Most Crucial Jayhawks 2016: No. 19 – DE Damani Mosby

By Staff     Jun 28, 2016

article image
Kansas junior defensive end Damani Mosby (#13), photographed at a KU football media day event Saturday August 8, 2015.

It’s more pass rushing on the list of the 25 most crucial Jayhawks for the 2016 season today, because, in the Big 12 Conference, stopping the pass (or at least slowing it down), either in the secondary or at the point of release, is a critical part of slowing down some of the country’s best and most explosive offenses.

Last week, at No. 21, we saw senior defensive end Anthony Olobia’s name pop up on this list. And today it’s the man Olobia is battling with for a starting job who is our featured Jayhawk.

Both are coming off of 2015 seasons in which they showed flashes of great ability and it’ll likely come down to the one who’s most consistent getting the starting nod and more reps. Both will play, however, and both need to have strong seasons to help this KU team climb out of the cellar.

**Reminder:** This is not a list of the 25 best players on this year’s team. That would be much easier to pinpoint and, while still key, would not exactly demonstrate the full value that each player has in regard to the 2016 season.

This is a list of the 25 players who need to have strong seasons in order for the Jayhawks to have a chance to compete.

Matt Tait and I came up with the list by each making our own list of 25 and then combining the results. We did the same thing for the last two years, but the amount of fresh faces made this list much tougher to put together.

Track the list every weekday at KUsports.com, where we’ll unveil the list one-by-one in reverse order. And, in case you miss some, be sure to check the links at the bottom of each entry for an up-to-date look at the list of 25.

19. Damani Mosby, Sr. Defensive End
———————–

An explosive first step immediately caught the coaching staff’s eyes and Mosby used that step to get around KU’s offensive tackles and into the backfield regularly throughout the 2015 spring football season.

But when the Big 12 portion of the schedule arrived, Mosby faced bigger, quicker bodies in games than those who competed against in practice and at times, such as against the behemoths from Oklahoma and Texas, he looked overwhelmed by the sheer size of the blockers.

He played last season at 239 pounds and logged just 1.5 sacks in 10 games, including three starts. He didn’t meet expectations, so it was time to shift to Plan B.

Mosby put on 19 pounds in the offseason and is listed at 258 pounds. The challenge now becomes restoring the explosiveness he showed at a much lighter weight.

His best game during the 2015 season came late, when he totaled four solo tackles, including a sack, and two assists against TCU. He showed in that game, vs. strong competition, what he could do for the Kansas defense when he is able to turn his explosive first step into strong plays from start to finish.

Mosby and Anthony Olobia are in their third seasons at Kansas, where they both redshirted in their first seasons after two-year junior college careers.

Fellow defensive end Dorance Armstrong is as good an NFL prospect as Kansas has on its roster and the potential for big sophomore season from him has a better shot at becoming reality if Mosby and/or Olobia bring heat on the quarterback from the other edge.

If Mosby can become a disruptive enough force to make the opposing quarterback hurry, thus doing a huge favor to the secondary, KU has a shot to stay in more games into the fourth quarter.

**Top 25 Most Crucial Jayhawks of 2016:**

No. 25 – OL Jayson Rhodes

No. 24 – CB Kyle Mayberry

No. 23 – OL Joe Gibson

No. 22 – WR Steven Sims, Jr.

No. 21 – DE Anthony Olobia

No. 20 – RB Denzell Evans

PREV POST

Lawrence swimmer Michael Andrew in finals of Olympic Trials

NEXT POST

49097Most Crucial Jayhawks 2016: No. 19 – DE Damani Mosby