When the first depth chart was released, Trevor Kardell was listed in the top two at tight end. That may have surprised people because Mason Fairchild and Will Huggins were returning from last year.

Both had more snaps than Kardell, who appeared in one game. He told Jayhawk Slant he believed he had a good fall camp.

“Personally, I think I have played pretty well,” Kardell said. “The tight end group we've been working with is super terrific together. The chemistry that we've created within this past couple months has been incredible.”

For the first time, Kardell turned most of his attention to football. The two-sport athlete signed to play football at Kansas and joined the baseball team.

Coming out of high school at Lee’s Summit West he was one of the top baseball prospects in the Midwest. This summer he shifted his focus to football, and it paid off.

“Whenever I'm trying to do both at the same time, I'm not maxing my potential in both sports,” he said. “But I will say now that I'm doing football only right now this month, I've been able to dig into what I can do in football. It's been kind of shocking to me what I've been able to achieve.”

There has no been question that Kardell has the athletic ability. For most of his baseball career he was a catcher at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds and it is rare to see someone that size behind the plate. He has moved to the outfield for the Jayhawks.

In June and July, he kept his baseball skills going by playing in a wood bat league in Missouri. He also used that time to work with Matt Gildersleeve and the summer weight program at Kansas.

His time will be spent solely on football, but he might pick up a bat when he gets a free minute.

“As soon as the season starts for football, I might be able to go get some swings if I get some time,” he said. “Whenever the spring comes around, since I'm on football scholarship, I'm definitely going to be here doing football. I will be here once in a while during baseball.”

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold knew Kardell was a two-sport athlete when he started introductory meetings with the players after he was hired. He liked what he saw from Kardell during fall camp who showed versatility.

“I was trying to work out with the conversations of inheriting a situation with a two-sport athlete and because we heard a lot of good things about him and try to balance that out,” Leipold said. “That was the way we went about it. I thought he handled it well. He had an excellent summer, and he's very athletic.

Leipold continued: “I'm really impressed with him. I know Andy Kotelnicki is as well. He’s not just a receiving tight, he's embraced what we're asking our tight ends to do. He's a guy that can motion around and do some things. And he's going to be utilized a lot this season and I’m looking forward to really seeing him get that first action on Friday.”

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki gets a close look at Kardell every practice because he also coaches the tight ends.

He has seen the improvement with Kardell since the start of fall camp.

"With Trevor he has grown so much as a football player," Kotelnicki said. "And I feel like since the summer to now, he's just continually getting better every day. So you see a guy who's got length. You see a guy who was a multi-sport athlete. You see that athleticism. You see a guy who understands what's necessary to be in the box. And you see a guy who understands and has the skillset to get things done on the perimeter.

"At the end of the day, you're looking for a guy who can be hybrid like that. Somebody who can do good in the box and somebody who can do good on the perimeter. And he is definitely embracing that. He's done a great job."