Kansas Athletics
Jayhawks close out spring football with a successful showcase.
In what might be described as a cross between "the last day of school" and a class reunion, the current edition of the Kansas Jayhawks showed fans and alumni how far they have come since the last time they saw them in action in the Autozone Liberty Bowl in Memphis last December. And while the action wasn't mistake free, everyone involved seemed encouraged by what they saw tonight.
It was really fun to get out here and put on a show for the fans, just to show what we've been doing and show what we've been building," Devin Neal explained. "It was really important for us to get going and keep on building from what we did last year."
And the format for this year was geared to putting on a show. Players were constantly rotating in and out to help the action stay as fast paced as possible. Punts became a competition between the returner and a single gunner, with multiple punters, gunners and returners going in succession. Multiple kickers took turns with field goal attempts. And of course the Jayhawks rotated four different quarterbacks, six different wide receivers and multiple running backs throughout the night to give everyone work.
Asked if his team got everything done in Spring Football that he wanted to, head coach Lance Leipold replied, "I think we did." He mentioned that there were a few things, especially on special teams, that they will look to clean up in fall camp, but he was happy with the effort they showed. But more importantly, they were able to get through without significant injuries.
"I thought we came out of this a more physical football team. On nights like this, you're holding your breath as a head football coach that you can get out of this as healthy as possible. The players played hard, showed some flashes and I'm generally please with how we looked in this one."
And there were a large number of players that showed flashes tonight. First, there were the ones you would expect. Luke Grimm, Mason Fairchild and Lawrence Arnold all had spectacular catches. Kevin Terry found himself open and pulled in some tough catches. Sevion Morrison had a few nice catches and showed some good vision on runs. Jason Bean showed off his athleticism with multiple throws on the run as he was eluding defenders.
But of course, Jalon Daniels was the biggest star, showing off his command of the football and decision making when pressure was in his face. When cornerback Cobee Bryant was asked about what it is that Jalon does well, all he could do was shake his head and say "Jalon is just an amazing football player."
There were some new faces that had some big plays as well. DeAndre Thomas, who only had one carry last season, had multiple runs during the scrimmage, making a few impressive cuts and making the case for an expanded role this upcoming season. Fellow running back Tylan Alejos, a redshirt freshman out of Topeka, KS, picked up quite a few carries as well. With the health issues that the running back room has seen, both last season and in spring practice this year, their ability to contribute will be more important than ever.
But above all else, the team enjoyed the ability to share their progress with the fans, enjoying both their success and the success of the rest of the athletic programs at Kansas. The WNIT-champion women's basketball team was recognized between the scrimmage periods, and Leipold was asked about the excitement level, both within his own program and the rest of the athletic department.
"It's great that we had a chance to recognize our women's basketball team. When you can see ... the tradition of our basketball program and so many people want to emulate those things. I think that winning can breed winning."
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