1. Why fear the Jayhawks? Jalon Daniels. An absolute game-changer at quarterback and he was the reason why Kansas took a huge step forward as a program. Devin Neal at running back was also good and I think that Kansas is changing things up front on offense. The defensive line may be light and inexperienced, but the secondary should be really good with Cobee Bryant and Ra’Mello Dotson at cornerback.
2. The Best Jimmy’s and Joe’s. This is a list of players on preseason All-Big 12 teams and Daniels is the key (although Jaxon Bean was pretty good too, just young and inconsistent). Having a couple of offensive linemen on this list as well as a playmaking linebacker and two cornerbacks is a good start.
- QB Jalon Daniels
- WR Lawrence Arnold
- TE Mason Fairchild
- OL Dominick Puni
- OL Mike Novitsky
- LB Rich Miller
- DB Kenny Logan, Jr.
- CB Cobee Bryant
3. Transfer Report. Kansas didn’t dip too heavily into the transfer market. On offense, Buffalo running back Dylan McDuffie followed Lance Leipold to Kansas and also added offensive lineman Logan Brown from Wisconsin. On defense, Patrick Joyner from Utah State at defensive end, linebacker JB Brown from Bowling Green, and Damarius McGhee from LSU.
4. Tough to Replace. The entire defensive line has to be replaced, which is a problem for a team trying to get to a bowl. That group was led by defensive end Lonnie Phelps, Jr. who had 11.5 sacks, Malcolm Lee, and Eddie Wilson. While on the offensive line Earl Bostick, Jr. and Sam Burt were stalwarts on the offensive line for the Jayhawks.
Previous 4 Things Preseason Previews: Baylor; BYU; UCF; Cincinnati; Houston; Iowa State; Kansas; Kansas State; Oklahoma; Oklahoma State; TCU; Texas; Texas Tech; West Virginia
Ed Note. This is what I worked on while on flights. I tried not to get too deep because that would be incredibly difficult to do this for 14 teams and I think most of us want a cursory idea of what opposing teams are. I also found the idea of who is transferring in as more important than the freshmen arriving. That’s definitely changed over the course of years. I also thought that knowing who is being replaced is relevant more than most things.