Kansas Jayhawks Spring Football Report: Day 3
The excitement around the football team is building during the spring season as the Kansas Jayhawks continue their first full spring slate under Head Coach Lance Liepold. The Jayhawks had their third spring practice on Thursday, as they get closer to the Kansas Football Spring Preview held on April 9th inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
The Jayhawks continue building up their football program by recruiting and utilizing the transfer portal. As more recruits commit to Kansas, the level of competition is elevated. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki spoke at the podium, and the theme of practice has been competition. Kotelnicki said, "we want every position in our program to have to compete to play." He continued saying, "we don't want anyone to start by default." The focus was on the quarterback position as redshirt senior quarterback Jason Bean, and junior Jalen Daniels will compete to win the starting job.
Here are some additional takeaways from today's press conference:
Competition and Development at the Quarterback Position
There are multiple battles for starting positions, especially the quarterback position. Kotelnicki said competition is "one of the main things spring football is all about." He continued to say when you think about "spring football, you think about competition and developing fundamentals, conceptual understanding, and if you have competition in your quarterback room, everybody sees that the most important position is competitive."
Kotelnicki was joined by quarterback Jason Bean and quarterback Jalon Daniels to speak with the media. Both quarterbacks fielded questions about health and touched on the position's competition. Daniels said, "I am just going into it with the same mindset as I did last year." He continued to say, "focusing on myself and just trying to get better as a quarterback."
Jason Bean also talked about the competition within the quarterback room, saying, "I think it has been great." He continued to say, "I am very excited to get back on the field and be around the guys."
Strength and Conditioning Gains
Strength coach Matt Gildersleeve continues getting praise for making the players stronger in the weight room, faster, and more athletic for the upcoming season. Head coach Lance Leipold talked about what Gildersleeve has provided the team saying, "I think our players again have really connected well with Matt and his staff and seeing the benefits of really his program and how he goes about a lot of the training. I think our players have taken another great step in understanding our value on nutrition and body weights and embracing how we go about that as another form of structure and accountability to allow them to reach their maximum potentials on the field and hopefully reach those goals even some sooner. And because of that, our players have been connecting all the dots of how we go about things here."
Kotelnicki was asked about Leipold's comments on quarterback Jalon Daniels looking different. He said, "I assume he means he is physically developed. His shoulders have gotten a little broader, and his chest has gotten a little big bigger." He chuckles as he states, "I'd like to think his smile's got a little bit nicer." He also proceeded to say, "he's developed physically for sure, and he's got perhaps a swagger or confidence about him."
