Kansas Jayhawks Spring Football Report: Days 1-2

On Monday, the Kansas Jayhawks football team kicked off their spring practices in preparation for the regular season.

February 28th was a first for Lance Liepold at Kansas: the first time he stepped onto the field to lead the Kansas Jayhawks in Spring Football practices. 

Leipold was officially introduced as the head coach of the Jayhawks on April 30th, 2021, which was the final day of spring practices. Last season, he openly discussed the challenge of taking over a team that had already completed the largest period of growth in the offseason. 

On Tuesday, you could sense the excitement from the head coach as he talked about starting spring practice. "We look to take another step in our program execution." He mentioned that the main goal was to create "a culture of competing daily and getting better each and every day." He continued by talking about all the new players that were with the program and using this time to get them acclimated to the program and in tune with what the team plans to do this season.

Leipold was joined by senior safety Kenny Logan Jr and redshirt senior center Mike Novitsky at the podium to talk about the first two days of spring practice. They both talked about the attitude and environment from practice and how different it was from last season. 

Here are some additional takeaways from the today's press conferences:

Individual growth and development, not just teaching schemes.

© Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Leipold talked about the importance of all the "extras" that were missing for the Jayhawks during the season, including working on fundamentals and individual development. That was echoed by both players who took the podium.

Novitsky talked about the effort that was being displayed by all the players and coaches. He added, "Our culture is really starting to take off. There's a big sense of pride and straining every day to get better."

We know what’s expected 😤 pic.twitter.com/KJhEf3i9Vp

— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) March 1, 2022

And Logan talked about how far the returning players have come in helping the coaches establish that culture and growth. He specifically noted that for him, "it's kind of second nature. I got my feet wet last year with everything, so now, it's kind of like coaching the younger guys, coaching the new guys and players coming in.

Strength & Conditioning Gains

© Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

The players have been participating in the strength and conditioning program under Matt Gildersleeve since January, and looking at the spring roster showed some significant gains:

On a roster where the biggest noticeable is that the young linemen on both sides of the ball added *significant* weight, something that could be a bit under the radar is Armaj Reed-Adams losing weight to 6-5 320. Reported to Kansas at 390ish, but was 320ish in HS. https://t.co/hC8UcM6r9e

— Kevin Flaherty (@KFlahertyKCSN) March 1, 2022

For a team that as recently as the middle of last season was routinely getting blown off the line at the snap, these weight gains could potentially be huge for this team.

Injuries & Missing Players

© Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Leipold talked about a few of the players during his press conference. Junior quarterback Jalon Daniels will be limited in practice for at least the first two weeks due to an unspecified injury. Leipold was asked to elaborate on the injury, "Yeah, I probably could, but I am not going to go very deeply into it." He did state that it was due to "some postseason things."

Lance Leipold talked today after start of spring practices. QB Jalon Daniels isn't full-go bc of undisclosed injury, though Leipold expects him in more as spring goes. LB Gavin Potter is not practicing. Leipold wouldn't expand on that except to say he was "not with us" at moment.

— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) March 1, 2022

Additionally, Gavin Potter was not practicing with the team, but Leipold refused to give any additional details.

Leipold also talked about other injuries on the team. Wide receiver Torry Locklin is still recovering from a leg injury he sustained in the previous season. Fullback Spencer Foe and Gayflor Flomo are also working through unspecified injuries.

Kansas will have 13 more practices over the course of the next 6 weeks, with a nine-day break that coincides with Spring Break for the University.

The Kansas Football Spring Preview will be on April 9th inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Fans will get the opportunity to see the Kansas Jayhawks on the field. You can expect a family atmosphere with a full slate of activities such as live music will be conducted around the stadium.  

Join the discussion! Come talk about this or any of our articles on the Blue Wing Rising Discord Server.