Daniel Hishaw Jr.’s career as a running back for the Kansas Jayhawks came to an end after Friday’s 31-21 loss to the No. 13 Utah Utes. On the day, Hishaw was one of the many consistent pieces on the Kansas offense. The running back averaged 4.9 yards per carry and managed 107 yards and a touchdown in the final game of his career.
While the mood was understandably undertoned with sadness, the redshirt senior still spoke glowingly about Kansas’ season.
“Because it's a lot of up and downs [playing college football] and everything,” quoted Hishaw to the media.
“But when everybody could just be happy together, even though somebody might be playing over another person, but when somebody has love for a person playing over them, they just be able to have fun and joke around, it's like, you don't know who's the starter in our lock room because everybody's just feeling the same. That's why I'm gonna remember the most.”
On the season, Hishaw saw action in 10 games where he totaled 124 rushes and 587 yards for five touchdowns and 4.7 yards per carry. Picking up on his reliability, the fifth-year running back has shown throughout his tenure.
Over the course of his career as a Jayhawk, Hishaw totaled 44 games with 406 carries and 2,086 yards with 23 touchdowns in his five years. Hishaw added a strong 5.1 yards per carry, solidifying his legacy as one of Kansas’ most consistent players upon his arrival in 2020, with his role increasing under head coach Lance Leipold.
Lance Leipold speaks on the everyday pressure of being Kansas head coach
Kansas ranked 61st in the nation this season with 157.8 rushing yards per game. Hishaw spent the season sharing carries with mainly Leshon Williams, an Iowa transfer running back who finished his lone season as a Jayhawk with 560 yards, on 97 carries for 5.8 yards per carry and nine touchdowns on the season.
Despite Kansas’ season coming to an abrupt end on Friday for their second season running, Leipold’s team missing out on a bowl game, the spirit amongst the players of the team seems to be primed for a successful season, even without Hishaw a part of the team.
Make sure to bookmark Through the Phog and follow us on X and Facebook with the username @Throughthephog