It’s game week and Kansas fans don’t even have to wait until Saturday for their team to hit the field.
Instead, the Jayhawks will open the 2026 season — Lance Leipold’s sixth in charge of the program — at 7 p.m. Friday night, when Long Island comes to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium for the opener.
If you’ve followed along with our coverage or any of the other outlets that are there day in and day out throughout the most important times of the offseason, you might feel like you have a pretty good grasp of what this team is all about.
And, hey, your take might even be right. At one position. At all positions. Or even for the season as a whole.
With so many new faces and unknowns, though, it’s hard to know exactly what this team will look like until we see it. Some of the biggest questions have been answered — starting QB, for now, depth on defense, O-Line coming together, etc. — with guys winning jobs and the two-deep depth chart rounding into form as camp unfolded.
In case you’re still a little in the dark, though (you’re not alone) and want something to catch you up quickly, we offer our annual Rank The Room feature, just in the nick of time, 4 days ahead of kickoff.
Here goes… We’ll still go in reverse order for dramatic effect!
11 - Special Teams –
This isn’t so much a knock on this unit as it is a nod to the unknown. I do think KU has a chance to be strong in the return game and I like that the new 5 for 5 eligibility rule will allow freshmen who are ready to play a role here right away the chance to do so without risking the redshirt. That should only help with depth and getting the best guys on the field. But KU will have a new place kicker, a new punter and a new long snapper this season. That’s a lot of new. And they may be great. But, in my eyes, we’ve gotta find out before we rank them any higher.
10 – Cornerback –
This one has a chance to look dead wrong by the end of the season, but a couple of guys are going to have to really come through in order for that to happen. Namely, Austin Alexander and newcomer Roman Pearson. If those two show up ready to play and can execute at a high level next to Jalen Todd, this room might be pretty solid. But there’s nothing but questions beyond that trio and a lot of youth, too. Some names you might've heard in the past could make a big move this year to help this ranking. Syeed Gibbs and Jahlil Hurley are the two best shots there. And a name to watch is Mississippi State transfer Elijah Cannon. If none of those guys come through, though, this is a thin group putting an awful lot of stock in just one or two players.
9 – Quarterback –
It was tempting to bump this group up a little even before last week’s announcement of Zeke Marshall as the starter. But I settled on 8th because there’s still a chance that neither guy is ready. Both Marshall and Cole Ballard have been in the program for a few years. Both have worked incredibly hard and are loved by their teammates. And I think both have more talent than they’re given credit for on the outside. Beyond that, I think KU OC Andy Kotelnicki should know how to scheme things and game plan to play to each QB’s strengths, which immediately gives them a better chance to succeed. Competing to be the starter and being the starter are two different animals, though, and I think it’s still fair to have real questions about how well either QB will perform when it counts. I like where they’re at mentally, though, and I like how hard these guys work and how much they care. If they don’t deliver this fall, it won’t be for lack of want to or trying.
8 – Safety –
There are some really nice pieces here. We just have to see if they can get/be/stay healthy. If so, this room could use its depth and talent to be one of the more important positions on the entire roster. Taylor Davis seems poised for a big year. Behind him, Jaden Harris came to KU after stints at Miami (Fla.) and Georgia and then you’ve got two more guys with big time college football experience in Corey Gordon who played at Louisville and Baylor and Khijohn Cummings-Coleman from Iowa State. KU veteran Mason Ellis, who has had more than his share of injuries as a Jayhawk, even had his name thrown around a few times during camp. That’s a lot of talent. And if it can stay healthy and pick up what KU’s trying to do, this should be a fast, hard-hitting bunch.
7 – Defensive Line –
The offseason loss of transfer Trevin McAlpine was big for this group and it hurt their depth, too. There are still plenty of names that could deliver, but, even with the offseason additions, it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw ol’ reliable, Blake Herold, continue to be the best of the bunch up front. I really like the potential of Eamon “Biggie” Smalls. He’s got a motor. He plays a physical brand of football. And he’s ready for the challenge. And I think Marcus Calvin could be in for a breakout season, while guys like Jibriel Conde and Kevin Oatis are poised to make an impact, as well. KU will need all of those guys to be good to hold up defensively. And if you look at the defensive positions that are ahead of them on this list, you might be able to deduce that KU’s linebackers and D-ends will only live up to their rankings here if this group can play to this or even exceed expectations.
6 – Offensive Line –
There are a couple of positions up front that are in really solid shape. There are a couple that were still being sorted out in the past two weeks and there’s one, center, that could be the key to it all. I wrote this in my 3 names you should known feature last week, but I feel very strongly about it so I’m writing it again here — Kasen Carpenter is the whole key to this O-Line. If he’s good to go at center and stays healthy, I like what this group looks like. If he gets hurt or doesn’t fill the role the way they want him to fill it, that’s where you start moving guys around and I’m not sure that’s the best thing that could happen. There is solid depth here, so that’s why it’s middle of the pack. All in all, I think the KU O-Line is entering the season in good but not great shape.
5 – Wide Receiver –
There’s talent here. Big time talent, in fact. My concern is the depth. You’ve got a top four that should be ready to roll and will be expected to contribute. Keaton Kubecka had his best camp to date. Newcomers Nik McMillan and Nahzae Cox have big, physical bodies and good experience in the college game. And then there’s the ace of the staff in Cam Pickett, who showed last year just how dynamic he can be. But he was also hurt last year. And he missed some time in camp, too. Beyond that, McMillan and Cox are making the jump up a level and Kubecka’s jumping into a role he’s never had. Maybe they all kill it and this position turns out to be a strength. Wouldn’t surprise me at all. If that’s not how it goes, though, I’m not sure what they have behind that foursome outside of scrappy football-playing do-everything dude Tate Nagy, who may carve out an important role as a receiver like the one he’s had on special teams in the past.
4 – Tight Ends –
Depth, versatility and a ton of options galore. That’s what you’ve got in the tight ends room this season. And while none of them may wow individually or with his own personal stat line, this group should have more than enough to be a bona fide weapon in the KU offense. They also have a great guy coordinating the offense who loves to take care of his tight ends. Remember Mason Fairchild? In Carson Bruhn, Leyton Cure, Jailen Butler and banged-up transfer Carter Moses — among others — this group has everything you could ask for in a tight end. Size, speed, blocking, smarts and more. Like Fairchild, they may not ever be the focal point of this offense, but don’t be shocked when you see them running wide open for big gains in big moments.
3 – Linebackers –
The KU coaching staff, pretty much across the board, has said that this is the best-looking group of linebackers, top to bottom, that Leipold has had at KU. That’s not beauty pageant talk. That means talent, production, measurables. Starting with returning monster Trey Lathan and adding to it transfers Bam Crouch, Jibreel Al-Amin and Quincy Davis, this group has a couple of thumpers who like to fly to the football and play fast and furious. Jaron Willis, Malachi Curvey and even a couple of freshmen could factor in here, as well, giving the KU coaching staff good depth and real talent to work with in the middle of the defense.
2 – Running Backs –
It’s been the most-talked-about and most consistently settled room throughout the offseason. And even though both Dylan Edwards and Yasin Willis are newcomers, their experience, talent and ability to bring different things to the field gives Kansas a run game that’s easily as solid, on paper, as it has been during the past two or three seasons. The depth behind those top two backs is a little more in question, with Colorado State transfer Jalen Dupree having missed spring ball and talented freshman Kory Amachree banged up off and on throughout camp. But as long as the Jayhawks are able to stay healthy here, they have the horses to have a productive and potentially explosive rushing attack.
1 – Defensive Ends —
Michigan State transfer David Santiago was on the short list of KU players who were universally praised over and over throughout camp and he might not even be on the 2-deep depth chart when the season begins. If he isn’t, it won’t matter. He’s going to play. And he has a chance to have a fairly big impact. But the fact that there are four guys at his position who could legitimately be listed ahead of him on the depth chart tells you everything you need to know about this position. Add to that the fact that Leroy Harris III has all-Big 12 breakout potential, and you’re looking at a terrific group that has a ton of talent, quality depth and a desire to become known and feared throughout the Big 12 Conference. Dak Brinkley and Alex Bray are the other two names that pop at this position and even redshirt freshman Garrett Martin was praised plenty during camp. This group is one of the deepest and most talented positions, not just on the team but possibly in the conference.
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