One of the first things I think about when I hear that a player is out for the season with an injury is some version of the question, ‘What’s he gonna do now?’
In the case of KU tight end DeShawn Hanika, who is done for the year after suffering a leg injury in the Jayhawks’ home loss to Cincinnati on Sept. 27, I have no such concerns.
It’s a drag, don’t get me wrong. Hanika is an A+ human being and already has shown his toughness and determination by powering through a season-ending Achilles’ tendon tear in 2024 to get back onto the field for the Jayhawks in 2025.
Your heart hurts for guys like that. Good people who just want to play the game they love and, for one reason or another, can’t find a way to stay healthy.
But even without the grind of the season on his shoulders, Hanika, who ends his season with 97 yards and 3 TDs on 10 receptions, is going to have plenty to keep him busy in the weeks and months ahead.
Hanika, 25, is just a couple of months away from becoming a dad. His wife, Kate, is due to deliver their first child on Dec. 3. Even before his recent injury, that life milestone was making an enormously positive impact on Hanika’s mindset, both on and off the field.
R1S1 Sports caught up with the expecting father a few weeks ago to talk about all of the excitement surrounding the pending arrival of his son.
It might not create quite the same adrenaline rush as silencing an opposing crowd or making a clutch catch on third down. But, in many ways, this next challenge in his life will be far bigger than that. And Hanika knows it.
“It’s kind of just made me realize that life’s bigger than me and my wants and needs,” he told R1S1 Sports before the season began. “And I think I’ve just fully embraced it. I’m ready for our little boy to get here and to be that father figure I had growing up with my dad.”
The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Topeka native, who attended Hayden High School before going to Butler CC and then Iowa State prior to KU, said his parents were wonderful to him and his brother, Connor, growing up, so creating a better life than he had as a child is going to be difficult.
But he’s excited to try, and plans put the same passion and energy into fatherhood as he does preparing for an upcoming game or learning his team’s playbook.
“That kid’s not going to care if you had two-a-days or you had a terrible practice or your body’s banged up and you’re sore from the game,” he predicted. “They expect dad to be there, and I’ve already tried to do that for my wife, as she’s gone through all this, just leaving football here at the facility.”
While the men in his own family have tried to bestow a little fatherly wisdom on him, KU linebacker Cole Mondi, one of Hanika’s best friends, has done his share, too. Mondi is already a father and Hanika said the two talk fatherhood “all the time.”
“I’m always asking him for advice,” he said. “And I think we saw his son, Major, the second or third day they got out of the hospital. I was a little worried at first – as I think I should be. But these past couple months have just filled me with excitement and everything else that comes with it.”
KU coach Lance was noticeably saddened by Hanika’s football fate when he confirmed his status on Monday, calling Hanika a “quality young man,” before adding, “Feel for him.”
Hanika’s wife also sang her husband’s praises on Instagram with a heartfelt post bemoaning this latest injury.
“A few words that come to mind when I think of you is FIGHTER, COMPETITOR, RESILIENT,” she wrote, with the all-caps included. “... You’ve proven time and time again how STRONG and DETERMINED you are to get back on that field and show up for not just yourself but for your team. All you’ve ever known is how to be a damn good teammate and how to compete, so I can only imagine how far you will take our family in life. Our baby boy doesn’t know it yet but he’ll quickly find out his dad is one KICK ASS man.”
Through faith and family, that’s all Hanika has ever known how to be. And while he won’t be playing any more this season, you can bet he’ll be there helping his teammates however he can while also getting a little more time to prepare for December 3rd.
“I feel like it’s every guy’s dream, or it should be,” he said of being a father. “That’s how I was raised and I’m a firm believer in my Catholic faith. I always wanted to be a football player, but I also always wanted to be a husband, as well. And with being a husband comes being a father. So, I’ve been excited for this for a long time.
“When football’s done, I’m 100% husband, 100% dad and I’m just ready to take care of that little guy.”
The end of this particular season of football came in a cruel manner and much sooner than anyone expected. But it’s the character of the man and the milestone that awaits that has me well aware of, and not wondering, what DeShawn Hanika is gonna do now.
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