When Lance Leipold took the Kansas job it was a unique situation because he was not hired until April. He did not get his staff on campus and settled in until May.
That did not give them much time to meet players before summer workouts started. One aspect that helped bridge the gap between the coaching staff and players was the fact Leipold had several new faces join the program from Buffalo.
Two players that will leave a big impact on the program are Mike Novitsky and Rich Miller. Novitsky has been a leader on the offensive line and Miller has done the same for the defense.
“We couldn’t coach the players in the summer so Rich Miller started teaching some of the players our defense,” Leipold said.
Miller showed the players the new 4-3 defense, so they understood it when fall camp started. Novitsky makes the calls on the offensive line and has been a mainstay since he arrived.
“What Mike and Rich have given us from transferring from Buffalo as far as helping bridge the gap sooner, helping them to understand and many ways be like a translator of what we're like and how we do it and why,” Leipold said.
Miller and Novitsky transferred to Kansas to help turn the program around. Miller said there is a big difference from the time he arrived to where they are heading into their final home game as Jayhawks.
“Words can't even describe it for real,” Miller said. “I can remember walking in here and just being like, man, I hate losing. I never lost in my life until that first year I ever been here. I never lost. That was just a crazy feeling. I hated that.”
But that quickly changed.
“Every day you walk in it’s just a different aura about everybody around here,” Miller said. “You know what I'm saying? Just who we are. We are winning. It feels good. We lost some games, and those feel bad, but at the end of the day, man, it feels way better. You can't really describe what it really feels like.”
Novitsky had several college coaches reaching out to him when he went in the transfer portal. It was an easy decision to follow Leipold and Scott Fuchs to Kansas. He said it is a strange feeling to play his last home game as his career winds down.
“It's weird that now we're seeing the end of it,” Novitsky said. “We're kind of on the back nine on hole 16 and 17. So when you're in it, you never really think that there's going to be an end to it. But to now kind of come to the realization that we only got one more game in The Booth, it's a little bit interesting. It's kind of interesting how fast time goes and all the memories that you make, and you never know because you're in it. But when you look back, it's special. It's special.”
To see more from Miller and Novitsky about their final home game and their thoughts on the Sunflower Showdown watch their interviews.
