Getting on campus early helped Jalon Todd in more ways than one. The four-star recruit from Detroit arrived in January and put on close to 35 pounds, transforming his body in a matter of months.

Todd graduated early from high school and one of his goals was to get bigger.

“Coming into this program, I was about 160, and I had a mindset of getting bigger and getting ready for the for the season,” Todd said. “Coach Sleeve came in, and before I even came here, he was telling me to just take the weight room serious, listen to him, and just elevate your standard and stuff like that. So, I did that, listened to them and gave me my nutritionist the right stuff to eat and the protein and stuff like that.”

The result went from 160 pounds to 195.

Cornerbacks coach DK McDonald did not arrive on staff until a couple weeks after Todd. Lance Leipold hired him from the Philadelphia Eagles, and he watched Todd’s progress in the weight room.

“Number one it just helped him with confidence,” McDonald said. “When you're 18 and you put on 20 pounds of muscle, that really means a lot to you. So, I think just from a confidence standpoint, he's feeling really good.”

The added strength has helped Todd in fall camp going against the experienced receivers the Jayhawks have on other side.

“Now when he puts his hands on people, you know, they really feel 190 pounds hitting him instead of 170,” McDonald said. “And that's a big difference. 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. So, the sky’s the limit for him, which is a lot of fun.”

The other change from the spring is playing healthy. When Todd arrived, he had a shoulder injury, and he recovered with no limitations. Add his weight gain to the fact he gets to learn from experienced players like Mello Dotson and Cobee Bryant.

“I’ve got really two good NFL corners sitting right in front of me, so they're teaching me everything and just learning behind them,” he said.

Hear more from Todd on the process of adding weight, working with DK McDonald and much more from his interview.

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