Jayhawk pledges reaffirm commitment to Kansas football program despite Andy Kotelnicki departure

Following the departure of Kansas football OC Andy Kotelnicki, several Jayhawk pledges reaffirmed their commitment to the program despite losing the team’s offensive mastermind.

The Kansas Jayhawks learned some disappointing news yesterday when it was announced Andy Kotelnicki would become the next offensive coordinator at Penn State. He had spent the previous three years at Kansas with head coach Lance Leipold but ultimately decided to take the Big Ten job.

Fortunately, we can find some good in even the darkest of times. Because Kotelnicki was considered next in line to Leipold if he were to leave KU for a new head coaching position, we can assume that he knew Lance wasn’t leaving Kansas anytime soon, as he was hired for the same position he recently had.

Quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski takes over as co-coordinator and will run the offense alongside Leipold in 2024. We could see some of his offensive schemes implemented in the Kansas football bowl game sometime this month.

When coordinators and coaches start bolting for other positions, some recruits begin to decommit. However, a handful of Jayhawk pledges reiterated that they will be attending KU next fall and won’t have their recruitment status changed by Kotelnicki’s exit.

Here, Southfield’s Isaiah Marshall speaks out on the news on X (formerly Twitter) and praises his future positions coach.

“Rock Chalk!” KU offensive lineman commit Harrison Utley responded.

Jordan Peterson, the team’s defensive backs coach, was a major factor in recruiting 4-star EDGE Deshawn Warner to Lawrence. He handles most of the Southwest recruiting areas and managed to bring in Aundre Gibson and Jonathan Kamara, who play with Warner on the defensive side of the ball.

Warner and offensive line commit David Abajian commented on Bruhn’s post too.

While this loss might sting for a while, Kansas is in good hands with Zebrowski for years to come. And as long as future players continue to buy into the new age of Kansas football, this team could be a force to be reckoned with in the Big 12.