Time will tell if Kansas’ first bye week of the season helped cure its on-field ills, but in the near term, it may not have done enough for the Jayhawks’ physical health.
Asked how much the bye week helped injured players get back into action, Leipold said, “Not as much as I had hoped yet right now, to be truthful.”
“We’ve still got a lot of guys that are questionable, working through it,” he continued. “We’ll have to see where it takes us.”
While certain players are doing “a little better” in advance of Saturday’s game against Houston, KU seems poised to continue having to deal with many of the same injury issues that plagued its defense at various points during its disappointing first half of the season.
Preseason all-conference cornerback Cobee Bryant, who exited the Jayhawks’ last game against Arizona State without putting weight on his right leg, is “highly questionable” after “doing a little bit” of work but not having participated in team reps in over a week, Leipold said.
Defensive captain and starting middle linebacker Cornell Wheeler has not played since suffering an injury in the final minutes of KU’s loss to West Virginia on Sept. 21, though he did travel and serve as a captain at ASU. His status for this week is doubtful.
If Bryant is unable to go, it would mean significantly increased playing time for true freshman Jalen Todd, who saw his first notable defensive action at ASU and was listed after Bryant with an “or” on this week’s depth chart. KU’s ostensible third cornerback Damarius McGhee, a former LSU transfer, would likely also be in line for more time.
Meanwhile, veteran Taiwan Berryhill Jr. has been filling in for Wheeler as the starting middle linebacker in each of KU’s last two games, a role in which defensive coordinator Brian Borland has previously said he expects Berryhill to continue going forward.
Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant (2) during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo.
UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka (3) is sacked by Kansas linebacker Cornell Wheeler (44) and safety Mason Ellis (23) during an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Wheeler and Bryant are the headliners, but KU has been beset by defensive injuries throughout its linebacker and safety rooms. At linebacker, Logan Brantley and Jayson Gilliom have been unavailable at times throughout the season, although the Hawk linebackers have been playing more situationally and less frequently overall regardless due to the presence of safety Marvin Grant at the Cinco position.
At safety, intermittent injuries to Devin Dye, Jalen Dye and Mason Ellis have thrust redshirt freshman Taylor Davis into extended playing time. Davis and Grant were listed with an “or” at one safety spot on the pre-Houston depth chart.
The continued health issues present an obstacle for the Jayhawks as they look to improve on their 1-5 record from the first half of the season.
Reflecting on the bye-week self-scouting process, Leipold said that while KU isn’t doing as poorly statistically as the record would indicate, the Jayhawks’ first-down production has been worse and they need to do a better job capitalizing on opportunities in the red zone instead of settling for field goals.
On defense, their sack totals have been lower, so they aren’t putting opponents in the sorts of unfavorable down-and-distance situations that lead to stops. And on special teams, KU has just played two games in which the Jayhawks “struggled as much as we have in our time here,” Leipold said.
AP Photo/Colin E. Braley
AP Photo/Ed Zurga