Kansas Football RB Legend Wishes He Could Play Against Missouri

When Kansas takes on Missouri this Saturday in Columbia, Missouri, it will be the first Border War matchup for a generation of Jayhawk fans as they witness these two teams play one another on the football field for the first time in 14 years.

Many of these kids grew up not knowing what this game truly means to both schools and why the impact of this matchup extends beyond your traditional rivalry.

But there’s one person in particular who understands the weight of this rivalry, and he happens to be KU’s most decorated running back of all time.

In a press conference on Monday, head coach Lance Leipold said that former Jayhawk Devin Neal expressed to him his desire to play in this game on Saturday.

“Devin did ask if he could come back and play this game,” Leipold said. “He said it to me walking off the field Friday night. He goes, ‘I’ll even come back as a walk-on.’”

Lance Leipold says #Saints rookie RB Devin Neal jokingly asked him last Friday if he could come back to play against Mizzou this weekend:

"He said it to me walking off the field... he goes 'I'll even come back as a walk-on'"😂

Courtesy: KU Athletics #kufball pic.twitter.com/IIHFXfnJVB
— Noah Sacco (@NoahSaccoTV) September 2, 2025

Although Neal likely said it jokingly, the sentiment shows just how important this rivalry is to so many fans who grew up watching these two teams battle it out year after year.

And it’s unfortunate that someone like Neal, who grew up in Lawrence as a KU fan before playing for his hometown team, didn’t get the chance to suit up against the Tigers because there’s a good chance he would have played with some extra motivation to get that win, much like one of his predecessors did before him.

One of the greatest individual performances ever in a KU uniform came on Nov. 23, 1991, when Kansas Ring of Honor running back Tony Sands rushed 58 times for 396 yards and four touchdowns in a 53-29 victory over Missouri in Lawrence. The 58 rushing attempts remain an NCAA record, and the 396 yards rushing remains a KU school record to this day.

Sands held several KU rushing records by the time he left Lawrence following the 1991 season, but Neal surpassed many of them during his remarkable senior season in 2024.

Neal passed Sands’ rushing total of 3,788 yards on Oct. 26 last year to take second place on the all-time rushing list in KU history before taking the No. 1 spot from June Henley a couple weeks later. That same day Neal passed Henley, he also broke Sands’ school record of 17 games with at least 100 yards rushing – ending up with 20 overall when his KU career ended last November.

Neal’s KU career was historic, and one can only imagine what type of history he might have made if given the chance to suit up against Missouri.

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