LAWRENCE — Kansas football went through spring ball with a competition along its offensive line, especially at center.

As Mike Novitsky’s college career came to an end, it left a hole for the Jayhawks to fill. Novitsky had been a mainstay at center during the first three years of Lance Leipold’s tenure as coach. Senior Michael Ford Jr. put himself in position to be the potential replacement, as did redshirt senior transfer Shane Bumgardner – the Division II center of the year last season from Tiffin.

Then, during the offseason, Kansas also added Texas A&M’s Bryce Foster. Foster, who’ll be a redshirt junior this fall, started 12 games in 2023 at center and was one of the best freshmen in the nation in 2021. Leipold highlighted that experience and those starts, that, at the very least, Foster will add competition and depth.

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“(Foster)’s a big man, now,” Leipold said last week during Big 12 Conference media days in Las Vegas. “He’s thick, he’s strong and I’m excited about that. And, again, during his recruiting the track staff was a part of that when he came on campus. And we know that his frame, he’ll be able to split time there. And, again, at this stage of his career we know that we can make those things work out and we’re excited about him.”

Foster, who has competed in throws events in track and field, was a 247Sports Composite four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. An interior offensive lineman, he was one of the top 100 players in the country. Leipold mentioned offensive linemen can be hard to come by, and offensive linemen with Foster’s pedigree are especially so.

Foster’s ability at center would allow Ford to be one of Kansas’ starting guards, alongside redshirt junior offensive lineman Kobe Baynes. For some time, it’s looked like redshirt junior offensive lineman Logan Brown would start at left tackle and senior offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue would start at right tackle.

In total, that’s an offensive line with both experience and promise. It’ll be important to remain healthy – Brown and Cabeldue are both coming off of injuries from 2023 – but that’s a sentiment any team would express.

“I’ve always said, like, the biggest differences that I’ve seen between, like, Big 12 play and, like, SEC play, is interior,” said senior running back Devin Neal, who described the 6-foot-5, 330-pound Foster as a gentle giant. “You can really see it, and Bryce — I’ve watched plenty of film on Bryce, too. He moves really well, He fits really good into the counter scheme.”

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: KU football: Bryce Foster transfer helps depth, competition on offensive line