Last season, fan-favorite basketball player Melvin Council Jr. won the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Year Award, and it made complete sense why. On his day, Council was contending for the best player on any court; his love for kicking the game into a fast-paced transition often buzzed through arenas, and his defensive skill set locked down opposing offenses, easily making him the runaway candidate.
So with the football season just around the corner, we are looking at which Jayhawk could win Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Now this award does exist, but it's one for each side of the ball. Today, our task is to pick one cumulative player.
Last season, if this award could have been given out to anyone, it would have likely been linebacker Tre Lathan. The West Virginia transfer made an immediate impact from his first start and was a consistent piece that deserved to be built around for his final season.
However, you could have also made a strong case for tight end Boden Groen. Groen, a transfer from Rice, was constantly involved in the offense and finished with five touchdowns and 450 yards over 36 receptions. Groen finished his sole season with KU reeling in an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
So while this year we could look towards someone on this transfer-laden defense, we are going to keep things stuck at tight end for this piece and instead look at Old Dominion transfer Jailen Butler.
Butler made an instant impact in his first year with the Monarchs, snatching nine catches for 44 yards. However, his second-year with ODU was stunted due to injury, meaning he did not see a single snap on the field.
During the 2025 season, though, Butler reappeared and finished with nine catches for 59 yards and one touchdown before making the move to KU.
According to recruiting outlet 247Sports, Butler comes to KU ranked as the nation’s No. 555 overall prospect and No. 33 tight end in the 2026 portal.
Butler joins a cramped tight end room comprising redshirt sophomore Carson Bruhn, redshirt senior Quinton Conley, redshirt senior Leyton Cure, redshirt freshman Conlee Hovey, redshirt senior Mikey Pauley, freshman Mike Utz, redshirt senior Carter Moses and freshman Kevin Sullivan.
Moses and Butler are the only two transfers brought in via the latest portal.
Kansas finished with a portal ranked No. 53 overall, measuring out to No. 13 in the Big 12.
While Butler isn’t the finished product his usage at Old Dominion proves he is a talent. Kansas ' tight end core is coached by Matt Lubick. Lubick returned to the Jayhawks ahead of last season after one year as offensive coordinator at Nevada. Last season, of the Jayhawks’ top seven receivers, two of them came from the tight end corps in Groen (No.3) and Deshawn Hanika (No.7). If it wasn’t for Hanika’s season being shortened thanks to injury, the former Iowa State transfer would have notched a lot more than just 97 yards. Expect Butler to be competing for a starting gig next season.
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