Certain intangibles will turn good teams into great teams and great teams into elite ones.
One of those factors on any given Saturday is the experience you field on both sides of the ball. There is a reason why, no matter who the surrounding cast, fans felt a bit at ease with Jalon Daniels under center over the past few years. Now without Daniels, there are ranging expectations over what to expect next season.
Looking beyond the confusing battle between Cole Ballard, Chase Jenkins and Isaiah Marshall for next season’s QB1, there is a surprising amount of experience that should settle the nerves of a program that has to face the likes of Missouri, BYU, Utah and Oklahoma State, with an away trip booked to Kansas State for this season’s Sunflower Showdown thrown into the mix as well.
Kansas measured as one of the nation’s most-experienced teams in latest CBS Sports list
Before we dive into the neatly presented numbers, this is a disclaimer that this is different than a “returning production list.” Those comprise players who played for the same university returning to that school. These stats are players who have played college football before, whether for Kansas or not. For example, Chase Jenkins would count as an experienced player because of his time at Rice, despite next season being his first for the Jayhawks.
Overall, KU is bringing in 26,341 career snaps, ranking No. 25 in the nation. Kansas is reeling in 11,412 offensive snaps, which is good for No. 45 in the country, and are following that up with 14,929 defensive snaps, going for No. 10 in the nation.
For a defense that allowed 409.5 yards per game last season (No. 95 in all of FBS), the fact that second-year defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald will be able to hold an experience-laden roster is a big help.
While Kansas’ offensive rates are not as promising, the biggest step forward that KU made last season was beyond any player, and instead towards the reacquisition of former associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki to the same role, meaning he will be taking charge of the offense next season, while also keeping former offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski in a passing game coordinator role. Next season, the Jayhawks have to try to improve on 368.8 yards of total offense (No. 77 in the nation) that Kansas produced last season.
Another interesting stat is that the Jayhawks’ roster will consist of 366 career starts, good for No. 20 in the nation. While that number isn’t later divided between offensive and defensive starts, it's a great sign that head coach Lance Leipold and Co. are focusing on this aspect.
Now the worst thing about attempting to link these stats to in-game events is that, well, you really can’t. When the Jayhawks gave up game-sealing touchdowns to Missouri, Cincinnati and Arizona last season, was it because Kansas’ defense was inexperienced? The same can be said for a paltry offensive red-zone rate last season, so while these numbers can’t project Kansas’ record in a big 2026 season, they can tell you that whoever is on the field has likely been in that same position before, for better or for worse.
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