David Lawrence Breaks Down KU Football Ahead of the 2024 Season

Intro if you look at the preseason performance of the four guys you see at Kansas that are all over the place with Jason Bean Fairchild puny awesome Bookers those four guys are in preseason making a name for themselves continuing to push this Jayhawk Legacy and then you rewind it all the way back to the true freshmen that are on campus and what they're able to do guys like Harry Stewart guys like Austin Alexander guys like Jaylen Todd guys like uh Zeke Marshall like this thing is just getting started thanks for listening KC Sports Network proudly presented by EMP prise bank if you're thinking about starting a business or know someone who is check out EMP prise bank's SBA Loans it's always good to know your options and they can be your partner impossible all right welcome to the booth review this is a new season with the Kansas j-hawks at number 22 nationally ranked Kansas Jayhawks in the preseason poll a number one in your hearts obviously number one in my heart for sure we're ready to kick off this season Thursday against lyndenwood um at spor in KC Stadium it's going to be a new experience it's going to be fabulous to see KU in Kansas City we're going to break down the offseason what we've seen from the roster and all things KU football so we can get ready for this game on Thursday I am joined by the great one David Lawrence the coach uh my broadcast partner on the radio uh my eighth grade football coach and my Jalon Daniels health teacher so this guy or excuse me ninth grade football coach and health teacher this guy knows pretty much everything about me and everything about Kansas football how you doing coach I'm well Brandon I'm ready to get started yeah I know uh you're we you know we're out there watching fall practice and and taking a Peak at uh you know who we're seeing out there I know for me one of my favorite things to do you know especially the last few years they've had so much experience and so much depth you know as we've seen with this team with seven returning starters on offense uh 30 seniors um in total but who uh as you get ready to to to watch some fall Camp practices some guys that stuck out to you that maybe aren't going to be playing uh early on in the season some young players that that kind of uh Peak your interest well this this staff I don't think they make mistakes so everyone they brought in I think has a chance to to help this team and and also in the transfer portal I I think you know they're bat in a thousand there so uh yeah which which part of this team you want to start with because there's there's quite a few names that stick out to me well I'm gonna start with number six first I'm gonna start with Jaylen Daniels uh you know it's his return to football feels like we should have a parade or a coronation of some sort I know from my own personal Joy metrics this guy is about as high as it gets in terms of high energy uh joy and it just spreads amongst the team um especially in practice he was playing with a certain pace and speed um that snap when he releases the football has has been there since day one it just seems to get better and better what you see from JD in these uh fall Camp practices that got you excited for this season you know the magic is back uh he's it it was a tough year for him I I backed injuries are so difficult because people really don't know what you're feeling I I I think you know rest is related to those things uh he felt bad that he you know he had all the preseason height that pre-season Player of the Year honor that's just a curse almost to every person that gets that it's so difficult to live up to and I know he felt like he left his team let his team down that's my guess but but he has come back um 100% And he looks as good not better than ever and he's got so many weapons around him his his personality uh that that we have come to know and love uh you and I fell in love with him when he was a freshman and no one knew who this kid out of California was but we knew he had a zip on the ball uh he had a burst he could sense trouble he really didn't have a chance it was a dangerous situation for for him and he's gotten better every year and and you know I don't think he's going in feeling jinxed about the years past that he has been injured uh I think he has a lot of optimism like this can be his year obviously there's a lot writing on this for him and the team but uh I I completely agree he's he's the Magic Man the guy behind him has a long list of tangible traits that will make him effective but no one can replace the magic man he he's just he's got that extra sense uh and can do almost everything absolutely I I couldn't agree more I think that there was that preseason Player of the Year hype it does affect you you know expectations affect you you know when you're especially when you're at a program with little expectations there's no you know not a lot of offseason hype in the previous years that he had been here and it goes from zero to 100 in terms of people saying hey you're this guy you're that you know this is our you know you know this is our star player this is uh what KU football is and you know he has worn that face really well with lots of humility but there is pressure to perform and uh the game that really steuck out to me last year you know Illinois I mean that was a layup you know he was his normal self he was sipping around juking guys throwing the football ball down the field I thought he was he was ready for that moment as ready for that moment as any that I have seen him play I think the Nevada game is where I started to notice um that some of that pressure was just creeping in a bit in terms of like not taking you know things that he not taking some options that he would normally take just to get the ball out of his hands to get the offense moving you know kind of holding on and seemingly trying to live up to these expectations per play you know which we both know is just not realistic you know it's just you could be great um you could be consistently good and have those Great Moments you don't have to try to go out of your way to create them and I think he's able to put that behind him uh with that year uh in the rearview mirror and you know a fresh start um I know he's feeling healthy looks good A new coordinator um an offense with some similarities but um some twists and turns that I'll be interested to see how they play out uh with this roster uh but he's just a guy that is so much fun to watch and just has that ability to kind of spread like that joy and that energy throughout the roster and there's just no way to quantify all the things that he does as a football player I mean if you looked at um I know his sample size if you take U the 22 season where he played the back half where he came back from injury and the seasons that he played early and then 23 the two games he played they did the side by side uh with him and Michael pennick Jr uh you know who was a star at the University of Aon last year and the numbers were identical so this is a guy that if he plays 12 games he's going to be one of the best players in the country I don't think there's any doubt about that especially if you've seen him you know at all in Camp and seen him move around and kind of just be you know the player that we expect him to be HomeField is one of our sponsors they are a Collegiate based apparel company with over50 colleges to choose from they are dedicated to the history of each school with unique looks logos and mascots emphasis on authenticity and Nostalgia The Nostalgia part always gets me especially when HomeField came out with that KU football orange bull shirt you know they had the the triple stripe on the side had my wife looking cute at the game so just unlimited ability to find beautiful things especially for this uh KU team HomeField apparel.com anything you could ever want they've got it especially if you're into that Nostalgia Saturday football gear make sure you are getting over to that website and The offensive line and more preparing for this upcoming season with some of the best Styles uh HomeField has to offer we appreciate you supporting KC Sports Network by listening to our podcast you have helped us become the highest ranked Chiefs podcast Network in 2022 and 2023 and don't forget about our daily substack newsletter the best written analysis you can find on the Chiefs straight to your inbox every day kcsn dos substack and welcome back to the booth review now we really get to get into it we had a little a little JD appetizer now let's move on to that offensive side of the football coach um and let's start at the beginning the the replacement coaches uh University of Kansas ends up losing Andy kobal Nikki um and they end up losing Scott books and in comes coach uh Daryl coach a he steps in for the o line group he has some history with uh with Coach Li and then you get coach Grimes who has been a brwals award finalist in consecutive Seasons um had one of the best offenses uh in the country at BYU with Zack Wilson at the helm and then went to Baylor and did it again and was a br award boals award fin finalist um at BYU averaged 7.7 yards a play um 338 yards on the through the air and then went to Baylor and was doing it on the ground with a much different style so that really fits uh the mold of what we see uh with li in general you go back and look at this teams at Buffalo there isn't some specific style that they play they play to the roster and they build on that and make the team effective just in practice and seeing preparation what are some things that you like about watching coach Grimes and his offense and some of the principles that you appreciate the fact that he's he's got such a big book uh in his past years that he's collected and added to it and and to your point you know we still have Jim zabowski and teren Samuel Jonathan Wallace from last year those are our coaches of quarterbacks wide receivers and running backs so very capable of implementing any and everything that coton Nikki had put on the board last year and not to mention the players I mean we we've got uh fourth year um veterans in the receiver room quarterback room uh running back room everywhere so very capable of imple inting all the things that uh that we made look so easy last year quite honestly I I think we we caught some people two years ago just kind of stumped them they didn't know what to expect um last year they you know they saw it coming they knew it was coming but this year we could bring it again but we also have the history of Grimes at at at Baylor and LSU and I think Sanford and and other places he's he's got a long resume he's a he's a guy that looks pretty good he doesn't look any worse for the wear at all these places he's been so he's he's collected uh so many things to have in his uh possession in his Playbook that that he can roll out there and and you know one thing that stuck out when I talk to Jeff is he says that he's never implemented so much uh you know in the first three weeks is what he did here at Kansas because this team um has so much experience and they're so bought in that is amazing to hear that is such a good nugget because that is one of the things that I know as former players we watch practice and we always appreciate is the pace you know the pace of practice the the the amount of people that are getting in the things that they are getting through um has been special since the moment coach Lio arrived so it's nice to see that it's nice to hear that a coach is actually reaping the benefits from that style and Pace as well what I think about with Coach Grimes is that Baylor team from a couple years ago not the one that uh won the Big 12 but uh the one where we got down early and bean kind of let it come back we ended up losing late what I remember in that game and in preparation for that game was their ability to get in third and six and just run outside Zone you know get in you know third and you know third and seven you know and you know run a run play with a guard pool or a tackle pool to get them in fourth and short and it it was kind of insulting you know how they were able to run the football with such consistency and power and coach we're going to start right up front with that offensive line considering you talked about how good coach Grimes looked um no surprise he was a left tackle at the University of Texas El Paso coach Law's always giv love to the offensive lineman um but what I like about him is the the Run principle are very strong and I mean principles and I think the team will be able to run the ball with physicality more than they have in the past not just based on Personnel because some of the running back guys are the same Personnel but coach talk about this offensive line and not just the experience but the size and physicality and for me something very unique to the offensive lines that I played for which were more built by you know athletes that put on weight and you know kind of were able to you know get the job done and scrap and fight this is a whole different animal lining up uh in that offensive line coach that's right and you know I think what's different about it is I see a guy that's number three on the depth chart and Calvin Clem's local kit from Lawrence and he started our last game yeah he he he he got uh a little banged up in the spring so he's a little slow coming back but the fact is the the you know lipo's first year I don't know that we had five Big 12 offensive line but I think his second year we had six which left us with one guy that we could run in switch people around move people over Pop this guy in uh then someone else gets banged up and then he reshuffle the deck again I think last year we had maybe two guys that we could bring in without falling off too much and and granted I I don't know for sure about a couple of guys but I do love James Livingston and in year three at Kansas at Dre Dorian uh I don't know as much about them but I've loved watching them practice and I think they've got a chance but I'm very um confident that Nolan gorsa Shan bumgardner and darl sevens they're all listed at number two can come in and be effective 12 football players in fact bumgardner had you know I think he was winning the battle with Bryce Foster the transfer from A&M for a a couple of weeks that just shows you how qualified bum Garder is because Fosters started in the SEC for a couple of years so more people that we can plug in uh not to mention the fact that we continue to have people learn multiple position positions which has been good we know Michael Ford can play all three um we know cable do and brown can switch from left to right then back to right to left Kobe Baines and Logan Brown though would be the guys that really stepped up their game from a year ago and you know I think Kobe uh who got here so late from Louisville he uh I I think he had you know maybe some Knicks as as well as Logan Brown a former five star but those guys looking having a great Camp it looks so solid on the right side yeah I I just think that the the physicality and just the the aesthetic appearance is honestly a little startling um from what I'm used to seeing for Kansas football it is very um it's very Glen Mason esque in terms of like size and physicality for that for the for the offensive line it's just not something that uh that Kansas has been known for um recently but this like I said this history of of this program is all changing it is all being Rewritten and redefined by coach lightle and you get to see it every day you get to see these little uh reminders that hey this is different there's like a physicality and a pace that just looks a little different you mentioned darl Simmons you know being able to be a big 12 uh offensive lineman because he's he's shown it at Iowa State he was a guy that we went up against it's a solid player um and and it's just you know I couldn't say enough good things about Kobe Baines and how he's what he has done as a player but just how he's improved his body he kind of got here as this almost looked like a track star playing tackle you know just just sprinting out and getting out to the outside edges of of second level Defenders and now he's put on weight and slid into guard and it's good strong physical weight and he's just a guy I think my favorite thing about this offensive line too is that you know we I have grown accustomed to seeing offensive line at the University of Kansas scramble guys you know work really hard fight fight fight leverage cut a guy off um Bryce Foster is not that kind of player you know he is the kind of guy that could step step to a nose guard grab inside those pads and just hold them I mean he is of all the big physical guys in this program I mean he's got to be the most impressive and then just seeing him be able to you know take a big strong physical shade uh one Tech defensive tackle and just lock him up and drive him out and this is a league where you need that you know you're going to be playing uh you know Illinois is going to be very physical and athletic and big up front um you know we've seen you know the U of the past Oklahoma State you know playing those big uh those big Shades and five techniques because talk about the advantage of having a center that you can leave solo on pretty Dynamite players um just talk about the advantage that gives you on the Run game yeah I mean we've been playing with with undersized Center and maybe sh Shane bumgardner who was very qualified to come in and play uh he he might be qualified as an under siiz Center but but not Bryce Foster as you mentioned um it's interesting the kids from from Houston Katy Texas and he's I I I've known him since the summer um and he uh he was very Gass and I was kind of teasing he was hey you're from uson this is nothing he says yeah but we don't rep this fast he says the pace I'm not used to this pace uh the pace was killing him and you know um I think finally he was able to adjust to that pace and and won the job in the last week but but he is a man uh and I'm sure you remember that Baylor nose guard we went up against couple of years ago who you know took our guy and and threw him about feet because he could yeah he's not going to The tight ends do that to Bryce Foster Bryce is a he he's a big boy he he's a big leager um he's gone against nothing but NFL nose tackles in the SEC and uh he's excited about being here but to your point yeah he he looks a little different out there yes he does I know as a as a running back I would be uh very pleased to see that kind of person uh standing in front of me so we' talked a little about the quarterback we talked about the offensive line um the tight ends are you know these are the guys that you know however I Jared Casey continues to defy any expectation I could have thought of looking at him physically from what he was when he got here to what he is now his physical improvements um have allowed him to kind of continue to build on that that athleticism and his ability to block in space and Trevor G Trevor Cardell is a guy that we have both loved quite a bit and has just had some unfortunate uh Nicks here and there that have kind of kept him from reaching his full production level but it seems like these guys are in line to have big big Seasons coaches without question and we had an injury in in in that uh room in the spring and brought in Leighton cure that um a a lot of people I think it's maybe thought that we got cure from for days because he had a five-star younger brother but uh coach gbes assur me that's not the case and that Kure is one of the you know the positive surprises one of the many positive surprises in Fall Camp so he's going to be in that mix but nothing like Casey and Cardell cell's got the tremendous size and speed Casey's Casey's just a guy that's done it so many times you're not surprised that anything he can pull out there uh and I'm sure he'll run against teams that doubt him because of his stature but but he's he he's done it a big time he's got as good of hands as anyone in college football and and it's going to be solid having these two guys with cure behind them uh it it'll be a solid group and Tom I mean just to talk about cure just a little bit in relation to finding these type of players uh especially from the MIAA which anybody from this area knows they play good as football as anybody in the country uh but with the the success of a guy like puny could you see cure having a a you know a a rise like that over the course of his career because I mean all indications internally think that that it could be a possibility yeah yeah no doubt and uh we lost two outstanding offensive lineman he mentioned puny as good as we are it's it's hard to say that we've got a an NFL starter I mean that's that's just amazing the fact that puny we could see him out there uh on the opening game uh and starting amongst the best in the world but that just shows you um how good he is at how his loss will be felt in fact I asked Kobe Baines I said man you guys are this going to be your best year ever right and you know he's just kind of cooled my Jets didn't take the bait and he says you know what I I think we could be as good as last year he says that's not a knock on this year's team he but he says last year we were pretty good really good players so all the hype about you know we're going to be better because of you know cable Dow and brown and the health and everything else he says hold on we were really good last year being as good as last year that that that's going to be in a high level this year absolutely this is an offensive line that over the last couple years the performances throughout the season have been amazing um pretty much top 10 in every metric you could find that evaluates offensive line play and then their ability to replace players of the caliber of puny you know to replace players of the caliber of Fairchild who who made the Saints roster before preseason even started you know so it's just an indication of of the kind of players that uh this program is is helping develop and put in positions to to play football for living and that's the goal when you make it this far yeah and then something I'll tease uh I'm not going to talk about it until game day but uh our staple our identity uh out side zone They they've tweaked it a little bit and uh we'll talk about that on game day but that's that's something to look for that uh you know the offensive line coach at Pulsa and our OC Jeff Grimes has brought in and made a little tweak so that'll be interesting to see how that progresses throughout the year yeah I am I'm very excited I'm you know let's just get it get it right up front I'm excited anyway I was excited when I woke up this morning I The running backs didn't really have a reason but you know seeing that the way that they're they're they're running outside Zone um AJ Stewart is one of my former teammates he's back um helping coach and this guy's one of the best running back coaches in the nation helping one of the other best running back coaches in the nation and Coach Jonathan Wallace so these are two of the best in the country in one place with uh an amazing array of personnel with different body styles different types of runners um you guys know the the Devon Neils and the Daniel high Shaw seon um is a guy that we've loved behind the scenes quite a bit just because of his spirit and his talent his size and his slashing ability um and now you thr Harry Stewart in the mix Johnny Thompson coach talk about this running back room and how they'll benefit from not just the the uh continuity of the offensive line returners but but the placement of Coach Grimes and his style of play yeah it's it is crazy and of course you know you need more than one this year but what really makes us special and and I I want to talk about number three four uh five and six because they all have talents and we may not get into it today but we will on game day but what what truly is different is is we have two feature backs that are as good as anyone in the country you and I been on the high Shaw bandwagon um Devin had everybody on his bandwagon since day one Lawrence is greatest so um it it's going to be interesting to to see their season progress Devon Neil just looks like he gets a little faster every year but you know speak to his ability to wait for the hole to open up um and how his maturity has aided his increased speed to make him an elite back yeah I think it what it's allowed him to do is is make mental choices that affect the defense in a in a major way in terms of where his head placement is uh where his shoulder placement is how he's able to manipulate second level players because when you're in a zone system whether it be wide or inside Zone you have to move the pieces with your mind and that does take time especially for a guy that was young to start I mean the guy just turned 21 so he's still a young developing player but what he's able to do now is know that he's got that next gear that he can hit he doesn't have to start at that gear he can change Pace he can he can uh use the depth in the back field that was one of my favorite things uh running zone was getting the ball from you know getting the ball deep so that I can approach the I can approach the offensive line without without committing I can approach without committing and then allow the pieces to move in the ways that I want them to and then hit it with acceleration now I didn't have that kind of acceleration I was more like uh a Cadillac Broham he's more like a he's more like a Tesla just he's able to get that move it over a little bit move that guy over a little bit boom and then just hit that scene um so he's just got that he's got that sports car mentality but now he's got the efficiency to know when to hit the gas when to make a guy Miss and I I think that's honestly my favorite thing about him as I have gotten into you know the last four years of watching running backs in person and seeing some of the best ones we've seen bej Robinson we've seen gree Hall and what stood out about them to me and I'll thr Jonathan Brooks in there as well from Texas what stood out about them to me was that at the second level you didn't have a chance oneon-one it wasn't a matter of you know hey I'll make this tackle or we'll get him down maybe he'll get a couple extra yards it is if you don't make this play this might be a touchdown and that's something that Devin Neil has put on on the consciousness of Defenders consistently and it helps to me I know that you know these guys aren't they don't have big Radars and listening to all the noise that's going around but I think Devon Neil has taken note to we talk about preseason hype he's got plenty of preseason hype but it's hard to ignore the rankings that consistently keep him out of the first team all Big 12 consist L keep him out of top 100 list um all these different things that evaluate what a college football player can be Devon Neils going to have even more motivation uh than he already has to kind of prove some of these the people that see him as just a shade below I'm not certain what they're seeing um you know the guy's over six and a half yards to carry 16 touchdowns um you know can do it through the air can do it on you know can do it on the ground I just think that he's uh he's at a point in his career where you know he's reached that of player where if you don't get hands on him early at the second level you're in trouble it's not just a four or five yard gain it's a 40 50 yard game and that's what to me helps the complimentary nature of Daniel Haisha in that haaw is seen all you know about him is his physicality because it's impossible to ignore right I mean he's the guy you know he's missed games but the Highlight re seems to grow and grow and grow every time he plays and his physicality but he also has good movement skills great balance I mean he might be as as balanced a running back as I've seen um at this level and then you take the physicality to it and his ability to pass Pro I know I talk about this all the time but his ability to pass Pro is an advantage a guy that can just lock people up and get rid of them regardless of size I think that speaks to just what kind of player that he can possibly be and I think this year is when we'll start to see that and honestly the combination of this running back room this offense line group and this offensive coordinator make me feel The WRs that we'll be able to run the ball in a physical nature that will be a little bit different than what we've seen in the past couple years I think we'll be able to consistently turn around and hand the ball off and be physical a lot and without the Bell without any window dressing now I know there's still a lot of movement in this offense you know that's part of Coach grimes's Principle as well as you know movement and motions and Kansas was uh I think one or two last year in pre- snap motions or one or two in the previous year so I don't expect that to change but I do expect that they're going to be able to hand the ball off and dictate the game in a kind of a different way um quickly onto the receivers before we switch over to defense uh because there's a lot to talk about on that defensive side of the football the receivers are you know who we expect them to be the top three guys are you know consistent as ever um you know you have uh you got Grim you got Lawrence Arnold um and you have Skinner so know they're complimentary skill sets they all do the good they all do the things um all three things as well Block Run short routes Run Deep routes win jump balls they kind of just do it all but behind them there's thought of depth too coach uh you know with Doug ailon who's a guy that we've loved for his blocking ability that can do more than he's been asked to do as a receiver and then Tory llan I mean I went to a practice and Tory llin had a one-handed catch that uh I had to have my jaw forcibly removed off the turf his move to receiver his ability to change his body to to benefit what that job might be this guy is the ultimate jhawk I mean I I could I could spend just this podcast talking about Tory Lain and his selflessness and commitment to the team coach yes so I remind him every year that that he is uh well you're not an old guy um but but but to to ever all the generations past that used to play football at Kansas I mean he he's a favorite he he's so unselfish he's this he's our best special teams player he be one of the best special teams player in the in the conference and um as you mentioned tremendous hands blocking ability the guy could even play quarterback if you needed someone and and and certainly an effective running back and maybe the best thing is is in the locker room he's not going to Pal when you know just because of situations that occurred out there down distance uh what the defense gives us he may he may not touch the ball on offense and he's not going to go in the locker room and pout and in the days of you know egos nil and you know you know from your experience I mean guys are guys um they they get their feelings hurt where they don't touch the ball and and and they have a hard time hiding that right but but uh not Tory Lin I mean he's he's just going to move on to the next game absolutely I I couldn't I mean like I said this could be a whole podcast I just love the guy I love his commitment to his football team and if you think about the origins of where his career started here it is just fun to think about his his progress his attitude and his impact on the game I remember a couple years ago where he was just vital to our offense in 22 and if he was not involved in the game plan the success level was just going to drop three or 4% just just from him being out there and like you mentioned not a matter of whether or not he had the football or if he was running rounds just that he was out there just that he was able to to use his ability to impact football games and he does it as well as anyone and I'm so excited to watch him uh get after it this year hey podcast listener would you like an extra $500 go to bluewire pods.com survey and complete the bluewire audience survey about you and your podcast lisening habits for a chance to win a $500 gift card this survey will help create a The defense better advertising experience for audiences and in turn help this show that's bluewirepods dcoms survey where all you have to do is answer some simple questions for a chance to win $500 make sure you read the full terms and disclaimers plus the complete survey for a chance to win blue wiep pods.com survey the link is also in the show notes of this episode let's switch over to the defense coach this is a defense that you know has been improving steadily every year you know they've been able to increase you know um yards per carry allow that has decreased every year over the last two years but they look different physically they are seemingly as deep as they've always been in your opinion from what you've seen so far in the fall Camp what would it take for this defense collectively to take the next step to truly be a championship defense because we've seen all the signs that the that the talent and the ability is there go well and and I think you and I visited about this all the accolades that we just threw on the offense I I think the major storyline of 2024 is going to be the Kansas defense um a that they have um the most opportunity for improvement right because you know the offense was pretty good last year and the year before um they can still get better and I think they are going to be better but but defensively you know we at times we had performed at a high level and at times we've had position groups maybe that weren't quite up to uh what what you need uh when you when you get through through the Dog Days uh and into the Big 12 Conference and uh and and I think that's the big step and that's going to be tremendous um step for us to take and G give us a chance for championships but I I think that the defensive line and and the linebackers defensive line maybe because we have new pieces linebackers just because we've got guys that have gotten so much better but let's start with a defensive line DJ Withers is not a a new man but if you look at him he doesn't look the same he has improved his body uh and it's resulted in a quickness level that you won't probably recognize not the 52 didn't make plays in the past two years but coaches can't stop talking about him I mean whether you're talking a guild or slave and strength and conditioning head or you know Borland or see that he's he's his effort his raw ability and quickness and getting stronger has less body fat uh he leads to charge and then we could go to you know Caleb Taylor and Tommy D that are right there with him as far as returners and then they they swung and and uh knocked it out of the park on hober darrett from North Dakota State a guy that's just got nothing but championships at his background uh he's extremely quick and um another guy who's not in his first year but he may have been battling some things last year uh but we got him from shannona Iowa they call him the country kid he he's not from a farm but he does live out in the country number 94 Blake Herold and uh they call him Country Strong and if you watch him play you'll know exactly what they're referring to maybe doesn't look like the strong uh guy in the waight room but but he's throwing people around out there and he's just going to be a tremendous um help on the inside so again with Caldwell uh and the previous mentioned guys on those inside tackles Brandon we're going 3D with quality oh my goodness that's you know that was the thing that um you know in in the leadup to Camp I was you know hearing a lot reading a lot about the defensive line you know they had to replace some Edge players similar to last year and then I got there and saw them and I was like oh man we got like 18 guys you know I mean that you know Tommy I think about these guys sometime in tandems you know watching just for an example watching Kobe and Melo coming together you know as a young tandem you see these young guys are skinny you know got some potential you're liking what you see it's watching DJ Withers and uh Tommy Dunn Jr watching what they were when they came in as a hand them to what they are already now just grown men with Incredible ability uh of of speed and power Tommy Dunn Jr is to me he's just one of my favorite players because he's able to hold up he's able to stalemate a guard at the line of scrimmage and then run down the line of scrimmage and tackle the running back you know he's he is not a one-dimensional space eater this guy can can really move and has lots of quickness and the DJ Withers you know last year surprised me I thought he jumped he jumped the uh the starting line and started most of the games last year when I wasn't sure that he had that ability in him um but he obviously proved me wrong and proved his coaching staff right and had an incredible year last year but now it's last year it felt like you know if he's rustling from that three technique and and on passing Downs he really liked it um you know but you know he had to try different things as a rundown guy but his ability to kind of just keep on pushing and become a different kind of player I just love that for him and I love the way that they've kind of built these little tandems of of young players that develop together that reter together and then become big- time impa impact players that's what we're seeing with Tommy and DJ Withers but if you move outside one spot you know the guys most people want to talk about you know are are the young cats you know the the top the two top 25 Edge players um and DJ Warner and Dak Brinkley but it's hard not to start with Jeremy Robinson and just Mr consistency guys speaking of young guys I remember talking to at the time defensive coordinator being so excited about some guys that ended up leaving the program and him telling us hey Jeremy Robinson might be better than all those guys and he's proven to be a reliable player that I think will have a big big year coaches right and and I think it's it's J rob is is softspoken and and we've had him so many years it it it's just going to be crazy next year not happening but yeah he let's start with our best player and sometimes we don't go right to number 90 but I think to your point that he is um he he is solid he's consistent you know he's a guy that will get you sacks but he gets a ton of hurries a ton of hurries and he he makes the people inside better because he's going to force quarterbacks up into the pocket and then behind him and Brian Borland and staff I mean they they went after a guy that can maybe fill in a backup role uh to where we don't drop off too far and they got much more than that Dylan woodkey uh when you think about Youngstown Ohio you think about the the hot bed of of of the game of football right and that's exactly what he plays like he he he he's been on conference lists for three years and now we bring this guy in there you can just watch him for a whole practice and you will never see him out of position and you will never see him give up on a play and he he's going to be the most Dependable guy that you can bring in for jro that we're not going to have uh that position go down at all bring in woodkey uh Brian Borland loves this guy and if you will watch him throughout a game uh you'll love him too so again tremendous job by the staff to bring in darrett on the inside woodkey on the outside both experienced seniors from good programs that are going to be great in the locker room and great on the football field and and build that Championship defensive team you've talked about yeah woodkey has a physicality to him that stands out you know him hitting pullers or you know uh having a tackle try to reach block him you better pack a lunch is what I say about wkey I mean that guy is he's got a certain amount of physicality and hand placement and effort that he's just not a guy that's ever going to take a playoff or be out of position like you mentioned I I I came away really impressed with him in the spring I thought he just had a couple of uh of really strong performances that stood out and stood out for the right reason stood out for not only that that it was quality but it's the kind of player that this team needs you know a reliable physical player that can also get after the quarterback when he's asked to that is going to have a big impact on this season and then of course uh we got to move on to the young guys that everybody wants to hear about Coach you've probably seen these two as much as anyone uh with Dak and DJ Warner what have you seen what have you liked and what do you think will translate to the season the SE well I mean championship teams they they bring in really good players and they don't get to play much because it's a championship team right yeah and and and that's that's where I think we're we at we we've had some injuries at that um that speed rush in position to put DJ warer in a better position to get early experience and yeah he's as good as advertised he's um so Twitchy First Step you know the offensive tackles already had a disadvantage and getting up field but you know a guy that that's worth talking about and he's a red shirt Jr but he's I I and I told him this I think there's more pressure on Dean Miller than anyone on our team because we are counting on a guy that has had relatively I think he's got three tackles for a career but we're counting on him to come in and play at a championship level when he really hasn't played at all and he is he's long He's listed at 6'5 I think he's 66 uh he's got a quick step but he's gained 25 pounds and I I I think as Dean Miller goes that's how our defense is going to go and I know that puts a lot of pressure on the young man but we're not we don't right now have as much depth at that speed rush in and uh a lot falls on number 45 yeah he's uh like you mentioned what I like about him is length his combination of length and twitchiness he is a guy that is very Twitchy a guy that can get around the edge but also is all of 66 so kind of similar um you know in body style to someone like Booker just in terms of link I'll be interested to see how they deploy him how they use him he's a guy that uh had some early reps in a dime package that theyd Ed him as a rush in and he was pretty quality in those reps also a huge effort guy you know a guy with the type of speed to run things down from behind he covered kicks so he can run and I expect him to be out there like a like a gazelle forcing quarterbacks up in the pocket to those big defensive tackles we talked about and then moving back a level to that linebacker core um you know one that has um steadily improved over the course of Li hold's tenure and is now in a place where this might be their best linebacker tandem uh with JB Brown who has emerged as you know a team leader a dude that people look at as a dude a guy that can rush the passer and be physical impact tackler inside and then a guy that really took off last year and Cornell wheeler a guy that you know was uh mostly a sub player at the middle linebacker position but every time he was in good things happen uh because of his balance his physicality and speed what have you see from those two and how do you think that'll impact this season and our team's ability to to defend the run and force them to throw against one of the best secondaries in the country well I think I talked to you about this but best linebacker tandem since your mates you know Rivera and Morton in inside um yeah for whatever reason Cornell wheeler did not make a major contribution very early on when he transferred from Michigan and he he's just jumped off uh off your playing chart and onto the field and you can't help but look at number one and number 44 out there um the they're the most aggressive players uh JB Brown is just a collision waiting to happen that's how's built and I I think it'll be our best combination since ' 07 and that's that's going a long ways back and and uh I let's hope that uh Brantley and Barry Hill and Fletcher I think they have also uh taken strides Dylan Downing uh doesn't look the part but I guarantee you he might be the most effort and and guy that we have out there fifth year guy from Bishop me age and then the hybrid position with Jason Gilliam who we've love since he got here playing safety he's battled injury and uh hey we're going to depend on him a lot as well out there in space and Alec Rees uh who you know he's been nicked up a little bit but uh he he's ready to be a lot like Dean Miller that most improved guy uh lined up at that Hawk linebacker position yeah that Hawk linebacker position with with Jason gilam he I mean he got some reps last year you know when Craig uh Craig needed a blow he would come in and play Craig young um what I noticed about him was just an a a nose for the football and just a tireless effort a guy that could run things down and just a guy that makes things happen I would say ever since the first moment he got here stuff just happens when Gillam's out there so I I'm just excited to see him play he plays with a kind of joy and uh like intuitive recklessness that I just appreciate I like a guy that that is out there to do damage but also is aware of his responsibilities aware of what he's seeing and can adjust on the Fly and like I said he's really been doing that um since the moment he got here just injuries have kind of kept him from realizing that production I think those days are over Coach yeah no question about that and his tandem guy that we're gonna move on to next was OJ Burrows OJ and Jason both from Georgia they came in together those were the kind of the young guys you watch to together I cannot tell you how excited I am to watch OJ kind of Patrol the middle of that field and be that team leader and voice in the back with such strong quarterback play uh you know with Melo and Kobe and I mean everyone I mean everyone that plays quarterback for the Kansas j-hawks is absurd I mean I go to practice and I'm looking for where the drop off is who are the guys that aren't players you can't can't find him I mean Austin Alexander is amazing and we might not see him at all we might see him some but he's a true freshman this guy's all of 62 and runs like a small man with super low on the arms um Jaylen Todd you've had to hear about him I mean you've had no choice you know he's a guy that's already in the two deep as a true freshman from Michigan Darius McGee the transfer from LSU um DK coach DK we've had to hear about him constantly about his impact on the group and the way they fly around coach this secondary is literally going to be a group that you would not be surprised if more than two guys are First Team all be 12 well absolutely I mean there there's no question about that um and the defensive line is going to make them better this year alone just having a better rush up front um but OJ bur it it and I was searching for a way to describe him because and then uh Jayla Daniels did it uh in the interviews this week uh because I asked him about our our secondary and the first one he went to was uh burough he he he said that he never sees it he comes out of nowhere and if you go to practice a while you'll know that no one's picked off JD as much as OJ I mean the dude he's almost like a he's like a tiger that is camouflaged and he's back there behind whoever and then he comes out of nowhere uh to to steal the pass away but and you know combined with Melo and Kobe I I I've talked to so many people that have just marveled how Melo can read a hitch better than anyone on this Earth that they've seen or gone against and how he studies for long lengths of time and and the game and the situation the Personnel to guess on when it might be a hitch when it might be a double move uh and he guesses right most all the time and wow that yeah ad depth as well so great argument you know where's our strongest room at is it in the back end on the defense is it in the running back room wide receiver room it's it's it's great to have that many rooms that feature such strong highlevel Big 12 players yeah I yeah OJ to me throughout the course of his career he's been brilliant all the time now even on even when there's defenses you know even when the defense was underperforming in some ways he just makes plays that you aren't used to seeing I think about the the two plays I think about with OJ and these people probably won't even remember these plays but one was an early open field tackle on uh on uh Duce Duce SP against K State it was an early three and out it was a swing pass to two spawn I watch preseason games people just don't tackle him one-on-one it's hard you know he's a little guy he's fast he's strong OJ just one two tackle down the other one I remember is a um a boot play it was at that Baylor game that we mentioned uh out in Waco and he was just able to play the ball in the air on a super tall tight end knock the ball away uh force of field goal and kept us in the game longer than we probably should have been also intercepted the ball right before halftime in that game that kept us alive he's just got a sense of timeliness and Leadership that is going to be on full display pretty much every play and we haven't even talked about Marvin Grant who was a I mean a pro football focused guy was one of the best players on the team last year by any metric that you looked at and just size physicality and a ton of playing experience between what he's done here and what he did at do and you're going to see a backend that is as strong um as you know we mentioned you know the team that I played for um you know that was Daryl Stucky that was Justin Thorton that was sadique muhamd Chris Harris a to there was just six seven guys you could throw them out there Kendrick Harper we didn't even get the Kendrick Harper there was seven guys that could all do the jobs they were interchangeable they were communicative and that's what I'm seeing with this group and I and I be would would be remissed if I didn't say this and I know that people that follow me on Twitter are a little tired of hearing it but this is just the beginning if you look at if you look at the preseason performance of the four guys you see at Kansas that are all over the place with Jason Bean Fairchild puny Austin Bookers those four guys are in preseason making a name for themselves continuing to push this Jayhawk Legacy and then you rewind it all the way back to the true freshmen that are on campus and what they're able to do guys like Harry Stewart guys like Austin Alexander guys like Jaylen Todd guys like uh Zeke Marshall like this thing is just getting started and and the difference to me is that as a as a player on that orange bow Team yeah we had a lot of depth and we had a lot of talent but there was a sense of an ending you know that I think that next year that inside bow team was just as good as our Orange Bowl team they just had a tougher schedule um you know they had to you know go to OU and play Texas just had a tough schedule that was the same team essentially but that did feel like an ending that felt like an ending this is the pretty much from a preseason perspective this is the most hype a Kansas football season has ever had ever in terms of you know team uh National pundits openly mentioning Kansas as a potential playoff team as a threat to to play in a big 12 title game as a pretty much consensus that this team is going to be in the mix and I'm telling you if you look at the people that are Behind These veteran players they are promising just as talented and we talked about the tandems a lot today and it's hard not to think about what Kobe and Melo look like as true freshman versus what Jaylen Todd and Al Austin Alexander look like you know and it's and it's nothing against them they just had a long way to go in terms of who they were as as developmental players and these guys have a long way to go but they are so much further ahead in terms of physicality and knowledge and stability and that is a credit to guys like Melo and who are able to grow and become players and buy into a new system and play for two different coaches and continue to elevate Elevate so that when you do bring in Blue Chip Corners they got to sit the bench and watch you and and they're going to be better and they're going to be Advanced players as they move forward but there is a Pay It Forward U that you can see active in that defensive back with guys that started from the bottom and really grinded their way to the top and now are passing on that Legacy of work work work to guys that that have a ton of talent behind them so I mean this really feels like it's just the beginning and it is absolutely the beginning this is our preseason version of the booth review I want to thank David Lawrence for joining us David's gonna be on here a lot because I love talking to KU football with him and he's as nerdy as I am about it uh and we're gonna have some cool things for you um a special surprise for when we go to the arrowhead game something that I'm gonna tease as we get closer to those games it's going to be for the fans so you got to like you got to listen you got to follow and and you got to share this is the booth review we will see you next week after the J hws take on Lynwood on Thursday