Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - BIG 12 TRANSFER CENTER: Jayhawks Bring On Kasen Carpenter from Oklahoma State Cowboys

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

Kansas Jayhawks add Kasen Carpenter, a transfer from Oklahoma State and Tulsa, to bolster their offensive line—could this be the missing piece for a dominant front through 2026 AND 2027? Carpenter joins other recent additions, Nick Morrow and Connor Stroh, bringing valuable Big 12 experience and versatility to a roster already stocked with promising talent like Calvin Clements and Amir Herring.Derek Johnson breaks down Carpenter’s skillset as a center, his strengths in pass protection, and how his arrival shakes up competition for starting spots across KU’s revamped O-line. The discussion highlights Kansas’ strategy in blending transfer portal recruits with seasoned contributors, questions whether run blocking can match their pass protection, and explores projected depth and position battles heading into spring football. Can Kansas’ offensive line deliver the consistency needed for a breakout season?Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rocket MoneyLet Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at http://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDONGametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.RugietIf you’ve been thinking about taking the next step, now’s the time.Head to https://Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEto get 15% off your order for a limited time.Rugiet Ready. Feel present. Feel confident. Feel ready.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You picked up a in-transfer inside the Big 12 to potentially round out their offensive line. You are Locked-on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's going on? Derek Johnson here with another bonus episode, Locked on Jayhawks. KU grabbing another commit from the transfer portal with Kason Carpenter, a transfer who was previously at Tulsa and Oakland. Oklahoma State will break down what he brings to the table, his scouting report, and the position room break down both where he could potentially play on the offensive line and just the offensive line in general on this bonus episode of the show. Let's start right there with the news that Kaysen Carpenter is officially a Kansas Jayhawk. He began his career at Tulsa out of Midlothian, Texas, which sounds like something from a Lord of the Rings book. And then he goes to Oklahoma State, where he was most recently for one year.

Two seasons at Tulsa won a redshirt. So he's going to be a redshirt junior in 2026. That means it gives him two years left to play for the Jayhawks. And this is something we brought up on one of the recent offensive line commitments too. If you're looking at the KU offensive line, I mean, potentially your top six offensive linemen could wind up being two of the other additions you made with Nick Morrow and Connor St. and then Cason Carpenter here. And then some of your returning players who played big snaps for you or started, Calvin Clements, Tavaki, Tuico, Lovatu, Amir Herring are all Redshirt Juniors.

Antonio Wilson's a Redshirt Jr. too. You could potentially, you know, have a line mesh together, not just for this season, but for 2027 as well. And that could potentially be exciting, though. The Transfer Portal typically plays tricks when you start thinking too far ahead into your roster construction. But I think the big question here is, oh, there's really two. what is KU now going to do with Amir Herring, right? Like, do you move him to center?

Do you play Kason Carpenter at center? Because that's what he was playing at Oklahoma State. What does this mean for the competition at the guard positions, especially based on what happens with Herring? We'll get to more than that in segment three. And then it's complete the offensive line additions for KU. You know, right now I have them sitting at 16 scholarship offensive linemen. I mean, I guess you could always add more depth on the offensive line,

but I think in general that probably gives you enough coverage. and it's beyond just having the coverage of what you have. Again, maybe you could have one more depth piece. If you're just talking about like the top linemen, the guys who you project to start or be maybe your first or second lineman off the bench, it feels like KU has gotten to a point where those things have been filled for the Jayhawks. So we'll get specifically into Carpenter's game. What he brings to the table next, this is locked on Jayhawks.

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So visit FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL, and grab your profit boost pack every NFL game day with FanDuel. Thanks again for joining us here on Locked on Jayhawks, making this your first listen every day. You can share out the everyday or club as well for an ad-free version of the audio. Okay, so Cason Carpenter is a 6'3-305-pound offensive lineman. You know, we've talked a lot about like KU having bigger people just in general and the guys that they brought in via the portal.

Carpenter at 6.3 would apply there. The 305 for a lineman, that's pretty normal. But he was an 85 rated three-star in high school by 24-7 sports. Actually, a shot putter as well. That worked for Kansas with Bryce Foster is having a center who also shop-putted. But he went to Tulsa out of high school where he read. Edchard in 2023, still played in four games. Then he played in 12 games with 11 starts for a not very good Golden Hurricanes team in 2024.

Transferred up to Oklahoma State, also not a very good Oklahoma State team where this most recent season, seven appearances and two starts for him between those. And obviously there's a, I guess, a little bit of a connection there, Jack Tanner, who spent, you know, freshman and first two seasons at Tulsa and got a lot of. lot of playing time there transferred to kansas and sat out this year um and you know now tanner could be on the two deep for k u um so now you bring on another you know lineman um who were young guys who got some extra playing time there albeit again that wasn't very good Tulsa teams but um now he goes to Oklahoma state and you know he was the starter to begin the season he finished the season as the backup

though he did get to start later in the season their starting center was pretty good so um you know it's not a situation of like, oh, why we see the backup necessarily. The pro football focus grades, I wouldn't call them like a, they're not bad. They're not a disaster, but they do leave a little bit something to be desired. Just a 50.5 grade in 2024 at Tulsa. And maybe some of that was contextual, given that Tulsa was a bit of a mess and probably didn't give him the best situation to succeed. You go to Oklahoma State where they weren't very good either, but at the very least,

maybe you're in a little bit more structure playing for a big 12 team. grade goes up to 59.6. So at the very least, you're talking about, you know, because if you have 59.6 for Kansas this year, I don't know, you might not be starting at center. But the idea is, okay, you got better from 2024 to 2025. If you can get better again to 2026, then you're cooking with something, right? This is a position that KU's had locked down if you're talking about him being the center, right? With Mike Novitsky coming in and being an all big 12 level guy. And Mike's last year, he was kind of beat up and didn't have as good of a season as the year before, but just kind of playing through injury. But. He was a pillar for you on the offensive line. And then you look at Bryce Foster and he was really good for you for two years. So this has been a position that KU has been very good in for the Lance Light Poldera. So there are big shoes to potentially fill there. Now, it is interesting how some of the blocking grades on pro football focus divvy out. Here for him, he has a 66.8 pro football focus grade and a 60 or I'm sorry, 66.8 pass

block grade and then a 64.8 pass block grade. So his two years, 2024 and 2025 where he was really playing, decent pass blocking grades, but the run blocking grades were a bit of a struggle, 56.6 and a 42.7, where his two run blocking grades. So by that, you would say he's a better pass blocker than run blocker, which I do find interesting because now that we look at all these, you know, portal additions, KU's made on the offense line, with Stro and Morrow, they're, they're close. it's not that big of a difference, but both of those guys have higher pass blockings than run blocking grades. Carpenter has a better pass blocking grade than run blocking grade.

I think there's two things you could look at there. One, the positive way to look at it would be Kansas feels confident about teaching up their blocking scheme in the run game that they feel like they can make players better in run blocking. And that if you get a good pass blocker, you like having that base because maybe that can be harder to teach. and now we're going to teach up the run. That could be part of it. The other part of it, though, is it, if it's not the case, then it's almost like, wait, shouldn't you be a run first team?

Why are you recruiting guys who are better pass blockers than run blockers? Then again, maybe you say, hey, we want to load up on pass blocking to help a young quarterback. I don't know. A lot of different directions you could kind of take that. But I did find that at least a little bit interesting that all three of those guys better pass blocking grades than run blocking grades. Though this one, the bigger split among the three. All right. Let's get to our position room projected role next. This is Locked on Jayhawks.

Thanks again for joining us here on this bonus episode of the show. KU adding another offensive line, in Kaysen Carpenter joining the fold from Oklahoma State before that from Tulsa. So let's start with the projected role here. I think the idea is for him to come in and play the center position for KU. I think the question is just where does he line up on the two deep, right? So KU is going to experiment with different things during spring ball. Really two directions you could go. Case and Carpenter starts at center. And then you have a mere herring at Guard where he was really successful this past season.

And then you have a competition between Tavaki Tuico Lovatu and Connor Stroh for the other guard position. And whichever of those loses the battle becomes your first guard off the bench. And then at the tackle positions, you got Nick Morrow, who just brought in from Cal and Calvin Clements with Jack Tanner is kind of your swing tackle at those different positions. Or if, like, do you find that what if your best offensive line features, like, what if you're like, hey, Davaki, Tuukal Lavatu, Connerstrow, and Amir Herring are three of our best four, five offensive linemen. So we need to make it work by getting them all on the field. Then you move Herring to center.

You have Stro and Tuico Levato at guard. And then it's still Clements and Morrow at the tackle position with Tanner, kind of the swing guy. And now, Casey Carpenter becomes your backup center and maybe even a swing guard at that point a time or maybe James Livingston becomes that guy, right? I think that's why you're kind of looking at there. And KU likes to really have like eight guys that they can, you know, the three backups cover some of these different positions for KU. So I think that's going to be kind of an interesting battle to track during spring football. But the way I look at it right now, like if you're projecting who those top eight are, Morrow, Tanner, Clements, Tuicolevato, Stro, Livingston, Herring,

and Carpenter, I would feel like those would be at least seven of them. And then the eighth could potentially come from one of the guys you brought in, whether it was through high school or Juko or via the transfer portal who, you know, didn't play last year, but maybe developed and we'll see if they can break out. Antonio Wilson, DeAndre Harper, I guess Triselle Jenkins, David Abaji and like some of the freshmen you brought in. Maybe this is where they do add one more depth body just to become that kind of eighth guy for them who could play guard or tackle and be kind of a swing piece. So I think it'll be interesting to see if they do make that one other move and that'll be a little bit telling on how they feel about some of the depth guys.

behind them or if any of the young guys can kind of step up. All right, that'll do it for this episode of Lockdown Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcast, including on our YouTube page. Check out our KUS Virginia recap and all of our commitment videos right here on LOJ.