LAWRENCE — For Devin Neal and Cobee Bryant, Tuesday provided another opportunity to appreciate the fact that this is their last season with Kansas football.

Neal, a senior running back, recalled how his position coach — Jonathan Wallace — told him, “It’s the first of lasts,” before KU’s first practice of preseason camp began. Bryant, a senior cornerback, said he felt a little sad about it at first. They’ve been key parts of the rebuild head coach Lance Leipold started in 2021, along with many more of their experienced teammates.

But while there’s a reality there to face, both understand the chance the Jayhawks have as a team in 2024. They are among the teams that are in contention to compete for a Big 12 Conference championship, with an expanded College Football Playoff looming after the regular season. And the way they and their fellow veterans carry themselves as leaders during fall camp has the potential to not just affect the team’s capabilities this season, but in future seasons as well.

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“It’s just important for us to leave a great impression for the younger guys to step up and be leaders for next year, and not only that but for this year, right?” Neal said. “We have a ton of experience, ton of maturity, and we’ve got to lead everyone on our team. Because we have new faces, we have both sides of the ball and so, we’ve got to communicate with them. We have to bring them along. And it’s just going to be a fun ride for us.”

In 2022 and 2023, the second and third years of Leipold’s tenure in Lawrence, Kansas reached back-to-back bowl games. This past season in December, the Jayhawks won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix. Both of those accomplishments are things KU hadn’t done in more than a decade, and it’s led to a level of optimism around the program that’s captivated fans nationwide.

Leipold highlighted that’s a situation they all have to navigate, because it’s important for everyone to both embrace that confidence and not let it allow them to become complacent. But it is what’s allowed them to start this fall with such a strong foundation. It’s why they all are even in a position to chase the higher goals Leipold alluded to after practice.

Competition has heightened, especially along the offensive and defensive lines and at linebacker. There’s an excitement propelling the team that caught Neal’s attention. As Bryant mentioned, the seniors just have to live up to the responsibilities that have come their way to best set everyone up for success now and in the future.

“We just do it by taking it day by day,” senior defensive end Jereme Robinson said. “We’re going to mess up on things. We’re going to have our little mistakes. But can we, like, remember what we’ve messed up on and act on it the next day?”

There’s also the comfort that comes from redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels practicing. Daniels, whose 2023 season was cut short due to injury, has been on a long road back toward being able to start for Kansas again. The joy Daniels has being able to be in the spot he is now, from Leipold’s perspective, is something that can be contagious for Daniels’ teammates.

Daniels isn’t the only veteran starter back for the Jayhawks, especially on offense. There’s Neal and many others to think about, including that trio of senior wide receivers in Lawrence Arnold, Quentin Skinner and Luke Grimm. But as everyone looks to develop the rhythm desired to be able to win games in the months ahead, that Daniels is available matters.

“Jalon, I thought, had a really good day today — again, probably the most 11-on-11 stuff that he’s maybe done yet,” Leipold said Tuesday. “Excited about seeing him make some throws.”

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: Kansas football opens fall camp in 2024 as contender for Big 12 title