LAWRENCE – Kansas Football held their annual fall media day just ahead of the season opener against Lindenwood. The game will take place in Kansas City, Kansas at Children’s Mercy Park, the home of Kansas City’s MLS club, Sporting Kansas City. Head Coach Lance Leipold addressed the difference between the capacity of David Booth, which sits at 47,000, and Children’s Mercy, which can hold around 21,000, cutting the total in more than half. Even with the deficit in prospective fans, Leipold isn’t concerned, saying, “I think it will have the feel of having twice as many that are actually there, just because of the setup, and I’m excited about that”.
The players are ready as well. Veteran Tight End Jared Casey talked about how he has moved into a leadership position with the team, bringing with him an emphasis, “to make a point that this is a player-led team and I took a lot of ownership in that”.
Star Running Back Devin Neal called the running back room, “a brotherhood” saying that, “everything we do, we push each other to get better. You see it every day. There’s someone taking a rep, the next person is immediately hitting them with some feedback and some advice. I think that helps more than anything.” Neal is complemented by returning backs Daniel Hishaw and Sevion Morrison. All three have different running styles, with Neal being known for having the ability to break away for large yardage runs. He smiled when addressing the running back room, saying, “it’s so cool to see so many running backs with different styles build off each other.” The Kansas rushing game came in third in terms of total yardage in the BIG12 last season. With the returning production the goal remains atop the BIG12, with sights set on being one of the best in the nation.
Lance Leipold also announced Jalon Daniels as the starting quarterback for the season opener against Lindenwood. Daniels has battled injuries over the last two years, but he is not dwelling on the past. “Injuries are just a part of the game. You just do your best to keep everybody in the room ready to go by any means.” He isn’t sitting idly by either, as he said that personally, “I’m doing as much as I can to stay prepared and stay as healthy as I can.”
Kansas Football opens up their season against Lindenwood at Children’s Mercy Park on August 29th.
