Through the Phog

There is no question that next season’s defense will, in large part, rely on linebacker Tre Lathan. Last season, Lathan earned an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention nomination with a season that saw him go for 86 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one interception. While Kasnas struggled to keep opposing offenses quiet, his play shone through the Jayhawks’ 5-7 season.

In this world of collegiate athletics, it is so easy for relationships on both sides to feel transactional. For coaches, they may lament over a player leaving their program for a bigger opportunity elsewhere. All while also chasing that opportunity themselves. For a moment in the early bits of the offseason, it felt like that was going to happen to Kansas transfer linebacker Tre Lathan.

It's the time of year when everyone is ranking various things about college football. This includes breakdowns of the conferences. In the Big 12 conference, the Kansas football team is getting very little love from the experts. The lack of respect is earned. Under head coach Lance Leipold, the Jayhawks went from the doormat of college football to back-to-back bowl appearances. Things looked ripe for KU to take the next leap forward and contend for a Big 12 title.

Kansas basketball head Bill Self added another big piece, figurative and literal, to his 2026 roster. Michael Swain on 247Sports reported that seven-footer Mihailo Musikic has committed to KU for the upcoming season. Whether Musikic ever gets to play at Kansas might still be in doubt, however. In May, the NCAA outlined some new upcoming guidelines regarding international rules. Kevin Sweeney with SI.com outlined these changes and how they might affect college basketball recruiting.

Darryn Peterson's one-and-done season at Kansas may not be fondly remembered in the eyes of the Jayhawks fanbase. While the hype for Peterson was high in Lawrence after he committed to Bill Self's squad, the expectations were far from met when it came to his time on the court. Peterson missed nearly half of the season in his one season with the Jayhawks, making him unreliable in the eyes of the fans.

Since the introduction and expansion of NIL in collegiate athletics, it feels like every single year a new height has been set in terms of how much a college will chip in for their newest star. For a basketball school like Kansas, it doesn’t take a mathematician to expect the men’s basketball program to be given the largest amount of funds to work with year-to-year.

Kansas football history is filled with amazing running backs, including two Pro Football Hall of Famers, a single, unbelievable, record-setting afternoon, and a legendary local kid made good. Kansas football All-American running back Gale Sayers, known as the “Kansas Comet” | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect Kansas football has an incredible history of producing exciting, productive running backs, many of whom played in the NFL.

Sure, ever since the emergence of NIL and the NCAA Transfer Portal, the Kansas Jayhawks have been slowly tipped off their perch. They haven’t made it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2022, when they won the lot. But even in “down years,” the Jayhawks have still done extremely well, reeling in high school talent, and there are several reasons for that.

Lance Leipold will be the first person to tell you that the Kansas Jayhawks have failed to meet their expectations over the last two seasons. He literally did last week during Big 12 Media Days. But it is also those same expectations that Leipold himself set. The fact that KU fans are upset about 10 wins over two seasons is a testament to how much he and his staff have improved the feeling around this team.

There is no question that the revival Lance Leipold has orchestrated at Kansas has the chance to become one of the most impressive seen in power-conference football. The Jayhawks had probably solidified themselves as the nation’s worst power-conference team since the departure of great head coach Mark Mangino all the way back in 2009.