Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - WINNING FORMULA? Is QB Play or Team Defense MORE IMPORTANT to Kansas Jayhawks Football in 2026?

Starting point is 00:00:00 What's going to be more important for Kansas to make a bowl game this season? Is it quarterback play or is it the defense showing out? Let's break it down. 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. Brought to you by Fandual.

Starting point is 00:00:29 Biggest stage in world soccer is here. Let there be goals on Fandual. Visit fanduel.com to get started now. and we're going to be breaking down on our football Friday today. What's more important for KU this season? Quarterback play or the defense improving. We'll also get into how the 5 and 5 rule affects KU football specifically and go into some of the roster moves.

Starting point is 00:00:50 And then we'll get to some of the latest news, actually a good amount of latest news to get to on today's episode of the show. So let's start right here. When you look at the quarterback position for KU, obviously the quarterback position in general is the most important position in football and arguably sports with how critical it is outside of individual sports, but teams work. It is just so critical to a team's success. And you look at KU and there are question marks at the quarterback position.

Starting point is 00:01:20 So this isn't the situation of feeling like you have a known commodity. It's a very unknown commodity from what the style of play is going to be, to how effective is it going to be, to how much can you scheme things open? I mean, there's just a lot of questions there. right and we don't even know who the starter is going to be at this point in time whereas with the defense we have yet to see a defense really flourish in lance lightfold's time at the university of kansas i mean they've never finished in what the top 60 in terms of uh points allowed per game in a season uh under lance light pulled so you know i look back to the the 20 23 defense and they were they were at least decent and they did some things well and they had some good players but just still weren't you know like a top 40 defense in the country and points a lot per game. And so that's where I'm kind of coming from this as what would be more beneficial for this Kansas team this season.

Starting point is 00:02:12 Would it be getting the quarterback play you want? Would it be getting the defense you want? And you could make arguments for both ways, not just for this year, but for the long term, right? In the long term perspective, if you figure out quarterback this year, all these guys have more than one year, whether it's Chase Jenkins, Isaiah Marshall, Cole Ballard. All of them would potentially be your starter in 2027 if you haven't figured out. So that would be even more reason to get figured out.

Starting point is 00:02:34 On the flip side, if you don't get figured out on defense, you're probably getting a new defensive coordinator in there. And then you're potentially having to reset with scheme. Who knows what happens with certain amount of players. Like you have invested a lot with some transfer portal additions. It would be nice to see that like the defense comes together. So I think when you're looking at the case for the quarterback being the more important here is, again, it starts with the fact that that just is inherently the most important position. That is why MVP always goes to a quarterback in the NFL. because it's just hard when you're talking value proposition to pick something other than quarterback.

Starting point is 00:03:09 Now, case for the defense, I'm not talking one individual defensive player or position. I'm talking about the entirety of the defense, an entire unit, right? But you look at the quarterback position. It just becomes a lot more difficult to win games. If your quarterback position, if your quarterback play is not up to snuff. Now, there's ways you can work around it. If you are a good, you know, running team, defensive team. special teams unit.

Starting point is 00:03:37 There's different variations of what is good and what is bad quarterback play. You can get good quarterback play and it can be, you know, pretty good output in terms of the statistics, but the receivers drop passes, the offensive line wasn't great, the scheme wasn't great. The flip side is you can get game manager stuff from the quarterback position. And if you have the right pieces around you, the right receivers, the right scheme, the right blocking, the right running game. you know, the stats the quarterback could put up could look really good when in reality

Starting point is 00:04:09 they're not quite as good as the stats show at that position, right? But I find this number very interesting in games where Kansas has a quarterback rating of 157 or higher, and this is the team, and this is during the Lance Leipold era, so over the last five years, they are 20 and 7. So they're winning almost 75% of their games, almost three of every four games they're winning when they have a QB rating of 157 or higher. That's raw QB rating. The flip side to that, they are 7 and 28 when they don't hit that number. So when you're getting, and I don't even know how that compares in terms of like, is that a good number, is that a great number? But when you're

Starting point is 00:04:51 getting that number of quarterback play, you are basically winning three of every four games, right? When you are not, you're basically, you know, winning one of every five. games. That's a huge split. That is a huge difference in terms of what you're talking about here. So I'm actually looking right now. Cole Ballard's career rating is a 116.1. So that is well below that number, right? Let's see, Jason Bean in his time at Kansas, his career rating was 154. So if we're talking 157 is the rating, that would be like an above average game for a good quarterback would basically be the way of putting it or for not as great quarterback it would be a really good game right even the the better defenses that lance light bold has had at kansas or a buffalo

Starting point is 00:05:42 whatever like specifically we just look at kansas they're giving up high 20s points per games like even the better defenses they've had are given up nearly 30 points per game so like even if you do have a better end of things lance lightle defense you're still going to need to score 28 30 35 points in a game if you're Kansas and that would go to the idea that you need the quarterback play right and again even if you go back to his time at buffalo the bowls in 2018 they won 10 games they were 58th that year in uh points per game um or you know good QB play Tyree Jackson but the next season or sorry 50th and points allowed per game so they weren't great in points allowed per game 50th and points allowed per game, but they won 10 games because of the quarterback, right?

Starting point is 00:06:32 And then you had another season where you only have 14 past touchdowns the very next year in 2019. Your defense was 26 and points allowed per game, but you won less games. You only won eight. So that would be a perfect example of like Lance Epolden his time at Buffalo, where the quarterback play mattered more than the defense, right? And you look at it too, like the time at Buffalo in the first two years when he had his worst records, 27 touchdowns is 27 interceptions.

Starting point is 00:06:55 they went 7 and 17. But again, there's a little bit of the chicken and the egg with if you're just looking at stats versus what is the quarterback actually doing. Now, the case for the defense for KU is this. When Kansas has allowed 31 or more points in a game in the Lance Light Poldera, would you like to guess their record? Time's up. They are 5 and 30.

Starting point is 00:07:18 They are 5 and 30 in the Lance Lightboldero when they give up 31 or more points. Flipside, when they allow 30. or less points. Kansas is 22 and 5. So they're like an elite team when they give up 30 or less points versus being like 2010's Kansas bad when they give up 31 or more points, right? And so you look at from that perspective and say, hey, if this is going to be more of a game management type of offense with the

Starting point is 00:07:48 quarterback position, if they are going to run the football a little bit more, if they are going to rely on time management and winning some of these lower scoring games, that's actually been okay in the landsliple there. Again, 22 and 5 when the defense allows 30 or less points in a game for Kansas. And as much as that's on the defense, there is an element of maybe the offense can help them out in some way, you know, with how their style of play could be. So I do look at that and go, okay, you know, maybe two, there's something to the notion of like, KU's had good, I mean, they've had good quarterback play, even if you don't don't get it this year. You still have some good skill players. You have good coaches scheming

Starting point is 00:08:30 things up. You should be able to at least scheme up enough points with Andy Kodlnicki that you would think if the defense can be ready to roll that it's going to match with that to at least get you to a bowl game, right? And especially so if Kansas ends up being a run first team and you're relying less on the quarterback than most teams normally do anyway. And again, Kodolnicki is going to be able to scheme up at least a few shot plays for you in the passing game. If you say you have that and you have a good defense, isn't that worth at least six wins in a bowl appearance? So maybe the defense is the more important one here. Here's kind of my take on things. I think it's interesting because we do inflate the good quarterback play with the good stats, but that is more of an output

Starting point is 00:09:12 along the journey of a lot of things that can kind of go into it. Right. And so when you look at Andy Codle, like you raising the quarterback floor, and I think Jim Zabrowski being a good quarterback coach, it's possible that Kansas could wind up with one of the least talented quarterback rooms in the Big 12. But statistically, the production might be better than that. It's like when Mike Leach was at Texas Tech, like Graham Harrell, was he drafted in like the seventh round or was he undrafted? Anyway, point being like, he had all these quarterbacks who were putting up unbelievable numbers. They weren't going first in the NFL draft. They were good quarterbacks. I don't want to take away from that. But, you know, they weren't. Sam Brown.

Starting point is 00:09:52 Radford, for instance, who was like the first pick in the draft, but they were putting up similar stats because the combination of the scheme and the floor and everything raised what the output ended up being. And I think that's what Kansas can get with KOTOMCII, right? And we've seen Kansas get good QB playing some games in recent years in loss or lose the game. There are some games where you can find that the KU defense balled out and they still lost the game. Like I think of the Texas Tech game, which was actually a game that Cole Ballard was playing in in 2023. The loss to UNLV. in Illinois in the early Jalen Daniels 2024 struggles. Like there's examples you can point to in both regards. They both definitely matter. But I guess where I'm out is this. If you tell me Kansas can have good quarterback play

Starting point is 00:10:35 because I like the running game or the idea of it because I like Andy Cohn-lakey because I like some of the receivers, if you get good quarterback play, you could be an elite offense. But we saw in 2022, they were an elite offense. The defense didn't keep up and they

Starting point is 00:10:52 were, yes, they were a bowl team, but they were six and seven versus we haven't seen KU have like a good defense and light pull there. And that's part of it too. Like I want to see that it's possible, you know, I want to see the proof of concept here, right? And I think that because I almost view like KU is going to make the quarterback more of a game manager this year, they're going to run the ball more, they're going to protect them a little bit more. I think it's almost like it it raises the floor but lowers the ceiling on the position to begin with with how they're going to use them. So I think I would take the good defense. If you're offering me one of the two right now,

Starting point is 00:11:27 I think I would take the good defense and just say, can you just be one of the three best running teams in the Big 12, one of the five or six best defenses in the Big 12, be at least okay on special teams, at least in the quarterback position, even if they're not making stupendous plays, just don't screw things up. Maybe that's good enough for six or seven wins.

Starting point is 00:11:45 I mean, Iowa's had that recipe for better defense than that. that but like you know there have been teams who've had that recipe and are going to bowl games each and every year and i wouldn't hate if that's the case for kansas this season all right uh how does the five and five the new passage the new rule from the nc w a how does that affect the kansas football team both in the now and the future of the building of the program we're brought to you by fandual sports book the biggest stage in world soccer's here and every match feels like it has the potential for a memorable moment one goal can completely change the energy of a game shift momentum them alter the outcome in an instant.

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Starting point is 00:13:26 All right. So the five and five is the new rule coming from the NCAA that basically is this from when you start college. So if you're 17 or 18, whatever, you get five years. Or when you're 19, then it turns to that, you know, academic year of which you should be going to school when you're 19. But even if you're a 20 year old, it would start the year earlier, right? So I don't know the ages of some of these.

Starting point is 00:13:52 players to where could that have an impact? Is there anybody on KU who did start when they were 20 years old? Certainly, I think of the defensive tackle they added from Juco, Jalen Atkins, but the players who were already on the teams, there was a note in there that their grandfathered in, whichever works better for them eligibility-wise, the old structure, the current structure. So when I look at this, you look at the quarterback position and it doesn't really have a huge impact. Like either way, you were going to have multiple years for all these guys. The running back position, I think, is where you start to see it become a thing. Because with Yusinlis, he would have just been a true junior this year for Kansas.

Starting point is 00:14:31 Now he's a third year player who could potentially give you three seasons in Lawrence. Now, I think the big question there for Willis, he's had to do with some injury stuff, some concussion stuff. We saw that kind of wear down high shot a little bit. And you hope that Willis can stay healthy and everything. But that does give you the potential to get another year of him. Heck, Coriomachry, everybody's been raving about the young. true freshman running back. Well, now theoretically, you could have five years of a mockery. I mean, if he's as good as everybody's raving about, probably has an opportunity to, you know,

Starting point is 00:15:00 go pro before then, which is going to be weird that I guess you can go pro after your third year, and we're used to seeing it be the year before your last year. But anyway, point being, that is helpful for KU at the running back position. A helpful for KU at the receiver position. I think that means Nick McMillan and Nodze Cox can both have another year so they can both be with Kansas for two seasons. That would be big time for KU. I think it's big for Tate Nagy, too, who didn't really get much run on the offensive side of the football, played a lot as a put return man. But now basically, you know, because if you're Tate Nagy and you're like, ah, it stinks, I wasn't able to keep any year

Starting point is 00:15:35 of eligibility and I wasn't able to get a red shirt for last year because I was just playing, you know, however many punt return snaps over the course of the season, probably less than 100, right? Or at least around there. But now he's like, well, now with the five and five, it's like last year was a red shirt for me anyway. So that's kind of cool for him. When you look the tight end position does not help KU at all there because Carter Moses, Layton Cure, Jalen Butler, not only are they seniors, they're all guys who

Starting point is 00:15:59 were like fifth or six year seniors, so they're gone after this year anyway. So it doesn't really help out in terms of that area. I guess it helps on both lines of scrimmage because you're, you know, in theory, most of the guys are going to get redshirted anyway, so now you don't have to have that conversation. And it's just

Starting point is 00:16:15 they get that extra year of development, which is obviously a good thing for KU. It doesn't really have a huge impact on anybody outside of that. Moving to the defensive side of the ball for the five and five and does have an impact on Alex Bray. Bray was set to be a true senior this year, the former Illinois transfer who was a rotational defensive end for Kansas last year. Well, now he can have this season and 2027 for Kansas because of the five and five. That's big time for him and to keep up on the defensive line. It's huge for Leroy Harris as well, who was set to be a true junior, who would only have

Starting point is 00:16:50 26 and 27 potentially. Now he can have three seasons, 26, 27, and 28. Now, with the hype that I believe in, Lee Roy Harris, I think he's a future pro. So, you know, maybe it just, he goes after year four or something like that. But that is at least in the realm of possibility now. Blake Harold will stay the same. Eamins Smalls. Here's the big one of Trayvon McAlpine. He's a fifth year player. And he might be out this season for the defensive tackle, who they brought in with high hopes to be a starter and an impact player from Tulane and before that Texas Tech. So theoretically, because the five and five, basically, there's no red shirts, there's no medical red shirts now.

Starting point is 00:17:30 It's just you get the five years. That could hurt McAlpine. But again, going back to that one exception about you can go with the old rules, I wonder if McAlpine would be able to be grandfathered into the old rules, get a medical redshirt for this year, and be back for another year if he's unable to play this upcoming season. That would be really nice for KU if it happened, but I don't know how possible that that would be. The linebacker position, it doesn't really help too much for KU. Most of the guys are just like fifth year seniors anyway. In the case of Quincy Davis, who is going to be a junior this

Starting point is 00:18:01 year, well, he's a redshirt junior. So he's, he has 26 and 27 regardless of which eligibility. But like Trey Lathen, Bam Crouch, Jibril Alameen, Geron Willis, all of those guys are year five players for KU. So they're not going to be able to get another year regardless. So it doesn't really impact that. But the good news is KU has a lot of young talent in the linebacker room that's going to be ready to, you know, take over the reins. I would think with like guys like Malachi Curveh and even some of the guys they have coming in in the upcoming class as well. You look at the corner position. It's helpful for Jalen Todd. He'll be a junior this upcoming season, which would have meant he would have 26 and 27. Now he was a third year player. So you have

Starting point is 00:18:42 have 27, 28. Now, the thing with Todd is you have to make sure, I mean, he could be good enough have a good enough season to go pro you can have a good enough season to transfer and get some big on iL offer though kU has done really well with um you know retaining players but that is intriguing that you could potentially have another year with him right that's obviously a good thing for k u um and then you also look to the safety position um not really affected corey gordon and mason ellis both years in their in their fifth year anyway so they're not getting an extra year out of it um when you look at um jaden harris he's in the same boat and then Christian Pritchett and Kijon Cummings-Colman, both guys that I believe already took a

Starting point is 00:19:21 redshirt. Although Pritchett, no, I think actually helps Pritchett. I think Pritchett will be a true junior. So he actually gets a year back as a part of this for KU as well. It obviously helps on the special teams front. Martin Connington was the kicker, I believe, was going to be, no, he would be a redshirt junior. So that won't have an impact on that one necessarily.

Starting point is 00:19:40 But I think overall, that's a lot of good impact for KU. And there's no guarantee that you keep every player that is going to have that extra year. But it gives you more options. It gives you the potential at more depth. And for a Kansas program that, as I've said, has done an excellent job at player retention under Lance Leipold. It's good to have the opportunity to bring a lot of players back because that has been in their wheelhouse during their time in the program. Some of the latest news, we found a destinations of some undrafted players for KU, some nice additions for KU volleyball, KU, softball and a big retention for KU baseball.

Starting point is 00:20:17 We'll get to all those next. You can join the Every Day or club to get the ad-free version of the show at locked on jhawks.com. Locked on jahawks. Supercast.com. All right, some of our latest news, Trey White, obviously Darren Peterson goes two in the draft. Trey White undrafted, but he gets picked up by the Miami Heat.

Starting point is 00:20:41 Now, I haven't seen what the contract is. And the same goes from Elvin Council, who got picked up by the New Orleans Pelicans. Good to see you got picked up by both. Now, there's a lot of different, you know, is it a summer league contract? Is it a 10-day, it's like 10-day exhibit contract or something where basically you got like a, you know, 10-day tryout with the team to try to make it on? Is it a, you know, training camp roster invite? Is it a two-way contract?

Starting point is 00:21:11 Is it a guaranteed undrafted deal? Like, there's a lot that they could potentially be. I think what you're really hoping for is to get at least the two-way deal. to where you know you're making some good money. Those guys can make close to a million dollars, depending how many NBA games they wind up playing versus the G League games they end up playing. But that'll be interesting to see. So counsel again to the Pelicans, White to the heat.

Starting point is 00:21:35 I'll say this, that's a good spot for Trey White, right? Like the heat just gave up a bunch of their depth to go get Yon to Sante de Kumpo, which means they're going to be counting on some younger, cheaper guys at the back end to maybe play some minutes over the course of the regular season. and they've done really well with undrafted players, it would not surprise me if Trey White winds up being, you know, kind of that like Jalen Wilson type who, and Jalen went in the second round of the draft,

Starting point is 00:21:59 but that kind of surprises some people and ends up, you know, building a nice start to his NBA career. Meanwhile, some commitment news for KU, KU Volley Balli Land, Sadie Bello. I don't know if that's the right way to pronounce both of those, but a class of 2028 outside hitter from Texas. Why is this such a big deal? Well, she's a top 10 overall recruit.

Starting point is 00:22:18 in the country, according to prepped volleyball. So big time addition for Matt Ulmer, and they are already rolling. Class of 2028, that is their fifth commit. Molly McGovern, who's a 6-2 pin hitter from Kansas City, Haley Tinell, a 6'3 middle blocker from Houston, Harper Broils, who's a really good DS in the USA Volleyball National Development Program, and then Ava Lane, who is a 5-foot-10 setter from Springfield, Missouri. So they've already got their fingerprints all over the class of 2028.

Starting point is 00:22:46 Meanwhile, KU softball had an addition as well, unlike KU volleyball, who's grabbing the future pieces. This is a right now piece because KU goes to the transfer portal to make a big edition with Jasmine Ramirez. She was with Utah State this past season. And as a freshman, Utah State, or she hit 313 with five home runs, had just 12 strikeouts and 150 at bats. Kansas obviously was an NCAA regional team this past season. So nice addition there to kind of bolster the lineup. And then the last bit of news here, really, really good retention news for KU baseball. It's not about a player.

Starting point is 00:23:25 It's about a coach. John Coyne, who is the mastermind behind it all for KU, unbelievable recruiter. And like I said this off air. I can't remember if I've said it on air. But if Dan Fitzgerald were to leave theoretically, at some point for another job, John Coyne would be my number one guy you call to give the job, right? You promote from within at that point. Well, he had some interest from some other big schools, Texas, Texas, A&M about their recruiting coordinator, ends up staying at Kansas. And I think as you

Starting point is 00:24:00 look at Fitzgerald Stain and Coimstain and somebody's play, like, it's not just about the financial commitment and what they're actually doing. I mean, that is a big part of it because you have to, it's one thing to say you're committed. It's another to show it in action and say, we're going to actually like start raising funds and build this you know indoor facility which Travis Goff has done but it also takes you know it's one thing for Travis Koff to to be like hey we are going to get this done we are fundraising it's another thing for the guys on the other side of traffic golf to fully believe that it will happen and believe the direction of the program and you can just tell that Travis Goff that John Coyne that Dan Fitzgerald that all these guys

Starting point is 00:24:36 believe in the vision that they are putting together as a team and that is really cool and I think a big reason why KU Baseball has had the success that they've had. All right. That'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcast, including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. See you next time.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - WINNING FORMULA? Is QB Play or Team Defense MORE IMPORTANT to Kansas Jayhawks Football in 2026?

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