Special teams is an area the Jayhawks are looking to improve from the 2022 season. The staff brought in several new faces with more coming in the summer.

Lance Leipold likes what he has seen this spring as they head into the final week of practice.

Jacob Borcila, who started most of last season has been out after surgery and Leipold said he will not participate this spring.

That leaves the competition with Seth Keller, Charlie Weinrich and Owen Piepergerdes. Tabor Allen is there but Leipold likes his focus to be on kickoffs. The team practiced outside on Saturday morning with strong winds.

“Very, very pleased where we're at with that right now,” Leipold said of his kickers. “Today was pretty challenging with the wind and things like that. Owen Piepergerdes a guy who is the biggest and strongest of the bunch. But Seth has done a nice job, very consistent, and so has Charlie.”

The battle that started this spring is going to continue through the summer and fall camp.

“It's really close,” Leipold said. “It's going to be a good battle in camp. Tabor Allen's still there but I like when he focuses on kickoffs. Then it gets to how many do you travel with on the road? So we got to make sure that everything, as well as the kickoff game, there's competition. Jacob Borcila's is rehabbing right now after surgery and hasn't and won't partake in anything this spring.”

It is hard to believe this is only the second spring football season for Leipold.

Last season was the first spring for Leipold since he was hired in May the previous year. He has noticed a difference in a year because the players are used to the system.

“I think, again, it starts for me with retention,” he said. “I watch from the time we break a huddle offensively, how many times there's that little pause, ‘Right or left, where am I going?’ A lot more second nature of where we're at, the expectations of where we're going in practice, how it works, what we're doing.”

He mentioned a few players on defense who have caught his attention.

“I look at Tommy Dunn and DJ Withers at defensive tackle and the confidence and progression that they continue to make,” Leipold said. “Cornell Wheeler is a linebacker that I think really has had a nice spring. And probably since break, I think he's started to catch my eye a little more.”

The coaches have been showing recruits the renovation plans for the Anderson Family Football Complex. The first phase is scheduled to start after spring football with locker rooms and weight room.

Leipold has been involved in meetings with the upcoming plans.

“I have some more meetings coming up as we leave spring here that I think they want me to be part of,” he said. “Been very pleased and appreciative. You know, because some of this, as we know in everything in today with materials, timeline, work, the whole thing, we're moving quick on some of the renovations part of it. And then what becomes actually new is even more exciting.”

The renovation will be completed in phases with more expected to start after the 2023 season.

“I feel very comfortable with what I've been able to give input on, which I appreciate from my superiors, and all those things are going to make it better,” Leipold said. “It should be exciting. Not sharing how soon some of this is going to be shared, but the little bit that they do share with me, I can tell you, I think we'll all like it.