Trey Lathan Looks Like a New Player at Kansas Ahead of Matchup With West Virginia

West Virginia lost several players to the transfer portal this past offseason, but Kansas linebacker Trey Lathan is just one of two former Mountaineers they'll see this season. UCF wide receiver Ric'Darious "DayDay" Farmer will be the other here in a few weeks.

Lathan was a solid backer during his three years in Morgantown, although he was really just scratching the surface after having missed much of the 2023 season with a broken tibia in the win over TCU. He ended the season with 79 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble, but left a lot of plays out there.

So far through the first three games of this season, Lathan is playing some of his best ball for the Jayhawks. It's a small sample size, but he's performed much better in pass coverage, isn't missing as many tackles, and has been rock solid against the run.

How much better? Here's a look at his grades in each category, according to Pro Football Focus. The second number is his grade from last season at West Virginia.

Overall grade: 76.8 | 49.1

Against the run: 77.6 | 49.1

Pass rush: 62.7 | 60.9

Tackling: 74.8 | 54.8

Pass coverage: 71.6 | 51.2

This is one of those unique situations where the departure of a player ended up being the best of both worlds for both parties involved. Lathan got a fresh start and is playing extremely well in D.K. McDonald's system, arguably their best defender at this juncture.

As for West Virginia, they were able to replace his production with Colorado State transfer Chase Wilson and improved play from senior Reid Carrico and Ben Cutter. The top three backers for the Mountaineers have been the glue for this unit and will only continue to get better and more comfortable in Zac Alley's system as the season moves along.

West Virginia will kick things off against Lathan and the Jayhawks on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on FS1.

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