Skip to main content

21 Days to Kansas Football: Camp Update - Reed-Adams, Berryhill among most improved

The last few days of camp press conferences have highlighted big improvements from the offensive line and linebackers.
  • Author:
  • Updated:
    Original:

In our positional previews, there were a couple positions that have stood out so far as ones that needed to see big improvements coming from last season. One was so thin that other positions on the defense were routinely covering for them. The other was the backbone of the offense, and slowly improved over the course of the season.

This week, we've heard from the position coaches at both of those positions. We got a lot of updates on individual players, and it seems like rotations are starting to come into focus. Here are some takeaways from the last few days of practice:

Taiwan Berryhill is the most improved linebacker, and Armaj Reed-Adams is making an impression.

The last couple of days have included some pretty big updates from across the two position groups that have been highlighted. And some of those updates have included players that I was not expecting getting specific mentions for their contributions.

Up first is Taiwan Berryhill. Linebacker coach Chris Simpson noted that Berryhill was the most improved linebacker in the entire group, without any hint of hesitation. He already appeared in all 12 games last season, and if he continues to be this impressive, he make shake up the projected lineup from my positional preview.

For the offensive line, coach Scott Fuchs listed off a bunch of names that have improved by quite a bit this offseason. But the first one that he heaped praise on was Armaj Reed-Adams, who lost a decent amount of weight this offseason and looks more explosive and impressive in practice this fall. Bryce Cabeldue was mentioned as one who got a lot of reps last year, probably before he was ready for them. But they have an opportunity to build on that this year.

Effort is the most important trait.

Since Lance Leipold was hired, you can sum up what he has preached as the building blocks of his system with three words: Consistency, Effort and Fundamentals. And every coach that came to the podium this week talked about the importance of those ideas.

Specifically, the increased level of effort was a huge highlight, especially for Fuchs. When asked about his thoughts on practices and the scrimmage that happened earlier in camp, his immediate reaction was that "the effort has been good." He seemed especially please that "they understand that effort trumps technique. Playing hard is better than any technique that they can do."

This hails back to the idea of consistency that has been the rallying cry of Leipold's system at Buffalo and here at Kansas. A special technique or move that you learn isn't going to bail you out of every situation you find yourself in. But understanding the fundamentals and always giving maximum effort in executing them is the best way to build a program, and Fuchs was pleased to be able to say that "we're starting to see a lot more of that out of them."

Culture is still the key.

Earlier in the countdown, I talked about how the feeling around the program was different with Lance Leipold at the helm. And we also looked at the comments that Leipold made in a feature by ESPN's Bill Connelly. Earlier this week, Leipold was at it again, this time in an interview with guest host Ryan Leaf on the Rich Eisen Show.

Everything we've seen from this coaching staff shows the action he refers to. The constant talk about competition is backed up by acknowledging and highlighting the efforts of everyone. Last year, personnel decisions matched with the consistency that was preached.

Leipold talked early this week about what support looks like for the football program, and noted that it's not just the responsibility of the fans, but of the entire athletic department and even the entire school and community. 

The frequent visits from the head coaches of the other athletic programs at Kansas are perfect examples of the entire department support he talked about. And they mirror the same visits that Leipold made to support the other programs that played during the spring.

Join the discussion! Come talk about this or any of our articles on the Blue Wing Rising Discord Server.

Follow Blue Wings Rising on Twitter.

Listen to the official podcast of Blue Wings Rising: The Rock Chalk Podcast.