LAWRENCE — As Kansas football opened fall camp this year, head coach Lance Leipold thought back to his first impressions of Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson.

Bryant and Dotson, now seniors, were in the early stages of their time at KU when Leipold’s staff arrived in Lawrence to start a rebuild in 2021. When the Jayhawks pulled off an upset at Texas that first season, Leipold noted, they did so with that cornerback duo on the field despite neither weighing more than 170 pounds. Defensive coordinator Brian Borland recalled during fall camp Bryant and Dotson were trying to play at about 160 pounds that year, so at first it was tough to get a read on their potential.

But fast forward to 2024, and so much has changed for Bryant and Dotson. They’ve not only grown as players but devoted themselves to trusting the physical development process necessary to put themselves in the best position possible — Bryant’s 6-foot and 175 pounds, Dotson’s 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds. Both are members of the preseason All-Big 12 Conference team, as voted by the media, and the honor reinforced what Bryant already felt.

RELATED: Kansas coach Lance Leipold reiterates Bryce Foster is ‘going to help this football team’

RELATED: Among Kansas football’s cornerbacks, keep an eye on Damarius McGhee this season

“We kind of know we’re one of the best duos in the country, so that’s not a debate for anybody,” Bryant said during fall camp. “If you don’t like it, we already know. But, we kind of — it just motivates us, though, for real, for real, because everybody kind of looked down on KU. But yeah, man, that’s just motivation but we kind of don’t worry about it so much to let it get in our heads. So, we just keep going.”

Bryant added he and Dotson are always texting each other about their need to keep working and about that desire to not let any accolades affect them. It’s an especially important mindset for Bryant, who’s been named to multiple preseason watch lists for national awards. Most recently, there was the Jim Thorpe Award, which Bryant is in line to win if he proves to be the top defensive back in college for his performance, ability athletically and character.

Both Bryant and Dotson returned to Kansas after tying for the team lead in interceptions last season with four. Those marks tied them for fourth among all players in the Big 12 last season, as the Jayhawks went on to win the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. And now they also are being guided by co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach D.K. McDonald, a newcomer to the coaching staff who most recently was in the NFL as an assistant in Philadelphia.

Leipold pointed out that McDonald isn’t giving either Bryant or Dotson much leeway, and is going to continue to push them. Both have aspirations of playing professionally and have another level to reach in their respective games. It won’t matter if Bryant has a louder personality and Dotson a quieter one, as Dotson discussed during Big 12 media days in Las Vegas, as long as they can continue to prove to be valuable presences on the field.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had guys out there I just feel more confident in,” Borland said. “It doesn’t matter what we call, those guys are going to cover whoever they’re — whoever they’re matched up on, they’re going to cover them. So —  or at least I feel like they can, and so, that’s a great comfort when you know you’ve got some guys like that.”

Dotson has discussed how important it is for he and Bryant to be leaders for the younger players in their position group. Bryant has done the same because this is the last year at Kansas for both of them. It’s something that will help set up the Jayhawks best for the future and allow them to better adapt in the present if any of those younger cornerbacks need to step up.

When it comes to setting those two up to best attack their own futures, though, McDonald has an idea of what they need to do to take advantage of a chance in the NFL. That means becoming better at certain off-field habits, such as studying the game more effectively, so they act more based on anticipation. That advanced anticipation will allow the game to slow down for them, and for them to make more plays.

“They’ll both admit that they left some plays out on the field last year, even throughout all the big plays that they made,” McDonald said during fall camp. “And so, if they can just become a little better at the anticipation they’re going to make a lot more plays, going to make us better, and ultimately at the end of the day it’s going to make them better, too.”

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’s Cobee Bryant, Mello Dotson can be Big 12’s best CBs