5 questions facing KU football’s offense as Big 12 media days near

LAWRENCE — Among the Big 12 Conference honors that recognized Kansas football players this week, most went to those on the offensive side of the ball.

Junior quarterback Jalon Daniels was named the Big 12’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and awarded a spot on the preseason all-conference team, as voted by media who report on the league. Both junior running back Devin Neal and redshirt senior offensive lineman Mike Novitsky joined him on that squad. They were three of the four Jayhawks highlighted, with junior cornerback Cobee Bryant representing KU’s defense on the preseason team.

But that doesn’t mean Kansas’ offense doesn’t come into the season with questions about what’s possible. Ahead of Big 12 Conference media days, which are set to be held July 12-13 in Arlington, Texas, there are storylines to follow. Here are five of them.

How far can Jalon Daniels take Kansas’ offense?

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold said last month that there’ll be enough experience in the huddle that it shouldn’t be all on Daniels to produce, and Leipold is right. There’s depth along the offensive line and a number of different playmakers Daniels can get the ball to. But Daniels is the preseason offensive player of the year in the Big 12 for a reason.

Daniels is a dynamic talent, and with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and each position coach on this side of the ball returning, expectations will be high. As long as Daniels can stay healthy and take care of the ball, odds are meeting them will be the starting point for what he can accomplish. Do that, and making a second-straight bowl game becomes all the more likely.

Can Kansas’ running back room stay healthy enough?

Health at running back was an issue at times last season and certainly was again during spring ball. There’s enough talent in that room to make a difference for Kansas this fall. It’s just a matter of whether or not Neal and his teammates can sustain their collective availability enough to make that happen.

Redshirt senior Dylan McDuffie transferring in provides some valuable experience, of course. But if there can be a one-two punch of Neal and redshirt sophomore Daniel Hishaw Jr., with junior Sevion Morrison developing as well, that’ll make the Jayhawks all the more competitive. Hishaw thrived last fall before he suffered an injury in early October and missed the rest of the season.

Does a wide receiver need to emerge as a clear No. 1 option?

Kansas spread the ball around a lot when it went to the air in 2022, and one would expect Kotelnicki and company to play to that versatility in 2023. There’s the fact junior wide receivers Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold and Quentin Skinner are all back. There’s the fact that, in addition to what the running backs can do in the passing game, junior tight end Jared Casey and senior tight end Mason Fairchild are both back as well.

Maybe the offense’s continued growth doesn’t need to come with Grimm, Arnold, Skinner or another in their position group emerging as a clear No. 1 option over the other. If what they have works, it works. But there’s been long been the message that no one should feel satisfied, and that could apply to this conversation as well.

What can better offensive line depth do for Kansas?

Leipold also praised the depth of his offensive line last month, and that’ll do a lot to help Kansas accomplish what it wants to on this side of the ball. If the Jayhawks can’t block what they want to block, they can’t be the team offensively that they want to be. And it doesn’t seem like, if the depth is tested at this position, that’ll be a problem the team has to face in earnest.

So, that should put Kansas in a position to better handle the physicality it’ll face this season in and out of non-conference play. It should put Kansas in a position to better handle the grind of Big 12 play. Novitsky may lead the way in terms of preseason honors, but he isn’t alone.

Will Kansas have any breakout players on this side of the ball?

With so much production back, it could be hard for someone who didn’t produce as much as others a season ago to carve out a role to do that this year. Maybe junior tight end Trevor Kardell can. Maybe redshirt sophomore wide receivers Doug Emilien and Tanaka Scott can.

Time will tell here, just as it will about everywhere else. But there are only so many snaps and opportunities over the course of a game. And the message about not being satisfied applies to everyone on the team, not just those who could be looking for breakout seasons.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.