The Kansas football team’s running back room has taken a significant blow, but reinforcements are on the way.
Syracuse transfer Yasin Willis suffered an injury during KU’s loss to Arizona State in London on Sept. 19 and wore a walking boot on the sideline during the second half.
Head coach Lance Leipold announced on Monday that Willis has undergone surgery and will be out indefinitely, with a return this season “probably leaning toward doubtful.” He had 27 carries for 125 yards and two touchdowns this year.
That means that with Justin Thurman already out for the year and Kory Amachree dealing with his own long-term injury, “That’s three scholarship running backs that are out for the season, so it’s an unfortunate thing right now,” Leipold said.
Willis is a true junior and does have two more years of eligibility under the NCAA’s new system, but the NCAA has abolished medical redshirts going forward.
So what does the rest of the running back room look like?
The headliner will continue to be dynamic Kansas State transfer Dylan Edwards, who has carried the ball 30 times for 159 yards and caught nine passes for 68 yards. Edwards recorded 18 carries against the Sun Devils, which tied for the second-highest total of his four-year career. He will likely need to carry a heavier load than he has at any point previously.
“And I think Dylan really embraces that,” Leipold said. “He wants the touches, he wants the opportunities. Now, what do those touches look like and how are we going to do that? That can be in a lot of different ways, as we know.”
The Jayhawks will need to strike the right balance as they head into a stretch of nine straight games without a bye beginning on Saturday morning against Middle Tennessee.
“That’s going to be something that I’m sure it’s going to be a challenge and we’re going to have to be smart on total reps,” Lepiold said. “I don’t like using load management, but there’s probably something to that. We’ll look at how much we continue to use him in kick return, things like that. Dylan’s going to have a big role in this program, just like we thought he would from the day he arrived.”
One element that could help Edwards shoulder the load is the return of Colorado State transfer Jalen Dupree. Dupree missed much of the offseason due to injury and got banged up in practice shortly before KU left for London, which limited him to special-teams reps against ASU. Leipold said he is “moving better now” and will be available going forward.
Beyond those two are a group of walk-ons headlined by Micah Johnson, who ran the ball twice against the Sun Devils, and scholarship reserve John Kelly. That’s why the Jayhawks are looking for unconventional solutions to beef up the room.
The big news on Monday was the addition of Kennesaw State transfer Chase Belcher, a fifth-year player who earned eligibility via an injunction in Indiana. Belcher has 242 carries for 1,299 yards and 49 catches for 530 yards, as well as 12 total touchdowns, across four seasons spent at Northern Arizona, West Georgia and with the Owls.
Leipold added that safety Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman has moved over to running back and taken some reps at the position.
“We’ll continue to evaluate that situation to add to depth in that room,” he said.
Cummings-Coleman, an Iowa State transfer, has not been much of a factor for KU on defense in the early stages of the year. He played six snaps on that side of the ball against Long Island and none against either Missouri or Long Island, serving primarily as a special-teams player. That has a lot to do with the recent rise of Mississippi State transfer cornerback Elijah Cannon as the starting nickel back, with Leipold calling him “one of the bigger surprises, I think, in our program right now.”
As a senior at Coon Rapids High School in Minnesota, Cummings-Coleman set school records for single-season and single-game receiving yards while also rushing the ball 31 times for 207 yards. He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds.
Defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald has said he wants to bring along a second nickel back to join Cannon at the position. Taking Cummings-Coleman out of the running could mean more opportunities there for players like Mason Ellis and Syeed Gibbs, when healthy.
