As Kansas lined up in a huddle at the Oklahoma State 5-yard line, redshirt senior quarterback Jalon Daniels relayed a play call that followed the same theme as the previous nine playcalls: Hand the ball off to Leshon Williams.
“The more and more I got every single play call, I’m like ‘OK, bet, let’s go,'” Daniels said. “… That’s one thing about those running backs. As soon as they hear the chance to be able to get the ball, they’re eager to be able to run the ball no matter if they’re tired or not, because the only thing they hear in their head is a touchdown.”
Williams, a redshirt senior running back, carried the ball on all 10 plays of the Jayhawks’ final scoring drive, with the final one being a 5-yard touchdown. He finished with 77 yards and a score on 14 carries.
“That just gets me so excited, the fact that he can do that,” redshirt senior running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. said. “He’s damn near Superman to me — to carry the ball 10 times in a row is tough. And to get in the end zone, too. I’m proud of Leshon, man, he’s cold.”
Williams wasn’t the only beneficiary of run-centric play calling, as Hishaw carried the ball 14 times for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
Saturday’s 38-21 win over Oklahoma State was the first time that both Williams and Hishaw carried the ball more than 10 times each.
“The thing that I enjoy watching about both of them is that they’re not going to always go down on the first hit, and then they keep piles moving,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “Leshon has really good patience and vision and then hits things. Daniel is becoming more and more confident and trusting even his speed around the corner at times to make plays happen.
“We’re a better football team when they’re both healthy and on the field.”
Hishaw said the duo is “strong-headed” and have a lot of heart, which is a key to their ability to run through contact. To Hishaw, a lot of what makes a running back good at making those plays comes down to heart.
Kansas ran for 232 yards as a team against Oklahoma State. While the Cowboys are toward the bottom in the Big 12 in rush yards allowed per game, they showed improvement in the four games prior, which coincided with longtime former Kansas assistant coach Clint Bowen becoming the interim defensive coordinator. In those four games, the Cowboys allowed an average of 110.5 yards per game and just under three yards per attempt.
Hishaw and Williams averaged 4.6 and 5.5 yards per carry, respectively, and the Jayhawks as a team ran for 5.9 yards per carry, which included a 48-yard run by redshirt freshman quarterback Isaiah Marshall. As for what led them to their success, Hishaw credited the team’s preparation and offensive line.
“Just reading our keys and our O-line,” Hishaw said. “They really did a good job. We talked about it all week, and I believe they left it all out on the field.”
As both backs battled injuries through the start of the season, the Jayhawks haven’t had many opportunities to get both of the top running backs involved at the same time. Saturday was different, and it showed a potency that the Jayhawks can utilize throughout the remainder of the season.
Hishaw suffered an injury prior to the West Virginia game, the first conference game of the Jayhawks’ season. After a short appearance in that game, he left early and missed the following two games. He returned in the Texas Tech game, where he carried the ball eight times, and had a season-high 19 carries against Kansas State.
“I feel great,” Hishaw said. “In a football game, you know you’re going to get beat up. But we both feel good, and we’re ready for next week. I promise.”
Williams, on the other hand, was the main running back when Hishaw was injured at the start of the conference season. As Hishaw returned to action, though, Williams was banged up at times and only received seven carries across two games leading into Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State. That changed with the duo receiving 28 of 39 total carries on Saturday.
Having both veteran running backs back in the fold helps the Jayhawks maintain a dynamic rushing threat, and their abilities help open things up for the Jayhawks’ scrambling quarterbacks. To go with Marshall’s 48-yard run, Daniels ran for 28 yards on six carries.
To have both backs be their healthiest since the season opener bodes well for the Kansas run game as the team enters the final stretch of the regular season.
“It’s the most healthy the two of them have been since the opening game of the season, and now that you’re at this stage between practice reps and where they’re going to have them both healthy going down this final stretch will be very important for us,” Leipold said.
