Last season, the Kansas Jayhawks took on the Iowa State Cyclones in what could have been the bowl-clinching win that Lance Leipold needed to make it three bowl appearances in five seasons. Instead, the Cyclones delivered a 38-14 drubbing of the Jayhawks that never truly looked like KU had a chance of clawing themselves back into the game. And of course, the Jayhawks would go on to miss a bowl game for the second season running.
Sitting on the Iowa State bench that day was safety Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman. Cummings-Coleman wasn't able to take the field as just five games into the season, he had undergone a season-ending injury. By the time Iowa State finished their 8-4 season, Cummings-Coleman was ready to find a new place to call home.
When defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald and the KU staff started to look into him, McDonald already had an in with the program, thanks to his relationship with now-retired Iowa State defensive coordinator John Heacock, from when McDonald spent 2016-2020 as a member of the Cyclones’ staff as a passing game coordinator and as corner/safeties coach.
Heacock was full of praise for the KU transfer
“When he was in the portal, you know, I called Coach Heacock and just kind of asked about who he was, approachability, things like that. And all that stuff is off the charts. And the one thing Coach Heacock told me was, you know, he was voted one of the top five athletes on their team there. So that was really impressive there,” opened McDonald to the media earlier this month.
The redshirt sophomore ended his shortened season with 9 tackles and 1 pass breakup with two starts to his name.
“Just to hear that, the type of kid he was and that was exciting to get that type of caliber kid. He started in the Big 12 there. Coach Heacock was really excited about him…”
Coming out of high school, Cummings-Coleman was rated as the nation’s 91st-best athlete and 8th-rated player out of Minnesota in the class of 2024. He held power-conference offers from Minnesota, Iowa, the Cyclones, and, funnily enough, the Kansas Jayhawks. After entering the portal, Cummings-Coleman was touted as an 85-overall transfer and the No. 1,399 transfer overall.
When asked what Cummings-Coleman has brought to the secondary room, McDonald responded, “He's an explosive young man. When I talk about guys who are able to blitz and cover, you know, he's able to do that. He's a thicker body there, so he's able to hold up in the run and do those types of things. And he's kind of an athlete that we haven't had here in a while, playing that nickel position. So it's exciting to have that type of body able to do those things.”
According to depth chart projection website Ourlads, Cummings-Coleman is currently tipped to be the team’s No. 1 nickelback; however, that is a position that still feels up in the air, so until the team’s official chart is released ahead of LIU on September 4, no one can be certain what that spot will look like.
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