Don’t be mistaken; the Kansas Jayhawks’ defense struggled last season. Overall, KU finished with the nation’s 95th-best defense, which conceded 409.5 yards per game. There were often way too many mistakes on the defensive side of the ball that caused the Jayhawks to slip up late in games, eventually culminating into back-to-back bowl-less seasons under Lance Leipold.
In helping shore up last year’s woes, KU brought in 14 healthy and eligible transfers for this season via the NCAA Transfer Portal in what was rated as the nation’s 53rd-best transfer class according to 247Sports.
However, what if the biggest move the Jayhawks made was keeping around star edge rusher Leroy Harris III?
Harris has the potential to become one of the nation’s best edge rushers
Harris started his career off at FCS side Chattanooga, where he tallied 11 tackles, .5 tackles for loss and 3 fumble recoveries; following his freshman season, he was named a freshman All-American by Phil Steele.
Harris then entered the portal and was rated as the nation’s 1,347th-ranked portal prospect in the class of 2025 before signing with the Jayhawks.
In Harris’ first year, the now-junior tallied 31 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 8 pass breakups. Harris was then nominated as a Big 12 Honorable Mention.
Earlier this month, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg nominated 51 “sleepers” for this upcoming season; Harris was included.
“Harris isn't a sleeper for Kansas fans, who saw him emerge as a disruptor last season, leading the team in both sacks and pass breakups. The Chattanooga transfer showed his playmaking skills against Big 12 opponents such as UCF, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Utah, where he had a tackle for loss and three pass breakups in the regular-season finale. Harris has been through another year of development in Kansas' offseason program and could be among the Big 12's top pass rushers.”
Harris is also set to be coached by KU cult hero Joe Dineen who is joining the Jayhawks after what has been an extremely promising coaching career thus far. So far, Dineen has worked his way from graduate assistant at SMU to defensive ends coach at Kansas. With time at both Illinois and Purdue in between.
Dineen has coached the likes of Nic Scourton and Kydran Jenkins, who both had stellar collegiate careers.
What would be a good 2026 for Harris?
Predicting stats for a player on the defensive line can often not tell the full story either way. Instead, the biggest thing fans want to see is continued consistency throughout every single play. Of course, it's impossible to expect Harris to get to the backfield on every snap, but if he can raise his floor, then there is no reason why he couldn’t finish as an All-Big 12 member, beyond the honorable mention.
Harris is projected to start alongside a defensive line that consists of Blake Herold, Eamon Smalls and Alex Bray. Smalls and Bray are former transfers. Kickoff on the new season is set for September 4 against FCS side LIU, with streaming available on ESPNU at 7 p.m. CT.
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