Podcast: Reacting to the KU football depth chart + a look ahead to Week 1

hello and welcome in to the fog. Net podcast my name is Michael Swain the Kansas beat rider for 247 Sports hope everyone has had a great start to their first game week of the Season we're just a couple days away from the start of the Kansas football season we'll start off with some house cleaning but a lot of today's podcast we'll talk about the depth chart that was released on Monday we'll talk about lynen wood coming up some of the storylines around the game and just everything you need to know heading into that contest um but first and foremost what can you expect from this podcast feed if you're listening on the podcast platform of your choice or the YouTube channel what can you expect this year well our plan right now is to get you about three podcasts per week we'll have our Sunday podcast coming back with Kevin flarity um he and I have discussed it we're going to continue to rock with those so you can expect those on your feed on Sundays maybe not this week with it being a Thursday game we're not going to wait all the way till Sunday to talk about a game um but after this week Sunday podcast with Kevin flarity midweek around Tuesday or Wednesday you can expect a podcast recapping some of the stuff we heard from Lance lipold uh in the KU coaches on Monday and Tuesday and then also talking to a opposing beat writer of the team KU will play we did some of those interviews last year and we'll continue to do those this year and then new to our podcast lineup if you want to call it that will be a kind of a weekend warm-up show that we'll have out Friday mornings we'll talk about recruiting stuff going on that weekend obviously home games for KU they will have recruits at their home games this year basketball recruiting is heating up so we'll discuss all of that and then plus look at the matchup I think Jack Ritter our student writer will join us for those ones as well so really excited to have a lot more podcast platform uh content coming your way over the course of the football season and hopefully we carry some of this over into basketball season as well all right well that was enough of me waffling here let's dive into some of the good stuff and and that's the to deep that came out from KU on Monday you can find it in full on the c or on the fog. net website we've got the depth chart itself got some more analysis from myself we'll get on some of those pieces here in this podcast but if you want the full-fledge the thoughts that I have on the depth chart what you should read into what you shouldn't what was a surprise what wasn't a surprise you can find all of that on fog. net um but let's Dive Right into this I think the first thing that stands out to me is the lack of ores on the depth chart and we'll start on the offensive side of the ball look at a couple things and then we'll move through to defense and special teams in a second so first and foremost if you're glancing at the depth chart for the first time you might see the name Bryce cable do at left tackle and maybe that could be a surprise if if you're jumping into KU football you haven't really paid attention over the course of the off season or maybe paid like you know you got one eye on it you're in Camp you may have missed that so about a week or so into preseason camp KU decided to try and move Bryce cblo to left tackle and Logan Brown to right tackle this is something that um came up the coaches went to Bryce cedo and asked him hey are you comfortable with this Bryce embraced The Challenge and he was able to get acclimated to the point where the coaches felt comfortable enough where this is going to be your starting tackle tandem Bryce cable do at left tackle Logan Brown at right tackle you know Logan has experienced playing right tackle from his time at Wisconsin he also played some left tackle at Wisconsin so he's got experience at both and obviously for cable do he's gonna get the chance as a senior to make the move to left tackle and really show what he can do we saw last year what happened with Dominic puny moving from left guard to left tackle and the type of jump he was able to make with his own performance level but also what that did for his NFL draft stock where I think being able to show that he could play guard and Tackle in addition to cross training as Center that was really big for Don Pony so now Bryce Calo will get that chance at left tackle behind him Nolan gorsa is someone will hit on really quickly he had a really really good summer and training camp he's a really big guy about 66 North of 315 good length watching him at practice he's a guy that definitely passes the eye test and then I think probably the next spot you'll look at is center with Mike nitzki no longer with the program Bryce Foster was a a key addition over the summer Shane Bumgarner was an addition KU had over the winter he went through spring practice with KU was with KU for all of Summer workouts and it is Bryce Foster that wins the job there at Center look he's a physically imposing guy and you watch him at practice and you can see why he started at Texas A&M for three years and also started as a true freshman uh he's a big guy and he's going to offer K some physicality at Center um that maybe The Jayhawks haven't had in really really long time he man I'm really excited to see what he can do this year um elsewhere I think the only other really surprise if you want to call that on the depth chart on offense is at tight end where Jared Casey beat out Trevor Cardell to win the starting job at tight end Casey I think deserves a ton of credit for the work he put in over the course of the off season um dropped a ton of body fat really leaned out it's really interesting if you go look at some of the interviews Jared did last year during the season and then you look at him during the interview he did at the beginning of Camp just look at his face and you can see how much he really has slimmed down and so you got to give him a lot of credit for leaning out he had a really good camp Trevor Cardell is still gonna play a lot he's been managing a knee injury over the course of Camp that's something Jeff Grimes talked about when he met with us on Monday he's still working through that he'll still have a big role to play um running back obviously no surprise Devon Neil Daniel high Shaw quarterback Jaylen Daniels will start I'll talk a little bit more about him later as we talk about the lynen wood game in and of itself um three wide receivers obviously not a lot to report there you know Luke Grim Lawrence Arnold Quinton Skinner still on the roster still expected to make a really big impact this fall now the defensive side of the ball is interesting to me and I'm really hoping that the border at the bottom of the screen if you're watching on YouTube isn't cutting off the final names I'll run through those if it is um we can start at the top though right I don't think the starters along the defensive line or any surprise to anybody you know Jeremy Robinson's gonna was always going to start at kind of ku's strong side defensive end position DJ Withers was a a starter for KU last year he continues to improve had a really good camp um Tommy Dunn won a battle between him and Caleb Taylor Caleb Taylor obviously a great story someone that played you know in 2021 at about 265 pounds over the course of time really bought into the KU system and scheme and the culture and everything that they ask of these players to do and he bought in knowing he had to put on weight and now he's at 3:15 and had a good camp and and so Tommy Dunn as well someone that played a lot for KU last year he had a good camp he'll end up starting but look K's gonna play a lot of people at defensive tackle I'm not reading in too much to who is and who isn't on the two deep at defensive tackle K's gonna play five or six guys just like they did last year and that's a good way that they you know control the pace of a game because if another team Subs well you can have some big 300 Pounders walking on and off the field it slows the game down limits possessions and that's a good way that Kansas even though they're on defense can control the clock and then obviously Dean Miller someone I think we talked about on the most recent podcast he's someone that's going to start um great Camp really great story another guy that really transformed his body and is g to have the type of impact that I think you know can change games for KU if Lance LEL really been banging the table saying that Dean Miller is going to be the guy and we've seen in the past whether it be you know Kiren Johnson Deen Lance lael's first year Lonnie Phelps Austin Booker guys that play this weeks side defensive end spot have the opportunities to go and make a lot of plays and so Dean Miller's gonna have chances it's going to be up to him to take those chances when they do come um behind him obviously you know DJ Warner the true freshman the the recruit who was the highest rated prospect that has ever signed with Kansas he lands on the two deep had a really good Camp someone I'm really really excited to watch over kind of these first three games of the Season as KU really sees what he can do in a game setting I think it's really interesting that he was tabbed for a spot on the two deep as a true freshman that's not something that happens a lot in the K program right now you know because of how experienced KU is and because of the way that they've been able to red shirt a lot of the freshmen that have come in the program over the last two years and and it's really important I think for KU that Warner is able to play the physical level that KU needs but also that he's able to I think just continue to grow and get better even though he's going to be playing can he continue out weight get stronger right those are really important things for him uh linebacker really no surprises I'll hit on Cornell wheeler I think it's a great story this something that Jack Ritter wrote about on the website Tuesday morning check it out fog. net really cool Cornell transferred from Michigan to Kansas when Lance lipold was hired in 2021 and I think he embodies some of the stuff that K wants to see in these guys where you know it's not always going to be instant gratification right you're not always going to be on the two deep as a freshman sometimes you have to work your way in the program and learn the scheme and become a more experienced player through practice through special teams and now Cornell wheeler as a as a senior is gonna get the chance to to lead KU he's gonna have the little microphone in the back of his helmet because that's a new rule this year where coaches can talk to players and be able to get them signals and call and give him some advice and tips um up until the 15sec mark on the play clock and Cornell is also a team captain he's ku's only captain on the defensive side of the ball I think that speaks to who Cornell is as a person and I think also what he's done in the Kansas program that he has earned this opportunity sec in the secondary look not a lot of surprises just like with wide receiver you know Kobe Bryant OJ buroughs Melo doson Marvin Grant they're all gonna start I think for me maybe uh a name that pops up on the to deep that you know maybe in January you wouldn't have on your projected depth chart is Jaylen Todd he arrived in January as an early en rool Le gained about 35 pounds and had a great camp and now he's someone that's gonna have the opportunity to get some rotational reps at cornerback he's going to be someone that helps KU on special teams you might see him play some nickel Corner if Deary M isn't on the field I think you know Jaylen Todd's going to have a really bright future ahead of him at Kansas and it's really interesting that he too was listed on the two deep so those are some of the quick thoughts I have on defense we'll make special teams a little bit quicker because it's not as sexy of a of a phase of the game to talk about but the key spot here on special teams is Place kicker I think every KU fan who watched last season understands the importance of a good place kicker right you think back to that Oklahoma State game Seth Keller in his point Afters um KU did not get really consistent Place kicking later in the year and so for The Jayhawks now this year it's going to be a new guy Seth Keller graduated and so tab Allen is the guy that wins out he is someone that was the kickoff man for KU over the last couple Seasons had a great camp and I think it follows this trend of guys that have won position battles they they showed up they did their work and they did it consistently and that's what tab Allen did so he's going to be K's Place kicker I'm of the opinion I'll believe it when I see it that's how I approach a lot of these things with guys that have not uh proven it at a spot before KU tab Allen is one of them good kickoff man for KU really no clue what to make of what his Fiel goal kicking could be like Lance I pulled spoke highly of him in the press conference on Monday but I don't know I'm gonna wait and see and and see how guys look um and just draw my own conclusions as the game start happening and guess what the conclusions are pretty simple did the ball go through the uprights and if he does that a lot he'll be good kicker if not i' be really to see how KU handles it with Charlie wein right behind him I'm sure um fans who are watching this on YouTube glanced over at punt return you see Trevor Wilson back there you look at kick return you see Trevor Wilson back there again not a surprise you know he's someone that the KU coaches do trust um regardless of what happened last year against Oklahoma with the muffed kickoff against Kansas state with the muffed punt he's someone that can make big play for you at that position and the mistakes are going to have to be cleaned up right KU cannot be losing games on special quarters and they've just gota not make mistakes on special teams so those are some of my thoughts on the depth chart right now I think it's really cool that there weren't a bunch of ores on it I glanced around the Big 12 today as all the depth charts came out and I lost track of the amount of ores I saw on a lot of the depth charts and so I greatly appreciate I think Lance pulled in um some of the Ku communication staff members who did a good job of putting it together and not throwing I think last year there were 15 ores which basically means you know two guys are filling in at one spot doesn't give a lot of clarity at the position and so I think it's really cool that KU didn't have a bunch of those now as for lyndenwood a couple story lines I'll be tracking I think first and foremost I think the relationship between um the two head coaches is really interesting Lance laple told the story today I'm recording this on Monday that KU obviously goes to lyndenwood every single summer for one of their summer camps they do a really good job of getting kids from St Louis Missouri even some from the can City area make the trip out to lyndenwood just outside of St Louis for one of their Mega camps when they have coaches from all sorts of schools um both you know D1 FCS D2 throughout the region and ku's gone to it over the last couple years and Lio remarked that it is one of the most wellp put together camps that he attends and man they attend a lot of them across the country and so for him to say that I think speaks very highly of the Lindenwood coaching staff you know Lio talked about it you gotta be very organized to have an organized camp and it speaks to the organization of the Lindenwood program and I think they do have a good head coach who is going to lead them in a good direction now right now they're still in that that kind of process of transitioning from being an FCS team or sorry from being a D2 team to being an FCS team they were picked eth in their conference this year it's a team that I don't think is going to give KU very much challenges we talked about this in a the video earlier this week talking about the the betting spread for this game but I'm really interested to see a couple things in this game first and foremost it's Jaylen Daniels he's gonna start we talk to him on Sunday he's healthy he's ready to go Lance Lio is excited to see Jaylen Daniels I don't think you could a single KU fan who's not excited to see Jaylen get out there sling it around and play because it's been such a tough last 12 months for him dealing with the injury being able to play three games and having the injury uh pop up again in a more serious fashion where he had to miss the rest of the season I'm really fascinated to see in the long run this year how much quarterback run game there is with Daniels but I think for week one specifically just excited to see him go out there and run and throw and and just see what he looks like is I know he looks to me like he is a little bit leaner at least you can see in his arms in the practice photos you know he looks cut and so really really excited to watch Jaylen I think second the true freshman right everyone wants to see guys like DJ Warner Dak Brinkley a red your freshman by job who doesn't want to see those guys right they're the GNA be the future of the program eventually but these non-conference games are times when you can kind of throw them out there a little bit and see what they look like and and then for me I think the way KU handles this game will be really really interesting we're going to see KU do some different stuff this year whether be through Jeff Grimes and look ku's going to do a lot that fans have seen there's not going to be Reinventing of the wheel here right the scheme is in place broadly but there are going to be some wrinkles that Jeff Grimes throws in there and we've been covering those on the on the VIP board what those might be I don't think we're going to see a ton of it this week but will we see maybe a little hint of what we could see when k goes on the road to play Illinois now defensively I think that's something KU might just show the fact that Marvin Grant is going to move up to play that Cino position that for me is gonna be really interesting to watch because I'm a big fan of Marvin Grant I think he's someone that provides everything you want to have at what you know the modern day hybrid safety linebacker role he's physical he's athletic he's got a nose for the ball those are the things you want to see in that position so how does he look when he's out there and obviously how long are the starters going to play ku's in a really interesting position both KU and Illinois I believe play on Thursday night so they both will have extra rest heading into that road game at Illinois next weekend so justes KU say well we can play the starters for a little bit longer because they maybe want to get some more reps just together do they say all right it's 35 to nothing at halftime 35 to 7 at halftime you know do we just pull the plug now on the starters and say Young players go get a full half do those guys get you know the fourth quarter I think the way K you know KU ends up handling the roster management side of this thing is gonna be really interesting because there are no two games that are the same because KU handled the Tennessee Tech game differently than it handled the Missouri State game so how KU does with that really interesting as well um one final note on the recruiting side you know KU was able to get a waiver they will be able to have recruits at the game I'm not expecting there to be a bunch for the first two games of the Season or first home games of the season I should say Thursday night it's going to be tough to get recruits out there especially with games on Friday and then obviously KU LV that's going to be really tough with it being on a Friday and you're gonna see a lot of high schools playing their games as well now this is the future of the Big 12 future college football there are TV slots that are open on Friday nights so they're going to be filled with college football games and so I think this is going to be happen more and more it's just a part of the way college football is going right now so I think you're GNA see a lot of recruits K is going to really get those Arrowhead games jam-packed with recruits you're going to see a lot of the guys from the region maybe some guys outside of the region who decide to make the trip in to see a KU game the big thing is getting people in person to see what your team looks like because there are a lot of recruits that can go and watch the highlights on YouTube they can go and see you know a game on TV but being there in person seeing the way the team interacts off the field that's something that a lot of the recruits that I talk to for our VIP subscribers that's something they talk about a lot it's not only what happens when the ball's snapped right but it's how is their position coach interacting with players on the sideline how is the head coach interacting with the other coaches with the players those are the things that you can't get a feel for on TV and why I think getting recruits on campus for you know technically not on campus this year but you know around your program for games is something that it's important it lets recruits get a feel for that it can also if you have a big win like the Oklahoma game last year it can Garner some big time interest in them if you have a a really memorable game so those are just some of my thoughts here um I think that's what I've got for this week we'll be more back with a lot more to come really excited about having a lot more podcasts for y'all of course make sure you stay tuned to f.net we will have a free VIP day this Thursday the day of KU season opener I believe that's what it is um check back on the website Thursday morning you'll be able to see if it's free VIP day or not because we'll have content up letting you know if it is take a look around the VIP board see what you like we'll have plenty of stuff that you can read from all over Camp whether it's you know everything I heard and thought about the offense everything I heard and thought about the defense um reaction to the depth chart like we're gonna have a lot of VIP content for you to read if you're not a subscriber and if you like what you see we'll have a seale going on you can sign up you can join and get a a full year um at a good discount price so make sure you're checking in on Thursday to see what we got going on of course on the YouTube channel we have plenty of videos coming your way throughout the course of football season into basketball season we're going to try and do a lot more of oneoff videos this year see how that works so of course make sure you're subscribing to the channel liking the videos clicking that little bell down there next to the Subscribe button so you get a notification whenever we upload video you'll see when the player interviews are posted you'll see when the press conference footage from Lance liol is posted you'll see when these podcasts are posted you'll see it all if you're listening on your podcast platform of choice please leave a five-star rating interview those go a long way and helping us reach new Kansas football fans so that's what I got thanks as always for tuning in we all talk to you after ku's season opener against Lynden wood I'm fired up we'll talk to you'all later this week