As the Kansas football season draws nearer, the Jayhawks begin their preseason camp today.
One month from today’s date, we’ll be watching the Kansas Jayhawks in action versus Missouri State in the regular season opener. Additionally, fall camp begins this morning — yet another step as Lance Leipold’s third year as head coach approaches.
As we know, KU returns the majority of its talent from 2022, bringing back 17 of its 22 starters. That includes Preseason First Team All-Big 12 selections Jalon Daniels, Devin Neal, Mike Novitsky, and Cobee Bryant.
The Jayhawks are looking to build on a season in which they finished 6-7 and reached their first bowl game in more than a decade. It’s arguably the most impressive roster that KU has put out since the Mark Mangino days.
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While returning key players will be helpful, there are still several underlying questions surrounding Kansas football. Defensive coordinator Brian Borland’s group is coming off a season where they allowed 35.5 points per game to opponents, finishing in the bottom 10 in the country. To make matters worse, important defensive line pieces such as Lonnie Phelps and Caleb Sampson are headed to the NFL.
In preseason camp, several players — especially newcomers — must break out of their shells and step up on the defensive end. The impending results of second-string running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. are also something to monitor. After suffering a season-ending injury during the 2022 season, there are high expectations for the Neal-Hishaw tandem in KU’s backfield.
Coach Leipold and select players will be made available to the media today. We will also hear from offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki on Aug. 2 and Coach Borland the following day.
There are several things to watch as KU begins camp. It should give the coaches more clarity on who will have a better chance to see more time on the gridiron.
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