Last Saturday’s game against TCU marked the first time someone other than Devin Neal was Kansas’ leading rusher since the Duke game in 2022. Daniel Hishaw had 85 yards rushing, while Neal added 70 for another good ground game for Kansas.

Hishaw’s performance against the Horned Frogs was the latest in an impressive start to the 2024 season. He’s averaging 6.9 yards per carry and has reached the end zone three times in four games.

One of the keys to Hishaw’s progression is how he’s handled the game mentally. Hishaw said he’s done a better job of bouncing back from bad runs and correcting his mistakes during the game.

“I think just my mental with not getting down when I have a bad run or anything or thinking I could do better in a certain run or getting focused on one part of my game,” Hishaw said. “I think that's how I really improved.”

There’s also been a slight shift in Hishaw’s running philosophy. Throughout his career, he’s been a prototypical bruiser, seeking out contact and being an aggressive runner. While this style allowed Hishaw to break tackles at a high level, it also led to decreased ball security. Hishaw fumbled seven times over the past two seasons. It’s yet to happen this year.

“The thing I would say that I’m probably impressed the most with is, if you watch him last year and you look at how he's playing, I think you see a difference in terms of his ability to make a guy miss,” offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said Wednesday. “Run through a shoulder as opposed to right through somebody's face, which has also resulted in better ball security for him and really a more productive style of play.”

Hishaw credited running backs coaches with developments with holding on to the ball, saying they made it easier to learn when and how to secure the ball. Yet, he still thinks he can improve his patience as a ball carrier.

“It’s just sometimes as a running back you might see, oh I see this guy running to the right, maybe I should cut it here instead of being a little bit more patient, letting your blocker get up to that next level and get up to him and then just keep rolling.”

Neal and Hishaw have been a strong 1-2 punch when the two have both been healthy. Kansas has been a top 15 rushing offense this season, averaging 224.4 yards per game on the ground. However, the offense still struggles overall, and Hishaw realizes the Jayhawks have to come together and improve.

“We try to just balance it out and put it all on each other and let us know that we all got each other and whoever's getting the ball is going to go out and do what we're supposed to do,” Hishaw said. “And if it doesn't get done, we come back and we talk about it and try to get it done right.”