One day during spring football, Jalen Todd showed up late.
The early-enrolling cornerback had committed a faux pas that was, as head coach Lance Leipold put it straightforwardly, “not good in our program.”
“So Jalen was late and kind of heard about it,” Leipold said, “and from that day on, I think Jalen was in the building every day about like 6 a.m. and left at noon.”
The head coach summed it up as follows: “You don’t have to tell Jalen twice about something. It doesn’t mean he has it perfected, but he takes it to heart.”
That approach to learning and developing has the true freshman poised to seize some sort of role in his first season in Lawrence.
Former LSU transfer Damarius McGhee, with his own recent improvement, may be the favorite for the nickel spot behind Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson. But as McGhee himself put it: “Keep an eye on Jalen Todd.” And Leipold said he’s been “outstanding.”
Part of what makes Todd’s strong first impression so impressive is that for a while he was doing it while undersized — though he has since grown from 160 pounds to 195 while in Lawrence — and without being fully healthy.
“In the spring he was battling a shoulder injury, and now he’s 100% healthy, and so now you’re getting a chance to see the physical part that he wasn’t able to show in the spring,” co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach D.K. McDonald said. “He was able to show (that he was able) to backpedal, change directions, do all that good stuff, but now you’re getting to see a guy who can go and really wrap someone up and knock him sideways or backwards, which is fun to see.”
He’s also playing with more confidence, McDonald added, because of the body transformation: “You look at yourself in the mirror all greased up and you have 20 pounds on you … When you’re 18 and you put on 20 pounds of muscle, that really means a lot to you.”
Todd was one of the Jayhawks’ highest-ranked commitments in the 2024 class, among a trio of cornerbacks that also includes Austin Alexander and Aundre Gibson.
Importantly, though, he was the only one to enroll early.
“It was a really big advantage, I feel like,” Todd said, “just (for) my weight and coming in the spring ball, and learning the plays, and stuff like that.”
Todd had chosen KU in the first place for a few key reasons.
“I came here to learn behind Cobee and Mello,” he said, “and I feel like them guys are really good NFL talent, so if I’m like, ‘If I come in, learn behind them, I can be the same as well.”
In addition, though, Todd’s high school teammate in Southfield, Michigan, quarterback Isaiah Marshall, had already been committed to KU for four months by the time Todd made his own decision in June 2023.
“We’ve been playing since we was about 6 years old,” Todd recalled. “So I was like, ‘I might as well come play with him again.'”
It ended up being beneficial for both to have a familiar face in Lawrence as they got acclimated to the college level.
“Him coming in with me, I feel comfortable and he felt comfortable too,” Marshall said. “… We kind of got through this together.”
One way the teammates haven’t quite connected? Todd has yet to pick off Marshall in practice, despite managing the occasional deflection.
“I had some PBUs, but he’s a really good quarterback as well,” Todd said.
Now, in the thick of fall camp, the outlook is sanguine for both former Southfield teammates. Marshall, whose coaches have frequently praised his even-keeled demeanor, is learning behind Jalon Daniels and will figure heavily into KU’s future plans. Todd, meanwhile, will attempt to play his way into early action for the Jayhawks.
Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall tosses the ball during fall camp on Monday, August 5, 2024, in Lawrence.
Kansas cornerback Jalen Todd stretches during warmups at fall camp on Monday, August 5, 2024, in Lawrence.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World