24 Days to Kansas Football: Caleb Sampson, Luke Grimm lead deep groups.
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Fall camp is a time of hope, when every position is still locked in very serious competition and every player still has hope of playing significant minutes in the upcoming year. But usually the second week is when players start to separate themselves and earn significant playing time over others at the position.
But in two days of press conferences, we have heard from position coaches at two crucial positions. They also happen to be positions that have a lot of unproven players looking to make an impression. Here are some takeaways from the last few days of practice:
Caleb Sampson is impressing, but the defensive line is deep.
The Monday press conference featured both Lance Leipold and defensive tackles coach Jim Panagos. Panagos was asked about which defensive lineman were impressing him, and he started to rattle off multiple names. However, he specifically singled out DE Caleb Sampson and DT Sam Burt.
Based on his comments, it seems likely that Panagos and Taiwo Onatolu will work collaboratively on coaching the defensive line this season, but it was particularly encouraging to hear that the two super-seniors were taking a leading role in helping to push the team forward.
During his time with the media, he was asked about the competition that was happening at both defensive line positions and if anyone had established themselves as a frontrunner. His response included a statement that he will play as many guys as they feel can help the team. He even mentioned that he has in the past had 12 or 13 guys share snaps throughout the season.
Panagos made sure to highlight the attitudes of the players, as they all seem to be working unselfishly to find ways to help prepare each other to help the team. Burt was highlighted as a guy who was prepared to do everything he could to help the team, even if that meant he didn't get a lot of playing time.
But the main takeaway is that they have a lot of guys who are impressing, and fans should expect to see a large rotation of players along the defensive line this season.
The Wide Receiver Room is young but talented.
As part of our wide receiver positional preview, I mentioned that there was not a true #1 receiver returning to the Jayhawks this season, with Kwamie Lassiter now with the Cincinnati Bengals.
But what they do have is a stable of young guys that all have limited experience in high-leverage situations. Luke Grimm and LJ Arnold are the early favorites to become that "go-to" receiver for QB Jalon Daniels, but wide receiver coach Terrance Samuel noted that they will likely need to fill that position out situationally with a collection of receivers.
Grimm was highlighted as a guy that is providing some early leadership in the room. But Samuel shared that the entire room is pushing each other to be better, something that was reiterated by Doug Emilien. Everyone in that room believes that they have something to contribute this year, and I would not be surprised to see six or seven receivers sharing the load equally this year.
Support for the team will have to be different now.
In years past, this has been the point in fall camp where the athletic director makes an impassioned plea with the fanbase to come out to the stadium on Saturdays because "the team is looking good and they really need you to cheer them on."
But the days of Jeff Long pep talks are over, and Lance Leipold made it clear that there are a lot of people that have to come together to properly support the school and football program.
While Leipold acknowledged it was his responsibility to keep the team engaged in getting prepared for the season, he did take some time to discuss how different support for the university and the football program is now.
"College athletics has changed drastically," Leipold said, "and the impact [of] what is needed, compared to what support used to be, is more important now."
And that support has to come from more than just the fans showing up at the stadium. With the ever-changing NIL landscape and realignment rumors running wild, the importance of shoring up the football program is a problem not just for this team, this coaching staff, or even just the athletic department.
Failure to increase the support for the program may lead to drastic consequences for the University of Kansas and the city of Lawrence as a whole, given how important college sports and conference affiliation has been to the school and this community.
That's not to say that everything is doomed if the football team doesn't win enough games this year to convince everyone that the program is "fixed", but instead an acknowledgement that the success of the football program (in fan support, economically and competitively), can have a big impact on everything surrounding them.
I'm not telling you that you have to buy tickets to go to the game, or buy a bunch of merchandise, or watch every second of every game. I understand how difficult some of those things can be. But the message from Leipold is that the entire Kansas Jayhawk community is important to the support of football, and in a way, the entire university.
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