Every fan loves to see a freshman make his name in collegiate football. Something about having the chance of seeing a first-year player excel, rests fans' minds as the future of the program looks a little more secure with them on the roster.
Yesterday, during head coach Lance Leipold's obligatory media duties, where the large part of the discussion was over the depth chart which had just been released, an interesting name was spotted.
The first football depth chart is out. Discuss with the Jayhawk Slant community. #kufball
— JayhawkSlant (@JayhawkSlant) August 18, 2025
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Tate Nagy, a true freshman out of Blue Valley West High School, was tabbed as the Jayhawks' punt returner. Leipold spoke on the decision.
"He's done an excellent job, you know, of making plays back there. As far as tracking the ball, consistent, catching. And he's, you know, just like when he's at receiver, he's, excellent at making the first guy miss. And getting the ball up the field."
Nagy played a myriad of positions in high school, including quarterback where he totaled 4,400 yards and 41 career passing touchdowns, Nagy also touted over 1,000 career rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.
Nagy was a three-star recruit by 247Sports, where he was rated as the 18th-best prospect out of the state of Kansas a top-300 recruit in the wideout slot overall. According to the recruiting site, Nagy held offers from both Kentucky and Ball State as well.
Nagy's father (Matt) is the current offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, where Nagy has resided since 2022, prior to that, Nagy was the head coach of the Chicago Bears, and a stint with the Chiefs before his time in Chicago.
Last season, the Jayhawks averaged 6.9 yards per punt return, marking them 11th in the Big 12, nearly 14 full yards behind Baylor who led the pack with 20.7, but just 2.2 yards ahead of Cincinnati, who bottomed out the conference with 4.7 yards per return
The first chance to see Nagy live in action will be when the Jayhawks take on Fresno State in the season opener this Saturday in a rare week zero game which will see Kansas take to a newly revamped David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium at 6:30 PM ET.
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