In his early days at Kansas, assistant coach D.K. McDonald earned respect from his cornerbacks based on his NFL resume.
“He was teaching grown men and those are the shoes that I want to be in,” senior Mello Dotson said in the spring.
As the months have drawn on since his hiring in February, though, the former Philadelphia Eagles and Iowa State assistant has been able to extend his influence beyond one position group.
“I’ve really kind of given that whole secondary over to him, and he’s coaching those positions back there,” defensive coordinator Brian Borland said, and added with a smile: “I don’t even know what I’m doing at practice, I’m walking around and trying not to get in the way, I guess.”
Borland has traditionally served as the safeties coach within his broader responsibilities as coordinator. The decision to allow McDonald to exert some level of control over the entire defensive backfield demonstrates, as McDonald put it, “the trust that coach Leipold and coach Borland have in me to be able to coach that whole back end to the standard to which we play here at KU.”
“My past has been coaching the whole back end, so it’s really nothing new, it’s just something I’ve always done,” McDonald said, “and sometimes it’s good just to have one voice in there so everybody can hear the same message and all be on the same page.”
And the ultimate result is that a wider swath of Jayhawk players are benefiting from what head coach Lance Leipold called his “demanding and fair” approach to coaching, as well as his NFL experience.
“I talk to (McDonald) a lot about that, for real,” sixth-year senior safety Marvin Grant said. “He always be on me about, you know, it’s my last year and everything, so you know, time (is) ticking … He’s actually forcing me to be more vocal and more of a leader and all that, so I feel like he’s a great piece to our team.”
Elsewhere in the position group, fellow safety Devin Dye said McDonald has provided “little tips” to help players “expect certain things and just play fast,” which echoes a similar comment of Borland’s: “He’s done a really good job with formations and alignments within formations and giving you the answers to the test by how they line up sometimes. We’ve taken big steps in that area.”
Discussing McDonald’s responsibilities, Leipold cautioned against interpreting his work with the safeties as a big change from KU’s status quo or believing it “never was done before.” He noted that last year, McDonald’s predecessor Jordan Peterson would meet with all defensive backs before they split off into different groups.
The result, regardless, is a positive for the Jayhawks’ defense: even beyond the chance for McDonald to spread his knowledge, it means more oversight for Borland into a broader array of position groups.
“Right now, it’s allowed to Brian to do more front-seven observation, which I’ve always tried to encourage him (to do),” Leipold said. “This will give us a chance for him to see how guys are doing and working and coaching and how it’s being coached.”
In all, he added, Borland and analyst Brandon Shelby, a longtime Indiana assistant, will have a chance to work with McDonald’s nominal position group, the cornerbacks, as well.
“They’re all in the room,” he said. “They’re all on the same page.”
And they are all feeling the effects of a new and accomplished coach in the fold.
“He knows kind of the ins and outs of the league and all that,” safety Mason Ellis said, “so kind of bringing that here, it’s very fun.”
Added Grant: “He always just be on me about being on top of everything … just keeping it real with me, which I like to hear, and which I need to hear. I’m a big fan of his coaching style, because pretty much my whole life that’s the type of coaching I always been brought up on, so it’s perfect for me and how I learn and everything.”
Kansas safety Marvin Grant defends against wide receiver Keaton Kubecka during practice on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Lawrence.
Missy Minear/Kansas Athletics
Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World