Phoenix — Kansas running back and Lawrence native Devin Neal just closed the curtain on a 1,280-yard, 16-touchdown junior campaign, but he may have an encore performance still to come.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported just over an hour prior to kickoff of Tuesday night’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl that Neal had told the KU coaching staff he intends to return for the 2024 season.
Neal ran 20 times for 71 yards and a touchdown — actually one of his lesser performances on the year — in the 49-36 win over the Rebels, meaning he has 3,077 career rushing yards and would need only 765 next season to overtake June Henley as the school’s all-time leading rusher. He currently trails Henley, Tony Sands and James Sims after passing Laverne Smith (3,074) during the bowl game.
Neal also only needs nine touchdowns to pass Henley for the all-time lead in rushing scores.
The junior was not one of the three players who spoke to media during the postgame press conference. Head coach Lance Leipold, who had listed Neal as one of several offensive players who made key contributions down the stretch in Tuesday’s game, was asked if Neal planned to come back, and said it was a question for Neal himself.
“I’ll defer those to him,” Leipold said.
The Lawrence native has frequently spoken in the past about his desire to leave behind a legacy at his hometown program. While his impact is evident even after just three seasons and two bowl bids with the Jayhawks — plus Tuesday’s win, the first for the program in 15 years — he could also choose to use a fourth to help elevate KU to even greater heights.
He would be doing so along with an extremely familiar returning core of offensive talent that also includes quarterback Jalon Daniels, running back Daniel Hishaw Jr., wide receivers Lawrence Arnold, Luke Grimm and Quentin Skinner and tight end Jared Casey.