Know Your Foe: Breaking Down the Kansas Defense

The Jayhawks come to Morgantown following one of their best outings in over a decade

The West Virginia Mountaineers welcome the Kansas Jayhawks Saturday at 6:00 pm EST and will be streaming on ESPN+. 

Kansas is coming off one of their best defensive performances in over a decade after dismantling Tennessee Tech 56-10 last weekend. The unit held Tennessee Tech to 97 passing yards and 190 total yards of offense, marking the first time the defense kept an opponent under 100 yards of passing and under 200 yards of total offense since September. 4, 2010 against North Dakota State.

Kansas held Tennessee Tech to 93 rushing yards on 43 carries for an average of 2.2 yards per carry – the fewest allowed by a Kansas defense since Sept. 12, 2009, against UTEP.

Defensive end Lonnie Phelps, who transferred to Kansas in December from Miami (OH), led the defense with seven tackles, four tackles for a loss and three sacks. His three sacks were the most by a Jayhawk since Cameron Rosser had three against TCU in 2016.

Phelps is accompanied by defensive tackles Caleb Sampson and Sam Burt as part of a four-man front. Sampson picked up half a sack on Saturday along with edge rusher Hayden Hatcher. 

2021 Second Team All-Big 12 safety Kenny Logan Jr. highlights the secondary. His 113 tackles a season ago led the conference. He is joined by Purdue transfer Marvin Grant and Eastern Michigan transfer Jarrett Paul.

Michigan State transfer Kalon Gervin and Utah State transfer Monte’ McGary join the rotation at corner with returning sophomores Mello Dotson and Cobee Bryant.

The Jayhawks return their top three linebackers from last season. Rich Miller led the way with 79 tackles and five tackles for a loss, while adding two sacks and two pass breakups. He had six tackles in the season opener.

Sep 2, 2022; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall (4) is sacked by Kansas Jayhawks defensive lineman Caleb Sampson (98) during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Gavin Potter totaled 78 tackles in 2021, including five TFL’s and an interception he returned 28 yards for a touchdown in the season finale against West Virginia, highlighting one of his best performances of his career. He finished the afternoon with a season-high 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss in the loss to the Mountaineers.

Also back is Taiwan Berryhill, who played in all 12 games and finished with 31 tackles. Head coach Lance Leipold and linebackers coach Chris Simpson noted Berryhill as one of the most improved players on the team entering the season, then finished with three tackles, including one for a loss in the win over Tennessee Tech.

In addition, the Jayhawks brought in Ohio State transfer Craig Young, Central Florida transfer Eriq Gilyard and Louisiana transfer Lorenzo McCaskill to fill out the linebacker room.

Young started for Kansas and had two tackles. Gilyard had five tackles, one tackle-for-loss and an interception in his Jayhawk debut. McCaskill also saw extended time and had three stops.

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