Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football Summer Transfer Portal Update: Khari Manns + Isaac Ukwu

Episode Date: May 10, 2023

The latest on Kansas Jayhawks Football for the transfer portal during the Summer, including targets that have already committed and still uncommitted ones for Lance Leipold such as Khari Manns from Maine and Isaac Ukwu from James Madison. KU seems adamant to want to add to the defensive line and at defensive end. What other positions could they add like Wide Receiver? And does it make sense to add one-year guys at this point in time?Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!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.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked on Jayhawks, we dive into football and catch up where they might be at in the transfer portal. Different players they have interest in, they've sent offers out to, maybe had visits. Let's discuss today. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in to another Locked on Jayhawks. I'm your host, Derek Johnson. You can hear me as well Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.

on KLWN in Lawrence with Rock Chalk Sports Talk. You can make Locked on Jayhawks your first listen every day wherever you get any of your podcasts and you can also find us and subscribe to us on YouTube. And on today's edition of the show, we're going to be catching up with football. We've spent so much time with basketball here lately for good reason. Hunter Dickinson committing different deep dives on

other players. What's KU football been doing? Let's discuss on today's edition of the show. So basically KU exited the spring spring football with more scholarships than were allotted for which is a good problem to have especially compared to where ku has been in years past right so you end up needing players to leave which there were you know several that left the marion alexander ethan vasco although that one went you know to the chagrin of the staff or

anything like that. And some other players ended up leaving the program to where you not just got flush on scholarships. You opened up some amount. Now, I don't know how many they have open. Do they have one open? Do they have two open? I don't know, but they are clearly operating where they're going to try to bring somebody in. So you look at it and they're clearly trying to add some impact you look across the board what are some players that they could add that impact to well you could hypothetically add another quarterback in there because ethan vasco transfers away like if it's somebody who's younger who may be bringing in the program and you're like hey you'll be the third string or the fourth string this year maybe you're the fourth string behind ben easter's because you're not up to snuff with the system and everything.

But then you have multiple years where maybe next year you surpass Ben Easter's. And maybe you can be the guy behind Jalen Daniels or something. Right. Just to have that the future next backup quarterback or even future guy to compete with Isaiah Marshall coming in next year. Right. That could make some sense. Running back maybe a little bit. They were banged up during the spring. i think ideally they should be fine there right you hope that there's not as many injuries as there were in the spring because you have devin neal daniel highshaw was still coming back like he should be more of a full participant once we get to the fall um but devin neal maybe you were taking things a little easier there you still have savion morrison who was

dealing with some stuff uh you have the transfer previously from Buffalo and then by way of Georgia Tech with Dylan McDuffie. You're going to have Johnny Thompson coming into the program, who I think you should be covered there, but maybe you view it as like, hey, we had all these guys get injured. Should we add one extra body just in case? Receivers, maybe if it's a game-changing type of guy who can, that's the one thing K doesn't really have, that yak receiver, the guy you just throw a little slant to or a bubble screen and they make you pay with yak. I think ideally Trevor

Wilson would be that, but maybe he's lost a little favor. And also I think, you know, Trevor Wilson, even though he has that in his arsenal, maybe there are other options out there that could get better. They're tight end. You feel pretty full offensive line. You feel pretty full, pretty good defensive line. Obviously you could add another defensive lineman. Defensive end position was beat up during the spring, and so that's kind of where you'd first look, and it never hurts to add more D-line depth. I guess linebacker, you had Lorenzo McCaskill last year during the summer. Could you add another linebacker if they're an impact player? Sure. And then DB, I think you feel pretty set there uh between the corner position having your kind of top three corners back adding uh the lsu transfer in

demarius mcgee adding um you know some good players from the high school level same goes for like the safety position whether you're adding from the high school level or just having marvin grant and oj burrows and kenny logan and you know uh with die kind of stepping up over the course of spring ball like you probably don't need really a DB there. So the main positions, though, I think you target, you look at the defensive line and that'll be inconsistent with, we'll go over some of the names that maybe they've targeted or have visited or whatever. And that's kind of the consistent there, defensive linemen, and then possibly game changing receivers. They really are pressing for the D line though. It's not a surprise.

You look at it last year. You graduated a bunch of players from last year. Now you're trying to get better as a defense, as a defensive line, and then you have all these injuries. Like, you know, with Patrick Joyner, who you brought in from Utah State by way of Miami, he's, like, injured for the spring, and he's the guy you were going to be counting on to play a lot of snaps not necessarily as a starter maybe but particularly as a rotational guy that maybe rushed the pastor or provide some different things for you and now you have questions about like

health with some of the defensive ends you might want to add another one there but i don't know where you go with this because i think if you're ku how much does it help to just bring in another body? Like maybe it helps a little bit, like certainly adding depth. Like I said, you can never have enough defensive linemen. But realistically, I think KU is to a point where, and this goes for both if they add a defensive lineman, if they add a receiver, I don't think you're just trying to add someone just to add someone.

I think you're trying to add someone that really can make an impact for you. And I don't even necessarily know that that means they have to be a starter. You add a receiver in there, and it's like, well, we have Lawrence Arnold and Luke Graham and Quentin Skinner coming back, and he's going to at that point only have fall practice with the team to get to know the playbook. Like, is he realistically going to start with defensive line or with defensive end?

It's like, well, Jeremy Robinson realistically is going to be one of the starters, and if they join at this point again, are they going to be ahead of some of the other guys? Like, like with hayden hatcher maybe they'll be more talented but hayden knows the system he's a hustler uh would they be ahead of i don't know again we'll wait and see if like patrick joiner um with some of the other transfers they brought in i i don't know but can they at least be a rotational player that can help you out when they are on the field that's kind of the big question there like you're not going to add just the defensive lineman to be like, okay,

he's now our emergency fourth string defensive end. And we feel good about him there, but most likely he's not going to play. No, you want somebody who is going to come on. And I think it's tough because with the defensive line, like when they brought on Lonnie Phelps last year, it's tough to get those guys in the portal.

But that also was a portal move made in the like winter before you know we got to the summer and everything once you get to this point in time a lot of those options are kind of depleted and there's not as many there probably are more of those impact possible receiver type options that are going to be available to you at this point in time but the problem there is that a lot of those impact receiver type options who are going to be like really fast and have really good run after catch ability are going to like pick really high level schools now maybe it helps you have jaylen daniels and andy kodanicki and how k you did last year but you know realistically like uh a lot of those kids are going to end up transferring from high level power fives to other high level power fives right so it makes it difficult and the defensive line thing then you

have to look at like smaller levels and stuff like that let's just get into some of the names that are there but those are certainly the positions they're kind of most emphasizing most looking into at this point in time step locked on jayhawks is brought to you by built bar are you looking for a delicious snack but don't want all the sugar and calories then you need the best tasting protein bar ever with built if you're like me and you want to eat healthier during the day, you know, you don't want to snack on like a brownie or cookie or candy or gummies or

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Well, there's already a couple of players that KU seem to be in on. And what that exactly means, you know, is that just a phone call? Is that relative interest? Is it offering a scholarship? I don't know, varying kind of levels of this stuff. But to some level of any of those, Robbie Harrison was a defensive lineman that they seemed like he was a transfer from Arizona State. He committed to Indiana. So that unfortunately didn't work out for KU. Taylor Upshaw was a transfer from Michigan. He actually technically Colorado. He went Michigan to Colorado, and then he was part of the kind of like Deion Sanders purge happening in Boulder. He picked Arizona.

So those guys off the table. And then this is one that I do find very interesting for, I don't know, overarching thoughts. Marcus Peterson. He was a receiver at Cincinnati. Six foot three. Good size. Known as a good physical, like, you know, fast receiver. It seemed like KU showed a bit of interest. I think he only

played one year at Cincinnati, like former three-star recruit, top 1500 kid. But he ended up committing to McNeese State. So how hard really was KU pushing? If you're Marcus Peterson and you have the option to go to KU or McNeese State you're probably picking KU now I guess there is the the possibility there that what if McNeese State was like hey you're going to be the clear number one here whereas with KU it's like well you're going to fight for backup minutes in your first year right and maybe that does make it but like realistically KU probably beats out McNeese State in a recruiting battle which tells me KU wasn't like pushing that hard for him. So then it becomes a question of fur indication that they really are fully in on getting defensive

line. And they're not really worrying about those other, like, does the receiver have to be like clear in a way, an impact player? I think that's kind of the answer here. And that realistically, you look at these other names I'm going to bring up and that was the case with harrison and upshaw they're defensive linemen that is what ku is putting their sole efforts into their eggs in the basket too that it's like hey if this receiver is really good and he falls into our bass into our laps sure but we need to strengthen the defensive line and that's kind of the push i think being

made by ku uh so that's just kind of interesting for other notes so there's two big names left at this point once harrison and upshaw decommitted that ku has at least shown interest maybe there's others that you know hasn't been kind of reported yet or whatnot uh carrie man's that was a big one that you know um i guess they started contacting a few weeks ago it's been a while i feel like now uh but he is a six foot three 230 pound defensive end from maine which maine is at the fcs level uh maine was not very good last year they were just two and nine so you do have to worry about the jump up from the fcs you do have to worry about the jump up from a not very good fcs team that said we also did just see for ku dominic pooney come up from the D2 level and he was one

of KU's best offensive linemen last season so if the staff trusts what they see if they trust you know the tape and how they're going to use him I think you put your trust in it too he would be a redshirt senior but I believe he would have two years left to play because of a COVID year so that is even more enticing here especially if you're going to add someone who's going to join at this point in time where they're not even getting spring ball, where it's just, they're going to have the fall. It makes even more sense to have multi-year guys. And we'll get into that here more in a second, but that would be nice about Kari Manns. He, uh, in his career at Maine, eight and a half career sacks, 15 and a half career tackles for loss last season he had 43 tackles six and a half tackles for loss

four sacks and a forced fumble so you know modest solid numbers there but again you do have to worry about the jump up in competition uh theoretically he should be better than he was last year if he's improving and whatnot um i don't know if you view him if he comes on as being someone who would start necessarily especially right off the bat but realistically that's somebody who could make an impact because he's done it at a collegiate level and yes fcs is a jump to power five certainly it is but uh we have seen some of these recent fcs teams come up and yeah it's not power five but they've competed at a very high level including from this next guy james madison was one of the best fcs teams and they jumped up and they were really good in the sunbelt last year and they have a kid in the transfer portal, Isaac Ukwu.

So he has a long list of high-level interests. I think he just visited Ole Miss. So the competition for Ukwu is going to be very long. But he is a 6'3", 260-pound defensive lineman from James Madison. This will be his seventh year in college. So under this, I think, safe assumption that this will be his last year in college. So I, I, under this, I think safe assumption that this will be his last year of college football, but he's an experienced player. You wouldn't get the multi-year thing. So that is a check mark for man's, but I think Uku is just a

better player. He might be your number one target here on the defensive line, but again, long list of suitors makes it very difficult. Uh, he's taking a red shirt. He's taking a COVID year. He's taking a medical red shirt in there, right? So you do have to worry a little bit about maybe is there any injury stuff in the past there, but also that makes him experienced and his body maybe more seasoned for the college game. He was first team all Sunbelt last year. And, yeah, sure, it's not a power five, but, I mean, Sunbelt was a really good league last year.

James Madison was really good. Coastal Carolina was really good. Troy was really good. Like, you go up and down the list. I think South Alabama was pretty good. There were a lot really good. Troy was really good. Like you up and down the list. I think South Alabama was pretty good. There were a lot of good teams in the Sun Belt a season ago, Appalachian State, right? And his last two seasons combined at James Madison, he recorded.

Now, one of these is at an FCS level combined with what he did last year, but 25 games played, 27 tackles for loss, 16 and a half sacks, three forced fumbles. This kid is a wrecking machine. He's experienced. He's older. In theory, you would think that would help him get acclimated with the system a little quicker because he has been around the block a time or two in college football. This would be a gigantic effort.

This is the type of kid that comes in and you would kind of expect to be a starter right away. But because of that long suitor list, it makes it very difficult. So maybe Kari Manns is a little bit more of a realistic expectation for KU, with Isaac Ukwu being a kind of shoot for the stars type of pickup for KU. But certainly we'll see some other names, I'm sure, pop up here, especially if they can't land like Kari Manns or Isaac Ukwu or something with the transfer portal. We'll see if any extra names kind of add in over the next couple of days that make things

even more interesting or give some more possibilities for you to look after. I want to finish up here with the show with what could we expect if they do land one of these players or any number of these players in terms of their production on the field next season. That next with locked on Jayhawks. So I want to finish up here with what could we expect if they do land some of these players, even one or two or whatever, however many it would be at this point in time. If you remember last year, KU added a decent amount of transfers in the

offseason right you added Lonnie Phelps and Dominic Poonie but a lot of these guys that you added were guys that came in late or I mean came in earlier they came in in in like you got the commitment in January or something when the transfer portal first opened up like that was the case with with Phelps is what Januaryuary february something like that the one that sticks out to me the most for being a summer edition so after spring ball was over was lorenzo mccaskill and i can't remember with dominic pooney i can't remember if that was a summer edition or if that was something where it was a winter edition but then you know they tried to keep it under wraps until the summer i i don't remember so if that one was a summer there's a perfect example of

somebody succeeding super well if it was but that one i don't remember all the ins and outs with lorenzo mccaskill that was one that did join and it was like june or july at that point and so it's after spring and he actually um it's not just that he didn't get spring ball and stuff but he also joined like a couple days into the fall schedule. How much did those two days matter? I don't know. You just add it on to everything already he had missed before then, and it makes it even more difficult, or do those two days really not? I don't know, but he joined late, obviously, did McCaskill, and this was a kid who was coming over being an all-Sunbelt selection. He was a multi-year starter for a Louisiana team that was kind of flirting in or reached the top 25

over his last two seasons of play there. They were a really good team, and he was an all Sunbelt linebacker on the team. But he joined late, and he never could really get past the rotational player to starter in the KU lineup. And I think that's an interesting test study of how much does that experience in the KU lineup. And I think that's an interesting test study of like, how much does that experience in the system matter? Now, McCaskill, I think we found out he was very much

a thumper. He maybe wasn't as good in pass coverage, and maybe that hurt him from what they wanted to do there. But you're talking about an experienced player who was very talented and KU struggled against the run in a lot of games. So the fact that he wasn't able to turn in pass and he was a very useful player. He played a lot of snaps, but it was a rotational player. And I think the expectation when you first got him as being this all Sunbelt player coming into a position of need was that he would be a starter and it didn't end up happening. And I feel like to me, most likely any summer ads that you make here are going to have a tough time starting, like at least for the first half of the season. It was even, you know, for McCaskill, he might he wasn't even necessarily the first linebacker rotating in the first half of the season. That was like maybe Gavin Potter before he transferred out Eric Gileard.

Right. And then Potter transfers out. Maybe McCaskill usurps Eric gilliard later than doesn't from the starter so i i think the lesson that i learned from that is that if they do add any of these players i do expect them to be rotational players as mccaskill was if they're good enough and they're talented enough but i'm not going to put the expectation on them i think i made the statement last year that mccaskill was going to be the team's best linebacker and that didn't end up happening obviously right and i think that's the lesson that I learned from that in that um any of these players that come on I'm not going to make the assumption they're going to

be a week one starter I'm going to make the assumption that maybe they'll start by the second half of the season but realistically they'll just be a rotational player all year now if it is a player like Isaac Uku who is an experienced player at a position of need, maybe that makes you feel a little more up. But that's kind of similar to Matt Casco. He was like a sixth-year player coming into the linebacker spot. And maybe D-line is different than linebacker with linebacker. A lot of times those are the guys that are calling plays. And you have to know everything on the defense because you are in pass coverage

and you are rushing on occasion and you are stopping the run whereas with defensive line maybe it's a little you know less complicated with where i need to be i i don't know um but i that to me is going to diminish my expectations and then if they do reach those expectations or surpass them great um but i you know i i think that's what the lesson was to me and i think think to that notion, it means they'd either be going for someone who just gives them that rotational opportunity, right? If they become a starter, great. Or I think because of that, because of how difficult it is to come over in the summer and get your first play with the team in the fall leading up to the season, I think it does make even more sense if you're going to do that to bring in, like if you're going to buy that, I mean, bring in guys during the summer

transfers, um, to bring on multi-year guys at that point. So that's where Kari man's would make a lot of, uh, sense. And that's, again, I believe it's two years left. I could be wrong on that because you look at Lorenzo McCaskill, and I'd like to think if McCaskill would have had a second year and he would have been able to come back this year and play in the spring and everything, the talent would have eventually worked out for him, and maybe he would be viewed as a starting linebacker this year.

But look at the Kobe Baines path. Kobe Baines joined during fall camp. It was like the last week maybe of fall camp, and he didn't really play at week, maybe, of fall camp. And he didn't really play at all during the beginning of the season. Then maybe during the last couple weeks of the season, during the bowl game, he was starting to get, you know, maybe 5, 10, 15 snaps in a game. And then coming into the spring, now he's competing for a starting spot. Now he's looking like he could be a starting right tackle

or a starting right guard for you. So, and he was a guy that came in with multiple years. So I think that's what I look at. I think the best way to do this, yes, if it is that much of an impact player, whether it's that receiver or an Isaac Uku type, you take the chance on it. But I think the best way to do this, if you are going to add a player this late in the game in the summer, take the guys with multiple years left because it gives you more insurance if they don't catch up the speed fast enough in year one, which is very, very difficult to do. That'll do it for this episode

of Locked on Jayhawks. We'll be back tomorrow. We'll go back into the basketball side of things and talk more about Hunter Dickinson. Then on Friday, Flory Badunga, which is a great name. I don't know if I'm pronouncing it right,

but I'm hoping I am because that sounds awesome. He's a class of 2024 center, one of the top recruits in the country. He's supposed to be visiting KU this weekend. We'll do a deep dive on him later in the week. This has been Locked on Jayhawks. You can find us wherever any of your podcasts,

or you can catch us on YouTube, like and subscribe to the show. See you next time.