Analyzing Kansas football’s offensive and defensive lines with head coach Lance Leipold
TOPEKA — Kansas football has a lot of reason to be optimistic about its chances this upcoming season.
There’s the return of redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels from injury. Sticking on the offensive side of the ball, at running back there’s the duo of senior Devin Neal and redshirt junior Daniel Hishaw Jr. At wide receiver, there’s a trio of seniors in Quentin Skinner, Luke Grimm and Lawrence Arnold.
Switching to the defensive side of the ball, at linebacker redshirt senior Cornell Wheeler appears to be stepping up for the Jayhawks. At cornerback, seniors Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson form one of the best duos the Big 12 Conference has to offer. At safety, there’s redshirt senior Marvin Grant back and ready to take on his own heightened role.
The fate of Kansas’ season, though, might have a lot to do with how its offensive and defensive lines develop. There’s significant production to replace on both sides of the ball in that regard. It’s something head coach Lance Leipold and his staff have devoted time to addressing.
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Here are a few thoughts about it as June unfolds:
Kansas’ offensive line rotation is coming into focus
Redshirt junior Logan Brown and senior Bryce Cabeldue are in line to be Kansas’ left and right tackles, respectively, as redshirt freshman Calvin Clements makes his way back from injury. The competition at center is ongoing between redshirt senior Shane Bumgardner and senior Michael Ford Jr. At guard, in addition to Ford if he doesn’t play center, a few other names to know are redshirt senior Darrell Simmons Jr., redshirt junior Kobe Baynes and redshirt junior Nolan Gorczyca.
However, a name to also keep in mind is Texas A&M transfer Bryce Foster. Foster, a former 247Sports Composite four-star prospect out of high school and 247Sports three-star prospect in the transfer portal, has serious interest in choosing Kansas — according to multiple reports. This past season at Texas A&M, Foster started at center in all 12 of the games he played in.
Bai Jobe adds to the upside of Kansas’ defensive line
Speaking at an event in Topeka earlier this month, Leipold mentioned he really likes the depth Kansas has at defensive tackle. He added that while there are still some questions at defensive end, redshirt junior Dean Miller has stepped up, senior Jereme Robinson is back from injury and a pair of freshmen — DJ Warner and Dakyus Brinkley — give the coaching staff two more to think about. And that doesn’t even include Michigan State transfer Bai Jobe, a freshman this past season.
Jobe is a former four-star prospect out of high school who had a four-star rating as a transfer, too. Leipold said they recruited Jobe out of high school, and that Jobe has tremendous upside. The goal is to capitalize on the athleticism and pass rush Jobe has the capability of providing.
Amir Herring adds to Kansas’ offensive line depth
Kansas added a transfer to the offensive line from Michigan in Amir Herring, who is also coming off of his freshman year in college. Herring is a former four-star prospect out of high school who had a three-star rating as a transfer. Herring is someone Leipold described as being able to provide the Jayhawks with more depth in the interior.
Leipold noted as well that Kansas freshman quarterback Isaiah Marshall is also Herring’s cousin. That relationship, as well as the recruiting Jayhawks linebackers coach Chris Simpson has done in the state of Michigan, served Kansas well in this recruitment. There will be work Herring has to do to catch up during fall camp, but Leipold still values the addition.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Analyzing Kansas football’s offensive and defensive lines this summer
