There were a number of stars in Kansas' week zero season-opening game against the Fresno State Bulldogs, which saw the Jayhawks march to a 31-7 win for head coach Lance Leipold and his team.
You could look at the quarterback play of Jalon Daniels, who kept his calm against the Mountain West team, or wideout Cam Pickett, who made a big impact with two touchdowns in just one half of Kansas football. Yet when Leipold took to the podium this morning, the first topic of conversation was over former Oklahoma State safety Lyrik Rawls.
“I think Lyrik has been a great addition to this program, from the time he came on his visit, he’s shown lots of maturity, passion for the game he studies it, he’s well liked in the locker room. He loves the way he goes about it. I thought he had a solid game that was a big-time interception and yeah, definitely a nice way to get it started for him. And [he’s] a guy that, again, we are going to call a lot on that back end throughout the season.”
Rawls got an early stamp of approval from Kansas fans as the former Cowboy snagged one of the most impressive interceptions fans will see all season.
WOAH 😳@KU_Football's @RawlsLyrik with a wild interception! pic.twitter.com/WHjLNFi1Fv
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 24, 2025
Rawls finished the dominant victory with five solo tackles along with the aforementioned interception.
While it is just a start, it is a great start for the Jayhawks are looking to continue their momentum as Kansas takes on FCS side Wagner this Friday, all in preparation for when Kansas travels just east to take on SEC side Missouri in the Border Showdown for the first time in 2011, a matchup that Rawls and company will have to be at their best level for in order to pull an upset over the Eli Drinkwitz led side.
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