Of the 26 transfers that Kansas added across the winter and spring portal windows, 24 have debuted in KU’s first three games of the 2025 season.
Defensive tackle Gage Keys and linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr., however, still have yet to see game action after suffering injuries prior to the start of the season.
Both traveled and warmed up ahead of the Jayhawks’ road game at Missouri on Sept. 6, but following the conclusion of KU’s bye week, head coach Lance Leipold said simply that they “both have made progress” toward returning.
“Gage is further along than Joe in where that’ll play out, but it’s getting there,” Leipold said.
Keys returned to the Jayhawks in the winter after leaving Lawrence for one year to play at Auburn, a decision he regretted as he saw minimal time for the Tigers. In 2023 at KU, Keys played 301 defensive snaps and recorded 21 tackles and would have been poised to take on a bigger role before his departure.
When he eventually works his way back to action, Keys will likely do so as a depth piece valued for his pass-rush ability on third down. Under new defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald, the Jayhawks have been making use of more defensive tackles at once than in previous seasons, sometimes putting three on the field at the same time. Tommy Dunn Jr., D.J. Withers, Blake Herold, Kenean Caldwell and Marcus Calvin have been productive on the interior defensive line through three games.
Sipp, a native of Tampa, Florida, came to KU in the winter from Bowling Green (following his former teammate, the since graduated JB Brown), where he was a first-team All-MAC linebacker in 2024 as he recorded 79 tackles with 11.5 for loss and seven sacks. He has been seen wearing a brace on his right arm at KU’s recent games.
Sipp’s fellow middle linebacker, Trey Lathan, has risen to the occasion with stellar play early in the season, but the Jayhawks’ depth has been tested behind Lathan as a result of Sipp’s absence. After walk-on Ezra Vedral briefly played the No. 2 role, Jayson Gilliom returned from his own early-season injury and saw 10 defensive snaps in relief of Lathan in the Missouri game; given how many plays the Tigers ran, Lathan still had to play 76.
It could be another high-load day for KU’s defense on Saturday. West Virginia is running 74 plays per game and averages the second-fewest seconds per play in the nation (19.9, according to teamrankings.com).
“Both positions (defensive tackle and linebacker), against a team that’s going to run a lot of plays, depth is going to be an issue,” Leipold said. “… Utilizing depth in games like this is going to be important and guys have to be able to step up and play well.”
With Gilliom and fellow linebacker Bangally Kamara back in the lineup as of the Missouri game, Sipp and Keys now become some of KU’s most prominent injured players.
On the other side of the ball, receiver Cam Pickett had a breakout first half of his KU career with six catches for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Fresno State on Aug. 23, but on the final catch shortly before halftime, he was spun down awkwardly by the Bulldogs’ Al’zillion Hamilton. Pickett grabbed at his left leg and then hobbled off the field soon afterward.
The redshirt junior receiver, who transferred from Ball State, has four catches for 47 yards in the two games since, but has only played a combined 24 snaps. Leipold acknowledged on Monday that Pickett has not been operating at full strength.
“We kind of keep working through it,” he said. “I commend him because he continues to work through some of it. He’s one of the guys that we limited last week and hopefully we can get him closer to 100% by Saturday.”
Interested parties will have a clearer indication than usual of who is likely to play on Saturday because for the first time, KU will have to release a player availability report that describes players as available, probable, questionable, doubtful or out. It is a new policy implemented by the Big 12 Conference for league games.
The first report is expected late Wednesday night, and KU will release successive reports on Thursday, Friday and 90 minutes before Saturday’s 5 p.m. kickoff.
