When you look at the Kansas Jayhawks’ football roster next season, several position groups have varying sizes of a question mark attached to them.
One of them is Kansas’ offensive line corps, which is set to return just two players from last season in Calvin Clements and Amir Herring. Beyond those two, it is fair game, as Kansas has lost Bryce Foster, Kobe Baynes and Enrique Cruz Jr.
While this situation can very quickly be spun as a negative, on Jayhawk Slant’s podcast “Inside Slant,” college football pundit Phil Steele seemed fairly upbeat on Kansas’ offensive line.
“Coach Leipold told me that he feels the difference between the number ones and the number twos on the offensive line is very narrow this year. So that gives them a very solid two-deep, good depth. So I like the offense this year.”
Who is new to the offensive line corps
According to 247Sports, the Jayhawks are set to reel in 30 transfers. Of those 30, five of them come on the offensive line. Overall, Kansas is touted as having the nation’s 53rd-best transfer portal.
Connor Stroh: Stroh comes to KU after three seasons with the Texas Longhorns. The 2025 campaign was the only one in which Stroh appeared, having started five games and making 10 appearances in the Longhorns’ 10-3 season.
Trezelle Jenkins Jr: Jenkins joins the team after one season at Wayne State University giving him incredible upside thanks to his eligibility. Jenkins made 10 appearances and four starts last season.
Nick Morrow: Morrow brings 24 games with Cal over the last two seasons and will be joining as a redshirt junior
Kasen Carpenter: Carpenter played two seasons at Tulsa, compiling 16 appearances before making the move to Oklahoma State for seven games, before leaving to join KU.
Brandon Solis: Solis did not appear in a game at Missouri.
Ourlads projects a lineup that sees the Jayhawks enlist Clements at left tackle, Herring at left guard, Carpenter at center, Stroh at right guard and Morrow rounding out the group at right tackle.
Leading Kansas’ offensive line core once again is Darryl Agpalsa, who is renowned for keeping sacks at a minimum and opening up space for runners to hit gaps. Agpalsa’s first season in 2024 saw KU allow just .83 sacks per game, the fourth fewest in the nation. Agalpasa has also seen several of his pupils make the jump to the NFL in Bryce Cabeldue, Logan Brown and Enrique Cruz.
Last season, the Jayhawks finished the season with the No. 76 quarterback sack rate at 6.04%, with former quarterback Jalon Daniels going down with a sack 1.8 times per game.
When you compare last campaign’s numbers to Agpalsa’s time at NIU and other stops beforehand, the season looks more and more like an anomaly; however, in order for the Jayhawks to get back on track and stop their two-year bowl-less streak, it will be crucial to protect whoever is deemed the team’s starting quarterback against LIU when September 4th comes around.
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