Playing with passion

By now, whether you were there, watched it on TV or caught the highlight somewhere, you’re probably aware that KU safety Lyrik Rawls picked up an acrobatic interception in the season opener, which was also his first game as a Jayhawk.

What you might not know is that Rawls doesn’t remember much of what came after that.

Not the left hand going in the air on his way down. Not the stomp-walk after he got up. Not the hands on the helmet and not the roars and screams.

No. The specifics of his celebration were lost in his mind, only to be captured on video for him to see after the game was over.

“I’m just letting it go,” Rawls told R1S1 Sports of his first thought after seeing the replay of his summersault interception.

“I was talking to my friends from back home and they were like, ‘Do you even know what you be doing,’” Rawls said of the inquiries about his celebration. “And I was like, ‘Man, I just do something. Like, whatever I feel, I just do it. I don’t even know what to do, I just gotta do something. I’m fired up.”

The interception — just the third of his five-year college career was nice. But, on a deeper level, the moment meant much more to Rawls than recording another takeaway for the KU defense.

See, after redshirting as a freshman at Oklahoma State in 2021, Rawls played in all 12 games for the Cowboys during the 2022 season and then made three starts to open the 2023 season.

In September of that same year, however, he tore his ACL and missed the rest of the season.

He came back in 2024 and played in all 12 games at OSU for the second time in his career. But the memory of those 11 months between the injury and the start of a new season never left him. And they’re still with him in a very impactful way today.

“This season means so much to me,” Rawls said. “I’m finally getting to back to being myself, being comfortable. I had the game taken away from me when I got hurt, so just being out there, every time I make a play it’s like emotional to me.”

Even the moments away from the action can on game day can deliver a series of emotions.

“Even just going out there for pregame, sometimes I tear up, like, ‘I’m back playing ball again,’” Rawls said. “It’s emotional, and I’m taking every chance (to play) to heart.”

"Even just going out there for pregame, sometimes I tear up, like, 'I'm back playing ball again.' It's emotional, and I'm taking every chance (to play) to heart."

— KU safety Lyrik Rawls

It’s that kind of passion and appreciation for the game that Rawls’ coaches and teammates love about him. And it’s that perspective that has made him a perfect anchor in the KU secondary and one of the more respected veterans the roster.

KU Defensive Coordinator D.K. McDonald has a mantra he repeats often, both in interviews and while talking to his players.

“Fast, physical and for each other,” the saying goes.

Rawls’ interception in the opener was the perfect example of all three. He flew to the ball and something good happened. He sacrificed his body to make the catch. And there was no shortage of teammates there to celebrate with him when he finally popped up, with safety Taylor Davis and D-Lineman Blake Herold being two of the first to arrive on the scene.

“This is a fun game and we should be excited,” McDonald said when asked how important playing with passion can be. “I tell the guys all the time, let’s celebrate together and that’s what we do. When someone makes a play, we’ve got to celebrate together.”

Another popular thing he emphasizes in defensive meetings is that sometimes one guy will make a play and other times it will be someone else. But as long as the play gets made, “it’s always us making the play.”

“It’s fun to see that,” McDonald said. “Nothing gets me more excited than seeing our guys celebrate together and then get to the sideline and really celebrate with one another and feel like we all made that play. That’s what it’s all about.”

Rawls agreed and said he won’t spend another second looking back on that play. Instead, he’s ready to move forward and go make another one or celebrate with a teammate who does when the Jayhawks play Wagner on Friday night in Game 2 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

“(On Sunday), when everything calmed down, I went and took another look at everything to move on, to move past it to the next week,” Rawls explained of his process. “And I was like, ‘Man, I really did that.’ It’s a good feeling.”

Friday’s kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Per FanDuel, the Jayhawks (1-0) will enter the game as 46.5-point favorites.

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