College football season is just weeks away, but until the first ball is kicked off in late August — in Kansas’ case, at Children’s Mercy Park against Lindenwood — it’s still what coaches and media members alike know as “talking season.”
The term, often associated with former college coach Steve Spurrier, defines the period of time in which soundbites and speculation take the place of actual on-field action. Big 12 talking season reached its apex at media days in Las Vegas two weeks back.
Before players are back on the field for fall training camp, and vague assertions can get backed up by some on-field observations (even if no one competing with anyone else is actually on a different team, for the moment), I thought it might be a good time to get off one last bout of significant talking.
More specifically: Here’s one prediction for each KU football position group before camp gets underway.
Kansas quarterback Cole Ballard steps behind the offensive line during practice on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Lawrence.
Quarterback: Cole Ballard will remain the No. 2 quarterback throughout the season.
You might think it cowardly to avoid Jalon Daniels entirely in this segment. I would call it pragmatic. As healthy as he now seems to be, it’s hard to predict anything concrete about his production without seeing him on the field for the first time in August. Meanwhile, Isaiah Marshall’s promise does not necessarily equate to readiness to take the field as a freshman, and I feel confident that the coaches would certainly like to redshirt him if given the opportunity, as they did with Ballard even though he had to see some important action. Ballard has a high-risk, high-reward shot-taking style that fits well with the fearlessness Jeff Grimes wants to instill in his offense.
Running back: Devin Neal will be KU’s all-time leading rusher by the end of October.
He needs 765 to overtake June Henley for the top spot. KU plays some poor run defenses early in the season, Neal may get an even higher share of the workload than he did in 2023 and anyway, he already had 771 by the end of October last year.
Wide receiver: Luke Grimm will lead the Jayhawks in catches.
That’s no slight at all on Lawrence Arnold, who I think could establish himself further as an all-league-caliber wideout this year. But as I’ve written about in the past, Grimm’s numbers have been substantially better in games when Daniels starts, as he has received an average of about two and a half more targets (with Arnold and Quentin Skinner drawing less than one more apiece) as compared to games without Daniels.
Tight end: No single KU tight end catches 20 passes this year.
For comparison, Mason Fairchild had 27 receptions in 2023 and 35 the previous year. Grimes may coach (and embrace) the tight-end position, but with this group already looking a bit questionable after the injury to DeShawn Hanika, head coach Lance Leipold offered some comments at Big 12 media days about the possibility of more two-back sets that made me think tight ends just might not be on the field as much as usual.
Kansas redshirt sophomore Nolan Gorczyca, left, runs through drills during practice at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Offensive line: Nolan Gorczyca will play the sixth-most snaps among offensive linemen.
He may not necessarily be the best-known player outside of KU’s projected starting line (from left to right, Logan Brown, Michael Ford Jr., Bryce Foster, Kobe Baynes and Bryce Cabeldue), but his positional versatility will allow him to fill in at either guard or tackle if needed. That’s not something Shane Bumgardner or Darrell Simmons Jr. is likely to do, as far as we know at this point in the summer.
Defensive line: Javier Derritt will be one of KU’s sack leaders.
This is a pretty bold prediction for a reserve defensive tackle with three to four extremely experienced players ahead of him, but considering how much uncertainty exists at weak-side defensive end (a position itself occupied by four to five candidates), a tackle whose praise from coaches has almost exclusively focused on quick-twitch reactiveness and pass-rush ability is as good a candidate as anyone to pick up a few sacks this season. Not to mention that this will be the sixth season in college for the North Dakota State transfer and the KU coaches expect those sorts of players to contribute.
Kansas linebacker JB Brown (28) celebrates after dropping Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) to the turf on the final set of downs for the Fighting Illini on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 at Memorial Stadium. Kansas defeated Illinois, 34-23.
Linebacker: JB Brown will receive some kind of all-conference honor at season’s end.
Brown has already been named to the preseason all-league third team by Athlon Sports and fourth team by Phil Steele, so it’s not much of a stretch to believe he could get at least an honorable mention by the conclusion of this year. Much of the linebacker discussion this offseason has centered on Cornell Wheeler, but by all accounts Brown has also become a more cerebral player, and with another year in Brian Borland’s system should be poised for additional growth. Don’t be surprised if he helps produce another key turnover or two — his hit on Jalil Farooq against Oklahoma last year was as big as nearly any play in that upset.
Kansas junior Cobee Bryant runs through drills during the first day of Fall Camp on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023.
Cornerback: Cobee Bryant will set a new career high in interceptions this season.
This may seem a little counterintuitive given how little teams typically want to throw Bryant’s way; according to Pro Football Focus, he was targeted three or fewer times in 10 of KU’s 13 games last year. Mello Dotson, meanwhile, got at least four targets in nine games, including a whopping 11 against Oklahoma State. My contention is that with Dotson making more of a name for himself late last season, that distribution could even out somewhat. Plus, it’s not all that hard to conceive of Bryant picking off five passes this year, proceeding on a linear upward trajectory after he snagged two in 2021, three in 2022 and four in 2023.
Kansas safety Jalen Dye catches a pass during practice at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Safety: Only one of the Dye brothers will see significant action in 2024.
Last year, KU gave 731, 559 and 488 snaps to its top three safeties, Kenny Logan Jr., O.J. Burroughs and Marvin Grant, respectively. Jalen Dye played 21. The distribution had been very similar in 2022. Grant’s increased action at the hybrid Hawk linebacker position may open a small window for a fourth player at safety, but barring a seismic schematic shift of some kind, it won’t be very significant. I would give Jalen Dye a slight edge over his brother Devin based on experience in the system, but thankfully for both, they have another year of eligibility remaining after 2024 in which to play together.
Special teams: KU will make a field goal longer than 44 yards.
That was the longest kick Seth Keller made last season and with him gone, I feel confident saying Owen Piepergerdes will exceed that at some time in 2024. Even if Piepergerdes loses the starting job to Charlie Weinrich, I can visualize a scenario in which — as in 2023 — he comes in specifically for a long-range kick. (Whether this is a smart strategic choice for the sake of continuity with the snapper and holder is another question.) He didn’t make the 50-yarder he attempted against Iowa State, but the coaching staff clearly believes in him to try it from that range. This could be the year it works out for him.
Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World
Chance Parker/Journal-World photo
Nick Krug
Chance Parker/Journal-World photo
Chance Parker/Journal-World photo