Notebook: Wallace talks Gardner, Neal, exploring skillsets

The rushing attack has arguably the most potential for success heading into Week 1 and will be hitting crunch time soon as fall camp passes the half-way marker.

Battling injuries last season, running backs coach Jonathan Wallace is looking forward to returning in full strength when the year kicks off.

He welcomed back junior Velton Gardner to his group on Friday, who led the team in rushing yards in 2020.

"First and foremost, obviously, we're always excited to have our full group out there," Wallace said. "And it's special for Velton to be able to get back out there. Looked really good, he's moving around really well."

Despite missing the final two games of the 2020 season, Velton was tasked with carrying a decent portion of the weight after Pooka Williams Jr. opted out.

Wallace discussed some of Gardner's strengths and where he believes the upperclassman leader will have the most success.

"I think he's obviously a change of pace guy," he said. "Very, very quick twitch but also in this passing game as well, he can stretch the ball downfield as well.

He continued: "He brings some good things, not just from a run standpoint, but also from a passing standpoint, as well as create some mismatches for us against some backers and even some safeties as well."

Devin Neal held the No. 1 spot on the 2021 Rivals Kansas Top 10 list and was considered one of the best three-star recruits to hit the market last year.

Committing to the Jayhawks in March, Neal was an exciting recruit expected to be competing for a spot in the rotation as early as year one.

Now, he's getting that chance. With a mature build and smart approach, Neal has been catching Wallace's attention throughout the first two weeks of fall camp.

"Devin Neal, smart kid," he said. "I mean, he is picking it up really, really fast. Really, really impressed with just his work ethic, in terms of how he studies, the time he spends outside of the field, what he's doing in the film room, spending extra time there."

He continued: "And the best thing that I love about him is, he still he has a mindset where he always feels like he's got to improve in some other areas as well. A lot of times us coaches, we're trying to pick out those small details of what we want them to see."

His impressiveness at camp has sharpened his place in the rushing conversation and may place him in a position to be getting decent touches this season.

After speaking with many different coaches and position groups, they've all agreed Devin Neal is ahead of his time from a physical and mental standpoint.

The set of rushers at Kansas' disposal this year hold a range of abilities and will all be attacking the gap differently.

Building chemistry with the offensive line will be crucial this season and Coach Wallace knows that relationship will need to grow day-by-day to start seeing progress.

"All of those guys are doing a great job and they understand that they're working with the offensive line and setting up the blocks on the concepts," Wallace said. "Constant improvement, daily improvement from that standpoint you know, and they're getting a good feel for it now."

Working with many multiple rushing types may seem like a hassle when trying to incorporate the group into a new offense, but Wallace feels the diversity in the rushing attack will give them an edge.

He voiced the importance of having a varied rushing attack and the options it can set up for an offense.

"We got a lot of different guys can do a lot of different things," Wallace said. "You know, and most of them are all-purpose guys that can do both. Not just in the run game, but in the pass game."

He continued: "And one thing that we really wanted to focus on was improving pass protection. The practice model that Coach Leipold is implementing gives us those opportunities to do that. It's been phenomenal for us."