Kansas RB Devin Neal named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week

By Matt Tait     Nov 7, 2022

Nick Krug
Kansas running back Devin Neal (4) cuts up the field past Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon (0) during the first quarter on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 at Memorial Stadium.

Kansas running back Devin Neal’s monster performance in KU’s win over Oklahoma State earned him the Big 12 Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week honor on Monday.

Neal, who hails from Lawrence, finished with 324 combined yards in a 37-16 victory that made the Jayhawks bowl eligible for the first time since the 2008 season.

He became the first player in KU history to rush for more than 200 yards (224 yards on 32 carries) and receive for more than 100 (110 yards on six catches) in the same game. His 334 combined yards are the most by a single player since Tony Sands’ combined for 398 (396 rushing, 2 receiving) in 1991.

“A complete-back type day,” KU coach Lance Leipold called it on Monday. “Rushing, receiving, protecting; he really carried the load for us.”

KU now has had two players earn the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week honor in the same season for the first time in program history.

Neal joins injured quarterback Jalon Daniels, who was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 19 following KU’s win over Houston.

Kansas defensive standouts Lonnie Phelps Jr., and Cobee Bryant also earned the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week honor earlier this season.

Kickoff for Texas still TBD

The Big 12 announced Monday that start times for all five of its Nov. 19 games are being held for six-day selections by the conference’s television partners.

Kickoff times and TV designations for those games, which includes KU’s final home game of the season against Texas, will be announced after this weekend’s games.

After a string of 11 a.m. games, KU played Oklahoma State at 2:30 p.m. last Saturday and will play at Texas Tech at 6 p.m. this Saturday.

Injury updates

Leipold did not offer much in the way of injury updates on Monday other than to confirm that “it’s a growing list.”

While KU got cornerback Cobee Bryant and wideout Luke Grimm back from injury for last week’s win over Oklahoma State, several Jayhawks went down during the OSU game, as well. Included among them were: Sam Burt, Earl Bostick Jr., and Lonnie Phelps Jr.

“It seemed like somebody on one side of the ball or the other was down every 8-10 plays,” Leipold said Monday. ” (That’s) pretty consistent, unfortunately, in college football. Who and when they’re available we’ll see as the week goes. Today, we had to modify a lot of things that we normally do on a Monday to try to get more walking and teaching and installation versus maybe full speed.”

Injured starting QB Jalon Daniels was in uniform again last Saturday, and he went through some light pregame warm-ups and was pretty animated on the field throughout the game. But he did not play, and still has not played since injuring his shoulder late in the first half of KU’s loss to TCU on Oct. 8.

Back in the polls (sort of)

Last Saturday’s win over then-No. 18 Oklahoma State not only snapped a 3-game KU losing streak, but it also led to the Jayhawks’ return to the national polls.

Although KU has not cracked the Top 25 in either the Associated Press or USA Today Coaches poll, the Jayhawks are receiving votes again. With 10 points, KU is essentially 32nd in the AP poll — just behind unranked Oklahoma State (21 points) and Baylor (19) — and No. 33 in the coaches poll, with 12 points.

Earlier this season, KU returned to the AP Top 25 for the first time in more than a decade, peaking at No. 19 after both the 5-0 start and tough loss to TCU in Week 6. The Horned Frogs are still unbeaten and up to No. 4 in both major polls.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.