Kansas will travel to Champaign, Illinois, to play Illinois after opening the season with a 48-3 drubbing of Lindenwood. It will be the Jayhawks' first road game and true test, as the Fighting Illini look to improve following a 5-7 campaign in 2023.

Head coach Lance Leipold met with the media on Monday to preview the return game with Illinois, discuss what he saw from the Jayhawks’ depth against Lindenwood, and his thoughts on Jeff Grimes coaching from the sidelines.

Illinois ‘physical Big Ten team,’ improved from 2023

Kansas controlled much of its game against Illinois in 2023, getting out to a 28-7 lead before eventually winning 34-23. However, the combination of this being a road tilt and the Fighting Illini’s development makes for a tougher matchup.

Illinois has the hallmarks of a classic Big Ten opponent. They’re physical, big in the backfield, and play good defense.

“Much like I would expect out of Bret’s [Bielema] team, they’re going to be physical up front, use the tight ends in the run game to be physical,” Leipold said. “Now, they’re not going to beat themselves. So they made some adjustments in the o-line. I think, between junior college and portal, brought in about 14-15 guys, maybe, and a fair amount of newcomers. So again, they’ve been good on defense.”

Luke Altmyer returns at quarterback and gives Illinois comfort at the position as well as dual-threat ability. Leipold said Illinois’ offense has a chance to be very effective at moving the ball down the field.

Leipold thinks Kansas’ experience will help heading into the team’s first road game of the season. He hopes to see the defense’s communication improve compared to last week, as they continue to adjust to the new helmet communication.

“We've been in different environments now,” Leipold said. “You still have some guys that have maybe done it at other places as well. You still got to come together as a team and operate. All in all, when you look at some of the spots where we're counting on in communication and those things, we do have experience. You know, I thought our linebackers and for the most part, our secondary were communicating okay. We need to be better through things.”

Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw were a major factor in the tone-setting win against Illinois last season. The duo combined for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Leipold said it will be important for Kansas to establish the run on the road.

“It's important every week, but again, on the road to give yourself normal down and distance, try to keep the crowd out of it,” Leipold said. “You know, if you're in third and longs and second [and] longs all day, you're probably in for a long day altogether, you know? And then you say crowd factor, snap counts, they pin their ears back, come after you in different ways.

He continued: "Defensively, they do a nice job, and I mentioned the length of their defensive ends, do a nice job disguising things, dropping them off. They peel off on the backs and do a nice job. So you start getting yourself into those situations, it makes it a lot more difficult.”

Showcasing the depth in week one

After the game Thursday, Leipold said that about 75 players had the chance to get snaps. This was especially important for the younger guys, getting the opportunity to see true game speed. Leipold mentioned Blake Herold and Marcus Calvin at defensive tackle, Johnny Thomspon and Harry Stewart, and 13 offensive linemen saw the field.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Leipold said. “All those things are going to be a big part of what we’re doing and anytime we can do that without there being a big dip, we’re definitely going to try along those lines.”

Because the Jayhawks played on Thursday and played so many guys, the team is fresh heading into game week. Leipold hopes it can help the team’s preparation.

“I watched someone like DJ Withers and Tommy Dunn were just kind of running around the field, you know, the legs were pretty fresh,” Leipold said. “We did have a chance to watch the film and get in the weight room, but also gave them yesterday to themselves. And so between all that, I think, you know, we’re approaching like a routine week now and we have a chance to take advantage of this time.”

Jeff Grimes coaching from the sideline

Kansas has now put up 500-plus yards in both games following the departure of Andy Kotelnicki. One difference between Grimes and Kotelnicki is that Grimes coaches from the sideline. However, Kansas still has Jim Zebrowski up in the box.

“I feel comfortable because Jeff’s comfortable there, but more importantly because of Jim’s being up in the box for the bowl game, calling it,” Leipold said. “I know that gives us another set of eyes and where sometimes you want those eyes to be in the passing game during the series.”

Leipold said that Grimes has called the offense in both ways and he wants Grimes to be as comfortable as he can running the offense.