Notebook: Former Buffalo players weren’t gifted starting roles on KU football defense

By Benton Smith     Aug 12, 2021

Nick Krug
Defensive Coordinator Brian Borland talks with media members on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at the Anderson Family Football Complex.

When the Kansas football program opened preseason camp this past week, defensive coordinator Brian Borland considered it a perk that he could look around and spot three former Buffalo players whom he coached at UB in the spring.

But Borland said neither defensive linemen Eddie Wilson and Ronald McGee, nor linebacker Rich Miller were receiving “any kind of special treatment” because they played for head coach Lance Leipold and his staff before they all got to KU.

“If you look at how they take reps, they’ve taken reps down near the bottom of their position group,” Borland said a few days into camp. “Hey, everything has got to be earned and nothing is going to be given.”

Wilson, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive lineman, provided 21 total tackles and a sack in a pandemic-shortened seven-game season for Borland’s defense at UB in 2020.

McGee, a 6-3, 290-pound defensive tackle, only appeared in four games in 2020 due to some injuries but is a player Borland thinks has a lot of ability.

Both Wilson and McGee are listed on the roster as seniors, but Leipold said with the help of the NCAA’s blanket waiver for an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, he expects both to play at KU for two years.

Miller, a 6-1, 225-pound junior, played in all seven of the Bulls’ games as a backup during their 6-1 2020 season, and was considered a valuable reserve.

“They do have the benefit probably of knowing certain things and having a degree of comfortability that maybe some other guys don’t,” Borland said of Wilson, McGee and Miller. “But I really believe they’ve done a heck of a job of being unselfish and really trying to help guys out at their position and maybe just the whole, defensively. They’ve really embraced that and have jumped into that.”

Borland said he admired the approach the former UB players were taking now that they’re members of KU’s defense.

“But they’re not just jumping in and running with the starters,” he reiterated.

Johnson on watch list

The Reese’s Senior Bowl unveiled Thursday its annual preseason watch list, and the name of one Jayhawk, super-senior Kyron Johnson, made the cut.

The college football postseason all-star game often is a springboard to the NFL draft. Official invites to participate typically come late in the college football season.

A fifth-year Jayhawk who decided to use his extra year of eligibility at KU, Johnson will play defensive end this fall, after spending some time at outside linebacker previously. Listed at 6-1 and 235 pounds, Johnson has drawn praise this preseason from both staff and teammates for his athleticism.

Johnson played in all nine games for KU in 2020, finishing second on the team with 42 total tackles and making a team-leading three sacks.

Unavailable list remains same

The KU football team’s unavailable list for Thursday’s practice, the seventh of preseason camp, had the same three names on it for the fourth practice in a row: junior running back Velton Gardner, sophomore defensive end Steven Parker and redshirt freshman linebacker Alonso Person.

Neither Gardner nor Parker have practiced at all for KU so far this August. Person, one of nine players to be listed as unavailable on the first day of camp, at least was able to suit up for two days before returning to the list on Sunday.

Prunty back in portal

Former KU starting cornerback Karon Prunty’s time at South Carolina has ended before his first season in the SEC even had a chance to begin.

News of Prunty yet again putting his name in the NCAA’s transfer portal came out of Columbia, S.C., on Thursday.

It was just more than two months ago that Prunty left KU via the portal and ultimately landed with the Gamecocks after spending the spring practicing with the Jayhawks.

Prunty, a breakout star for KU as a true freshman in 2020, participated in preseason camp with South Carolina before leaving the program unexpectedly, reportedly due to undisclosed personal reasons.

‘Hawk Talk’ returning soon

The KU athletic department’s radio show, “Hawk Talk,” will return to the airwaves and streaming devices just ahead of the Jayhawks’ season opener.

The weekly hour-long show, hosted by Brian Hanni, will be back with Leipold, beginning on Aug. 31. The first two shows of the season will be recorded on Tuesdays, because the Jayhawks will play on back-to-back Friday nights to open the season.

Typically, “Hawk Talk” will broadcast live from Johnny’s Tavern West Lawrence on Wednesdays, with a few exceptions. Every show begins at 6 p.m.

“Hawk Talk” with Lance Leipold dates:

• Tuesday, Aug. 31

• Tuesday, Sept. 7

• Wednesday, Sept. 15

• Wednesday, Sept. 22

• Wednesday, Sept. 29

• Wednesday, Oct. 6

• Wednesday, Oct. 13

• Wednesday, Oct. 20

• Wednesday, Oct. 27

• Tuesday, Nov. 2

• Wednesday, Nov. 10

• Wednesday, Nov. 17

• Tuesday, Nov. 23

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