Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Diving Into the First KU Football 2-Deep

Episode Date: August 31, 2022

Diving into the first 2-deep for the Kansas Jayhawk football team. What sticks out and where are there still bound to be position battles? Who will step up at wide receiver, and why Luke Grimm is maybe the biggest winner from the depth chart.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

on today's locked on Jayhawks. We go over the Kansas two D petted into the first game of the season. I'm Derek Johnson. You can hear me as well on KLWN in Lawrence with rock jock sports talk chairs every Monday through Friday from three to six. Thanks for making locked on Jayhawks. Your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get your podcasts.

On today's edition of Locked On Jayhawks, we're going to take a deep dive into that opening season, too deep for the KU football team and what it means headed into the first game of the season against Tennessee Tech. We're going to start off with the offense, we'll go to the defense after that, and then we'll finish up with some of the special teams starting with the offense first

you will not believe who is in at quarterback it's not Jason Bean it's not Jalen no I'm just joking Jalen Daniels of course the starter at quarterback nothing super new there Lance Leipold already kind of named that earlier in the season and no there's not an or next to it we don't have to wait for the David Beatty situation where both quarterbacks are going to be announced on the video board no it's Jalen Daniels there's nothing to contend about there he'll have a long leash we've talked about this before running back though becomes very interesting it's called a two deep right implies that there are two names on the depth chart for the first string and second string Kansas has four players listed on the two deep at running back more than any other position.

They have four players all with or next to their name. So sometimes they'll put or there to say that, well, it could be either of these guys, which implies that both the week of practice, the preparation are going to have an impact on that, and also that the competition between those guys is very close. You have Devin Neal Daniel Hyshaw Kai Thomas and Savion Morrison I have a hard time believing Devin Neal won't actually be the starter here and that Devin Neal won't be the clear number one as far as getting the most carries getting the most yards getting the most opportunity I do think it is telling to

a certain standpoint and I think it's kind of a reward as well from the coaching staff of how pleased they are with Daniel Hyshaw and Savion Morrison and Kai Thomas and how they've played and how you feel about that position really overall. Overall, though, it certainly is a question as who's going to get the second most carries and who's going to be given the first opportunity besides Devin Neal, but I still feel like Devin Neal will be the guy there. Tight end is one of the bigger surprises for me on the offensive side of the ball. Mason Fairchild being listed as the starter for the first week. Of course, it's not that surprising when you think about it from a standpoint of, oh, well, he's a senior coming back off a season in which he started more games than any player for you at tight end. Why would he not be the starter? It just seems like as the season went on, there were more and more questions about his run-blocking game.

And with the way Jared Casey finished off the season, the way that he had eight catches for 108 yards in the final two games of the season, he had the big two-point conversion. He wasn't known for being someone who struggled as much blocking. You thought that maybe he could end up being the starter and then we heard a lot about Trevor Cardell over camp and how he was really impressing a two-way player in terms of playing baseball and football really

good athlete and that he was really performing well and then maybe he was usurping Mason Fairchild the Fairchild ends up holding them both off which I don't know if that's just a here's a veteran guy. We're going to give him the crack early in the season, and we'll see if these other guys can pass him at some point, or if maybe we just haven't been talking as much about Mason Fairchild as we need to on this. I do think, though, as far as that tight end group goes, even though you have guys who are maybe listed as a starter above whoever, I think we're going to see all of them play to a certain extent. Even guys who are not on there, like Tevita Noah, is going to get playing time. Then I'm not overly worried there.

How about at the offensive line? Earl Bostic, Mike Nowitzki, Michael Ford, Bryce Cabledew. No really surprises there on the offensive line. Really the only, I guess, surprise that's not really a surprise when you talk it out is Dominic Poonie listed as an or with Armage Reed Adams at the left guard spot but Reed Adams has been dealing with kind of an injury stuff at the end of camp and leading in to the first game of the season that it makes sense when you think about it like that that if he hasn't been as available then you don't know what's going on

there but I'll say this that is one of the the most I think, telling in a positive ways about this depth chart is that Dominic Poonie has been good enough after transferring over from Central Missouri. He's a redshirt senior transfer. How is he going to make the jump up to Division I? How is he going to make the jump to Power 5 and in the Big 12 with Kansas? Sure, Armage Reed Adams dealing with some injury has an impact to that, but the fact that they feel confident enough that he could be listed as an or on there with Reed-Adams tells me that he has had a pretty darn good camp

and that some of the stuff we've heard is kind of real there. You have him that makes you feel good, whether it's Pooney or Reed-Adams, that now you feel like, okay, at the very least we have a good sixth offensive lineman. This is what we talked about last week. Can you get up to at least having eight guys? DeAndre Doran, double-digit starter for Buffalo last year. That makes you feel good about having a seventh. Maybe your eighth guy is Nolan Gorsica.

Maybe it's Kobe Baines, who was announced by Lance Leipold as being eligible right away. But with Baines, you're probably going to have to wait a few weeks before he's really making an impact on the two deep or whatnot and gets custom with the team. So they're getting closer to being there. Jackson Satterwhite's listed as one backup tackle, James Livingston at the other. But in the case of Livingston, even though he's on the two deep, you don't want him to have to play as just a true freshman offensive lineman. That's usually not a recipe for success in the Big 12.

Last thing on the offense here is the receiver position. This is obviously impacted to a pretty heavy degree, I would say, by the Trevor Wilson and Tanaka Scott news. Scott being suspended for the first game, Wilson being suspended indefinitely. You look at the slot, it's Luke Grimm over Douglas Emelian. That obviously wasn't really impacted there because Grimm was already working there and Emelian we had been hearing that he was working on the inside. Grimm beats him out. He has a great connection with Jalen Daniels. Not a huge surprise there. Both of them are going to play a lot of snaps and get a lot of plays, targets, whatever it is out there. Lawrence Arnold starting at the X. Again, not really a surprise there.

Richard Sophomore showed some good flashes last season. Got a really big body at six foot three to be able to out jump and make these big possession catches. Kevin Terry listed as the backup. He's someone who certainly has an opportunity with some of these guys out that, you know, maybe if Tanaka Scott was in there, he'd be the backup X to Lawrence Arnold. And Kevin Terry wouldn't have those chances. So we'll see if he can take advantage. At the Z is where you see the biggest impact of those suspensions, though. Quentin Skinner. This guy's 6'5", 190 pounds. So you're talking about an ultra-lengthy receiver, redshirt sophomore.

He came in as a walk-on, earned a scholarship with his play. Jason Bean was asked earlier this offseason who the fastest players on the team were. Listed himself, obviously. I think Craig Young was thrown in the mix. Quentin Skinner, he said, is in the top three. That tells you a lot about this guy. Big body, very fast, straight line receiver. Obviously worked hard to get from Milwaukee on to scholarship. Those are all good traits to have. He's someone who coming out of high school was listed at 6'2", 160 pounds. He's grown three inches. He was a high jumper in high school at Oklahoma.

So you know the athleticism and the jumping is there. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes a big impact in this game or makes a big play. And because of the added opportunity he's been provided, if he steps up as one of these receivers that KU was looking to step up at that position. Steven McBride has a chance as well. We heard a lot about him last offseason.

Didn't fully turn into big results on the field. but now he might have another opportunity because he's listed as the backup Z if Trevor Wilson is playing I think you just assume Trevor Wilson would be starting at the Z wide receiver position and then Quinton Skinner would be the backup and then Stephen McBride you're you're maybe not looking at yourself in the top six of the receiver rotation where it becomes a little bit more difficult to get on the field and make that play to try to work your way up the depth chart so it's certainly a big opportunity for those guys and I'm really excited to see what Quentin Skinner can do because even with Luke Graham, Doug Amele, and Lawrence Arnold you feel good that those guys are going to contribute in

one way with like a guy like Quentin Skinner it is kind of a complete unknown and that could be a very big positive for KU. In just a moment, we're going to move on to the defensive side of the depth chart that came out, take a look at that, where we think could have some big impacts and positional races as we head into the first game against Tennessee Tech. But first, BetOnline.net is the fastest and easiest way to check in on all your betting needs. Find all your favorite sports and events at the number one online source

for odds, lines, and games. Find reviews and news of every league, including Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA, NHL, combat sports, esports, and even golf. BetOnline continues to be the top online resource for all your sports wagering information from live in-game betting, scores, and podcasts. They have you covered. Head to BetOnline today or use the mobile device

to learn more about the action happening today. BetOnline, where the game starts. On tomorrow's episode of Locked on Jayhawks, we are going to be joined by Scott Chasen. Scott's going to join us to discuss some of the stuff with KU football on what you can learn, what you can't learn when you're playing an FCS opponent. So excited to do that. We'll also get to a What If Wednesday with

Scott and discussing some stuff about the defense. Like, is the backups of this defense even better than the starters were last year? We'll get to that on tomorrow's episode of Locked on Jayhawks with Scott. But let's first dive into the defensive depth chart for KU where we can give you an idea of what some of those backups look like. So you start with the defensive depth chart for KU where we can give you an idea of what some of those backups look like so you start with the defensive line no surprise Lonnie Phelps as one of the starters Hayden Hatcher behind him like he'll play a role but that was seemed to be pretty clear from the get-go same with the or on Malcolm Lee or Jeremy Robinson Jeremy Robinson seemed to be

making some big improvements and really catching up to the heels of Malcolm Lee but also we knew both are going to play whether there's an or whether one guy's listed as a starter so not really a big deal there defensive tackle Sam Burt able to edge out for one of the starting defensive tackle spots because Caleb Taylor have heard a lot about him and the improvement he's had so that's interesting interesting there, but it makes sense. Burt is one of the captains. He's probably your best run-stopping defensive tackle, so it really helps you on a defense that is going to need to be a lot better against the run.

But Caleb Sampson is a guy that I think could be All-Big 12 this season. And I think with the two Caleb, Sampson and Taylor, you feel good about that spot. You feel good with Sam Burt, Eddie Wilson. Ron McGee wasn't't on the two deep but he's someone who could rotate in there as well and the one interesting part here is that DJ Withers is listed as an or with Caleb Taylor at D Tackle because of the fact that maybe that means Taylor's closer to that other group than being in that starting group but also that Withers a redshirt freshman is having that type of impact and seen that way early on. First of all, with Withers and Tommy Dunn,

another guy who redshirted last year as a defensive tackle, I think you feel good about where that defensive tackle position could be in a couple seasons. But look at just next year, for instance. Sam Burt, super senior. Eddie Wilson, super senior. Caleb Sampson is a senior. There are a lot of defensive tackles who are going to graduate after this season. You need some guys who are going to be returning. Caleb Taylor's a redshirt sophomore. DJ Withers, a redshirt freshman. Those are immediately the guys you look at and say, okay, if they can keep this spot on the depth chart, you expect them to be the starters coming into next season, and maybe they can earn valuable experience and whatnot this year. And I think that gives you an idea that Withers right now is ahead of Tommy Dunn

to be in one of those positions for next year. Obviously still a long way to go, but that's the early going there. Linebacker, one of the most competitive position battles over the course of camp. And Rich Miller listed as the starter at the mic position over Eric Gileard. I thought that was really interesting. Gileard, the transfer coming over from UCF.

And to be clear, when Gileard came over and you had Rich Miller really finished last season strong and everything, I wasn't even really expecting Gileard to be the starter. I viewed him as a guy that can come in for a specific role. Great against the run, great tackler, will hit you,

a good thumper of a linebacker, but had some questions as a pass coverage guy. So I maybe thought that, yeah, he's someone who can come in on goal line, he's someone who can come in on short yardage downs, maybe first downs if you feel like they're going to run, but you don't want to be too predictive there of, oh, this guy's in, clearly they're in a run defense, right? But then you heard from Chris Simpson, the linebackers coach,

that, like, fundamentally he was doing everything that he wanted the other players to do in terms of pass coverage and movement and where to place your eyes and footwork. And that made me think all of a sudden, okay, if maybe the one thing that's been a weakness for him in the past is now a strength at KU, Why would he not be a starter? Rich Miller, though, gets the start over him. He's one of the captains.

I think that plays into it in addition to him being comfortable with the scheme and whatnot. But I think knowing that you had all those positives said about Eric Gileard in addition to what we already knew about him, the fact that Rich Miller beat him out, I think, says a lot about Rich Miller and the player that he could be for KU this season. So that's a good thing. Lance Lightpool talked about the competition. We talked about it on this show about a week ago. They want more competition. They want more depth. And if you have more competition, you brought in with good players and then they got beat out. That's a good sign about the improvement that returning players had, which I think is the case there for Rich Miller.

Same thing at the Will Linebacker spot. Lorenzo McCaskill was an all-Sunbelt player at Louisiana last year. That was a top-25 program for the last couple of seasons at Louisiana. Tywon Berry, he'll beat him out at the Will Linebacker spot. This one's a little different than Gileard because McCaskill wasn't here for spring ball. He arrived a few days late for camp. He's certainly a guy that I wouldn't be surprised if we get to week four, week five, and he is in the starting lineup. But we heard a lot about Tywon Berryhill being one of the most improved players. We've always heard that he's athletic, he's got the body and everything, 6'2", 225, but it's getting the mental side of things going, understanding the playbook.

And he talked a lot about how much work he has done in that regard to just get better from the work ethic side and the understanding of the playbook and digging into film and stuff. So it would make sense that the competition pushed him to want to be better, and he was better, and he earned the starting spot. And that's really cool for him to be able to do that. I speaks well to the linebacking group but also makes you feel really good about the backups right Eric Gilliard Lorenzo McCaskill these big transfers you got in they're on the their backups like last year they're for sure starters right then the other linebacker spot is the hawk spot it's listed as an or which is a bit of a surprise Craig Young or Gavin Potter there's a lot of negative discourse around Gavin Potter from the KU fan base I think a big reason why is it's similar to

like what David McCormick dealt with I think at KU David McCormick did a lot of really good things for KU but when he would make a mistake like just just dropping a pass or, I don't know, doing something like, it was very noticeable, I guess is the point I'm trying to make. When he would mess up, it wasn't just a simple mess up of, oh, that guy was supposed to go there on the play, but you would never know. You know what I mean? It was like, oh, gosh, I clearly saw that happen, and how did that happen? That's the case with Gavin Potter. There are times when maybe the defensive tackle messed up the play and that led to Gavin Potter being stuck in a bad situation,

or not messed up the play, but maybe didn't do a good enough job taking up blockers or whatnot, so then all of a sudden the guard's on Gavin Potter and it makes it tougher, right? There could be a situation like that, but you might not know it's the defensive tackle spot. I don't have any exact examples I'm just for example here whereas when Gavin Potter would mess up as opposed to it being like oh he was supposed to take on that blocker it was like oh he's supposed to tackle that guy and he just straight up missed so like there is

some that is just it was it's just more noticeable when he did mess up last year like you think of the Duke game and not making the sack on the quarterback there. This guy started playing linebacker as a senior in college. So of course, in finally a defense where he's heading into like year two in the defense, he could be getting better, but it is surprising. I'm very high on Craig Young. This tells me one of two things. Either Craig Young is still getting used to the playbook and the scheme and everything they're asking him to do, or Gavin Potter has really finally found something that has made it click, which would either be a good thing or a bad thing,

depending on which one of those it is. And then finishing up for the defense here in the secondary, at the corner spots, Kalen Girvin or Jacoby Bryant, although it looks like he's going by Kobe Bryant now, which is kind of cool because of the Kobe Bryant thing. But nonetheless, that's a good sign for Kobe Bryant because of the fact that he was a youngster, had a lot of really good flashes last year, but some downs as well. We know he's very, very talented. You bring in a veteran like Kalon Girvin to be listed as an or that's a good thing. Romello Dotson and Monte McGarry and then Shad Dabney being all the way as the kind of or with Monte McGarry is interesting but that's I think more names that

you feel comfortable with at corner than you were last year at safety with Kenny Logan Jr. backed up by Edwin White Schultz or Jarrett Paul really no shocks there but how about the other safety spot OJ Burroughs listed as an or with Marvin Grant and with OJ Burrows, he added a lot to his body over the offseason to begin with, but we've kind of heard that, yeah, he needs to add even more because he came in as kind of a smaller-sized guy and whatnot. Marvin Grant comes in.

He's a starter for 13 games on a nine-win Purdue team. Of course he's going to start for KU. This might go back in line with the Lorenzo McCaskill thing where it's like maybe the more time he gets in the program and the system, he'll eventually become the starter. But OJ Burrows, I'm high on the OJ Burrows hype train, right? I have been since he was a freshman. Scott Chase helped kind of point him out to me and tell the backstory

and whatnot of him. Super instinctual player in the secondary and whatnot. I think that this is another example of a player having a transfer come in, working his tail off, letting the competition make him even better as opposed to kind of playing the self-pity game. And that leading him to be better. And it's going to make the safety room better to begin with. I think you feel good about either one of those guys.

I think that's a great sign because you're going to play multiple safeties. O.J. Burrows could be in at the nickel while Marvin Grant is playing, or maybe O.J. Burrows is more the pass coverage guy and Marvin Grant's more of the run-stopping guy because that's what some of the pro football focus grades would say. I think that is an absolutely great sign that you're having some of these guys who beat out some of the talented transfers because you know they were talented.

They started at other successful programs. Kalon Girvin was at Michigan State. Marvin Grant was at Purdue. Lorenzo McCaskill, top 25 Louisiana squad. Yes, part of it could be that it's going to take those guys some time to get into the starting lineup and get familiar with the scheme. But the fact that you have some of these guys returning for KU, able to beat them out, I think is a good sign for the depth.

It's also a good sign for the player development that this coaching staff is having with those returning guys. Let's finish things out with the special teams here in just a moment. Let's finish up with the special teamers. This one won't be as in-depth or as long. Tabor Allen doing the kickoff, nothing really to add there. But place kicker Jacob Borchilla, he really struggled a season ago. You have to get more there.

They were last in the Big 12 in field goal percentage, 9 of 15. It just wasn't good enough. You missed too many kicks. You left too many points off the board. You hope that he can have an improvement. It's just tough because those specialist positions and those kick positions and those kickers and everything, it's not typically a position where it's like, oh, well, all of a

sudden he's way different. A lot of times it's just, yeah, what you are as a freshman is what you kind of are as a senior. So that could be a little scary. Tabor Allen's the backup. We've heard a little about Grant Glasgow, the freshman from Lawrence. Maybe he could get some run if things don't go well for you there, kicker. Reese Vernon, kind of same thing at punter. Struggled a lot last season. Last in the Big 12 by a pretty significant margin in terms of yards per punt and a lot of the different numbers there. You have to get better at those positions to improve as a special teams unit

because you were actually good last year in things like covering kicks and kick return and punt return average. It's just some of those spots where you just didn't have the good enough ability to kick it far enough or to have accurate field goals that hurt your special teams unit. As far as the return game, though, Kenny Logan being the starting kick returner makes sense. We've seen him have some real good success returning kicks. Wouldn't be surprised if he pops one for a touchdown in the opener for KU against Tennessee Tech. But how about Luke Grimm being the other kick returner? Because you don't think of Luke Grimm as being this dynamic, open-field return man. And that's probably a little bit of, hey, it's this white receiver, this short-slot guy. He's not overly straight-line fast. He's just quick.

He's good at getting open, running routes, and all this stuff. And actually, some of those things are true about Luke Grimm. But he has more explosivity, if that's a word, explosiveness is probably what I was looking for there, than you might think. And I think that's pretty telling back to him being in the starting spot at slot at receiver and the type of season he could have. I'll be honest. I look at this and I see him in the second kick return guy.

I also see him in as the starting punt return guy. Obviously, that tells you they trust him because with punt return, there is a big part of that that is just about trust. Can I trust you to make the right decision? Can I trust you to catch the ball? Can I trust you to know when to fair catch and when to not? Can I trust you not to let it bounce behind and give them an extra 10 yards of field position?

Can I trust you where you're going to catch it and not catch it on a fair catch at the four-yard line, right? There's trust involved in that. So that tells you he has the coach's trust. Him starting at the slot and his past stats that he's had with Jalen Daniels when he's been the quarterback show you that he has his quarterback's trust. Obviously, he has some extra oomph to him, some extra explosiveness in the open field by being one of the two starting kick returners. I already came into this, I guess, week, the first week of the season with Luke Grimm being my personal favorite to lead the team in like receptions and receiving yards. I feel even better about it now, even though this is special team

stuff. I think some of those traits carry over to that idea that he could be that guy the other part returner though I found very interesting with Devin Neal he's got good hands though at the running back position which you're going to try to get him more involved in the receiving game which is interesting and you don't always want to give those guys extra hits but if you really are going to rotate these running backs so much then I guess you might as well not really be worried about that. And that could be an extra opportunity for you to bust a few punt returns. Like maybe Luke Grimm is your punt return guy in a lot of the situations. But it's like if we need a big punt return at some point,

Devin Neal is going to be the guy who comes in. Coming up on tomorrow's show, we're going to be joined by Scott Chasen to discuss with KU football what we're going to be able to take away in that Tennessee Tech game and what we won't be able to as much because it still is a game against an FCS opponent. If you have anything you'd like for the show to talk about or want to follow along in the action, you can reach out to me on Twitter, at DJohnsonRadio.

And don't forget to subscribe to the show so you're getting all the latest with Locked on Jayhawks. That'll do it for today's episode. Have a good rest of your day. You can hear me later today on Rock Chalk Sports Talk. Till then, talk to you later.