Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - UNDERRATED: Jayhawks' Hidden Gems EMERGE as the 2025 Kansas Football Season Approaches

Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm going to give you some of my favorite underrated Jayhawks on this year's upcoming 2025 football team and how they can help this team reach all its goals by the end of the year. 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. Thank you for making it your first listen every day. And thank you, the everydayers catching each and every episode of the show. Make sure hit that subscribe button.

Starting point is 00:00:37 Got to get that thing up for the start of football season. And that is on our YouTube page. But again, anywhere, your podcast is well. On today's edition of Locked on Jayhawks, we are talking favorite underrated Jayhawks coming into the 20, 25 football season. We'll start with the offensive side of the ball, move to the defense side of the ball, and I'll finish up with some of the latest news around KU Athletics. let's start right here on the offensive side of the ball. So these are some of my players that I think are underrated.

Starting point is 00:01:04 These are some of my guy. Like everybody's got to have your guys, right? It can be any sport, no matter what team you're going to for. Everybody's got to have your guy, right? Or your guys, you know, a little easier in football because obviously there's more people. But like, everybody has that one person that they're like willing to, you know, champion for and be like, I think this guy's going to be good. I think this guy's going to be a dude, right?

Starting point is 00:01:23 So let's start with the offense. And is it possible still, even at this point in time to say Emmanuel Henderson, because it feels like the hype is there for Emmanuel Henderson in a very real way. At this point, the transfer from Alabama that, like, I think from a national perspective, you could say that Emmanuel Henderson is flying under the radar a little bit. You know, you read different like preseason college football magazines. You, you know, see national people either talking about or whatever, like previewing KU football. And, you know, you don't really hear like a ton of Emmanuel Henderson other than like,

Starting point is 00:01:57 Oh, Ken's at a, you know, this, the receiver core, and they lost all these players. I don't think, like, from the local level, it almost feels like there is more expectation on this kid to be the receiver one to have this big season. And those are things I'm expecting. And I think he's going to be a stud. But I don't know if I can pick him. So I'm going to actually get this started with a different wide receiver. You know, somebody else that I think is going to be really underrated. And that's Cam Pickett.

Starting point is 00:02:23 So Cam Pickett, unfortunate name, I guess, for a receiver, although it would be a way worse name for a receiver. although it would be a way worse name for a quarterback, you know, I guess Kenny Pickett made it work. But Cam Pickett is a transfer from Ball State. 49 catches, 528 yards, two touchdowns last season in the Mac for Ball State. He also had 17 carries, 170 yards, and two more scores. So you total it up with his return yards. He had over 800 all-purpose yards last season for Ball State. So somebody that they really made sure to try to get the ball in his hands and made a lot happen for his team.

Starting point is 00:02:56 And I'd imagine KU is going to do some similar stuff, right? Like you're going to want to get the ball in his hands on bubble screens and on jet sweeps and maybe some in the return game, right? There's probably going to be a lot of ways he gets the football in his hands. But what I find interesting here is he's going to be one of the better yard after catch receivers that KU has had really recently and maybe of the Lance Lippoldera. Now, what's funny is Emmanuel Henderson who brought up earlier. Like he might be one of the best yard after catch receivers that KU's had on the Lance Leipoldera and, you know, of recent. memory. So speaking, okay, you had some really good yard after catch receivers with like the Brent Deerman offense, certainly. And like there have been other guys that would stick out. But

Starting point is 00:03:36 certainly of the light hole there, like you think back to as great and successful as Luke Graham and L.J. Arnold and Quentin Skinner were at different points and making some really fun highlight circus catches. They were like, Quinn Skinner was more of your like deep ball guy. L.J. Arnold was kind of your intermediate guy. Luke Graham was kind of, you know, your route runner and all. All three of them were good on, like, contested catches. None of them were really guys that you would view as being like, yeah, they're like go-to-yard-after-catch receivers. And so from that perspective, it'll be a little bit different with this. Receiving Gordon Pickett is one of them.

Starting point is 00:04:11 So you look at Cam Pickett last season, he had 321 yards after the catch. That was more than half of his 528 receiving yards that he had at Ball State. That means that Cam Pickett last season. Of his 528 receiving yards, he had at Ball State. 61% of those yards came from him doing it himself, yards after the catch. He actually had like an 84 grade on pro football focus for running the football and, you know, kind of worked out into getting all those yards. Out of comparison, Luke Grimm last season was at 41%.

Starting point is 00:04:43 L.J. Arnold was at 28%. Quentin Skinner was 22%. So you're talking about these other three Kansas starting receivers, you know, not a ton of their yards came after catch. And part of that could be the system in the offense Kansas running, but the other part of that is this is a skill set that Camp Pickett has and yeah that I think Emmanuel Henderson will have that is going to add another dynamic to the Kansas offense. In fact, if we look back as a team during the Lance Leopold era, KU's previous seasons of yard after catch, like if you look at the

Starting point is 00:05:13 total amount of passing yards that KU had in a season and look at how much of those came from yard after catch, you look at 44% of KU's passing yards in 2021 coming from yard after catch, 44% as well in 2022. It was down to 40% in 2023, and then it was 44% again in 2024. So very regularly, 44% of KU's passing yards are coming yard after catch. Again, Kim Pickett was at 61% at Ball State a season ago. So this is somebody who is going to add a big boost for Kansas in that area. And out of, you know, reference some of the better, I guess, past concept teams that you would think of nationally, like this was just a quick search, but Texas was a 60%.

Starting point is 00:05:55 Arizona State was at 59%. Ohio State was at 48%. And that's what Jeremiah Smith, who, you know, he doesn't need to get a lot of yard after catch because he can just want to jump ball. But point being, you need to find some more easy yards yard after catch. And I think Camp Bigg, it's going to help with that in a big way. And pretty clearly, he's going to raise the bar in that area, along with Manuel Henderson, for Kansas, in that very real way.

Starting point is 00:06:18 Now, we've also talked a lot about KU looking to get back to their 2022 and 20, 23 levels of throwing the football intermediate to that kind of 10 to 15, 10 to 20 yard range and over the middle of the field. And these two things can coincide. A lot of times those intermediate throws might be over the middle of the field. So like there's a little bit of crossover, but they can be separate or the same thing. And last season, KU had a big dip statistically. Jalen Daniels had a big dip statistically in those areas, the intermediate and over the middle the field. I think a big part of that was the offense that Jeff Grimes specifically was running. I think now with Jim Zabrowski, they're going to get back to being able to take advantage of that,

Starting point is 00:06:59 and I think it's going to be a good thing for Jalen Daniels. But it also is going to help to have a guy like Cam Pickett who can really help in that area over the middle. So if you're watching on YouTube, I'll try to explain this the best I can over audio, but like this is Cam Pickett's receiving chart from pro football focus. As you can see, Cam Pickett, you know, not a ton from the intermediate range, But if you're talking over the middle of the field, 24 of Cam Pickett's receptions came over the middle of the field between zero to 10 yards. He had another nine catches over the middle of the field, you know, I guess behind the line of scrimmage. So you're looking at, plus if you look at the intermediate range rate, four more catches, you're looking at Cam Pickett having 37 receptions over the middle of the field last season.

Starting point is 00:07:44 Again, 37 when you're looking at his total season numbers, when he had 49 catch, catches. That's a majority of his work over the middle. And he did it really successfully, right? Like, you're looking at the NFL passer ratings for over the middle of the field, 92, 113, 99. Those are the below the line of scrimmage 0 to 10 yards and 10 to 20 yards for the NFL pass rating. He is somebody who is very good and going to help Kansas over the middle of field. And a big reason why is he can make guys miss after yard after catch. So he's going to help Kansas in two really big ways on the offensive end of the field. I do have another offensive guy. And that would be Kobe Baines, I think,

Starting point is 00:08:20 an underrated player here. He's now played over a thousand career snaps at Kansas. He's in his fifth year for college football, I think fourth for KU, but 68 and a half PFF grade last season. That puts him as the 13th highest rated guard in the Big 12. So I mean, that's above average when you consider there's 32 starting guards in the Big 12 plus their backup. Some guys rotate in. Some guys get in because of injury. There were 44 qualified guards on profile low focus by minimum him snaps played. So, you know, 13th to 44, that's, that's a solid number to be at. And typically, guys get better when they say in college, especially offensive linemen with more, you know, season of building up your strength and getting to know what to do,

Starting point is 00:09:00 that you can probably expect him to be even better than that. And if you're already starting from a base of saying he was an above average to good player, you know, taking another jump forward could be all big 12 level player, right? And one of the cool things about Kobe Baints, he's been really good in past cover, or past blocking, back-to-back seasons of a 77 or higher pass block grade on pro football focus. He's only allowed 10 hurries and zero sacks between 20, 23 and 224 combined. So he's been really good for KU, and I think he becomes extra important this season because you lost Michael Ford, who was your stud other guard from last year, and because you lost

Starting point is 00:09:37 both starting tackles, Baines becomes more of a leader on that offensive line. And I think while Bryce Foster, deservedly so gets a lot of the credit because Bryce Foster's a rate of the offense line, too. I think Colby Baines deserves to get a little bit of credit, too, because he's been an underrated piece for the KU offensive line, and I think he could be in store for a big season this year as well. All right, let's get to us. Somebody on special teams, some defensive players.

Starting point is 00:09:58 We get to that next. This is Locked on Jayhawks. Today's episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by Monarch Money. Ever wish managing your money felt easier. With Monarch, it can. Whether you're growing your savings or planning a big purchase, monarch puts you in the driver's seat it's like having your own personal cfo giving you full visibility and control over your finances monarch money is more than a budgeting app it's a complete financial

Starting point is 00:10:25 command center you can track all your accounts investments and spending in one place so in addition to managing your money you're also building wealth ever get annoyed by you know all your accounts being in different spots or not totaled up into one big account then you got to do math to figure out this this and that or maybe you got to you know transfer between one account to another account and they're different banks or something like it's just kind of annoying it takes extra days takes extra process you want it quick you want to be done with it quick right well you can take control your finances and not worry about all that stuff with monarch money use code locked on college at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year that's monarchmoney.com code

Starting point is 00:11:05 locked on college for half off your first year with monarch money. Thanks for joining us on this episode of locked on jahawks. Don't forget you make locked on college football or locked on college basketball your second listen every day okay i want to talk about a defensive player i think he's underrated and going to be one of my dudes and that would be just as fincly uh the transfer from texas now obviously you're talking about somebody who is a transfer from texas uh probably expected to be a starter so like there are certain expectations here but where i think the underrated comes from is i think there's a chance finkley could come in and be kegues best defensive end now what's cool about it is i really like alix bray as well

Starting point is 00:11:41 the other transfer is going to be kind of rotating into his spot. But let me get into this. So, thinkly, 26 total tackles in three years of Texas, that doesn't jump off the page. But take into account, and this is similar for like Emmanuel Henderson at the receiver position, but take into account like, you know, you might be a backup at the other school, but being at Alabama, one of the most talented, especially at the receiver position, being at Texas, who's had one of the best defensive lines in the country the last couple of years and been one of the best teams in the country, just because you're a rotational player for them,

Starting point is 00:12:11 It doesn't mean you can't come in and be a star right away for Kansas or in the Big 12. Sometimes all you need is kind of the opportunity, right? And sometimes it's not like sometimes it is just about the opportunity. Like you think of Jameson Williams, who was at Ohio State, and he was like the third or fourth receiver there, transfers to Alabama. He becomes like first round pick and he's their number one on a team that ends up playing Georgia in the national championship game, right? So you look at Justice Finkely. He has shown some stuff in limited film at points, but over 62 pro football focus grade every season. And so that's 60 to 69 ranges, kind of different levels of, okay, you're just, you know, solid average level starter, 67 last year.

Starting point is 00:12:49 So you're encroaching on that, that fun 70 range. But on Pro Football Focus, they have a number called win rate. And what win rate is, it is percentage of wins versus blocking on non-penalty pass rush snaps. So is it a pass rush? Is it a non-penalty? How often are you beating the block? Okay. And his percentage there is 13.2.

Starting point is 00:13:11 13.2% of the time he's doing that. That was last season. The year before it was 6.8%. The year before that, it was 9%. So you can go off last year's number and say that's the best version of him. That's the most recent version of him. It's the oldest version of him. You can go off the average of his career, which would be closer to at that point, 9.7% over the three years.

Starting point is 00:13:29 Well, how does that compare to last year's KU defense fans? Dylan Woodke had a really good number last year for KU. 12.8% that led KU players with at least 100 pass or a snaps, followed by Jeremy Robinson, who is at 7.9%, DJ Withers, who was at 7.8, Tommy Dunn, who was at 7.2, and then Dean Miller, who was at 6.3. Now, if we want to look back at some of KU's recent Star Pass Rushers, Austin Booker was at 14.8%, Lonnie Phelps was at 15.8%. Quick side note, if Lonnie Phelps would come back for the 2023 season and KU would have Lonnie Phelps and Austin Booker as the two defensive ends, I mean, that team already won nine games.

Starting point is 00:14:07 And we know how close they were to beating, I guess, Texas Tech and Kansas State. that year, and whoever I'm missing, one of their other. Texas was the only one they got blown out. And that team legitimately probably wins 11 games if Lonnie Phelps comes back for 2023. I don't know if that's like, that actually just kind of makes me sad. I don't know why I brought that up. Anyway, you look at the passers win rate, 13.2% here for Finkley. Again, that would put him in line if he can repeat that last year, but in a bigger sample size, which is difficult to do. That would put him ahead of any of KU's qualified pass rushers last year. That would put him at least close to striking distance of where Austin Booker was a couple of seasons ago.

Starting point is 00:14:45 And that can be really exciting for Kansas. And we've already heard from some of the press conferences about, you know, Finkley being a good leader for KU and being somebody who's really stepping up in that regard. So I think Finkley is definitely going to be one of my dudes coming into the season. I actually want to throw, like, it sounds silly to be like, oh, a punter is going to be my dude. But I am a big fan of Finn Lapin, 46.1 yards per punt last season at McNeese. state. If he does that at Kansas this season, if he repeats that or is better on it, it'll be the best yard per punt season in KU football history. That mark also last year, if you were to repeat it, would rank him second in the Big 12th to only Baylor's punter,

Starting point is 00:15:23 Palmer Williams. And you look at KU's recent, I guess, lack of success with punting to Damon Greaves last year, improved on his number, but it was still 13th of 16 punters in the big 12, 42.3 yards per punt. A year prior, Greaves was last. A year before that, Vernon was second to last year before that, Reese Vernon was last. So point being during the Lance Leipold era, KU has consistently had one of the worst punting situations in the league. And, you know, Lance Leipold's not the most aggressive coach. You look at going for it on fourth downs and fourth down attempts.

Starting point is 00:15:55 Kansas consistently is near the bottom of the Big 12, except for really one year in his time at Kansas. So that means that you need to invest in a good punter and kicker. Because if you're not going to be the most, you know, aggressive at it, you better be good at doing those things that you're going to do a little. little bit more often. So that's why I'm really excited about Finn Lapin. Now, I don't know if he's going to average quite as much yards per punt as he did last season at McNeese State because theoretically, if the offense is good for Kansas, you're punting on shorter fields. And it's going

Starting point is 00:16:23 to be more about can you pin people deep inside their 20 as opposed to can you get a 50 yard punt, right? It almost becomes better. Okay. If you're punting from the plus 45, you know, you want a 40 yard punt as opposed to a 45 yard punt, right? Like there's a little bit of a difference there. So I do think Lappin, that will be a big upgrade for what KU's had at that position. And then I would just say, like, one other one here, like, just pick a defensive tackle. And that's the thing. Like, I think it's almost like a, like, why can I not think of the name of it? But like, I guess it'd be like a gumball machine. But you know, the machines you have like at the, at the store where you put like, used to be a quarter when I was kid. You put a quarter in it,

Starting point is 00:17:01 spin it around. I used to love the ones. I got like the mini football, you know, helmets here. But you get like the mini NFL helmets. So like, you know, just like little toys, little silly toys whatever they'd get out and it come in the little bulb and um yeah like that that's how i feel with the defensive tackles it's like just put your quarter in crank the the machine around and whichever one pops out like that is your guy because you can make a case for any of them that they're going to be you know having a big season i think with tommy done we just heard about him in a recent press conference and how he's like 350 pounds and like he basically never runs out of energy dj withers was one of the players who went down for big 12 media days for k you which clearly

Starting point is 00:17:38 shows you know where he is on the pecking order and what he means to the program from i guess kind of a leadership perspective blake harold was awesome as a red trip freshman last season which only gets you more excited based on how quickly he has grown into that role what could he do with another year from last year to this year gauge keys coming back from aben i'm being kind of a cool story just in general and being somebody who i think is a defensive tackle with a little bit of pass rush juice which is always nice to have in that position i think keenan caldwell just underrated in general because we talk about all those other guys and you know he doesn't get brought up as much, but he's just been a steady player for KU here over the years.

Starting point is 00:18:12 And heck, maybe even like Marcus Calvin now, it sounds like he's starting to develop and maybe going to earn a little bit of a role for KU. And, you know, if they have seven good ones, they'll rotate seven good ones. If they have four good ones, they'll rotate four good ones. Well, certainly seems like it's going to be closer to rotating five or six guys for KU and Jim Pantagos, the defensive tackle coach for KU this year. So kind of just pick your defensive tackle if you're KU or if you're a fan there for who is, I don't know, your favorite among those.

Starting point is 00:18:38 guys. The last one I would mention here is Joseph Sip. I think he's going to be one of my guys all Mac performer from a season ago. It obviously worked out pretty good, both from the Mac perspective and the Bowling Green perspective when you brought in J.B. Brown, a little bit different types of players, but both are kind of similar in terms of being more like run stoppers, thumper type players. It was cool with Brown because they were able to let them loose as a pass rush or two. I don't know if that's a part of Sips game as much, but still, So 67.3 PFF grade last season for SIP. And what I find interesting is, can Kansas be an even better tackling team?

Starting point is 00:19:13 I think they've gotten better at it and kind of year over year in the like-wled era, but SIP had a 12.2% missed tackle rate. Now you might be saying, okay, well, it's going to be easier to not miss tackles against Mac competition than, you know, Power 5 competition. He had a game against Penn State. He had a game against Texas A&M. And that's not just two Power 5 opponents. That's a team who made the final four in an A&M team who was, you know,

Starting point is 00:19:34 at times ranked last season. In those two games combined, 13.3% miss tackle rate, which isn't that much different than the season of 12.2. And out of comparison, last year, J.B. Brown missed 13.3% of his tackles. Cornel Wheeler, 13.3%. Taiwan, Barry Hills at 21.2%. So I think SIP is going to be a secure tackler for KU and at least help him in the run defense.

Starting point is 00:19:57 I do have some questions, okay, how is he going to do in past defense? But maybe that's something where if Kansas is playing more than 4-25, you're going to have an extra DP out there. That'll help the linebackers. Maybe that's where Tray Lathan comes in and getting some more snaps. Maybe that's where, like, a guy like John John Kamara or, I don't know, one of these other young linebackers, Logan Brantley, that you've kind of been moving along can come in and help with the past side of things.

Starting point is 00:20:19 But I do think SIP, in a lot of ways, similar to the role that J.B. Brown played in 2023 can really help you against run fits and be a positive impact and just a productive player for KU. We're going to finish up here with some of the latest news. This is Locked on Jayhawks. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by five-hour energy. Time to fuel up and turn it up with five-hour energy transfusion. It brings the bold grape, ginger, and lime flavor of your favorite golf drink, minus the alcohol, into a quick energizing shot.

Starting point is 00:20:56 Whether you're sinking birdies or just making memories of friends, this one's a hole in one for your energy game. And let's be honest, some days on the course or off it, You just need that extra boost to stay sharp and to stay energized. You know, one of the beauties of golf during the summer is just having that quiet, serene feel, getting out there, having that great hit that makes you want to come back and be like, you know, I've been playing horrible today, but, oh, man, that one shot, it got me coming back. But there's nothing worse than being sluggish when you're doing it, when you're going through it on the golf course, and you're just not feeling yourself, you're tired, you're not enjoying it. You do not want that. Golf is all about good times, good people, and good flavors.

Starting point is 00:21:37 The grape gingerline flavor gives you the best parts of your clubhouse go-to without chasing down the BevCart. If you go to 5HourEnergy.com today, that's number five hour energy.com. You can use my promo code locked on golf to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. Goat is not good on subscription orders. Whether you're meeting up with friends or trying to turn 18 holes into 36, get the energy, Boots you need to power through. Ordered transfusion-flavored five-hour energy shots. Today, that is, five-hour energy.

Starting point is 00:22:13 Thanks for joining us on this episode of Lockdown Jayhawks. Again, don't forget to make Lockdown College Football or Locked on College Basketball, your second list every day. And make sure subscribe to the show here for the start of KU football season upcoming. Okay, so some latest news, KU basketball, yes related. Noah Shelby has picked a new school. It is Texas A&M, which has quickly become University of Kansas South with Zach Clements, Noah Shelby, and Ryland Griffin, all on the roster. So it will actually be a very interesting team to monitor. I mean, they also have the new head coach with Bucky Ball,

Starting point is 00:22:41 the former Samford head coach who nearly upset Kansas in the first round of the tournament. So they're going to be kind of interesting and fun to watch, and it'll be interesting to see how those players do at a different stop. Like, are they going to do well in a better system? Or are we going to be like, yeah, that makes sense. They can't get playing time, you know, there with how much of a struggle it was at times is here for KU basketball. Dwan Harris signed in Belgium.

Starting point is 00:23:04 So he's going to be playing overseas in Belgium. I think Zeke Mayo already signed. I think we talked about that on a recent episode overseas. I think he's going to be in that, was it Turkey or something like that or somewhere in the Middle East. And then DeWan Harris, obviously there, Hunter Dickinson's on the two-way contract with the Pelicans. So Jayhawks continue to be all over the country. The last bit of news here, Gary Woodland barely missed the FedEx. Cup playoffs he I don't know if he so he bogeed his last hole on the 18th hole this past weekend and

Starting point is 00:23:38 this weekend is the FedEx Cup standing it's up 70 make it in to the first event he finished 72nd I don't know if that one boge like if you would have been the difference being top 70 didn't need a birdie last hole I'm not entirely sure how that would have worked it would have been a really cool story just for him to make it make it into the cut you know after everything he's gone through and working his way back to competitive golf but it's cool that like if you've been watching if you watch a lot of golf recently like Gary Woodman's consistently done really well and like maybe the first round or the first two rounds and then you know maybe he ends up finishing 40th or in this case he finished right around I forget if it was tied 19th or tied 20th but

Starting point is 00:24:15 he's getting there I think he's getting back to it to where we're going to see him you know in or maybe on the podium area in some tournaments next year and it was just cool to see him back in action and you know next year hopefully it ends with a little bit more you know into the FedEx Cup playoffs and stuff like that. But always fun to cheer on Gary and watch him and succeeding on the golf level more than certainly I do. Okay, that'll do it for this episode of Lockdown, Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere.

Starting point is 00:24:44 You get your podcast, including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. We'll see you next time for another edition of LOJ.

Your Ad Here

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - UNDERRATED: Jayhawks' Hidden Gems EMERGE as the 2025 Kansas Football Season Approaches

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