Kansas has a new co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, D.K. McDonald, who joined the staff in February after spending time with the Philadelphia Eagles.

McDonald, who coached at Iowa State, with the media on Sunday. He talked about which young corners are standing out, what he wants to see from Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson, and why he came to KU.

Which young corners are impressing?

Kansas has the obvious one-two punch at corner with Bryant and Dotson. Both are on the preseason All-Big 12 First Team and bring a lot of experience. The duo primarily plays on the outside, so there’s a lot of competition for the nickel/slot corner spot.

“I think we’ve got a multitude of guys who can go in there and play, and really play at a high level and that might be some guys future to help us out there,” McDonald said.

One of the guys standing out early is freshman Jalen Todd. The four-star recruit from Southfield, Mich. transformed his body since getting to campus, going from 160 to 195 pounds in 6 months. It’s helped him both on the field and from a confidence standpoint.

“When you're 18 and you put on 20 pounds of muscle, that really means a lot to you,” McDonald said. “So I think just from a confidence standpoint, he's feeling really good. And then, like I said, now when he puts his hands on people, you know, they really feel 190 pounds hitting him instead of 170. And that's a big difference, you know, and so you could see that on the field. Like I said, he's able now to knock some guys sideways backwards and he still has gained speed even from that, which is really good, too.”

McDonald said the sky was the limit for Todd and also mentioned Jacoby Davis and Jameel Croft as young players who have taken big jumps.

“They’ve done a good job, really, from a mental standpoint, just learn the defense, and therefore, you know, smarter football players are better football players,” McDonald said. “So they’re just becoming better because they’re becoming smarter. And you can tell a lot of those guys have really put in the work from you know, Jalen Todd, Jameel Croft, to Jacoby Davis. I mean, those guys have really done a good job off the field, and therefore, they’re playing a lot faster now that they’re back on the field.”

The next step for Bryant and Dotson

Improving off the field was another theme that emerged when talking about Kansas’ top two corners. McDonald said he wants to see the duo anticipate plays more than just guess.

“What they got to improve is just a lot of off-the-field habits, just how they study the game,” McDonald said. “Not to say that they don’t study football, but just studying a little better or becoming a little better so they can anticipate plays and not just guess on some plays, and there’s a difference between anticipating and guessing. And so the more they can anticipate and kind of see the whole picture and let the game slow down, the more plays [they] are going to make.”

McDonald said he wants to see Bryant and Dotson take another step because when they improve, so does the team. He also talked about how Dotson has grown as a leader. The theme of leaving the place better than you found it has surfaced multiple times this camp on a team with 30 seniors, and Dotson has been a part of that.

“He's done a great job of really helping these young guys out,” McDonald said. “And, you know, one of the big things we always talk about here at KU is leaving it better than we found it. And I know when, if he continues on the path he's doing about communicating with everybody, he's gonna leave it a lot better than he's found it because he has a lot of wisdom to share.

"So it's always good when those guys like him and Cobee, and I mean him, like I said, Cobee, OJ, you know, those guys got a lot of wisdom to share because they got some scars, and they got some rewards, too.”

What brought McDonald to KU

One of the major reasons that brought McDonald back to the college level was the opportunity to coach under Lance Leipold.

“I think it's what he's done throughout his career is just amazing,” McDonald said. “It kind of speaks for itself. So when you get [the] opportunity to kind of work with a guy like that and to get to learn from him, I think that’s really important.”

McDonald, who’s also worked under Nick Sirianni and Matt Campell, said he jumps at the opportunity to coach with great leaders.

“When these opportunities come up to work with guys who have so much wisdom and know how to win and know how to lead young men, I think that's a great opportunity that you’ve always got to jump at,” McDonald said. “And me and my family thought it was the best thing for us to come here and continue to learn and continue to progress, and it’s also good to be here and help coach secondary.”

Practicing at Children’s Mercy Park

McDonald said it was a good learning experience for the team to practice at Children’s Mercy Park on Friday. He said it was important for the team to see the stadium before its first game so they don’t get caught up in the atmosphere.

“You don't want to go into a situation for the first time and be caught up in the lights and oohs and ahhs,” McDonald said. “You want to get that all out of the way. And so I think that was very good. You know, just a change of stimulus is always good for guys.”

While it might not have been the team’s best practice, the experience can still prove beneficial for the team going forward.

“We probably didn't respond the way that we should have in the practice, but that's a lesson learned,” McDonald said. “And you rather bleed and battle than die in the war. And, you know, it was something that we had to learn, and now we can go out when we play in the game and put our best foot forward and go out and play good against Lindenwood.”