The sun will rise on a new season of Kansas football on Tuesday morning, as the Jayhawks take on their first day of fall training camp ahead of the 2024 season.
The year will undoubtedly center some familiar elements, owing largely to a returning group of skill-position players — Jalon Daniels’ ongoing return from injury, Devin Neal’s ascent toward a variety of all-time school records, Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson’s battles with some of the nation’s top wideouts and so on.
But plenty remains to be determined around this year’s roster, and the picture will become clearer in those areas over the course of fall camp, as players prepare for the season opener, just a month away.
When it comes to the exact pace and nuances of that preparation, head coach Lance Leipold has a good camp schedule to build off from last year, even if he and his staff have more small tweaks left to make.
“I think last year was one of our best camp formats that we’ve ever had,” he said at Big 12 media days, “… and our players really came out of camp last year feeling it was their best training camp based on schedule, time and everything, and I think we continue to learn.”
As the training program proceeds, here’s a look at some key storylines to watch over the course of the next month.
Kansas State quarterback Will Howard (18) passes over Kansas defensive lineman Caleb Taylor (53) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in Lawrence.
Is Caleb Taylor for real?
The longtime reserve defensive tackle got some buzz in the spring, when position coach Jim Panagos said he was “taking the next step in his progression” and emerging as a leader. But teammate Jereme Robinson practically couldn’t stop raving about him at Big 12 media days, calling him “unhuman, I promise you,” and adding, “I really trust and believe that he’s going to have a breakout year.”
Defensive tackle isn’t a flashy position by any means, and Taylor has certainly been in the background, receiving only minimal playing time since 2021, but he flashed a bit in the game at Iowa State last season. Now, with Devin Phillips and Gage Keys gone, he has a chance to put himself near the top of the rotation in his final season, alongside fellow returnees like Tommy Dunn Jr. and D.J. Withers.
Kansas assistant Taiwo Onatolu instructs defensive end Dean Miller during practice on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Lawrence.
Who takes the lead at pass-rush defensive end?
This has been perhaps the dominant question of the offseason, but it will take on a new dimension with Bai Jobe and Deshawn Warner on campus and Dakyus Brinkley even further removed from an injury he suffered late in high school.
Dean Miller is the incumbent, even though he has barely played during his KU tenure. But the KU coaching staff was already excited about Warner before he had even gotten the chance to put on pads.
“He’s texting me at night, what can I do better? What did you see? He is a sponge,” Leipold said. “He wants to really learn and understand and he came here to help Kansas football, and we’re going to need somebody off the edge.”
He and Brinkley have the chance to contribute earlier than practically anyone else Leipold has recruited. How well they acquit themselves when they actually get on the field and take on KU’s veteran offensive tackles will be a good indication of just how important they can become in 2024.
Kansas senior Lawrence Arnold runs through drills during the first day of spring practice at the practice field on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Lawrence.
How are once-sidelined players recovering?
Robinson, who sat out the spring due to offseason surgery, has said he is ready to get back on the field and will be practicing. But there are other players who missed portions of the offseason (in some cases getting hurt in the course of spring practices) and whose status will become clearer over the course of fall camp.
That includes wide receiver Lawrence Arnold, defensive end Dylan Brooks, offensive tackle Calvin Clements (who may have been in contention to start at left tackle, but now Logan Brown seems to have pole position for that spot) and tight end DeShawn Hanika, though in Hanika’s case it certainly doesn’t seem like he’s expected back any time soon.
Arnold is going to see a significant number of targets as the Jayhawks’ No. 1 wide receiver, and the other remaining players could figure into the picture at important and not-quite-settled positions.
Interior view of Children’s Mercy Park prior to an MLS soccer match between Sporting Kansas City and the Seattle Sounders on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Kansas City, Kan.
What do the players think of playing on grass?
KU is of course playing its home games this fall at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, and GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, meaning it will play on real grass instead of the artificial turf to which it has become accustomed.
In turn, the Jayhawks will practice on grass “more than we ever have,” Leipold said — and they already spent some time doing so on specific days during the spring.
The extended time on grass will be newer for some players than for others, but certainly all will have the chance to offer their thoughts on the pros and cons over the course of August.
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AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World
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