Kansas football: Daniel Hishaw could play an important role in 2021

It will be Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold’s job to debut improvements on both sides of the ball during his first season. This will include an interesting running back rotation, which will find support from returning rusher Daniel Hishaw Jr.

Hishaw returns to Kansas after finding a decent amount of touches during the winless 2020 campaign. Following the departure of former leading rusher Pooka Williams Jr., Hishaw took on a sizable portion of the rushing duties for the Jayhawks.

Under the new leadership from offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and returning running backs coach Jonathan Wallace, there will be avenues for Hishaw to pop off this fall.

A strong back, Hishaw made strong impressions during his freshman season. This included an 87-yard day against Texas Tech, a game the Jayhawks made a respectable effort in considering how poorly the year had been up to that point.

While the scenario wasn’t ideal, Hishaw found admirable time on the field and excellent experience along the way. The sophomore has been described as a “bowling ball” by teammate Earl Bostick, which is an impressive nickname to come out of this program.

Bringing more power behind the ball in 2021 will be a must for the Jayhawks if they expect to pull out their first win since 2019.

Developing a strong rushing attack doesn’t stop with Hishaw though, as Kansas has young potential in this position group heading into the future. Returning sophomore Amauri Pesek-Hickson found significant touches late last season, including a 100-yard performance against TCU.

Supported by veteran junior Velton Gardner and incoming freshman Devin Neal, there are sure to be some interesting faces in the Jayhawk backfield this season. More importantly, this will allow an opportunity for noticeable improvement from the rushing attack.