Kansas Starts Spring Football with 29 new players

LAWRENCE, Ks. (KCTV) — The Jayhawks completed their first of 15 spring practices on Sunday, as they look to put last year’s disappointing season behind them. This spring, a big theme for KU is “finishing” because they feel like they didn’t finish a lot of football games a year ago.

Last year, the Jayhawks finished 5-7 – with five of their losses coming by one possession. KU wants to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

“I think we are going to put more emphasis on situation football,” head coach Lance Leipold told reporters on Sunday. “We have to be better in certain areas. We know that was an area we did not excel in last year.”

The team knows the margins of winning and losing football games is razor thin. The players and coaching staff know the big picture is made up of a thousand little things.

“Our biggest job is not letting up; staying with our details,” said defensive lineman, D.J. Withers. “We have to be detailed the whole game. There might be some parts where we are doing good, then we might drop a pass or miss a gap, not be in our right place, whatever it is. Those little mistakes can mess up a whole game.”

The Jayhawks have a lot of new faces on this year’s roster. 29 new players arrived for spring and more will come in the summer.

“This is almost like our first year where you’re starting to learn a bunch of names again, getting those guys together, getting opportunities, get them evaluated, try to figure out where it’s at,” Leipold said. “We’ll need all 15 practices to make some of those things,”

With all the new players come a lot of guys looking to secure jobs. The coaching staff says all the fresh faces have changed the energy of the program.

“There is a competitive edge again in this program,” said KU Football’s Director of Sports Performance, Matt Gildersleeve. “That on a daily basis, these guys know there are no solidified spots on this roster, and they’ve got to go compete.”

KU will close out spring on Friday, April 11 with their Spring Showcase. Leipold said he is not sure when QB Jalon Daniels – who is recovering from offseason knee surgery – will be able to return to practice.

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