Lance Leipold and the Kansas Jayhawks are in for a fairly unpredictable ride in 2026.
After two 5-7 slides, football at Kansas isn’t quite as exciting as it was just two years ago, and Leipold now must answer numerous fears over the next three-plus months as he looks to right the ship and get back to a bowl.
The biggest headline of the offseason was the hiring of former offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who returns to town following James Franklin’s exit at Penn State, where Leipold’s longtime OC called the shots for two seasons, leading the Jayhawk offense to nine wins in 2023.
Kansas returns seven starters across the field and a handful of transfers with starting experience (save for Tre’von McAlpine, who’ll miss 2026 due to a season-ending injury earlier this year). They’re patching multiple position groups with transfers, but not quarterback, where a two-man race between Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall, two guys who’ve spent two-plus seasons in Lawrence, is anything but concrete as Week 1 nears.
And, nope, the biggest game on the calendar isn’t Kansas State or Missouri.
Kansas takes on Arizona State on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Wembley Stadium in London. It’s a major event, the Union Jack Classic, and a compelling showing on national television certainly wouldn’t hurt, considering you haven’t made a bowl game in two years.
Those rivalries matter, but this game, which is followed by a bye in Week 4 before Middle Tennessee, could make or break your season, as many of these overseas games historically do.
The Offense Without Jalon Daniels
No secrets here, I’m a Kansas alum, and I’ve watched a lot of Jayhawk football over the years. I also watched Jalon Daniels, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spend six seasons searching for that golden season that never arrived. Like a lot of folks, I’m eager to see where this offense goes with two new faces in the mix.
Ballard has more experience of the two, including his first career start in 2023 against Kansas State, when both Daniels and Jayhawk-turned-XFL standout Jason Bean were unavailable. The major selling point for Cole is his sturdy frame and the ravings of leadership we’ve heard throughout fall camp. Marshall, who flourished with 10.7 yards per carry in multiple design run packages last year, is an equally viable candidate for the job.
Seven interceptions from Daniels (including three against Utah and two against Missouri) are mistakes that potentially cost Kansas a bowl in 2026, and it’s high time a quarterback takes the field with the ability to trim down the turnovers and manage the game consistently enough to give this group a shot. There’s some real talent in guys like Nik McMillan (Buffalo) and returning receiver Cam Pickett; it’d be a shame to waste it.
Can a Spark Return to the Backfield?
Another storyline for the Jayhawks is Kansas State transfer Dylan Edwards.
Edwards notably flipped his commitment twice from Kansas State to Notre Dame, and finally to Colorado, where he only played one full season before transferring to Kansas State in 2024. His time as a Wildcat didn’t exactly end well, but the message from fall camp is that he’s focused on correcting his path. The road trip to Manhattan on Oct. 17 will be must-watch television if only to see how Edwards handles that experience.
Moreover, Edwards lends Kansas some speed to a hard-hitting backfield led by 225-pound Yasin Willis from Syracuse and another hard-nosed rusher in Jalen Dupree from Colorado State. There’s plenty of depth here to not overwork one guy over the other, and Kotelnicki should have lots of fun with these options.
Who Steps Up Along the Defensive Line?
Defensively, Kansas took a step backward with D.K. McDonald’s first year as DC.
For a guy with NFL experience, McDonald didn’t exactly shine off the page, allowing 387 yards per game and 14.5 yards per play in his first year with the job title. He’s back for another year with a chance to improve, and he’ll have a key leader in Trey Lathan, opting to stay at Kansas instead of entering the portal, as a focal point of his front seven. Blake Herold (43 tackles, 5 TFL) is another key name back at defensive tackle.
Elsewhere, Kansas needs more leaders along the front lines – Alex Bray, Leroy Harris, Bam Crouch (Boston College) – and the good news is most of this lot returns the snaps needed to take a step forward. Austin Alexander and Jalen Todd will need to do their part, too, as the familiar faces in the secondary alongside returning starter Taylor Davis at safety.
A few more late-game stops could be all that separates Kansas from six wins or more in 2026.
