Head Coach: Lance Leipold is entering his 5th season as the head coach of the Jayhawks with a 22-28 record. This record doesn’t stick out a whole lot but to put it into context Mark Mangino was gone after the 2009 season and from that point until Leipold was hired in 2021, the Jayhawks best record was 3-9 and Leipold already has won more win in his 4 years than Kansas had during that 11 year stretch (21 wins.) It took some time to lay the foundation and we’re only beginning to see the fruits of that labor.
Program Outlook: Kansas spent over a decade as the loveable loser of this conference but things have changed a lot in a short time. Most notably they open their renovated stadium this year as another sign of the change this program underwent. Now it’s time to figure out where they really stand in the Big 12, in 2023 they were a top contender and finished with 9 wins but this past season was a surprise step back to 5 wins, although 3 of those were over top 25 teams. The way this program seems to be going, 2024 feels like a temporary setback.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Kansas ranks 74th in the country returning 53% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. Key players starts with QB Jalon Daniels, he’s been an electric playmaker and leader for this program things were just a little off for him to start the year but eventually he returned to his old form late last year. He loses one running mate in RB Devin Neal but their other top back Daniel Hishaw Jr returns and seems ready for a bigger role, and Iowa transfer Leshon Williams is expected to factor in as well. Kansas is still going to be strong on the Oline with OT Calvin Clements and C Bryce Foster. Dean Miller is a good player on the defensive line and might be in for a breakout year. The Jayhawks revamped the rest of this defense with transfers. Edge rusher Bangally Kamara (South Carolina via Pitt) will turn up the heat on opposing QBs, while Joseph Sipp Jr (Bowling Green) and Trey Lathan (West Virginia) fill out the linebacker unit. DJ Graham (Utah State) leads a group of transfers in a secondary that must improve. The other area Kansas hit the portal for was receivers, Emanuel Henderson (Alabama) already looked like a potential star for them in the spring, and they are hoping for others to emerge around him.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: We all said this last year, but Kansas’s schedule appears to be pretty favorable. Will it be this time? Who knows! The non-conference is highlighted by an early start with Kansas hosting Fresno State in week 0, that will be a good test, they get a break against Wagner a NEC team that went 4-8 last year. Finally, Kansas wraps up the non-conference with the returns of The Border War! A long awaited return of this historic rivalry, it’s truly great to see these teams play again. Again, everyone said this last year but on the surface this Big 12 draw looks favorable. Sure the road games at Texas Tech and Iowa State are tough and Kansas hasn’t beaten their rival Kansas State since 2008 but the rest of the schedule feels manageable for the Jayhawks. With a little improvement they might be able to be more of a factor than most would expect.
Final Thoughts: Kansas could end up having a really good year. There’s nothing that worries me too much on their schedule. Last year was a very strange year, everything offensively was just a tick off most of the year and there were a lot of one score losses. Overall it looked great Kansas did everything they needed to do in order to score (they were one of the best at: running the ball, avoiding negative plays, red zone efficiency and 3rd down conversions) but didn’t, it was strange to watch. New OC Jim Zebrowski has been around for a while and I believe he will get this offense back to its normal rhythm and if I’m correct, this team will be very dangerous.
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