to see what the guys do next Saturday night.”
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald recalled a time when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles, when he had a sense in the preseason that the team was ready to do something big.
“We were down in Miami, having a practice against them, and you just kind of knew right then that we can have something special if we can stay healthy,” he recalled of the team that went on to lose to Kansas City in the Super Bowl. “But this group has really come together. There’s been some points in practice (at KU) where we’ve done some really special things and that really puts a big smile on your face and gets you excited. Hopefully we can carry that through and keep going and keep building now that we’re kind of transitioning to game time.”
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