Kansas’ 2026 running back room should be more exciting than it has been in a long time.
Among the 30 transfers KU is bringing in are three running backs: Dylan Edwards, Yasin Willis and Jalen Dupree.
Willis and Edwards have snagged most of the plaudits thanks to their completely different playstyles. Willis is a stout 6-foot-1 back who offers phenomenal strength and an ability to kickstart any drive. Willis was a former four-star prospect according to Rivals.com.
The 2025 campaign was the one that saw him get on the field the most as he finished with 129 carries for 558 yards to go along with four touchdowns.
Over his two-year stint with the Syracuse Orange, Willis went for 688 yards on 165 carries with five touchdowns while also nabbing 17 passes for 68 yards and returning 10 kickoffs for 212 yards.
Edwards on the other hand is the much shiftier of the options (as KU fans painfully know).
In his career, Edwards has gone for 1,072 rushing yards with eight rushing touchdowns to his name, along with six receiving touchdowns and 449 yards in the air.
Both of the backs came to KU rated as 88 overall and as part of the nation’s 53rd overall transfer class according to 247Sports.
Lance Leipold explains the threat the pair offers
Earlier this week during annual Big 12 Media Days, the KU head coach spoke on what Willis offered the team, saying, “Yasin’s done a great job. He's a big, physical back, downhill runner, able to move the pile a little bit. You know, Andy Kotelnicki has returned to our program as a playcaller, and I know he's really excited about what he gives us.”
In Kansas’ best year in Kotelnicki’s first stint with the program, Kansas finished the season ranked as the nation’s eighth-best rushing offense, going for 202.8 yards per game on the ground in a 2023 season that ended 9-4. The most wins since 2007 (12).
“We really like, first of all, the depth of the room that we have in the running back position, Yasin being our compliment with Dylan Edwards; we think we really have two different running styles that can really give us some explosiveness as an offense, and some versatility,” finished the former Buffalo head coach.
Dupree comes in as a solid third-choice back, having gone for 661 yards on 127 carries for three touchdowns in his two seasons with Colorado State. However, Dupree missed spring practice thanks to an undisclosed injury that required surgery.
Last season with Jim Zebrowski at the helm of the offense, Kansas ranked as the nation’s 77th-best offense, going for just 368.8 yards per game. On the rushing end, the Jayhawks published the country’s 60th-best offense that went for 157.8 yards per game.
With the uncertainty around Kansas’ quarterback options in the likes of Isaiah Marshall, Cole Ballard and Chase Jenkins, having a strong running offense will take significant pressure away from whoever eventually gets deemed as “QB1.”
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