The world of college football is in an ever-changing space. For better or for worse, the NCAA Transfer portal is at the front of every team’s agenda as each program is reshuffling its roster year-by-year in order to keep up with the pacesetters across the nation.
The Kansas Jayhawks are not exempt from that status quo. Lance Leipold and his team met this demand following their latest 5-7 season, where, afterwards, the Jayhawks saw 25 players leave the program, with a further 30 joining through the portal.
“I can name five guys right off the top of my head [that] we didn't start, that came in from the portal.”
“When you're bringing somebody in, you gotta want to compete. I said it to one of our departing players. ‘You're bringing a guy from the portal, that means that he's gonna play in front of me.’ No, it doesn't. It didn't happen last year. I can name five guys right off the top of my head, [that] we didn't start, that came in from the portal. But you gotta compete,” quoted Leipold during a press conference earlier Wednesday.
“But guys understand we got to bring other players, but it's like, ‘don't bring anybody that's too good.’ Well, that doesn't make sense. Okay?”
Leipold and the Jayhawks racked in what 247Sports rated as the nation’s 52nd-best class. Fellow recruiting outlet On3, rated Kansas as the nation’s 54th-ranked class in the nation.
On3’s average player rating shows that Kansas is slightly downgrading with an average out grade of 64.72; meanwhile, the player in grade ranks at 62.68.
‘Why wouldn't I try to get the best football players in our room to make our team the best?’
“I got a player last year that was only here for a semester, tell me that ‘Well, if you'd have known how the room was gonna develop, you wouldn't have recruited me.’ I go, ‘That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.’ I said, ‘Why wouldn't I try to get the best football players in our room to make our team the best?’
According to 247Sports’ player ratings, which rates both incomings and outgoings, three of the top four players are joining the Jayhawks: running back Dylan Edwards (Kansas State), offensive lineman Connor Stroh (Texas), and tight end Jalien Butler (Old Dominion University).
“That's my responsibility. We have a problem right now where guys want it laid out, and, again, that it's gonna happen, but we've still got to get a culture of people that want to compete and win jobs.”
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