Kansas football: What to expect of young Jayhawk defense moving forward

Kansas football has transitioned to younger talent on defense, and it seems to be more productive. This could be another step in the right direction for Les Miles in getting the Jayhawks competitive again.

For Kansas football, it’s been a relatively disappointing year in the stat book and a difficult task to watch on Saturdays. Despite being at the bottom of the Big 12 defensively in 2020, we’ve been fortunate enough to see some younger names step up to bring some hope to the Jayhawks’ misfortunes.

This season, the Jayhawks have had a weakness in defending the pass. It’s been a common issue for the Jayhawks throughout the years, but freshman corner Karon Prunty might be ready to shake things up a bit. He has been a solid asset for the Jayhawks on defense this season. He’s posted a decent 14 solo tackles and has been able to hit hard for Kansas this year.

Physicality is a major part of what Defensive Coordinator D.J. Elliot has been looking for this season, and we’ve seen more younger guys step up and be physical in tough spots this year. Nick Channel showcased his physicality vs the Cowboys, which received some attention in the news. He got his start against Oklahoma State this season and had featured an impressive 6 solo tackles against a highly ranked Cowboy’s defense. These are good signs of a guy who’s walked in with his act together, and hopefully, he can sustain that mentality during his career at Kansas.

Another leader for the Jayhawk defense is Gavin Potter, a sophomore from Oklahoma. Potter has stepped up with some of the upperclassmen linebackers and is making himself into a viable weapon for the Kansas defense. He’s responsible for 15 solo tackles this season, already over half of what he had in 2019. He’s remained healthy so far this season and he is one of the quick thinkers on this defense. We saw Gavin rack up 5 tackles against Iowa State, a game in which our defense showed some legitimate improvement.

Young talent seems to be the name of the game going forward for head coach Les Miles. It’s clear that he is going to have to address the recruiting issues the Jayhawks have faced this year, and perhaps it could be a blessing in disguise. This could be making space for some young defensive power.

With any luck, Kansas football will haul a decent 2021 recruiting class. Even with the recommitments which seem to come around every other game or so. Most of these prospects were offensive weapons, and maybe that’s the issue. Maybe Les Miles should look into some defensive additions, it sure couldn’t hurt at this point.