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Kansas football coach Lance Leipold understands that Torry Locklin might not receive the same attention as others at times. Locklin, a redshirt junior running back for the Jayhawks this fall, is laid-back, quiet and humble. There's been a lot of talk around sophomore running back Devin Neal and the incoming transfers at the position as the 2022 opener has drawn closer. Locklin is also coming off of an injury that cut his 2021 season short, what he would describe this week as a dislocated ankle. But Leipold was adamant as well about Locklin that, "He'll help us." Leipold not that help will come in a number of different ways, because of the versatility - on offense and on special teams - the 6-foot-2 and 210-pound talent provides.

And Monday, Leipold began to see what Locklin is capable of again as Locklin has continued to work his way back from that injury. "He's a multiple guy," said running backs coach Jonathan Wallace, who added he thinks Locklin is 100% again. "He's in our room right now. He's a very smart guy. He's doing a lot of really good things for us right now. So, his role is going to continue to evolve. You saw him get splashes of things last year, and really when that package starts to open up he got hurt, which was very unfortunate for us as a team. But as he continues to grow, and he's even gotten bigger as a player, it's only going to continue to get bigger for him. So, he's doing some really good things. Really, really proud of how he's been able to manage and fight back and get into things." - Topeka Capital Journal

(DS#999 WR) rSr/2025

WR Torry Locklin, Kansas
News Source: Topeka Capital Journal
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08/11/22 - Devin Neal, Sr/2025, Kansas, 5-11, 213 (DS#14 RB) + More +

There's no denying that one of Kansas' strengths entering the season appears to be the depth it has at running back. Sophomore Devin Neal returns after a breakout first season. So, too, do redshirt junior Torry Locklin, who emerged as a multidimensional threat before a November ankle injury, and redshirt sophomore Daniel Hishaw Jr., who was productive in 2020 before missing all of last season with a hip injury. Add in Minnesota transfer Ky Thomas, a redshirt sophomore from Topeka who led the Golden Gophers in rushing last season, and Nebraska transfer Sevion Morrison, a redshirt sophomore who ran for more than 5,000 yards in high school, and there's no denying Kansas' ground attack appears formidable.

That, Neal said, is thrilling. "We're really dynamic, and we can throw a lot of teams off guard with how fresh we can be, the different looks we can get - three running backs, two-running back sets," Neal said Sunday after the Jayhawks' fifth training camp practice. "Just the dynamics of our room is phenomenal and it's going to be really exciting to watch." Kansas ranked ninth in the Big 12 last season with 139.3 rushing yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry. Much of that was because of Neal, the Lawrence High grad who was pressed into action early in the season and finished with 707 rushing yards and eight touchdowns - and averages of 64.3 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry. - Lawrence Journal World

(DS#14 RB) Sr/2025

RB Devin Neal, Kansas
News Source: Lawrence Journal World
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08/09/22 - Lorenzo McCaskill, rSr/2023, Kansas, 6-0, 223 (DS#60 OLB) + More +

Kansas defensive coordinator Brian Borland said Thursday that linebacker Lorenzo McCaskill's transfer from Louisiana will provide the Jayhawks with an accomplished player at a position that could have benefited from additional experience. McCaskill, who participated in practice for the first time on Thursday morning wearing No. 7, is a 6-foot, 220-pound sixth-year senior from Detroit who was named to the All-Sun Belt second team last season. He played inside linebacker in Louisiana's 3-3-5 scheme, which is slightly different than the 4-3 base defense the Jayhawks use. "He's an inside linebacker, probably more of that middle linebacker spot for us, so I'm sure that's something similar to what he did," Borland said. "Kids are adaptable. He'll learn our scheme. He'll adapt, and there's things - even though it's a different alignment and things like that, a lot of it's still the same. Football is football, so I don't have any problem or any worry that he won't catch on or he won't fit in."

McCaskill's transfer was delayed as he finished his coursework at Louisiana. He spent his first season at Holmes Community College in Goodman, Mississippi, before transferring to Louisiana in 2018 and started all 12 games last season for the Ragin' Cajuns, who were the Sun Belt champion in 2020 and 2021 and reached a bowl game in each of his four seasons. He decided to leave Louisiana in January, after coach Billy Napier was hired at Florida, and initially received interest from USC and Tennessee but wanted to find somewhere he could play more often. - Lawrence Journal World

(DS#60 OLB) rSr/2023

OLB Lorenzo McCaskill, Kansas
News Source: Lawrence Journal World
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08/06/22 - Jason Bean, rSr/2024, Kansas, 6-2, 196 (DS#20 QB) + More +

By all accounts, Jason Bean was productive throughout six weeks of spring practice, continued to develop on his own during the summer months and had a crisp opening session of preseason training camp on Tuesday. That Kansas coach Lance Leipold said Tuesday he still expected junior Jalon Daniels to be the starting quarterback for the season opener on Sept. 2 against Tennessee Tech doesn't faze him. "It kind of just goes kind of right over my head," Bean said Wednesday, roughly an hour after the conclusion of the Jayhawks' second practice. "That's nothing that I can control. You know, I'm here to once again make myself better and do anything I can to make my team better." Bean, a fifth-year senior, started nine games last season, his first since transferring from North Texas.

He completed 56% of his passes for 1,252 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions, but lost the starting job to Daniels before the Nov. 13 game at Texas because of an unspecified injury. Daniels led the Jayhawks to a surprising 57-56 overtime victory, and in the days following the game was forced to decide whether he wanted to forgo a redshirt opportunity and continue playing. When he did so, Bean was relegated to backup duty. He returned to the field for the game at TCU on Nov. 20, when he lined up as a running back and ran for a touchdown and had one catch. Leipold said at the time that it was an attempt to get "one of our fastest players on the field." - Lawrence Journal World

(DS#20 QB) rSr/2024

QB Jason Bean, Kansas
News Source: Lawrence Journal World
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08/05/22 - Jalon Daniels, rSr/2026, Kansas, 6-0, 219 (DS#15 QB) + More +

Kansas coach Lance Leipold said Tuesday that he is planning for Jalon Daniels to be the starting quarterback when the season opens - a role that has seemed likely for Daniels since the final month of last season. Daniels, a junior, has been battling fifth-year senior Jason Bean in a competition that appears to be one in name only. "If you want to type right now, 'Leipold expects Daniels to be the starter,' go ahead and type it," Leipold, who is entering his second season as the Jayhawks' coach, said at a news conference following the first training camp practice. "That's probably the best way that I'll answer it at this time."

Daniels, from outside Los Angeles, started six of the seven games in which he appeared as a freshman in 2020 and three of the six games he played in last season. Those three starts, however, were primarily why Daniels earned that responsibility this season. Filling in for Bean, who started the first nine games last season but was unavailable because of an injury, Daniels completed 21 of 30 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns and threw a two-point conversion pass to tight end Jared Casey in overtime to give Kansas a surprising 57-56 win at Texas on Nov. 13. - Lawrence Journal World

(DS#15 QB) rSr/2026

QB Jalon Daniels, Kansas
News Source: Lawrence Journal World
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08/03/22 - Kenny Logan Jr., rSr/2024, Kansas, 5-11, 209 (DS#21 SS) + More +

2022 PRESEASON CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD WATCH LIST: Kenny Logan, Kansas, Junior S,...Logan had already been named to the Jim Thorpe Award watch list, awarded to the top defensive back in college football, and the Hornung Award watch list, presented to the most versatile player in college football. The safety was also named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team. The St. Augustine native is one of 10 Big 12 players on the watch list. Logan was a second-team all-conference player last year and led all safeties nationally with 113 tackles. He also led the Big 12 in tackles and had 79 solo tackles, which ranked third in the country among all players. - Kansas Football

(DS#21 SS) rSr/2024

SS Kenny Logan Jr., Kansas
News Source: Kansas Football
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08/03/22 - Kenny Logan Jr., rSr/2024, Kansas, 5-11, 209 (DS#21 SS) + More +

2022 PRESEASON PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST: Kenny Logan Jr., Kansas,...Logan, who was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team earlier this month, was a second-team all-conference player last year and led all safeties nationally with 113 tackles. He also led the Big 12 in tackles and had 79 solo tackles, which ranked third in the country among all players. He played in all 12 games for the Jayhawks in 2021, and finished with four tackles-for-loss, two forced fumbles, six pass breakups and one interception to go with his 113 tackles. Logan finished the 2021 season as the only player in the country to have at least 113 tackles, six pass breakups and multiple forced fumbles on the year. He set a career-high in tackles at TCU with 15 and became the first Kansas defensive back since Chris Harris Jr., in 2009 to have at least 15 tackles and multiple tackles-for-loss in the same game. - Kansas Football

(DS#21 SS) rSr/2024

SS Kenny Logan Jr., Kansas
News Source: Kansas Football
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07/29/22 - Lonnie Phelps, rJr/2023, Kansas, 6-2, 244 (DS#21 OLB) + More +

The Jayhawks' pass rush needs to improve upon what it was capable of in 2021. That would be true even if Kyron Johnson, selected in this year's NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, was able to return to Kansas for one more season. And Johnson led the Jayhawks, by far, in quarterback hurries and sacks. Phelps' addition, by way of a transfer from Miami (Ohio), therefore becomes all the more important. Yes, the Mid-American Conference is in the Group of Five and Big 12 in the Power Five. But Phelps' ability to record 9.5 sacks in 13 games last season and get into the backfield in other ways remains impressive.

Phelps was a 247Sports Composite three-star prospect coming out of high school. He was an even better three-star talent as a transfer. A redshirt junior in 2022, Kansas lists him at 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds. "Lonnie is a freak of nature," Logan said. "Lonnie can swing the edge. … He has a high motor, so Lonnie goes and goes and goes. And he's strong, so Lonnie is going to be a great help for us." Logan, asked how quickly he noticed that, added: "I saw that immediately, as soon as he walked in the door." - Topeka Capital Journal

(DS#21 OLB) rJr/2023

OLB Lonnie Phelps, Kansas
News Source: Topeka Capital Journal
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07/28/22 - Kenny Logan Jr., rSr/2024, Kansas, 5-11, 209 (DS#21 SS) + More +

Kansas safety Kenny Logan Jr. plays against TCU during the second half of a game on Nov. 20, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas. After a season in which Kansas' Kenny Logan Jr. led all safeties in Power 5 conferences with 113 tackles, he has his sights set higher as a senior. "I want to try to lead the NCAA in interceptions and try to lead the conference in interceptions," Logan said. Logan was reliable on the back end of the Jayhawks' defense last season, with only Kent State's Dean Clark, who had 116 tackles, finishing with more among FBS safeties. He made 79 tackles by himself and had four for a loss and was a second-team All-Big 12 player after the season. That led to his selection Monday to the watch list for the Thorpe Award, given to the nation's best defensive back.

Intercepting passes is a different skill than making tackles, especially for a player who had just one interception last season and had two the year before. But Logan's boast, made during Big 12 football media days earlier this month, comes from the ideas that he broke up six passes last season and that he feels more confident in his defensive teammates. Kansas junior safety Kenny Logan Jr. intercepts the ball against Texas Tech. Kansas fell 41-14 Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. "I don't want as many tackles this year because we have great linebackers that came in, so I don't feel like I'm going to have that many tackles," Logan said. - Lawrence Journal World

(DS#21 SS) rSr/2024

SS Kenny Logan Jr., Kansas
News Source: Lawrence Journal World
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07/28/22 - Doug Emilien, rSr/2026, Kansas, 6-0, 190 (DS#999 WR) + More +

There are a handful of returning wide receivers, redshirt sophomore Lawrence Arnold likely first among them, who'll compete to take up Kwamie Lassiter II's role as the Jayhawks' leading option in that room. Junior Luke Grimm and redshirt junior Trevor Wilson, with Arnold, made up the second-through-fourth spots last year behind Lassiter when it came to production. Emilien, a transfer from Minnesota who was listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, joined the team with his own level of potential. Emilien didn't load up the stat sheet or play a significant amount at Minnesota, but he has spent two years developing at the college level. Emilien was ranked only a few spots lower in the 247Sports Composite rankings in the 2020 recruiting class when it came to the wide receiver position nationally, behind Arnold. Emilien was a three-star prospect coming out of high school and a three-star prospect as a transfer.

Junior quarterback Jalon Daniels didn't know much about Emilien prior to Emilien's commitment. But redshirt sophomore running back Ky Thomas, another transfer who's joined the Jayhawks from Minnesota, was able to shed some light on what Emilien could provide for Daniels. Daniels said Thomas told him that Emilien was an excellent route runner who'll put in the work. "I can say (Emilien)'s definitely come in and did that," said Daniels, who also highlighted Emilien's ability to get yards after the catch. "Everything that's been asked of him, he's accomplished. He's abiding by the standard and he's just going to keep on coming in every single day and working." - Topeka Capital Journal

(DS#999 WR) rSr/2026

WR Doug Emilien, Kansas
News Source: Topeka Capital Journal
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07/28/22 - Jason Bean, rSr/2024, Kansas, 6-2, 196 (DS#20 QB) + More +

Although much of the conversation about Kansas' quarterbacks centered on Jalon Daniels earlier this month during Big 12 football media days, coach Lance Leipold made it known that he's still looking forward to the preseason performance of Jason Bean. "Jason Bean has a lot better understanding (of the offense) and is doing a lot better than where he was last September, so I'm anxious to see him as well," Leipold said. "I think that is good." Daniels started the last three games for the Jayhawks, including the surprising 57-56 overtime victory at Texas in which he threw the winning two-point conversion pass to fullback Jared Casey, and is expected to remain in that role when the season opens Sept. 2 against Tennessee Tech. Before Daniels, though, was Bean, a nine-game starter who decided to transfer to Kansas from North Texas in March 2021 and only missed the outing at Texas because of an unspecified injury.

That injury opened the door for Daniels, who was supposed to redshirt last season as a sophomore. Instead, Daniels decided to forgo that plan and finish out the year on the field. And while Leipold didn't outright make the proclamation that Daniels would be the starter, all signs are pointing to that being the case - and Bean resuming as his backup. "We've told him where he is," Leipold said. "We've told him what he has to improve upon. He embraces it. He understands it. He hasn't shied away from anything, and again, he's the kind of guy that, because he's pretty low-key in what he does and how he goes about it, you don't really notice (anything) when you're trying to read his body language. But I'm very impressed because he's another guy that is so much more comfortable in what we're doing." - Lawrence Journal World

(DS#20 QB) rSr/2024

QB Jason Bean, Kansas
News Source: Lawrence Journal World
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07/28/22 - Kenny Logan Jr., rSr/2024, Kansas, 5-11, 209 (DS#21 SS) + More +

2022 PRESEASON JIM THORPE AWARD WATCHLIST: Kenny Logan, Jr., Kansas, Sr.,...Logan, a 6-0, 210 safety/returner,...In 2021, Logan Jr. led the Big 12 Conference with 113 tackles in 2021, the most by a Jayhawk since 2018 … Logan's 113 tackles were the most by a safety in the NCAA … Of Logan's 113 total tackles, 79 came unassisted, most in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally among all players … He was the only player in the country to have at least 113 tackles, six pass breakups and multiple forced fumbles in the season … Had five games with at least 10 tackles, including a career-high 15 tackles at TCU. - Kansas Football

(DS#21 SS) rSr/2024

SS Kenny Logan Jr., Kansas
News Source: Kansas Football
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07/28/22 - Seth Keller, rSr/2024, Kansas, 5-08, 167 (DS#22 K) + More +

2022 PRESEASON LOU GROZA AWARD WATCH LIST: Seth Keller - Texas State, Class: Junior - Hometown: Colleyville, Texas,...Keller became the first Texas State kicker to ever make 15 field goals in a season, helping him to a team-leading 77 points that were the most by a Bobcat since 2014. Among active kickers with two starting seasons, his 13 field goals from at least 40 yards out are the second-most in the country. - Lou Groza Award

(DS#22 K) rSr/2024

K Seth Keller, Kansas
News Source: Lou Groza Award
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07/26/22 - Craig Young, rSr/2024, Kansas, 6-3, 226 (DS#24 OLB) + More +

Even though linebacker Craig Young only transferred to Kansas before the spring semester, safety Kenny Logan Jr. said he has already begun to take a leadership role on the team. Young, who played in 26 games over three seasons as a backup at Ohio State, is expected to be one of the Jayhawks' starting linebackers and at least compete to be their top nickelback. Logan, speaking last week at Big 12 football media days at AT&T; Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was asked about how players are buying into coach Lance Leipold's concept of a player-led team.

He responded by telling a story about how Young stepped into a leadership role. "We had a conditioning run the other week, and Craig Young was holding a young freshman accountable," Logan said. "Just seeing that shows the growth of our team and shows who we have in this program. I kind of backed him up with what he was saying just because that's the level that we're at right now. "Everybody has to be at this standard, and it's our standard that matters. Not the coaches'. The coaches have their own standard that we also have to follow, but it's the players' standard that matters because we also have to go out there with each other on Saturday." - Lawrence Journal World

(DS#24 OLB) rSr/2024

OLB Craig Young, Kansas
News Source: Lawrence Journal World
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07/25/22 - Mike Novitsky, rSr/2024, Kansas, 6-4, 309 (DS#25 C) + More +

2022 PRESEASON RIMINGTON TROPHY WATCHLIST: Mike Novitsky, Kansas,...Novitsky, the starter at center in all 12 games last season for the Jayhawks, was one of 40 centers nationally chosen for the watch list and one of six Big 12 centers selected. The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I football. Novitsky, a transfer from Buffalo, was selected for the 2020 watch list with the Bulls. He then made it back-to-back appearances on the watch list last year when he was selected prior to his first season with the Jayhawks. The Victor, N.Y., native was the anchor of an offensive line that allowed just 16 sacks in 12 games last year, after surrendering 43 sacks in nine games in 2020 without Novitsky in the fold. - Kansas Football

(DS#25 C) rSr/2024

C Mike Novitsky, Kansas
News Source: Kansas Football
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