Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - PORTAL COMMIT: Kansas Adds SEC Linebacker Landyn Watson from Kentucky and Marshall

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

Kansas Jayhawks bolster their linebacker corps by landing SEC transfer Landyn Watson from Kentucky. With the KU linebacker room decimated by transfers and graduations, can Watson’s experience—spanning stints with TCU, Marshall, and Kentucky—stabilize the Jayhawks’ defense and spark untapped potential? Derek Johnson examines Watson’s size, athleticism, tackling stats, and positional versatility, exploring where he best fits in DK McDonald's scheme. The discussion covers KU’s urgent need for depth following the losses of key defenders like Jon Jon Kamara and Trey Lathan, the current state of the linebacker room, and what Watson’s addition means for young talents such as Joseph Credit and Malachi Curvey. Key questions include whether Watson can emerge as a starter and if Kansas still needs a bigger splash at linebacker before the season kicks off.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.

KU's certainly added some SEC talent in this portal off season, the latest, a linebacker from Kentucky in Landon Watson. 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. This is Locked on Jayhawks. Thanks for making it your first listen every day. Thank you for making the Lockdown Podcast Network, your number one sports podcast network.

On today's episode of the show, we're breaking down Landon Watson, KU's Transfer Portal Linebacker edition from Kentucky and before that Marshall and before that TCU. We're going to break down how he fits in with the team, what he brings to the table, and where it leaves KU from that linebacker position that has been kind of beat up with departures from the transfer portal so far. Let's just start right there with the news. He committed Sunday evening. this is a 6-foot-1, 245-pound linebacker.

So very good size can be a bit of a thumper. He's actually somebody who, you know, in high school, like you look at some of the recruiting rankings have him as like a defensive end, eventually became a linebacker. And maybe that's something where, you know, as we talk about projected role later in the show, but I don't know, maybe that's something where we've seen like KU at times, use linebackers even as a defensive end.

I think of J.B. Brown certainly. Maybe it's even using him in a role that like we saw Dean Miller, used in last year at times where Dean Miller at times was basically like a defensive antils outside linebacker. Maybe you could use him there. But I think for the most part, he'll be used as a more traditional linebacker here. I guess his nickname he goes by Lando. So Lando Watson here, he'll be a sixth year senior. So experienced player began his career at TCU, two years there for the Hornfrogs, then two years at Marshall, then Kentucky last year. This will be his final season as a sixth year senior

with the program. And the big part of this one is just KU was depleted. in the linebacker room, right? They still have more additions that they need to make here, but John John Kamara departs away, enters the portal. He goes to Wisconsin. Bengali Kamara graduates. Trey Lathen hits the portal,

who would have been one of your best players on the entire team coming back next year. Joseph Sipp enters into the portal last minute, too. So a lot of losses for KU at linebacker, Logan Brantley entered the portal. You got to fill it with some bodies, and Landon Watson is one of those bodies. So let's get to the scouting report here.

Is it more than just a body? and what exactly that role could be, what the position room looks like. We'll get to all that next on Locked on Jayhawks. This episode of the show is brought to you by Fandual Sportsbook. And, of course, on Fridays with Fandual is NBA Happy Hour, which certainly adds to your Friday as well. But did you know you can also get in on the college football action this week,

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and the Lockdown Podcast Network. Thanks, Jim for joining us here. Don't free you can check out the Every Day or Club as well to get ad-free version of our show as well as entry into our Discord server. And you can find that in the show notes here. Okay, so Landon Watson adds to the KU linebacker room. He was, like I said, defense events. moved to linebacker, just four tackles in his first three seasons combined between the two years at TCU and his first year at Marshall. And then he broke out in 2024. That was his second year with the thundering herd. He had 65 tackles. He had four tackles for loss, one interception. And he was able to parlay that strong season into SEC football, where he went to Kentucky this past year,

more of a rotational linebacker for Kentucky, but 21 tackles and one tackle for loss. Now, it wasn't great Kentucky team, but at least getting on the field a little bit there. Now, as far as pro football focus grades go, not the biggest fan of things here, 59.9 grade in 2024 at Marshall. That was over 600 snaps. He had a 58.8 in run defense. He had a 51.6 in tackling, so a little bit lower there. 59.3 in pass rush.

And then his best number there was a 60.2 in pass coverage. So then this past season, 2025, more of a rotational. role for Kentucky, 237 snaps. He had a 52.2 PFF grades went down a little bit, 46.7 in run defense, 46.5 in tackling and a 50.7 in coverage. So those don't paint the rosiest picture here for what KU is necessarily adding. But this is a very good athlete that maybe he just needs the right fit, right situation to kind of be unlocked. Now, one thing I am kind of watching here is he's got a 19.3% mistackle rate, which if that sounds like a bit of a high number, it is. So like just out of comparison to some past KU linebackers, Cornell Wheeler had a 13%

mistackle rate in 2024, and that was playing through an injury for most of the season. Rich Miller had a 14.3% mistackle rate in his final season in 2020. So it's markedly higher than both of those. Taiwan Berry Hill, who certainly had some struggles tackling at times, had a mistackle rate of 21.7. So it's a little bit better than that, but it's closer to that than it is to like Rich Miller and Cornell Wheeler. Now, as far as in coverage, he's allowed a 79% completion rate. So that isn't great. That's for his career. But when he's been targeted, he's given up 7.3 yards per target. So that's actually okay. Four touchdowns to one interception

in coverage. So this is kind of an interesting add to me, because like I said, this is a kid who was a former like four-star recruit playing different positions. I think this is kind of one where like the level of how much he plays and what his role is is kind of how I view the addition. Like I think the idea is here to get another body in the linebacker room. But if KU is going to use more of that like five man front that we saw where basically KU had three down linemen and two basically defensive ends playing like outside linebacker roles and he's going to play one of those in that role, like I can see that working a little bit.

if he's one of your backup linebackers, I think that's fine. If this is one of your starting linebackers, you look at some of those grades, and I have a little bit of questions of just how successful this will be for KU. But knowing all that, it is an experienced player, you need to get bodies in here, and somebody who, like I said, is a good athlete, like maybe there's some untapped potential there. So let's talk more about what that linebacker room looks like now, because a little less of the Will Smith, like looking around emoji from Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

And there's a few people in there. So we'll get to that next. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by GameTime. And with Game Time, you can get tickets to the final games of the college football season if you're in the area, NFL, if your team's in the playoffs nearby, and have a college basketball season. I'm looking right now for KU's upcoming game on Tuesday night against the TCU Hornfrogs. Tickets as low as $25 over on game time.

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Don't forget we just post an episode as well about Eamon Smalls, a really good defensive tackle edition for KU out of the portal. We've got other portal editions for KU, Conor Stroh from Texas, big offense lineman, Jalen Dupree, running back from Colorado State. So check out those episodes as well as any other portal commits that are going to happen on the show. So with Watson, I think, I mean, right now, if you're just basing it off who is on the roster for KU, you would probably have to say Landon Watson is a projected starter for KU a linebacker. But there's more work to be done. Right now, just four linebackers in the room.

Now, if KU is going to stick with this kind of, we're just going to play two linebackers for the most part, you don't need as many as you had in some previous years where you were running more of four three. But you have Joseph Credit. It comes as as a true freshman. I've kind of continued to view Josh Galbraith as more of a linebacker safety, like that specific role for KU, because that's almost where I want to see him. I think he'd do very well there, but maybe he's going to be more viewed as just a true linebacker, I guess we'll wait and see there, but he would count into that as well. And then you have a redshirt freshman Malachi, I think I heard from somebody who pronounced it curvey instead of curvy. So I don't

know if it's curvey instead of curvy, but somebody that seems like the staff is pretty high on was a highly recruited kid. Maybe he'll be ready for, at the very least, can he be like your first backup and kind of like the way that John John Kamara was as a redshirt freshman where then he's getting some experience but not having to be fully relied upon and then he can you know really break out maybe the next season so maybe Watson would be one of your projected starters right now as a redshirt senior and i do think obviously if you're watson i don't know what what's the reason you're transferring from kentucky right like for all we know it could be a role it could be money whatever but like is he just looking for more playing time after he played a lot

at Marshall and became more rotational guy at Kentucky because then the idea would be that he's starting. Like I said, I think there's certain ways that this can work for KU and that they can unlock certain things here with Watson. At the very least, it adds an adult in the room, so to speak, with a group of a bunch of freshmen. And he is an older player to at the very least, like that can be part of this too. It's not just the on the field production. It can be taking these guys under his wing on and off the field. And that can be very helpful too for KU. I do think they need to make a bigger linebacker splash than this. I guess it would be the way that I would put it, but I can see the vision of it. And I do think there are certain things that Watson

can help KU with. So more to be done at the linebacker room where you still only have four bodies right now. Watson at least gets you on the board and bring some more depth in there for KU. All right. That'll do it for this episode of Lockdown Jayhawks. You can find her show anywhere to your podcast, including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. See you next time for another commitment right here on LOJ.