With His Return, Devin Neal Could Break Records, But His Legacy is Set

The running back and face of the Kansas rebuild is nearing No. 1 in several statistical categories.

Devin Neal took Kansas Jayhawks fans on a roller coaster prior to KU playing in a roller coaster of a Guaranteed Rate Bowl against UNLV Tuesday. An Instagram post had fans online freaking out that he would be leaving the program, but not only did he post a follow up asking fans to relax, but the news quickly came out that he would be returning to Lawrence for his senior season in 2024.

Sources: Star tailback Devin Neal has informed the Kansas coaching staff that he’ll be returning to Kansas for the 2024 season. Neal earned second-team All-Big 12 honors this season, rushing for 1,209 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per carry and scoring 16 touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/WBmHgHodMY

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 27, 2023

This is obviously significant on a pure production level. Neal has been one of the best running backs in the Big 12 and the country the past couple of years. And with him and Jalon Daniels returning, the offense is in position to not miss a beat as Kansas looks to compete for a conference championship and maybe even a playoff berth.

But there are two other reasons why this is significant, both personally and at a macro level.

All-Time Records Within Reach

Even if Neal never played another snap for Kansas, he has amassed a KU ring-of-honor-type career. Heading into next year, when it comes to the KU all-time rushing leaderboard, Neal currently sits at:

Career rushing yards: fourth (he passed Laverne Smith in the bowl game)

Career rushing touchdowns: third

Career total scrimmage yards: fifth

Career total touchdowns: tied-second

June Henley is the all-time rushing leader at Kansas as it stands with 3,841 yards and 41 touchdowns, followed by Tony Sands and James Sims ahead of Neal in rushing yards. Let’s just say that Neal has the exact same season as this year: 1,280 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns, 1,497 scrimmage yards, and 17 total touchdowns. That would mean he would end his storied KU career with: 4,357 rushing yards, 49 rushing touchdowns, 5,031 total scrimmage yards, and 53 total touchdowns.

That would put Neal as number one all time in all four categories. But what if he takes a bit of a step back in production? Even if he just has 900-1,000 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, he would still end his career as the most productive back in school history and be first in all four of those categories.

The Face of the Resurgence

Jalon Daniels is the most recognized Kansas football player of the past five years. And for good reason. The quarterback will always have a spot in the limelight. But no player has embodied the rise of Kansas football under Lance Leipold like Neal. The Lawrence native gave up other power five options to stay home and rebuild his childhood program. He had a dream of a winning team fans would be proud of and that would again become relevant on a national level.

And that’s what he’s accomplished, more than and faster than anyone at the time could have imagined. Neal would be cherished at KU for his talent no matter the situation he walked into (and if the rebuild took longer), but given the fulfillment of his promise, he will go down as one of the most beloved Jayhawks in the modern era. He’s by no means alone in earning credit (that also goes first and foremost to Leipold himself, but also Kenny Logan, Jason Bean, Luke Grimm, Cobee Bryant, and others) but Neal’s story makes him a natural face of the rebuild.

His love for the program is reciprocated two-fold by the fans’ love for him, and a storybook final season could keep Neal’s legacy lingering around The Booth for decades to come.