It’s amazing to think about how much different we might look at KU running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. if Devin Neal never existed.
Not from a human perspective. Purely from a football perspective.
Neal, who ran with Hishaw in the KU backfield for four seasons — as friends, brothers and teammates — just so happened to concurrently turn in the greatest career by a Kansas running back in the history of the program.
If he hadn’t, Hishaw would be viewed in a much different light.
Not just because he could’ve or even would’ve had more yards and touchdowns. But because the numbers he did collect during his six seasons as a Jayhawk would’ve popped on their own.
“It’s just cool seeing things change and seeing the expectations for us change. People actually got faith in us. Not just the dudes in the locker room, the people outside the locker room have faith in us and expect us to win.”
— KU running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. on his 6 years at Kansas
Instead, as compared to Neal’s record-breaking marks (4,343 yards and 49 rushing TDs in 50 games), they don’t look quite as strong.
But they should. This dude was a beast every time he touched the rock and he kept improving year after year, physically and mentally.
I can remember back in 2020, when a KU staff member who had seen Hishaw that summer told me at a gas station in Lawrence that that “Heeshaw” guy was one to watch.
No one could’ve blamed him then for not knowing the correct pronunciation. But it didn’t take any of us long to learn it.
While Friday’s gut-wrenching loss to No. 13 Utah ended the Jayhawks season and brought plenty of emotion and sadness to the KU locker room, there was something kind of cool about how things ended for Hishaw, even if he, too, was gutted by KU falling short of reaching a bowl game by one win for the second season in a row.
He finished the Utah game with 107 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, bringing his career numbers to some pretty cool places.
The game marked his second career 100-yard game. Pretty cool for a finale. It also pushed his career TD total to 23, moving him into a tie for fifth on KU’s all-time list with Brandon McAnderson, Jake Sharp and Chip Hilleary.
The only names ahead of him on that list are flat-out legends — Neal, June Henley, James Sims and Tony Sands.
In addition, his 107-yard outing pushed him over 2,000 rushing yards for his career, at 2,080 in 44 games. That made him just the second Jayhawk in the past 15 years to rush for 2,000 yards and 20 TDs in a career.
The other? Neal, of course.
So, yeah; If not for Neal, Hishaw would probably be looked at in a little different light. And, if we’re being fair, he should probably be remembered as one of KU’s all-time greats himself.
Maybe he will be. In time.
Maybe he’ll merely be remembered as one of a few dozen dudes who gave all he had to help KU football get back on track. And loved every second of doing it.
Either way is fine with Hishaw, who, while meeting with the media after Friday’s loss, held onto his Senior Day game ball and laughed and smiled his way through some of the tough emotions that were hitting him.
“I laugh a lot during serious situations,” Hishaw said, laughing about those very words, as well. “So, you know, I’m just trying to keep a smile and everything and just let everybody know we good. Everybody’s gonna be good. Everybody’s got a life after this.”
While that perspective will help Hishaw move on, it’s the life he had while he was at KU that makes it hard.
The native of Moore, Oklahoma, who spent the past six years in Lawrence, with ups, downs and all-arounds, grew into a new man during his time as a Jayhawk. That transition wasn’t always smooth and it did have plenty of challenges, but it happened because he always kept going.
So, now, as he faces his next challenge, he’ll make sure to do the same thing.
“Man, I’m sad,” he said, his voice cracking. “You know what I’m saying? I’m pretty sad about this being my last time being a Jayhawk, not even just the loss. I love this place. I really, really do love this place.”
“I’m just trying to stay happy, too. We had a good time here. I had a good life here. Everything’s gotta come to an end. We came to the end on a loss, but our team fought so hard. And that’s one of the proudest things for me. I’m super-proud of my team. We didn’t go out there and lay down.”
“I always want to win and have winning seasons, but my biggest thing that I’m proud that we accomplished is everybody stayed together. This is a brand new team and the fact that we had one of the best seasons as far as not being late to things and having love for each other and cheering for each other, not having attitudes, I think that’s one of the biggest accomplishments we’ve got. Because that’s something that’s really hard to do. So, I am glad how we did this, no matter what.”
Even the losses and the disappointment they brought Kansas fans didn’t change that.
In fact, Hishaw views the outside noise and frustration as an unfortunate sign of a job well done.
“It’s just cool seeing things change and seeing the expectations for us change,” he said. “People actually got faith in us. Not just the dudes in the locker room, the people outside the locker room have faith in us and expect us to win.”
“Just (seeing) the crowd going from empty to full; that’s one of the biggest things I can look back on and be proud of. It’s cool thinking that you got a program back to people believing that you can win a football game.”
While his time with that is now done, Hishaw believes the coaches and players he and his senior teammates leave behind can grab ahold of this thing and continue to elevate the status and expectations surrounding Kansas football.
Like those who left before him, he’ll be watching. And he, too, will have high hopes for the future of the program.
“I just hope everybody understands that what they’ve got, Leipold and them, our culture, it’s the truth,” he said. “I always see success for Coach Leipold and our program. I think it just depends on how the players want to attack every day and making sure the players come with the right mindset every day. If they do that, they’re gonna be successful.”
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