Reaction & Analysis to Kansas Jayhawks Football Depth Chart for Week One vs. Lindenwood Lions

on today's locked on Jayhawks the to deep the depth chart is officially out for KU as gameweek gets closer with KU vers Lindenwood you are locked on J Hawks your daily podcast on the Kansas j-hawks part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what's up I'm Dereck Johnson you can find me on Twitter at D Johnson radio you can find the show anywhere you get your podcast including on our YouTube page where you can like And subscribe thank you for tuning in to lock on Jayhawks and making it your first listen every day thank you the every dayers catching each and every show we're going to be going over the two deep the offense the defense maybe some surprises maybe some stuff that was expected and what it can tell us for KU football headed into their first game of the season against lyndenwood and we're going to have a little discussion about the lyndenwood game early line is out KU over a 40-point favorite and being just two days away from KU against lyndenwood we'll get to all that on today's episode which is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV so just visit fanduel.com loock on to get started all we're going to start with uh stuff on the depth chart here we're going to start with the offense and then we'll move to the defense and the Special Teams here and if you're on our uh YouTube channel we've got hey I guess guess the the picture version the screenshot version of it coming at you here so um the offense for KU the offensive line was certainly I don't know maybe the biggest I don't know question mark I guess you would say just how it was going to be shuffled around because you start with the quarterback we knew Jaylen Daniels was going to be the starter right um as long as he was healthy he was going to be the starter I guess there is a question about with the backup quarterback spot because you look at the competition between Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall and the fact that Cole Ballard is listed as the backup uh should be a little bit telling there but I still kind of remain that like maybe once we get Midway through the season it would not Shock me if Isaiah Marshall eventually is the backup and I will say the coaching staff doesn't update this depth chart as accurately as the season goes on so you might not even see Isaiah Marshall pop up as the backup come week six or something but it's entirely possible it's also possible that Cole Ballard would be like the in-game backup as the more experienced guy but like let's say Jaylen Daniels got injured and then you had a byee and then you had a game after that like maybe you go with the higher ceiling at that point with Isaiah Marshall I don't know but for now Cole Ballard is listed as the backup there same thing with running back not a lot of questions Devon Neil Daniel highshaw um I guess the bigger question there with running back is who's the third string but we don't get that information because this is a two deep not a three deep uh not a lot of ores this year by the way which we had a lot of last year so that's kind of nice with all this uh receivers uh again nothing really crazy when you have Luke Grim Lawrence Arnold and Quinton Skinner we knew those were going to be the starters the one thing of note here because you look at the backups on the two deep Doug amelon figured that would be the case Trevor Wilson figured that would be the case I think if anything uh coming into maybe the fall I was thinking Doug amelon would really be your fourth receiver but now it feels like that would more so be Trevor Wilson but instead of Keaton Kuca on the two deep which he was last year and I don't remember they might have made an extra spot on the two deep form him to get there but uh Tory Lain who's kind of your running back receiver hybrid has officially made the two deep as a receiver which I think is cool he's been um certainly an underrated player and has a lot of usage a lot of roles in different ways you know whether it's special teams whether it's the occasional play on offense or something like that and he's just filled in wherever ku's needed him too so cool that he makes it on the two deep there in his final season with KU but yeah that offensive line that's kind of the big one here for that K offense so um Bryce cable do interestingly enough will be the starting left tackle the senior who's been a multi-year starter for KU at the right tackle position had his best year last year and he's kind of gotten better each and every year that he's been at KU so far but what was interesting was last spring they tried him a little bit at left tackle before Dominic puny kind of uh I guess took down that role and he said that he wanted to move because he was uncomfortable well maybe it was just more training this off season for whatever reason he moves over to left tackle and seems like he's comfortable now so I feel good about that um as long as he is comfortable doing it which I don't think he would be starting there if he wasn't comfortable doing it the backup's Nolan gorica and I think Nolan Gara could be one of your first linemen off the because when you look at the two deep the starters are important but as far as the backups go it doesn't tell the full sto story because realistically you're gonna have two or three backups that are going to play like most of the backup snaps so like gorsa is one of these guys where he can play guard and Tackle he's only listed as the backup left tackle but if a guard goes down okay it's probably Daryl Simmons coming in for him but then if another guard goes down instead of uh James Livingston who lists his backup left guard it might be Nolan gorsa I don't know so uh you have cable do left tackle gorsa backup left tackle and again I think he's kind of a a backup tackle and guard for you Michael Ford at left guard one of the most underrated guards across the conference James Livingston who's been a tackle before now he's in at at left guard there um you look at the right guard position Kobe Bane sounds like he's had a good camp and I think is going to provide some power for that offense running the ball behind his back Daryl Simmons Jr I think you probably look at somebody who could probably play either guard position for you and when you look at last year's KU team arage Reed Adams along with Kobe Baines and Michael Ford you basically had three guards who were playing starter level snaps you basically had six offensive linemen who played starter level snaps some of that was allowed because AR majar Adams could play guard and Tackle I don't know that you're going to do that with Daryl Simmons but the point is there snaps there for Sixth and maybe even seventh offensive lineman if you givey those up and so I think Simmons will play some snaps there and we already talked about if you're an never day or you heard it uh Lance lipold on a recent press conference talking about you know we could rotate in Simmons here and there and feel good about where we're at and then Kobe Baines is more rested ready to go for the fourth quarter and that would apply for the rest of the season as well if you're uh you know limiting reps and using him an important role so I think that's uh something else that when you're looking at these backups like I said you're really more so looking at which backups are part of that two or three most trusted they're going to come in and fill in whatever position is needed I think gorsa is one of them I think Simmons is another one you look at the right Tackle Spot Logan Brown and Dre Dorian uh behind him I think dorian's a very versatile offensive lineman at points we've heard him getting snaps at Center uh now you know backing up at right tackle so I think that's a good sign um in terms of his flexibility and how he could try to make an impact but again same kind of thing with Logan Brown like I I kind of talked about this we did throughout the offseason that if Logan Brown can hit his ceiling it completely changes and adds to what this KU offense can be and what this KU offensive line can be and so the fact that he has to move over to right tackle maybe that's a bit worrisome but there were some comments at Lance Light bu's press conference on Monday that was really talking up Logan Brown and if he's more comfortable playing right tackle like you'd rather a guy be an a at right tackle than be a c at left tackle you know and so if this is the more comfortable roles I I think you like the experience of Bryce cable do you like the talent of Logan Brown and then maybe Logan Brown eventually is the left tackle next season when cable do graduates or maybe it's a guy like Calvin Clemens who's not on this to deep but was recovering from an injury and you figure we'll take another big stride this season in his red shirt freshman season H for KU but the most important you might have noticed I skipped over it that Center position of the offensive line not necessarily most important I don't know maybe it is because you're calling out all the plays uh but most prominent because of that's where the biggest question was with um position battle and it ends up being Bryce Foster as the one Shane bum as the two now as we continue to look back at some of the comments that were made by Lance lipold and Jeff Grimes it's entirely possible some of them were motivation to just try to make sure that Bryce Foster was giving each and everything that he had to win this job and that they knew he was GNA have it um and that they wanted him to emerge not just as a player but as a leader and a lot of these other things it's entirely possible that's the case but I do think pal Garner set him up that he maybe is in that group with Nolan gorica and darl Simmons that they would be kind of the first ones that would hit the field if one of the starters went down and so you feel good about the backup there but I think it's good news that Bryce Foster ends up winning the job just because when you look at the body the athleticism the power the SEC experience that Bryce Foster brings to the table the fact that he earned that starting position at Center and I guess you could say the same thing with Logan Brown for a highly touted former recruit you know if you're living up to the potential and you want to talk about raising the ceiling of this offensive line raising the ceiling of this offense those are two guys that can can do it so uh that is the offensive depth chart let's get to the defensive side of the football let's also get to the uh special team side of it because certainly if you were looking there the kicker battle ended up being a bit of a surprise for us so we'll talk about all those coming up un locked on j-hawks this episode of the show is brought to you by five hour I've got a young baby daughter and so I am up late at night checking on her or I might be up at a random time during the day I might just hit that tired wall after having a poor night of sleep and so you need that little push to get you through well Five Hour Energy it's the brand hardworking people like me have trusted for over 20 years to give them alert energized feeling that we need to get through a busy hectic day you always know where to find 5H Hour Energy shots right at the cash register and nearly every convenience drug and grocery store Nationwide you can stock up on moneysaving multipacks to make sure that you never run out of your delicious energizing 5-hour energy shots if you go to 5our energy.com that's the number five not the spelled out to Five Hour Energy with the number five.com and get some Five Hour Energy product today you can use my promo code locked on CFB to receive 20% off your order this offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions so the codee's not good on subscription orders either just go to 5our energy.com again that promo code locked on CFB standing for locked on college football but locked on CFB all right continuing on here with locked on Jayhawks thank you every Dar tuning in each and every show of course you can make your second list in the locked on college football show for this week okay what about the two deep for the defensive side of the ball and the special teams for KU so on the defensive side of the ball no surprises at uh one defensive end spot which will be the strong defensive end spot with Jeremy Robinson and Dylan woodkey both them should play both of them should rotate I think back two years ago uh lot of snaps to both guys pretty close to being even between like Malcolm Lee and Jeremy Robinson I think that'll be the case this time but Robinson plays more and and woodkey plays left and keep both guys uh uh well rested throughout the season and I think that'll be good for both players the other defensive end spot Dean Miller sounded like he was you know winning that battle all the way through also good he's only rard senior or Junior so I mean if he has that good of a year that he gets to go pro after it that's a great problem to have but otherwise you could have another year with him and how about this DJ Warner is a true freshman making that backup spot he's going to play he's going to get uh playing time as a rush defensive end and you know as much as you love to red shirt your your freshman when they come in and get their bodies fully up to Snuff and everything um a guy like DJ Warner if all goes well he is such a highly recruited player that he's like I mean there's a good chance he's not going to be in school for long enough for you to like use the red shirt if that makes sense like that's something Bill sth talks about sometimes but like I don't know DJ Warner could be so good over these next couple of Seasons that he goes Pro after his Junior season or he goes Pro after his true senior season which if he would red shirted he would have just gone pro after his retro Junior season so it's whatever and uh I think he'll make a big impact on this team and then defensive tackles DJ Withers heard a lot of great things about him in Camp sounds like he could be ready to break out how about Tommy Dunn winning that other defensive tackle spot but Caleb Taylor uh he'll play a ton of snaps for this team so Keenan Caldwell which interesting that Caldwell made the two Deep Over Javier darrett you brought in Javier darrett and at the time it felt like a really big addition for you the transfer from North Dakota State uh he'll still play he'll still be a rotational guy but you know maybe when they first brought in darrett part of the thought was maybe even that he could be a starter as a veteran player and again he'll still play as a fifth defensive tackle but not nearly as much if you were the second or third guy uh you'll also get some snaps to maybe one of two or maybe both of those guys with the Freshman that are kind of back there it seems like Blake Harold his name keeps popping up a lot so defensive tackle they play a lot of guys and that'll continue to happen at the hawk position Jason gilam earns the starting spot feels like he uh got healthy at the right time and everything went together there and Alex Reich will be his backup uh other linebacker spots Cornell wheeler with Taiwan Barry Hill as the backup and then you got JB Brown and Tristan Fletcher as the backup there this one is one where even though Taiwan Barry Hill is listed as backup in one and not the other I expect Taiwan Barry Hill to be the the backup linebacker to both guys like he'll play a lot of snaps still obviously he's coming off a year where he's playing through injury but he had a a Pro Football Focus grade of below 30 a season ago so you're looking at him to be healthy you're looking at him to earn more playing time with his performance on there but I feel great about the athleticism the hitting ability the Run stopping ability of those two guys with Cornell wheeler and JB Brown and Wheeler was actually named one of the captains for the team too which shows you know as you're talking about a guy with Cornell wheeler who brings I think more athleticism and I think it's even more for JB Brown but uh with Cornell wheeler if you're comparing this linebacker unit to last years he brings more athleticism and thump part of the question that they were having during the offseason was but who can replace the leadership of a guy like Rich Miller he got everybody in the right spot he was such a good leader for this team and just because he was named captain doesn't guarantee that he's as good as those things as Rich Miller was but it kind of shows you that he's doing a good job at it right so uh I think that's a good sign there with both those guys and then you look at the corner position uh Kobe Bryant with Melo doson your two starters obviously we expected uh you know McGee to be the backup the former transfer from LSU and that ends up being the case he'll be the third corner and probably fill in for either guy I was going to be curious who won that fourth Corner Spot though between Jal Croft and Jaylen Todd uh Croft the red Shir freshman one of your highest recruits in the class of uh 2023 Todd one of your highest recruits in the class of 202 24 Todd ends up winning it out as a true freshman now I still feel good about the future of both players but and both will probably play in a rotational role at the back end of the depth chart this year but uh I do think that is interesting to see and I mean it's it's not often that this staff will get like I think last year the only true freshman who was on the two deep offense or defense was Keaton Kuca and that was because they made an exemption and they had like seven receivers on there instead of six and now you have two listed on the two on defense with both Todd and Warner at the safety position Marvin Grant OJ Burrows expected starters the two backups Deon Dy Jaylen diey kind of the expected backups the one question was going to be does Mason Ellis crack into this I still think Ellis will play he'll play a lot of special teams uh who knows how close he is to the die Brothers but certainly we knew both them would be starting and then you move over to special teams um kickoff Guy tabber Allen that's always been the case that's not a a big change but the play kicking that was uh a big if felt like it was Charlie weinrich or Owen peper gtis it felt like out of spring Owen peper gtis had the lead and then you started hearing some scuttlebutt that maybe it was Charlie weinrich with the lead in the end tabber Allen ends up the most consistent and I think that's something to keep in mind because that's something Lance liel said he was the most consistent they value consistency above anything when you when you look at this like if they have the option between starting the guy who's consistent every day and starting the guy who has the highest ceiling but has bigger floors they're going to start the consistent guy and I don't think there's anything wrong with that because I I think from a cultural perspective developing that inside your program of like you have to work hard every day you have to be consistent every day is a good thing that you want messaging around the program right and so tab Allen wins the job and you know it's hard to say who's the best and and how this going to go on during the season so uh I do know tab Allen because he's been doing the kickoffs has a very strong leg so maybe that gives you potential to hit longer field goals Damon geves the backup or the punter so that remains there and Luke Hosford stays as the Long Snapper when you look at the return men Trevor Wilson and Luke Grim as the part returners I wonder if this is going to be a thing where it's like if you're in a situation where you need a fair catch you throw Luke Grim out there if you're in a situation where you think you're gonna have a chance to return it you throw Trevor Wilson out there obviously people will have bad flashbacks PTSD to the Kansas State game uh try to have more good flashbacks try to think more of the UCF game if you could try to be uh on the positive side I guess there and then uh for the kick returners Wilson going to get pling time there Savon Morrison I think that's a good opportunity to use him there get him uh in the open field to some of his speed uh and then obviously graves will be the uh holder so that's the to deep for KU some surprises some things that we weren't totally sure about some things to be expected but uh just makes it feel like it's even closer because it is it's two days away from KU Lindenwood let's discuss the game a little bit and what that two days out means unlocked on Jayhawks this episode is brought to you by ultimate college football head coach locked on Jayhawk fans let's take a moment give you a heads up on that brand new mobile game that I think you're 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want to and of course we have a special offer for locked on j-hawk fans use the promo code locked on CFB all caps in inside the game store to receive a free boost to your program make sure to take advantage of this perk it's going to get your team off to the strong start that you need so download the game by visiting ultimate-fx see today I finishing things up on this episode of lock on Jayhawks we're getting closer to the uh the game here I am a bit under the weather so thanks for bearing with me today all right we're two days out from the game uh early line on the game has KU at well I think he came out as a 43 and a half Point favorite I was looking at FanDuel this morning and it was already up to 44 and a half so people are betting Kansas on this one which I don't think lynen Wood's that great of a team so I mean what's the number that I'd be comfortable with it going up to that might be an interesting question like I I don't know 56 to seven so if you get like 48 and a half but even then that's you know low margin for error but I think K is going to be able to run the ball on him very well and so even when you bring the backup when it's Daniel haaw when it's Harry Stewart when it's Tavon Morrison you should be able to score and stuff but still once you get into that 40o line like the game could easily run out of time and and you win 45 to three and you don't cover the spread but you still had a dominant win right so it's always dangerous when you're doing those I'm gonna have more fun with the prop bets which we will uh do some prop bets on our preview show on Thursday for the game uh which will come on FanDuel so anyway two days out I found this is interesting couple uh I guess one stat that I think will will have a big determin Factor on the season so Kansas averaged giving up two rushing touchdowns per game last season two rushing touchdowns per game UCLA last year was the best defense at preventing rushing touchdowns they gave up five total now I I don't say that to be like oh can like Kansas has to make the leap to being the best defensive preventing rushing touchdowns of the country that would be uh a little asinine to expect that or to ask for that but you can see there's a big Gulf there and can you narrow that Gulf from what the top is to what you've given up you know we've talked a lot about the run defense can it be better and it got a lot better last year from where it was the year before if you can make another stride this year it's going to help your pass defense it's going to help your pass rush it's going to put you in more favorable situations and it's also going to prevent teams from just running down your throat and for Kansas with I think more athletic bigger Thumpers of linebackers uh a defensive tackle unit that I feel good about I think the pieces are there that you can take another step forward as a run defense obviously they got to do it they got to show it on the field all this stuff is hoop on hype to where we're at but that is one area when you're looking at where can Kansas get better because there's certain areas you go in you're in you're out and you're like well I don't know if they're going to reach that level or like maybe that was a little bit lucky this year you look at the red zone defense that should get better you look at turnovers they could get better they were closer to even look at the run defense those are areas that KU can get better needs get better and I think will get better this season to have a pretty special Year all that'll do it for this episode of lock on Jayhawks you can find our show anywhere you get your podcast including on our YouTube page we'll have our Kansas Lindenwood preview later in the week so you're not going to want to miss it make sure you're tuned in on loj see you next time