Notebook: Leipold talks culture install and clearer fall blueprint

Kansas football enters its upcoming fall camp in its most optimistic position in over a decade. Retaining the bulk of his roster, including everyone within his two deep, it’s clear Lance Leipold is building a new narrative in the locker room.

One year ago, Leipold and his staff walked into Lawrence with hardly a rough draft on a program riddled with continuity issues stemming from mismanaged scholarship numbers and poor performance on the gridiron.

But as August rounds the corner, there are a lot of answers for Leipold this time around. His staff welcomed a full spring slate and has built off an optimistic finish during the final three weeks of the 2021 schedule, which included the Jayhawks’ first win over Texas on the road in school history.

Leipold spoke about his team culture practices within the KU program on Thursday in an interview with Sports Radio 810.

“Everyone hits the transfer portal for different reasons,” Leipold said. “But mainly, it’s going to look towards an opportunity, fresh start, and likely, more playing time … Our guys that have been (at Kansas), been through these tough times, they’re embracing what we’re doing.”

And what Leipold has done is instill a routine. From structured workouts under strength and conditioning coach Matt Gildersleeve to the day-to-day changes being experienced with the coaching staff, some major shifts appear more evident this offseason.

One case has been Earl Bostick Jr., a sixth-year senior and starting offensive lineman, who started his college career under former Kansas coach David Beaty and played through the Les Miles era. Leipold’s direction for the program appealed to Bostick and prompted his return.

“It was tremendously different,” Bostick said of Leipold at Big 12 Media Days. “The blueprint that he gave us, the culture, the aspects of trying to be a player’s coach, just trying to be there for us. He wanted to turn around this program.”

The offseason has been a busy one for Leipold, who added a handful of impressive transfers – including cornerback Kalon Gervin (Michigan State), running back(s) Ky Thomas (Minnesota) and Sevion Morrison (Nebraska), linebacker Eriq Gilyard (UCF), and defensive end Lonnie Phelps (Miami (OH)).

Exercising his relationships with both his existing coaching staff at Kansas, along with Buffalo, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Nebraska-Omaha, Leipold credited his connection base with helping the process of steering valuable depth in Lawrence.

“I think when it comes to some of those guys, there’s been a connection in some capacity,” Leipold said. “Either to a coach, or more importantly, somebody in our locker room.”

Running back transfer Ky Thomas – who’d led Minnesota in total rushing yards (826) last year – already had a homegrown connection in returning sophomore rusher Devin Neal. Neal assisted in the transfer process, reaching out and gauging Thomas’ interest in rebuilding the Kansas program.

Vocalization of the transfers has been another positive for the Kansas program too. Linebacker transfer Craig Young, a redshirt junior, has a voice on the practice field, according to senior Kenny Logan Jr.

“We had a conditioning run the other week, and then Craig Young was holding a young freshman accountable,” Logan said. “Just seeing that, shows the growth of our team and shows where we’re at in this program. I backed him up for what he was saying because that’s the level where we’re at right now. Everybody has to be at this standard.”

A key conversation heading to fall camp is the starting quarterback job. Sophomore Jalon Daniels attended Big 12 Media Days and appears to be the main candidate at this time.

Leipold commended Daniels on 810 Sports Radio and defended his decision to forgo his redshirt last season and become the starter through the final three weeks of the 2021 campaign. Daniels appeared in just six games in 2021, tallying 860 passing yards for seven touchdowns and a 69.2 percent completion rating.

“(Daniels) made the most unselfish decision to help move this program forward with great enthusiasm and energy as a leader and played those last two games and continued to play well,” Leipold said. “That enthusiasm, but also the respect that he received from his teammates helped propel us into the offseason and will help us as we start this week.”

It’s been some time since Kansas has held a defined starting name at quarterback, but the discussion isn’t over yet, either. Leipold made it clear that previous starter Jason Bean – who’d won the job over Daniels and started in the first nine games for Kansas last fall – is still developing his arm and holds a reputable amount of speed.

Early into the offseason, a floating discussion of Bean moving to wide receiver surfaced. But Leipold is assured that quarterback is where Bean will stay, for the time being.

“I want to be fair to (Bean)’s wishes, and as I’ve always said in the past, ‘Just because the guy’s fast doesn’t mean he’s going to play wide receiver,’” Leipold said of Bean at wide receiver. “Otherwise, we’d just be recruiting at track meets.”

The quarterback room is a much more comfortable area for Leipold this time around, too. Last spring, it was merely a crapshoot.

“It’s a lot easier to answer that question on multiple fronts this year than last year,” Leipold said. “Last year at this time, if you’d asked me, I’d never seen any of them throw a pass to a receiver based on our arrival time and then processing and learning our offense and all those things. So, that alone, we’re in a lot better space.”