Tempe, Ariz. — As head coach Lance Leipold put it on Saturday, no one will feel sorry for Kansas that it’s “thin in some spots” at this point in the season.
Even if, as he noted, the Jayhawks are in some cases giving significant time to players who “didn’t even travel in the last away game.”
Devin Dye returned to the starting lineup, but his brother Jalen Dye and fellow safety Mason Ellis missed Saturday’s loss at Arizona State entirely. That meant redshirt freshman Taylor Davis played 37 snaps on defense after just 14 in one blowout win in the previous year and a half of his collegiate career.
True freshman cornerback Jalen Todd has been appearing on special teams during his first season at KU, but an injury to star corner Cobee Bryant thrust Todd into significant action on defense in the fourth quarter of a game that ended up going down to the final seconds.
“I think that’ll pay off somewhere down the road for us, and it just didn’t,” Leipold said of the young players getting experience, though he took care to add, “I’m not saying any of those guys were the reason why we didn’t win this game.”
Getting its players back in the lineup, though, could be part of the reason KU wins a future game, after five straight losses.
“We’re close, as you can keep seeing,” Leipold said, “but that’s a tiring old story.”
The Jayhawks, however, have arrived at their bye week, and even if they enter it devoid of momentum, they will at least get a chance to recuperate. Quarterback Jalon Daniels said KU needs to “come out as healthy as possible” when it’s over.
The absence of defensive captain Cornell Wheeler, the breakout middle linebacker who has been present but not dressed to play each of the last two weeks after an apparent leg injury at West Virginia, has thrust veteran Taiwan Berryhill Jr. into significant action of rather inconsistent quality.
Now Bryant’s status becomes the latest concern. On a drive midway through the second half where one KU player went down after another, the preseason all-conference cornerback’s already tough night came to an abrupt end when he had to be helped off the field without putting any weight on his right leg. That injury meant increased time for infrequently used players like Todd and Damarius McGhee.
Leipold didn’t have an update on Bryant postgame.
“The little bit I heard was like two different things,” he said, “so I don’t even want to get close to commenting on it.”
The Jayhawks are acutely aware of the status of their team. Wide receiver Quentin Skinner said KU’s health is “probably the biggest factor” in the bye week.
“I know that’s cheesy in an answer, but that’s probably what a lot of teams do around the country,” Skinner said. “And then, you know, just notice what we’re able to do and even amplify that even better, and look at our negatives and make those even better of a thing looking into the future.”
The bye week brings both an opportunity for self-reflection, as Skinner noted, and additional evaluation of the Jayhawks’ next opponent, a chance to “prepare more than ever,” as defensive end Dean Miller put it, for Houston at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 19.
The team will practice three times during the bye week and young players will get a little bit of extra work, Leipold said. Coaches will also get time to recruit.
“We’ll continue to do everything we can to prep for Houston to get ourselves on track,” Leipold said. “That’s all, really, I can ask our guys. I said, ‘This team is so close right now, we got to continue to find all the little things and scenarios to get better at.’ Every single thing.”
Skinner said that Leipold’s message to the team after Saturday’s loss was in part a question: “How bad do you want it?”
“That’s really what it all (comes) down to at the end of the day,” Skinner said. “How are the seniors going to carry out and reflect onto the younger guys, and dudes that (are) going to be here for next year? What else do y’all want to make out of it?”
“It’s times like this where you find out what you’re really made of,” Miller added. “Are you going to sit down and fold or are you going to fight every single game? And I feel like we’re going to fight every single game. I could tell you we’re all ready to, we’re prepared to and we’re going to do what it takes to try to get this thing turned around.”
AP Photo/Darryl Webb
