With Big 12 football media days slated for this week in Frisco, Texas, it’s time to flip the calendar to football season and start the process of previewing what lies ahead for Lance Leipold’s sixth KU team.
Like any of us actually know.
Leipold and the Jayhawks will be in Frisco on Wednesday for Day 2 of the annual preview event, and they’ll talk plenty about all aspects of the 2026 team, which has more than a few new faces and all kinds of exciting questions to answer before the Sept. 4 season opener against Long Island.
The preseason all-Big 12 teams came out on Monday and, not so surprisingly, the Jayhawks were left off entirely.
That’s not to say they couldn’t land a player or two on those squads — at least second team or honorable mention — when the season ends. But, for now, it’s clear that there aren’t exactly huge expectations for this Kansas team in the eyes of the outside world.
That might not be such a bad thing. Leipold and his teams have always seemed to play best and fare better when they can play the underdog card. And the 2026 team, both as a whole and by position, should be able to do that as often as they’d like throughout most of the upcoming season.
As we turn our attention to this team and what to expect, here’s a quick, pre-Big 12 media days/preseason camp look at some of the bigger topics surrounding the Jayhawks entering the season.
We’ll get to plenty more later this week and in the weeks to come, but this seems like a solid place to start.
Two things I know...
• The Jayhawks’ running back room is solid - It’s no secret that KU has run the ball effectively ever since Lance Leipold took over. And a big reason for that was the presence of the program’s all-time leading rusher, Devin Neal. Neal’s been gone for two years now and his running mate, Daniel Hishaw, is now gone, too. No matter. The Jayhawks still have plenty of horses in the running back room to do everything they want to do on the ground. It starts with transfer and Kansas native Dylan Edwards, who, if things go well, could be as dynamic of a player as there is in the Big 12, but there’s more than that in the room. Syracuse transfer Yasin Willis is both a beast and an underrated runner in space. Colorado State transfer Jalen Dupree also comes with three seasons and 14 games of college football experience, although he was injured for most of spring practice. And then there’s redshirt freshman Justin Thurman, who flashed a time or two last season, and true freshman Kory Amachree, who already has shown himself to be wise and ready beyond his years. They might not all be given huge roles, but they’re there if they need them and they bring plenty of different styles and versatility to the position for returning OC Andy Kotelnicki to utilize.
• Andy Kotelnicki will make a difference - Speaking of Kotelnicki, the longtime Leipold offensive coordinator who returned to KU in the offseason after two seasons at Penn State, should pay immediate dividends in a number of ways. KU's offense was at its best when Kotelnicki was here the first time and, while the bar will be high for him to deliver some of those 2022 and 2023 offensive explosions, he should have no problem doing so. Whether that leads to a whole bunch of wins or not remains to be seen, but Kotelnicki’s style, system and approach to calling offense is solid and, more importantly, something that Leipold trusts. He strives to put stress on opposing defenses in as many ways as he can and also likes to stay unpredictable and active, especially pre-snap. Beyond that, some of the late-game issues that cost Kansas during the past couple of seasons may not have come up had Leipold had Kotelnicki around to call what he calls and do it with conviction. There’s real value in that kind of trust and confidence in one of your top assistants. That’s not a knock on Jim Zebrowski in any way. It’s just that Leipold and Kotelnicki had worked in that capacity together at this level and for a lot longer and getting him back should smooth out some of those things that went awry while he was gone.
Two things I don’t...
• The identity of KU’s starting QB - At this point, I’m not sure anyone in the program knows who it will be either. That’s why this thing has been a true competition between KU veterans Cole Ballard and Isaiah “Zeke” Marshall. If things break just right (or is it wrong?), Rice transfer Chase Jenkins could work himself into the mix but he missed a good chunk of spring practice and is clearly behind the other two in terms of knowing the system and KU’s coaching staff. So I think it’s fair to continue to call this a 2-man race entering camp and I think both Ballard and Marshall have a legitimate shot to win the job. If I had to handicap it, I’d probably call Ballard the favorite. And while the two are different in a bunch of ways, they’re also more similar in a lot of ways than people realize. So what will create the separation? The job will likely go to the QB who is most consistent throughout camp, avoids mistakes more often and shows he can command and move the offense.
• How good this defense will be - There’s been plenty of talk about increased speed throughout the defense and there are some new faces who have some intriguing traits and pasts. We won’t know if all of that will translate to their time at KU until things get going for real, though, so, right now, the question about how good this defense will be remains a massive one to answer. A couple of pros: It’s Year 2 for D.K. McDonald as the DC and that should help him and the players. Linebacker Trey Lathan is back at a major position of need and retaining him was huge. And Jalen Todd, while being one of the few players in the KU secondary we know much about, is also a guy who has proven he can and will play wherever he’s needed. It also seems like he’s ready for the next step in terms of leadership, too. So much of what happens on this side of the ball will come down to how that revamped secondary holds up and what KU gets from its D-Line, both inside and on the edge. There are names and players to like. And they’ll have an opportunity to make a real impact right away. Will they, though?
Two things I think...
• LeRoy Harris III has superstar potential - Speaking of that D-Line, I think Harris is a monster waiting to be unleashed. We saw plenty of his skills last season when he led the team in sacks and was as good or better than advertised after transferring over. Now, however, with a full year under his belt and an offseason of getting even better physically, Harris is in position to explode. You’ve seen his length and his size and his strides and his athleticism. But you might be surprised to learn that he’s one of the fastest players on this roster in terms of top-end speed. He’s not raw any more but he is still untapped. If he finds a way to play at his full potential, he has a chance to be every bit as impactful as recent stars Lonnie Phelps Jr. and Austin Booker, and that’s saying something.
• The start means everything - The front half of KU’s 2026 schedule is where everything will be decided. It starts tough and stays tough before moving into a mixture of six conference games — 3 at home and 3 away — to close out the season during a stretch of nine consecutive weeks on the field without a bye. That’s where KU’s depth and conditioning will come into play. But getting back to the front end of things, we’ll learn A LOT about this team right out of the gate. Home games against overmatched foes Long Island (Sept. 4) and Middle Tenneseee (Oct. 3) should not be an issue, but it’s the two games sandwiched in between there that are absolutely huge. KU will host Mizzou on Sept. 11 and then travel to London to take on Arizona State in the first college football game ever played at iconic Wembley Stadium. If KU can somehow get out of that 4-game stretch with a 3-1 record, the outlook and expectations for this team will go way up. If not, they’re likely 1-2 coming back home from London and could spend the rest of the season struggling to gain momentum. So, yeah, the start’s critical. And while it doesn’t mean they’re cooked if it doesn’t go well, it does mean big things if it does.
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