Kansas’ 2026 campaign has been anything but smooth sailing thus far.
And yes, of course, the Jayhawks’ 1-2 record is the quickest thing to point to. But it won’t take long for you to see that Kansas’ injury issues are causing just as many problems as a sub-500 start is.
It started with Tre’von McAlpine’s injury in the preseason and it hasn’t really stopped since.
KU lost a pivotal linebacker in Bam Crouch just two drives into the season. Wideout Cam Pickett hasn’t really been involved thanks to injury, tight end Carson Bruhn didn’t see the field against Arizona State and cornerback Syeed Gibbs was one of two players who got injured against the Sun Devils, the other, running back Yasin Willis. Willis missed the entire second half and was seen in street clothes and a boot on his leg.
Lance Leipold provides the worst-case scenario for Willis
While the initial hope was that with KU facing a bye week last week, that now was the perfect time for the banged-up squad to have a week to recover. It also helps that while Middle Tennessee is an FBS side, they shouldn’t cause many problems for this Jayhawk corps, essentially allowing some players 21 days to get healthy.
Leipold revealed earlier Monday that the situation was bleaker for Willis.
“Yasin Willis had surgery last week, and will be out an indefinite period of time,” opened Leipold to the media.
“Return for this season is up in the air, and probably leaning towards doubtful, unfortunately. Which then leads into kind of some of the things that we've done.”
During that same press conference, Leipold revealed that Kansas had added the likes of defensive tackle Clifton Thompson and running back Chase Belcher, two players who joined the program last week and are expected to help the program.
“Because that's three scholarship running backs that are out for the season. So, you know, it's an unfortunate thing right now.”
Kansas’ running back room is depleted
Let’s take a look at Kansas’ running back order heading into this season. The presumed top three names were Dylan Edwards, Willis and Jalen Dupree.
Edwards suffered an injury-laden season in 2025 that only saw him play in four games for the Wildcats last season.
Willis has now been ruled out of the season for the Jayhawks. And Dupree wasn’t truly healthy enough to get snaps against Arizona State. All of a sudden, Kansas went from one of the strongest running back rooms in the Big 12 to having to add players three games into the season.
What does this mean for Kansas in the long-term?
Considering Kansas’ lack of offensive success, this doesn’t stand out as an elite compliment here, but you could argue that Willis was doing a fine job thus far. Through three games, he had tallied 125 yards for an average of 4.6 per carry while also totaling 2 touchdowns.
His injury now means Jalen Dupree will step into that No. 2 spot. Dupree has done well in flashes, but the aforementioned injury in his past does raise concerns.
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