The Kansas Jayhawks will soon be embarking on their 2026 campaign with a game against the LIU Sharks in just under a week. While most offseason signs have trended positively, everyone knows that the season will be defined by a few key plays.
Look at the last two seasons, for example. There you will find countless missed tackles, unconverted third downs and missed trips in the red zone that will eventually add up to back-to-back 5-7 bowl-less seasons.
Now, the goal is that, finally, via plenty of work done via the NCAA Transfer Portal and some coaching adjustments, the Jayhawks will now be able to get themselves back into a bowl game for the first time since the 2023 season, when they finished the campaign with a remarkable 9-4 record.
To get back to that stamp (or to a bowl game at all, really), the Jayhawks will have to rely on these three duos to do the dirty work.
No. 3 Nik McMillan and Cam Pickett
For once, it finally feels like the Jayhawks have depth to share the ball around. Last season, the pressure fell too much on Emmanuel Henderson Jr. and when teams would hem in on the Alabama transfer, Kansas’ passing attack would quickly fall apart. Now this season, it is set to comprise McMillan, Pickett, Nahzae Cox, Keaton Kubecka, Tate Nagy and Bryson Hayes.
If McMillan and Pickett can spearhead this attack and open up the possibility for players like Cox and Kubecka to get involved, newly touted quarterback Isaiah Marshall will have several exciting receiving options.
No. 2 Dylan Edwards and Yasin Willis
The two transfers were recently paired together with an “OR” on Kansas’ Week One depth chart, which will tell you everything you need to know about the quality in this room. Edwards will be the speedster who will cut teams apart down the sideline, while Willis uses his bulky 6-foot-1 frame to bulldozer defenders over. Don’t let Willis’ height fool you, as he still has good enough athleticism to pick up yards in the open field.
Kansas has released its Week 1 depth chart. pic.twitter.com/V3isO9fWB4
— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) August 31, 2026
No. 1 Andy Kotelnicki and Lance Leipold
Kansas’ defense has been stockpiled with experienced transfers peppered across that side of the ball. Moving over to offense, however, things look a bit more raw. In the two previous seasons, this would be a concern with Jeff Grimes and Jim Zebrowski leading the offense. But for this season, former offensive coordinator and associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki is back in the same role after two seasons at Penn State.
The pair have worked together since 2013 and in their three seasons together at KU, they took a big step forward in bringing pride back to a football program that was the laughingstock of college football for years prior.
Kotelnicki and Leipold tallied a 17-21 record in their time together, but if you exclude Kansas’ rebuilding 2022 season, that record jumps to 15-11 and sees highs of back-to-back bowls and a high of No. 19 in the AP poll.
More Kansas Football News
Add us as a preferred source on Google