LAWRENCE — Chris Simpson misses Rich Miller Jr.

Miller is like a son to Simpson, Kansas football’s linebackers coach. Simpson recruited Miller to Buffalo, coached him there, and when both decided to follow head coach Lance Leipold to KU the coach-player relationship continued. The 2023 season, Miller’s fifth playing at the college level and third with the Jayhawks, was the last they were able to share together.

But while that’s all understandable, Simpson also feels like it’s time for Miller to take the next step in life. While Miller leaves a void in Kansas’ linebackers room, as someone who regularly started the past three seasons, Simpson is also excited for the guys who are still with the Jayhawks. There are opportunities for them to step up.

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Here are some things to consider about the linebackers position as spring continues:

It’s time for Cornell Wheeler to step up

Redshirt senior linebacker Cornell Wheeler has been at Kansas for a few seasons already, and this past season finally started to emerge as a factor for the Jayhawks. But Simpson and company will need a lot more from Wheeler in 2024, and senior linebacker Taiwan Berryhill Jr. is seeing Wheeler step up. Right now, it looks like Wheeler is in line to be Kansas’ starting MIKE linebacker this fall.

In the past, Simpson said, Wheeler was a “rep guy.” That meant Wheeler needed reps in order to have a full understanding of what he was doing. Now, though, Wheeler is starting to just know his role and be the guy that teammates are coming to with questions.

Simpson described Wheeler as being a talent with as much true, linebacker feel, as anyone they have. It can be the difference between a player getting to where they’re supposed to be and securing the structure of the defense, and doing all of that and then making the play. Wheeler can be one of the Jayhawks’ “erasers,” meaning if something isn’t right Wheeler can fix it.

Jayson Gilliom hasn’t been fully healthy

Redshirt junior Jayson Gilliom has already battled injury before in his Kansas career, and according to Simpson the linebacker has been fighting through injury again. It’s an unfortunate development for Gilliom, who flashed potential last season. If this is something that persists, the Jayhawks’ depth at linebacker will be even further tested.

When healthy, Simpson sees Gilliom as a HAWK linebacker in their base personnel. Gilliom had been playing a hybrid position, which redshirt freshman linebacker Logan Brantley and some safeties — like redshirt senior Marvin Grant — are working at now, but Gilliom is transitioning to learning the team’s HAWK, MIKE and WILL spots. Simpson wants to develop more depth and they cross-train their players.

Here’s what Chris Simpson is looking for from Logan Brantley

Simpson was quick to praise how well Brantley can run, his athleticism and positional versatility. But Simpson also said Brantley is an emotional player, which can be good and bad because the highs are high and the lows are low. They’re working on finding a happy medium so one play doesn’t affect the next, because Simpson feels when Brantley puts it all together he’ll be a tremendous player for them.

Berryhill, who’s been a regular contributor in his own right the past few years, highlighted Brantley as someone who’s stepped up since Craig Young left to embark on a professional career. Brantley’s still young, Berryhill acknowledged, but someone who’s been locking in as well. Berryhill thinks Brantley has always had the physical capabilities, and now Brantley has done a better job of being in position to make the play.

JB Brown remains a name to know

JB Brown became a pivotal player for Kansas last season, after transferring in from Bowling Green, but the redshirt junior linebacker feels even more comfortable now. He made the jump from a Mid-American Conference program to a Big 12 Conference program last year, and now has that experience. He alluded to an ability to recognize things quicker now, and mentioned that this spring he’s working on showing everyone he can be a leader.

Simpson said Brown is way ahead of where he was during fall camp when it comes to his understanding of the defense. Especially in the first half of last season, Simpson said there were times Brown was a “see ball, get ball” guy — which can lead to plays but also compromise the defense. Now Brown is both making plays and being where he’s supposed to be, which fires Simpson up.

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: Here's what you need to know about Kansas football's linebackers