As much talent as the Kansas football team has to replace on offense, it’s hardly in an easy position on the other side of the ball entering the offseason.
The Jayhawks have lost almost all of their linebacker production, with JB Brown, Cornell Wheeler and Taiwan Berryhill Jr. out of the picture, and will also move forward without a pair of multi-year consistent contributors at cornerback in Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson.
In the early days of the transfer portal, as of Thursday morning, they had stayed focused on these key positions with few exceptions.
Here’s more on some of the talent KU has pursued thus far. Note that the following list excludes several players who received previously reported scholarship offers in the earliest days of the offseason, even before the portal opened for most athletes, such as Citrus College linebacker Kyle Ferm, Northwest Missouri State defensive end Langden Kitchen and Brown cornerback Isaiah Reed.
Former South Carolina linebacker Bangally Kamara and returning defensive tackle Gage Keys, who was briefly at Auburn, are both already on board for next season at KU.
Linebacker
— Reginald Hughes, Jacksonville State
6-foot-2, 230 pounds, from Tunica, Mississippi
Notes: Hughes, an Ole Miss transfer who started at middle linebacker for the Gamecocks, racked up 83 tackles with 4.5 sacks. His agent Hutton Reed posted on X that Hughes had received an offer from KU.
Other interest: Hughes is set to visit Colorado and Kentucky, among several other offers about which Reed has posted.
Akron’s Bryan McCoy plays during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in East Lansing, Mich.
— Bryan McCoy, Akron
6-foot, 225 pounds, from Chicago
Notes: As the Zips’ middle linebacker, McCoy tied for eighth in the country with 120 total tackles. He finished the season with a PFF grade of 76 or higher in three straight games and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Other interest: McCoy, who said he “can’t wait to visit” KU, has also reported offers from Memphis and Oklahoma State.
— Alex Mitchell, Chattanooga
6-foot-1, 230 pounds, from Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Notes: One of KU’s most recent offers went to the rising senior Mitchell, who cleared the 100-tackle mark for the Mocs at the FCS level with two forced fumbles and two interceptions.
Other interest: Mitchell is slated to visit Oklahoma State, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to 247Sports.
Bowling Green linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr. (3) pursues a play on defense against the Akron during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Bowling Green, Ohio.
— Joseph Sipp Jr., Bowling Green
6-foot, 225 pounds, from Tampa, Florida
Notes: The Jayhawks had great success with one former BGSU linebacker, Brown, an all-conference honorable mention this season. Sipp played in 37 games in three years with the Falcons and had 75 tackles and six sacks on his way to first-team all-MAC honors in 2024.
Other interest: Arizona and Cincinnati are after Sipp, with UC as his first offer.
— Antarron Turner, Western Carolina
6-foot-2, 230 pounds, from Ocala, Florida
Notes: As a redshirt sophomore, Turner led the Catamounts with 55 tackles, including six for loss.
Other interest: KU was the first power-conference school to offer Turner, who has since received an offer from West Virginia as well.
Cornerback
— Tre Bell, Lindenwood
6-foot-3, 191 pounds, from Ballwin, Missouri
Notes: Bell actually intercepted Jalon Daniels in the season opener. That was his lone pick of his sophomore year, though he defended seven passes, recovered a fumble and tallied 24 tackles.
Other interest: Iowa State, West Virginia and some Group of Five schools have offered Bell.
— Jahlil Hurley, Alabama
6-foot-2, 170 pounds, from Florence, Alabama
Notes: Hurley has not publicly announced a scholarship offer from KU, but On3 reported on Wednesday that he will visit the school on Saturday. After redshirting his first year with the Crimson Tide, Hurley stuck around through a coaching change and played 80 combined snaps between defense and special teams. He was a top-five corner in the country out of high school.
Other interest: On3 has also reported visits to Michigan State and Missouri.
Miami (Ohio) defensive back Raion Strader (13) gestures during an NCAA college football game against Cincinnati, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, in Cincinnati.
— Raion Strader, Miami (Ohio)
6-foot, 180 pounds, from Pittsburgh
Notes: A first-team all-MAC cornerback this year who has already started 24 games in his first two collegiate seasons, Strader came on strong the second half of the 2024 season and finished with a PFF grade of 74.1.
Other interest: Strader is in very high demand, with four SEC offers, five out of the Big Ten and Cincinnati, Iowa State, Utah and West Virginia from the Big 12.
Sacramento State Hornets cornerback Zelmar Vedder (19) defends against the Stanford Cardinal in the fourth quarter during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 in Stanford, Calif.
— Zelmar Vedder, Sacramento State
6-foot-3, 193 pounds, from Manteca, California
Notes: Vedder started 10 games for the Hornets, none bigger than a matchup with Weber State in which he had a career-high seven tackles, picked off a pass and forced a fumble. He finished the season with 44 tackles and eight pass breakups. Vedder began his career at Modesto Junior College in 2021 and will be a redshirt senior next season.
Other interest: KU is Vedder’s lone power-conference offer, as he has also reported offers from Nevada and San Diego State.
Safety
— Lyrik Rawls, Oklahoma State
6-foot-1, 210 pounds, from Marshall, Texas
Notes: Rawls is the only safety to report a transfer offer from KU so far in this cycle, and is one of just a couple players the Jayhawks are targeting from within the Big 12. On Wednesday, he posted a video from his visit to campus. He missed most of 2023 due to injury while serving as a rotational player in 2024 and will be a fifth-year senior next season.
Other interest: To this point, KU is the only power-conference team to offer Rawls, joining Arkansas State, Eastern Michigan, FAU and UTEP.
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