Football remains a long way away, but rookie minicamp season is in full swing, and two additional Jayhawks have earned recent opportunities to prove their worth to NFL teams.
Longtime Kansas running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. has been invited to the Kansas City Chiefs’ rookie minicamp that begins on Friday, while both Hishaw and tight end DeShawn Hanika have received invitations to the Indianapolis Colts’ minicamp beginning on May 8. KU announced both pieces of news on its social media accounts.
Hishaw, originally from Moore, Oklahoma, spent six seasons with the Jayhawks and fought through several health issues, such as a season-ending hip injury that cut short what could have been his breakout season in 2022. A bruising, powerful runner, for much of his career he served as a complementary back to KU’s all-time leading rusher Devin Neal, a capacity in which he racked up 626 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023, including a career-best 134-yard, two-touchdown performance against UCF that year.
Hishaw missed some late-season action in 2024 due to a family matter but came back as the Jayhawks’ first-choice running back for the first time in 2025, though in some cases split time with Iowa transfer Leshon Williams (who is headed to the minicamp of his hometown Chicago Bears). Hishaw finished his sixth collegiate campaign with 124 carries for 587 yards and five touchdowns.
He was one of numerous Jayhawks to take part in the Chiefs’ “local pro day” event on April 7, and clearly made enough of an impression to earn a chance at minicamp. He also took part in KU’s own pro day in March, where he recorded a 37-inch broad jump; 10-foot, 3-inch vertical jump; 27 bench-press repetitions; and a 4.73-second 40-yard dash, among other measurements.
Hanika is one of a handful of KU players to receive opportunities from the Colts, whose general manager Chris Ballard is the father of KU quarterback Cole Ballard, in recent years. A Topeka native listed at 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, Hanika started his career at Butler Community College, then spent several years at Iowa State. After the 2022 season, in which he caught 17 passes for 244 yards, he did not get to experience a lot of on-field action in the years that followed. First he sat out 2023 at ISU amid a state gambling investigation (he had a misdemeanor charge for tampering with records dismissed). Then he transferred to KU in 2024 but tore his Achilles tendon and missed the season.
He entered 2025 as one of the Jayhawks’ top tight ends and started strong, including with six catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns against rival Missouri. But at the start of his fifth game of the year against Cincinnati, he suffered another season-ending leg injury.
Hanika worked his way back into action in time to work out at KU’s pro day. He posted a 32-inch vertical, 19 reps on the bench press and a 4.95-second 40-yard dash.
In receiving minicamp opportunities, Hishaw and Hanika join Williams, guard Kobe Baynes (New York Jets and Tennessee Titans) and cornerback D.J. Graham II (New York Giants). Offensive lineman Enrique Cruz Jr. (fifth round, San Francisco 49ers) and wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (sixth round, Seattle Seahawks) were drafted, and defensive tackle Tommy Dunn Jr. (Dallas Cowboys), quarterback Jalon Daniels (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), kicker Laith Marjan (Pittsburgh Steelers), wide receiver Levi Wentz (Seattle) and defensive tackle D.J. Withers (Dallas) signed as undrafted free agents.
Kansas tight end DeShawn Hanika runs downfield after catching a pass during Kansas Football’s pro day on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at the Anderson Football Complex in Lawrence.
Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World