40 Days Until Kansas Football: Previewing the Defensive Line

We continue our positional previews by jumping over to the defensive side. Up first is the defensive line.

Each week, we will take a deep dive into one of the 10 main position groups, highlighting the key players to watch and giving you an idea of what to expect from the position this year. This week, we jump over to the defense, starting with the guys in the trenches: the defensive line.

Other Positional Previews:

• Quarterbacks
• Running Backs
• Wide Receivers
• Tight Ends
  
• Offensive Line

Last Season

The Jayhawks had 13 different players who recorded a stat last season across the defensive line. Here is a list of each of those players (* - player is no longer with the team):

Player Name	Position	Games Played	Total Tackles	Solo Tackles	Tackles For Loss	Sacks	QB Hurries	Passes Defended	Interceptions	Fumbles Forced	Fumbles Recovered
Kyron Johnson*	OLB/DE	12	61	41	7.5	5.5	10	1	0	4	0
Caleb Sampson	DE	12	24	15	3.5	1	0	1	0	0	0
Malcolm Lee	DE	12	23	14	2.5	1.5	3	1	0	1	0
Jerome Robinson	DE	9	14	8	3.5	1	2	0	0	1	0
Caleb Taylor	DT	12	14	8	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Kenean Caldwell	DT	11	13	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Eddie Wilson	DT	11	12	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Steven Parker*	OLB/DE	12	11	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ronald McGee	DT	11	11	7	0.5	0..5	1	0	0	0	0
Zion DeBose	DE	10	7	5	2.5	1.5	0	0	0	0	0
Hayden Hatcher	OLB/DE	3	6	4	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Sam Burt	NT	4	2	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Jelani Arnold	DE	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Kyron Johnson was by far the best graded member of the defensive line last season, by both CFB Winning Edge and Pro Football Focus. It honestly wasn't even close.

You can look at that table and wonder about just how strong this team is up front, especially given the tackle numbers for the remaining players. But it is important to realize that last year's strategy on the defensive end was for the lineman to focus more on clogging up running lanes and open up opportunities for the linebackers to make plays, so those numbers can be forgiven a bit.

Behind Johnson last season was a stable of solid defensive lineman who were competent but not overwhelming. They were a solid unit, but there was no expectation that the line could go out and shut down the opposing offense.

Cause For Concern

The Jayhawks easily lost their best player from last season in Kyron Johnson. There is not a returning player who can be counted on as a sure thing to pile up the stats this season. While the Jayhawks have a good amount of depth, their opponents last season were able to take advantage of the fact that there was only one standout player on the line. Development over this offseason is going to be key for the success of the unit.

Reasons for Optimism

Since development will be key, it is good that we saw some significant development over the course of the season last year. And while the defensive line wasn't a big strength for the defense last year, it also wasn't the biggest issue.

While Kyron Johnson is gone, Lonnie Phelps has transferred in. He rated better as a player last season than Johnson, and it's reasonable to expect that he can slot into a similar hybrid role. And Caleb Sampson returns as the best Jayhawk on the interior, looking to improve from his strong performance last season.

Projected Depth Chart

The Jayhawks played a 4-3 defensive front last season, which many acknowledge was forced due to a lack of depth at the linebacker position. I think it's fair to assume that they will play with the same 4-3 front, especially with the ability for some of the edge players to play a hybrid DE/OLB role.

DE: Lonnie Phelps/Zion Debose

Phelps is coming in after a successful stint at Miami (OH), and is expected to make an immediate impact. He rates as an excellent pass rusher and is strong against the run, and he has the capability of stepping back into an outside linebacker position when the Jayhawks switch it up and go with a 3-4 front.

Debose transferred in last season, and never really got to make the impact that a lot of people expected from him. However, that's just as much due to the people ahead of him on the depth chart as it was about his own ability. I expect him to get on the field a lot more this season as one of the primary backups at defensive end.

DE: Malcolm Lee/Jerome Robinson

Prior to the transfer of Phelps, Lee was expected to be the main contributor from the outside for the Jayhawks this season. Now, he will get to reprise the role he played last year, as the complimentary piece on the opposite side of the main pass rush. I expect him to be at least as productive as last season, which means you should hear his name plenty.

Robinson was quality depth last season, and I expect him to fill in nicely in that role again this year.

DT: Caleb Sampson/Kenean Caldwell

Sampson played a lot as a hybrid defensive end and defensive tackle, shifting to play on the outside of the line when Kansas went to a 3-4 front. I expect him to continue to play in that role, anchoring the inside of the line with a 4-man front but staying on the field in most situations.

Caldwell was one of the first guys off the bench for the defensive line last season, and I expect him to rotate in heavily.

DT: Eddie Wilson/Sam Burt

Wilson wasn't as productive last season as he was the year prior, but a lot of that had to do with the sheer number of players that rotated in and out. I expect him to be one of the starters, but I it likely will be in name only as he will share time fairly evenly with other players on the interior.

Burt is likely going to see a decent amount of time as the only real nose tackle on the roster. That means he is more likely to be the interior lineman still on the field in 3-man fronts. 

Depth

The Jayhawks have a big stable of experienced players on the defensive line, but there is a trio of young defensive ends that are expected to get some time to develop before stepping up next year. With players like Jelani Arnold, Hayden Hatcher and Ronald McGee, all who saw action last year, the Jayhawks should be well positioned to withstand a few disruptions this season.

Coaching Staff

The Jayhawks are helmed by two different coaches across the defensive line, with Jim Panagos joining the staff this season to coach the defensive tackles, and Taiwo Onatolu being moved from his role as an analyst last season to serve as the defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator. During spring practices, both coaches agreed that it was helpful to split coaching duties for the defensive line, given the specialization that is required at each of the defensive end and defensive tackle positions.

Panagos coached the defensive line at Rutgers for the past two seasons, with previous stops at Minnesota, Temple, UCF and the Minnesota Vikings, all coaching the defensive line. He has a history of coaching up his players, and the 2020 Rutgers team led the Big Ten and ranked 11th in the nation in tackles-for-loss.

Onatolu joined the Kansas staff originally as a special teams analyst in 2021 after spending'5 seasons with Buffalo on the defensive staff, including 3 seasons as the defensive ends coach.  

Overall Thoughts

The defensive line was one that was somewhat unremarkable last season, in that it wasn't really good but also wasn't really bad. With the vast majority of those players back, you would think that this means that they would improve to some degree. But with offensive lines reportedly better across the conference, this is a unit that is going to have to step up in order for the Jayhawks to get where they want to be.

I think they have the right personnel and coaching to do it, but whether it happens is still a really difficult question to answer.  

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