Their starting center was in the press box serving as a guest analyst on the radio broadcast, the scoreboard read 13-0 at the final horn even though at least six touchdowns were scored and the Kansas football team wore three different uniforms at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
A normal spring game this was not, but that did not mean the Jayhawks did not get something out of their final practice of spring football.
“It was really fun to get out here and put on a show for the fans and show what we’ve been building,” starting running back and Lawrence native Devin Neal said at the end of the two-hour practice session that featured a variety of drills and mini-scrimmages. “It was really important for us to keep on going and keep building from what we did last year.”
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For the few thousand fans who showed up to watch on Friday night, following the action was tough to come by. It was not just a simple matter of 11 players in white lining up against 11 players in blue and competing for four quarters.
But there was action all over the field and enough big moments and memorable plays to bring cheers from the stands.
Jason Bean ran in a touchdown. Jalon Daniels threw two. Luke Grimm caught one. Kelan Robinson snagged another. And the defensive backs, wide receivers, tight ends and running backs all had moments were they were the featured part of the action.
With Friday’s Spring Showcase being part fan fest and part practice, Neal and cornerback Cobee Bryant both said there was a last-day-of-school vibe to Friday’s action. But that did not keep the Jayhawks from accomplishing the things they wanted to get accomplished.
“There was some of that,” KU coach Lance Leipold said of the spring-fever mentality. “But I thought they were loose and came out and appreciated the crowd that showed up on a beautiful evening. So, some of that (cuts into) the intensity, but there’s other guys that were told it’s going to be a big evaluation moment for them and I think they responded.”
That was the theme of the entire spring. The Jayhawks were told going in that it was going to be physical and that they needed to respond to that challenge. The coaches and players all seemed to think that was the biggest thing this team gained from the past 15 practices.
“There’s probably a few things that you don’t quite get that we’ll address in fall camp,” Leipold said. “But I thought we came out of this a more physical football team. I really think they embraced that and understood that and we made a lot of progress.”
Neal agreed but made sure to point out that there was still plenty of work to be done.
“I wouldn’t say (we achieved) everything (we wanted,” Neal said. “I just think we’re that type of team. We’re hungry to keep on getting better. But we definitely made a lot of strides toward the team we want to be and we’re just going to keep on getting better. It takes what it takes, you know. That’s what our coaches talk about a lot, and we’re just going into the offseason and keep grinding and get after it.”
While Friday marked the end of Leipold’s second spring at Kansas, it hardly meant the work would stop.
On Saturday, he has meetings with recruits, his players will visit with the medical staff and the entire team will begin moving out of its home locker room and into the visitor’s locker room on the stadium’s east side so the renovations to the Anderson Family Football Complex can begin in full force next week.
“It was a full day today, it’ll be that way tomorrow,” Leipold said. “All in all, I’m really pleased with this spring.”
