Kansas football begins Lance Leipold’s first spring practices with ‘big sense of pride’

By Zac Boyer     Mar 1, 2022

Chance Parker
Kansas coach Lance Leipold observes his team practice at the indoor practice facility on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.

Safety Kenny Logan Jr. and his Kansas football teammates had to navigate the expectations and demands of a new coaching staff during the fall.

But nearly a year removed from the transition from Les Miles to Lance Leipold, Logan has grown so comfortable with what he’s being asked to do that he has no problem serving as a teacher and a leader.

“Now, it’s kind of second nature,” Logan said Tuesday morning. “I got my feet wet last year with everything, so now, it’s kind of like coaching the younger guys, coaching the new guys and players coming in. Just trying to improve little stuff with my technique and inside the defense to help us get better.”

That “little stuff” is what’s being addressed beginning this week as the Jayhawks take part in six weeks of spring practices.

No longer do most players have to learn concepts and schemes, as they did throughout last season. Those who are returning to the team are doing so to compete for playing time, earn starting roles and put themselves in position to succeed once the season begins in September.

That’s also true for Leipold and his assistants, who are much more familiar with their players after their first season in Kansas.

“You don’t really realize what you’re missing when you’re in the middle of fall camp, but to see this extra time — development time, meeting time, time to get fundamentals worked on, all those things — it’s been refreshing here these first couple days,” Leipold said.

Practices were held Monday and Tuesday, and 13 more will take place over a span of six weeks, though the team will adjourn for the nine-day period beginning March 12 when the university is on spring break. Those practices will lead up to the annual spring game, which will be held at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on April 9.

Players had been partaking in a strength and conditioning program that, under the guidance of Matt Gildersleeve, began in January. They’ve now pivoted to an NCAA-mandated 20 hours per week of football-related activities that includes film review and other instruction.

The spring usually offers a new coaching staff its first chance to work with players, but that wasn’t true for the Jayhawks. Leipold was hired on April 30, which meant it was not until players reconvened for the start of fall camp in August that he and his coaching staff could begin implementing their philosophies.

Kansas finished 2-10 last season and 1-8 in the Big 12 — another performance that many followers of the program have come to expect over the past decade-plus.

But it happened under unusual circumstances that stemmed from Miles’ departure on March 8, 2021, amid allegations of sexual misconduct dating to his time coaching at LSU.

Leipold, a six-time Division III national champion while the head coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater, was hired nearly two months after Miles’ departure following six seasons at Buffalo. He spoke to players for the first time the day before the spring game, then spent time during that game observing and being interviewed.

It’s clear, then, that his expectations at Kansas have been put in place.

“Practice has been really good, really sharp,” center Mike Novitsky said Tuesday. “We’re really getting out there, getting better every rep, and I see a lot of great effort from a lot of guys. Our culture is really starting to take off. There’s a big sense of pride and straining every day to get better.”

There’s also an opportunity to answer questions. Leipold has plenty, including the status of quarterback Jalon Daniels, who is recovering from an unspecified injury and will be limited over the first two weeks of practice, and who will replace wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter II, defensive end Kyron Johnson and safety Ricky Thomas, starters who were seniors last season.

Leipold said the goal for the spring is to “take another step in our program,” and while it seems vague, it may be the best goal the Jayhawks can muster. They need to develop quality depth at several positions, incorporate seven players who transferred from other Football Bowl Subdivision programs who are expected to hold key roles and, of course, reach a level of understanding that can only be achieved over time.

“I think our ways of going about it are starting to be shown,” Leipold said. “I hope they see another side of us that a lot of times, as you’re thrust into this thing, you’re looking at it and trying to build relationships — trust and motivate and get them to do things maybe they’re not always used to doing consistently.

“But, you know, as we tell them often, from myself throughout the staff, we’re allies in this. We’re there to get them to where they want to be as fast as they can, and I think they’re starting to understand that through this process.”

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