Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Has Shakeel Moore Made Kansas FINAL FOUR WORTHY? Plus Strengths/Questions for KU Football

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

Kansas Jayhawks basketball guard Shakeel Moore is having a huge impact on the season since joining the starting lineup: why his entrance into the main five has changed things for KU and given Bill Sel...f's team their best shot at being a Final Four caliber team in 2025 adding to the team's defense, athleticism and ball-handling, helping the games of KJ Adams, Dajuan Harris, Hunter Dickinson and more.Plus, biggest roster strengths and questions for KU Football as Lance Leipold awaits Spring Ball with Jalon Daniels and company after their large round of transfer portal additions during the winter. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PrizepicksNow’s the perfect time to join.Download the app todayand use codeLOCKEDONCOLLEGE to get $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup! That’s right—no need to win to get the bonus, it’s guaranteed. PrizePicks—Run Your Game!WayFairAfter the holiday hustle, there’s nothing like giving your home a little TLC. Give your home the refresh it needs with Wayfair. Head to Wayfair.com right now. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.Rocket MoneyCancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com/lockedon today.Turbo TaxReady for stress-free taxes and the most money back, guaranteed? Head over to TurboTax.com today and get matched with your Expert. Only available with TurboTax Live Full Service. Real-time updates only in the iOS mobile app. See guarantee details at TurboTax.com/guarantees. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelFrom big upsets to game-winning drives, the NFL Playoffs are better with FanDuel new customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED BUCKS in BONUS BETS - GUARANTEED - Win or Lose. Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. Make this playoff season unforgettable with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. 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)

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Did Shaquille Moore change Kansas' season and turn them into a real Final Four contender? You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Derek Johnson. Thanks for making Locked on Jayhawks your first listen every day. Thank you to the everydayers catching each and every show. Thank you for listening to every year podcast or on our YouTube page. On today's edition of Locked on Jayhawks, we're talking a little Shaquille Moore for KUMVP.
Starting point is 00:00:38 Is he the reason why Kansas is now Final Four worthy? Were they before or are they now? Is this sustainable? We're going to be breaking down what he has brought to the team and why he has turned them from just kind of a decent top 25-ish team to all of a sudden one that feels like they are rolling at the right time of the season. We're also going to finish up a little KU football roster,
Starting point is 00:01:00 biggest questions and strengths on the roster to this point in time based on the portal editions before we get into any of that today's episode of the show is brought to you by game time where you can get tickets for ku's next home game against kansas state download the game time app create an account and use code locked on college for 20 off your first purchase with game time all right we're going to start with shaquille moore so um why shaquille moore makes kansas a final four contender i think first you have to start well kansas was reeling before shaquille moore entered the starting lineup and you look at it kansas had just lost
Starting point is 00:01:37 to west virginia right and it's now three and oh shaquille moore in the starting lineup they just lost to west virginia at home in allen field house above all things that gave them three losses in five games there was a change needed something needed to change for ku overall as a team and obviously things have changed a little bit they're playing much better ball doesn't guarantee they're going to finish this way and obviously a tough game upcoming with iowa state but it feels like they have been a different team since adding shaquille moore into the lineup they've earned three straight big 12 wins all of they have been a different team since adding Shaquille Moore into the lineup. They've earned three straight Big 12 wins. All of them have been by double digits. The first time that Kansas has won three straight Big 12 games by double figures since February 11th through February 18th of the 2022 to 2023 season with Jalen Wilson and company when they won at Oklahoma at Oklahoma State and at home against Baylor.
Starting point is 00:02:25 But you look at a site like Mark Torvik so Mark Torvik you're able to go in and take a look at since certain dates since January 4th so KU played that Sunday they actually played on January 5th that was Shaquille Moore's first start but I wanted to include January 4th for the data because that is that full weekend slate of college basketball games that saturday and that sunday so since january 4th which yes that's like less than 10 days worth of action kansas rates just outside the top 100 on offensive efficiency on bart torvik that is very bad why is this me you know talking up the stat yet they are still top five overall coming in at number five on bart torvik since january 4th. And you might be thinking, if their offense rate's that low,
Starting point is 00:03:07 how the heck are they top five overall? It's because they have the number one defense in the country during that span. Now, again, that's a very small sample size. That's three games worth of data. That's a 10-day span of basketball, right? And it's definitely more than just Shaquille Moore. It's not just Shaquille Moore as a part of that. Like, there are other things you can point to.
Starting point is 00:03:26 KJ Adams is doing a better job rebounding. And, you know, Ryland Griffin is maybe finding his stride. Like, there's other things that you can point to of why they're playing better in addition to that. But, like, it's very easy to just point this together and be like, KU's playing better. Shaquille Moore looks pretty good. And Shaquille Moore is now starting. And it's not just that Shaquille Moore started. Like, this isn't the difference of Shaquille Moore was playing 18 minutes per game off the bench and now he's playing
Starting point is 00:03:49 22 minutes per game as a starter he just basically wasn't really playing and part of that was because the injury he had the slow start to the season now there's the bigger load and it basically went from just like an off switch to maybe he was playing five minutes a game to all of a sudden like an on switch you are now playing big minutes and you are starting at this point in time. And I really do think he is as big of a reason of anything because he creates steals. He stays in front of offensive players. He just makes opposing players feel uncomfortable. Kansas needs Shaquille's more Shaquille Moore's athleticism.
Starting point is 00:04:21 Kansas needs Shaquille Moore's defense. And KU has been night and day since he has entered the starting lineup. And I wanted to dig into kind of a deeper, both, I guess, reasoning and as well as like, take a look into some of the numbers of what all has gotten better for KU when Shaquille Moore has been on the court, because this is a guy who's averaging 3.9 points per game. He is averaging a hair under four points per game so for me to declare that you know he's the difference in why ku i feel like his final four worthy at this point in time seems a little silly now i guess to be fair you could say since he's been in the starting lineup it's closer to like seven points per game but still that's seven points per
Starting point is 00:04:57 game his impact is well beyond the numbers so first of all to start all this i want to say like was ku a final four contender before shaquille moore came back uh in i guess playing from the injury and into the starting lineup you could make the argument that they still were you know this team that's been ranked in the top 15 all season long like even if they were outside the top 10 before on like ken palm or in the ap poll before he entered the starting lineup you're still probably looking to get like what a four or five seed and like we see those teams make deep runs in the tournament all the time um and you beat duke who's one of the best teams in the country you beat michigan
Starting point is 00:05:34 state all of a sudden looks like an unbelievable win for you like it feels like the michigan state and the north carolina wins flip-flop like you thought the michigan state win would be like okay that's probably a tournament team like solid win neutral site north carolina win it's like oh you beat one of the best teams in the country at home it feels like now it's like uh north carolina maybe they're like a you know fine ncaa tournament team it's like michigan state that's a really good team so it's funny how those kind of flip-flop there but you know you were able to beat some elite teams so it's like very easy to be like well they could still make the final four of course you could but like when you were viewing them in the lens of like other final four teams that bill self is that other final four
Starting point is 00:06:08 teams that can set or like what i say kind of final four worthy like you you feel i don't know it's one of those things you can't exactly pinpoint they have to have this record or they have to do this or that you just have that feeling and i think a lot of people didn't have that feeling about this team after they had lost three or five after they had lost at home to West Virginia and even with those wins over Duke and Michigan State you point back to the season before where they beat UConn where they beat Houston but they just weren't consistent enough they didn't really find their identity as a team they had some injury problems and and you know whatever problems you want to point to they just didn't come together and that didn't feel like a final four team either. And this one was teetering on that edge, but since Shaquille Moore's been in the starting line-up,
Starting point is 00:06:47 they feel a lot more just like that. It feels like there's more consistency. It feels like there's more of a team identity. It feels like the roles of the players are starting to shape this team even more. And when you look at the defense, he adds, it becomes, I think, even more prominent because of the fact that Kansasansas is is you know far from an elite offense right now you look at like ken bob or bar corvette they're outside the top 30 in offensive efficiency i mentioned that over these last three games as good as they've been
Starting point is 00:07:13 overall and on defense um it's not because the offense they rank outside the top 100 in that span so you better be awesome on the defensive end of the court and that is what shaquille moore can bring to the table if you're watching on YouTube, this will be kind of cool. I'm going to be showing you some stuff from CBB Analytics, which is where I get a lot of my numbers. If you're listening on an audio element, I'll try to explain this stuff as best as possible. But check out our YouTube page if you haven't before. So here's some numbers for Kansas. And we're just showing you out of example some stuff from the last season. So we're going to change this to this season.
Starting point is 00:07:48 These are on off numbers for KU basketball. Basically, when you are on the court, when you are off the court. Now, you might be wondering, what are some of these numbers? Well, net rating is basically your offensive rating minus your defensive rating. What is offensive rating? What is defensive rating? It's the points per 100 possessions your team scores. It's the points per 100 possessions your team gives up when you are on the court versus
Starting point is 00:08:11 being off the court. So there are certain players where they do not qualify, and that actually applies to Shaquille Moore in terms of he doesn't qualify. He hasn't played enough minutes yet. But if he did qualify, you can see here, if you're looking on YouTube, he has a plus 32 net rating. That is more than double Hunter Dickinson, who is second on the team. minutes yet but if he did qualify you can see here if you're looking on youtube he has a plus 32 net rating that is more than double hunter dickinson who is second on the team and you can see hunter dickinson is in the 85th percentile nationally in that now again that number is going to go down
Starting point is 00:08:33 it's not always going to be that pretty but like that shows you the impact he is having i mean even though rating for um shaquille moore to this point would technically be third on the team if he qualified but it's that defense that i'm looking at so defense offense you want the plus rating because that's over 100 defense you want a minus rating because that means you're giving up less points per 100 possessions and there's like Ricky's past more second on this as a DNQ the reason why he hasn't played enough minutes and also a lot of the games he's played in has been the games against the softer part of the schedule for KU so like obviously his his metrics like this are going to look good. But for Shaquille Moore, it's coming to be 12th play.
Starting point is 00:09:09 Shaquille Moore has by far the best defensive rating on the team, minus 24.9. DeJuan Harris is a minus 8.6. That is 82nd percentile nationally, and he is almost three times that amount. It is unbelievable the stuff that he is kind of putting together overall and just kind of on that end of the floor. And so when you look at some of the numbers individually, when you go through this, like the team just gets better in a lot of different areas. Like I can go through this and be like, okay, they've been a much better offensive rebounding team when he has been on the court, which is pretty crazy. They're not turning it over as much on the offensive side of the ball when he is on the court.
Starting point is 00:09:53 He's adding a little bit to the team getting to the free throw line. He is doing a real service in terms of teams are shooting much worse when he is on the floor. He has been really important in forcing turnovers. He has one of the higher turnover on-off numbers for KU on the defensive end of the floor. As a team, Kansas is getting a lot more turnovers when he is out on the floor. So I think you look at it if you're KU, and I find it just like very interesting all the ways that he has impacted things that he is raising what this team is on the defensive end of the floor. He is raising this team's floor by having another ball handler, by taking pressure off the one Harris when he's on the floor and also allowing to want to get a better rest when he's off the floor to be the best version of the one Harris. The athleticism and the quickness, those are huge in Bill Self's system, right?
Starting point is 00:10:47 And then I think going back to some of those rebound numbers where we looked at it and said, well, when Shaquille Moore's on the floor, Kansas is at their best offensive rebounding. And that doesn't really add up if you think about it from a direct correlation, right? Because Shaquille Moore is not like this great offensive rebounder. But here's what it is to me. It could be correlation versus causation that it's like, oh, the games he's happened to start. Those are the games that KJ Adams has happened to be better at rebounding. And those are the games that Floyd Padunga has played more.
Starting point is 00:11:17 And so that's going to help your rebounding. It's entirely possible it's correlation versus causation. But I also think there is a little bit something to it, because think about it. One could just be the energy thing. It feels like like she'll more brings energy to a team that doesn't always play with energy at least you know we've seen some lethargic halves of play even with she'll more in the lineup but like um i think he adds a little bit of energy there so you're going to be playing harder as a team if that's kind of the case but like i also wonder if it allows because we heard from Bill Self earlier this season,
Starting point is 00:11:47 I think it was after the Duke game, maybe where he was talking about like going back and watching the tape. And he was like, it's amazing how many defensive mistakes KJ Adams was making up for other players that other players were making mistakes. But KJ Adams was covering up those mistakes with his defense and knowing where to be. And I can't help but wonder if having just another competent defender a really good defender and shaquille moore out there allows it so kj has to do that less and so i don't know maybe there's something about like kj being a better rebounder because he doesn't have to focus on some of those other things i guess that wouldn't
Starting point is 00:12:16 really help on the offense event i don't know uh but i do find it interesting i think shaquille moore has changed this team he's been an awesome player to watch you hope he continues and uh certainly this kansas team feels a lot different than they did just about, you know, nine, 10 days ago. All right, let's finish up with some KU football. Biggest strengths, remaining questions for the Jayhawks roster. This episode of the show is brought to you by GameTime,
Starting point is 00:12:39 which is a new feature called GameTime Picks that gets tickets for events even easier. It makes getting them easy even easier. It filters out the fluff to show you all the incredible deals on great seats, so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets. And I'm looking right now for the Kansas State-Kansas game, and you can get floor-side seats if you got a little extra money burning in the pocket from Christmas for a little over a grand. But if you got a little extra money burning in the pocket from christmas for a little over a grand but if you're looking for something a little bit more affordable uh here's the go-to that i would bring up okay there's the kucf game this would be a good one to bring the family to because
Starting point is 00:13:15 you can get in on tuesday january 28th you can get in i'm looking at section 12 for 57 that's one of the game time picks so you can take those and i think yes we're going to buying tickets with game time plus you can see the seat views download the game time picks. So you can take those. And I think, yes, we're going to buy tickets with game time. Plus, you can see the seat views. Download the game time app. Create an account and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account. Redeem code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-C-O-L-L-E-G-E for $20 off.
Starting point is 00:13:38 Download game time today. Last minute tickets. Lowest price guaranteed. Thank you for joining us on Lock on jayhawks and don't forget to check out locked on college basketball or locked on college football for your second listen every day we will have a kansas iowa state preview on tomorrow's episode of the show all right a little ku football here uh what are the biggest strengths what are these questions for this ku football roster now that the transfer portal feels like it's kind of winding down for the winter semester okay you could still add something but you know at this point in time certainly feels like they are being closer to
Starting point is 00:14:12 you know winding down to that point I think the the first strength I would talk about would be Jalen Daniels and the quarterback room like I feel really good about where this quarterback room is headed into 2025 you have the veteran you have the upperclassmen, the senior in Jalen Daniels, who has proven production, played really well over the back half of the season. I think he's going to have a good year with Jim Zabrowski and Matt Lubick kind of being your offensive and co-offensive coordinator. I think that's going to set up really well for Jalen Daniels.
Starting point is 00:14:36 I feel great about that and the quarterback position. I feel better about the backup quarterback position this year than I did in 2024 2024 or will this year than in 2024 because even though it's it's similar faces cole ballard and isaiah marshall it's another year of seasoning for both guys and i don't know how ready isaiah marshall was this past season if he would have had to been thrown into the fire but i think he'll be a little bit more ready next season plus you add david mccomb into that room who i think very highly of so feel good about that i also feel great about the coaching staff.
Starting point is 00:15:06 I know that's not exactly player personnel for the roster, but it still is part of it. And I have loved the hires in the offseason of Lance Leipold, who I think is a very good coach. He has added some good coordinators and assistant coaches that I like the way this is going headed into this season to try to get the most out of the team. And it feels like there is a little bit more stability.
Starting point is 00:15:24 I know you had to make a new coordinator hire at both offensive and defensive coordinators. You would think there would be less stability on the coaching staff, but I feel like we saw more assistant coaches, position coaches leave last year than happened this year. So that would be a positive to have more of that continuity this year. I feel really good about the defensive tackle room right now for KU. It feels like you can go maybe five, six players deep at this point in time if you're KU. You love the addition of bringing Gage Keys back into the fold, but DJ Withers and Tommy Dunn had some really good flashes this past season. Blake Harold might have been your best
Starting point is 00:15:57 defensive tackle this past year, and he's just going to be a redshirt sophomore in the 2025 season. You also have Keenan Caldwellwell who actually had a really good year in the limited amount of playing time that he got plus like i said gauge keys uh and then you have you know some other young players for depth behind them a few behind him but i feel really good about kind of those main five that can rotate in there and make a big impact for ku on that interior of the defensive line both in run stopping and in pass blocking or pass rushing. Even though I do have questions and we'll get to the biggest questions and one of them is obviously going to be strong defensive end. I do feel good about the weak side defensive end. You have Dean Miller, who was a second team all big 12 pick, and he's coming back. This is the first time in the Lance
Starting point is 00:16:40 Leipold era that they will return the player who led them in sacks from the year before. It was Kyra Johnson in year one. He graduated, gets drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles. It was Lonnie Phelps in year two. He goes pro early, ends up getting an undrafted free agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. In year three in 2023, it was Austin Booker who broke out, was one of the best defenders in the Big 12, gets drafted in what, fourth round, fifth round by the Chicago Bears. And then this past season, you you get Dean Miller and now he can come back for another year and so that's huge that you have that back if Dak Brinkley or Caleb Redd who are both former highly recruited guys who will be redshirt freshmen if one of those two breaks out that gives you even more there right and then with like by Job Dylan Brooks like I don't know which of those is going to play strong
Starting point is 00:17:22 side defensive end which is going to play weak side or both going to Brooks, I don't know which of those is going to play strong side defensive end, which is going to play weak side, or both going to play strong. I don't know, but that's another possible body you could have at this position. And then you've got two talented freshmen in Adrian Hawley and Garrett Martin, which, again, we'll see which side of those defensive ends they end up playing. But I do feel good about the weak side room if you can just kind of bolster that strong side of things. I really like the athletic tight end room. If you're looking at things, I think Kansas is going to be really set up to have good receiving tight ends this year, right?
Starting point is 00:17:49 Sean Hanneke coming back from the injury, coming back from the Achilles injury, that's a tough injury to deal with to where I don't know what to expect from him. It's been a few years since he's even played football in terms of actual game and coming off that injury. I think if we were talking to Sean Hanneke last year, and he would have been healthy. I think he would have had a real good impact on the team, but you don't know that for sure. So it was nice to go out and get Keon Burnett
Starting point is 00:18:13 because it gives you a little bit of coverage. If Hanneke ends up having to be the backup, that's totally fine. If Hanneke ends up coming back fully healthy and is the starter, great as well. But I think Burnett is in for a big season. You look at some of the numbers that Mason Fairchild put up uh or Jared Casey put up when you know you had um Andy Kolnicki and Jalen Daniels working together with Jason Bean too and I think it's going to be more to that this year than we saw where it wasn't as much tight end usage this past season but I think both
Starting point is 00:18:39 those guys can figure it out I also think Leighton Cure in his second year because let's not forget Leighton Cure was coming off a season-ending injury from a year before, before transferring to Kansas. I think he'll be back to an even better, more athletic player that I really like the athleticism of this tight end room for Kansas. And then the interior of the offensive line, I feel pretty good about for Kansas because I have no idea who one of the starting guards is going to be, but that's how much I really like the start of Bryce Foster, who arguably will be the best center in the Big 12 this season, and obviously Kobe Baines, I think very highly of as well. Now, is the other guard going to be
Starting point is 00:19:15 like Nolan Gorchika? Is it going to be like a Tavaki Tuikolo Vatu? Is it going to be a James Livingston? There's a lot of guys you could go with here. Is it going to be Tyler Mercer, right? The transfer from North Texas. I have questions about who that other guy is going to be a James Livingston? There's a lot of guys you could go with here. Is it going to be Tyler Mercer, right, the transfer from North Texas? I have questions about who that other guy is going to be, but I feel like the insulation around them is going to be so good that I think they're going to be set up to be really good on the interior of that offense line. I like Calvin Clements as well, but I have maybe questions
Starting point is 00:19:38 about who's going to be the other tackle right now that leaves me to just focusing on the interior of the offensive line here. All right, what are the biggest questions of the team? We'll discuss that. This is Locked on Jayhawks. And this episode of the show is brought to you by Wayfair. After the holiday hustle, there is nothing like giving your home a little TLC. I always find it decluttering and refreshing.
Starting point is 00:20:00 My space kind of helps me get back into routine. Sometimes I can get a little stressed out if things are a little too cluttered up. There's too much, you know, too many of my daughter's toys that can happen with young babies all around the floor. And it's like, got to clean this stuff up. So whether you're tidying up, clearing out, or just want to give your space a new look to start the new year, Wayfair has everything you need all within your budget. Of course, there's a ton you should go check out because I also have a dog and you can get dog beds on there, weatherproof dog beds. So there's all sorts of stuff you can get with Wayfair. Give your home the refresh it needs with Wayfair. Head to wayfair.com right now.
Starting point is 00:20:35 That is wayfair.com, W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Finishing things up on this episode episode what are the biggest questions remaining questions for the KU football roster headed into 2025 and uh actually joining us on the show we'll have a Kansas Iowa State preview on tomorrow's episode and then a KU Iowa State recap coming up after the game certainly a big one in Ames for the Jayhawks and the Cyclones so for KU football we talked about with the defensive end like I feel good about the weak side, but do they have enough at the strong side defensive end? Because you look at it right now and typically that's a position where you want somebody who's closer to like 255, maybe 260 pounds.
Starting point is 00:21:20 By Jobe, I think he's somebody who I look at as being a possibility to play there. He was listed at 240 by KU. I remember seeing somewhere a possibility to play there he was listed at 240 by ku i remember seeing somewhere else like coming into before he's at ku we maybe he was closer to like 250 but like you look at it like jeremy robinson who was there this year he was like 255 i think malcolm lee who was there uh before them was was at like 265 something like that so by job is only 240 so you're gonna have to add weight to them which they obviously can like that's part of the beauty of the offseason but you know it might be a lot to add 15 20 pounds to a guy but still uh then you look at dylan brooks for ku and like maybe he's somebody who can play that position also listed at 240 he's coming off a season ending injury so is it
Starting point is 00:21:59 gonna be too hard to come off a season ending injury while you're rehabbing just to get back to playing and adding all that weight i don't know you look at dac brinkley right like that's even um you know lighter on the weight scale so to speak like are adrian holly or garrett martin is true freshman going to be ready to play right away and then with dean miller like he's he had to add weight just to get to be able to play the weak side defensive end right just get on the field so um that kind of is the big question like who's going to be that strong side defensive end? How ready is the backup quarterback going to be? I mentioned I like the quarterback room.
Starting point is 00:22:30 I like the pieces at the backup quarterback room, but it still is a little bit unproven of who that guy is going to be. But I feel pretty good about that one with the amount of options KU has at the very least. How is DK McDonald going to be coaching the defense? That'll be interesting, right? Is there going to be more three corner looks or three safety looks? Is it going to be predominantly 4-2-5? Is it going to be still 4-3 in a lot of different ways? Is he going to be more aggressive? Is he going to call more blitzes? I think that'll is that enough for KU to be at least like a decent linebacker room or even better to be a strength in the big 12 because um the linebacking room struggled for KU
Starting point is 00:23:11 really every year so far uh in the Lance Leipold era but at the same point of time you could probably argue it's gotten maybe a little bit better each and every year it's just that you've the bar was set low in the first year that it's just like, OK, it's gotten a little bit better each and every year in terms of the production there. But it still has not been like top half of the Big 12 level is Bengali Kamara and Joseph Sipp and Trey Latham. Like, is that enough to change things around? I think that kind of remains to be seen, even though I think there is some hope about it. I have a little bit of skepticism there. Do they have a great running back? you lose devon neal it can somebody step up to be great running back or do you just have you know just some some uh some guys so to speak right um
Starting point is 00:23:55 is it something where you have somebody who can rush for 1400 1500 yards do you need that right do you have enough with jaylen daniels i can you daniel high char leshawn williams be somebody who runs for 1200 yards and is a game changer running back and not just a plug and play running back so to speak um and then who's going to merge at receiver and like can they match or usurp this past group's production right um there were some really good receivers who made a lot of really tough contested catches for ku over the years and i don't think got enough credit nationally or in the conference for how good they were just because Kansas was a balanced offense that wasn't running a ton of plays and there wasn't as many receiving stats to go around for some of those guys but now in a system where if play calling is going to be more like it was in
Starting point is 00:24:37 the bowl game where there are going to be more opportunities for the receivers like it was in that guaranteed rate bowl when Jim Sabrowski was calling plays. Does that mean that receivers are going to usurp the production, but are they going to still be as good? That'll be interesting. Who's going to be the number one receiver for KU? How are they going to round out the offensive line, that other tackle position, that other guard position? Who's going to fill out the depth? And then I think the last one here is even with young talent and transfers, because they've added some good, solid transfers, right? DJ Graham and Jaleel Hurley from Alabama, and they have some really young players who are former highly recruited guys like Jamil Croft and Jacoby Davis and Andre Gibson and Austin Alexander
Starting point is 00:25:19 and Demarius McGee, like guys who – Jalen Todd, right? We saw him at the end of the season. Guys who are players that you expect to be good players at KU, but are they going to be ready right away? And how close can you get to the production of Kobe Bryant and Mello Dotson, right? Because that's not easy shoes to fill, but can you, can you find ways to overcome the losses of those two players and still
Starting point is 00:25:40 have a lot of talent in that corner room, which I think they're going to be able to do. I like the down to the corner room, but that room, but those are big shoes to fill, right? So even if you like the talent of the corner room and you have some really good players there, are they, as younger players, going to be 70% of what you got? Are they going to be 50%? Are they going to be 90%? What are you going to get exactly there?
Starting point is 00:26:02 That'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jay Autry. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page. We'll be back for a Kansas-Iowa State preview. See you tomorrow.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.