{"id":107730,"date":"2025-07-31T14:16:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/107730\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T14:16:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:16:23","slug":"new-depth-at-linebacker-brings-additional-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/107730\/","title":{"rendered":"New depth at linebacker brings additional competition"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Missy Minear\/Kansas Athletics <\/p>\n

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Jayson Gilliom during fall camp in Lawrence on Aug. 13, 2023.<\/p>\n


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The Kansas football team did not use a lot of different players at linebacker in 2024.<\/p>\n

Middle linebacker Cornell Wheeler (529 snaps) and weak-side linebacker JB Brown (608) were on the field together most of the time whenever they were both healthy, and Taiwan Berryhill Jr. (405) filled in otherwise. Safety Marvin Grant played a hybrid role, but no other actual linebacker appeared on more than 15% of KU\u2019s defensive plays throughout the season.<\/p>\n

This year, linebackers coach Chris Simpson knows that top players at his position will inevitably emerge for the Jayhawks over the course of fall camp \u2014 \u201cAt some point in time it still comes down to here\u2019s the guys,\u201d he said, \u201cand those guys are probably going to play the majority of reps\u201d \u2014 but right now, however, KU is essentially three-deep, with six primary contenders for two main linebacker spots, split between three transfers and three returners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not much of a drop-off between this guy and that guy and that guy \u2014 and who those guys are, I don\u2019t even know right now,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

In previous years KU had relatively clear first- and second-stringers at each linebacker position. As at many spots around the defense, that isn\u2019t necessarily the case entering the 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you compete, we\u2019re going to see who\u2019s who,\u201d defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald said. \u201cEven for all of us who got married, we had to compete for our wives. Unless she\u2019s not very nice-looking, then you\u2019re probably the only guy who went after her.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDonald said the players know that if they have a bad day of practice, they could find themselves with the second or third unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s getting opportunities right now,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s getting a fair share of reps right now. It\u2019ll start to weed itself out here in the days to come, but right now I\u2019m really excited about the depth and think we have a lot of guys that can help us win ball games.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Carolina transfer Bangally Kamara is a safe bet to figure in prominently at the weak-side \u201cWill\u201d position, and fellow transfers Trey Lathan (West Virginia) and Joseph Sipp Jr. (Bowling Green) have the experience and relevant traits to play frequently at the \u201cMike\u201d spot. <\/p>\n

But Jayson Gilliom, a fifth-year former safety from Suwanee, Georgia, is the longest-tenured Jayhawk in the room and the group\u2019s primary leader \u2014 although, Simpson said, \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s just one alpha male in the room right now, but I\u2019m still pushing them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Logan Brantley\u2019s motor and Jon Jon Kamara\u2019s unparalleled athleticism will get them in the conversation, and, Simpson told reporters on Wednesday that \u201ceven some of the young guys who you guys may or may not even know about are coming along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny one of us could go out there and play on Saturday \u2026 and the competition in the room, we always push each other to get better,\u201d Gilliom said. \u201cEven from the young guys like Malachi Curvey and Pickle (JaCorey Stewart) and Jon Jon, they\u2019re outstanding. They could go out there and play on Saturday as well too.\u201d<\/p>\n

All indications entering the 2025 season have been that KU plans to spend more time with just the Will and Mike linebackers, providing more of a 4-2-5 look with a fifth defensive back.<\/p>\n

That means, if there are in fact two linebacker spots, and under the assumption each player can theoretically play either, there are 30 possible pairings of the top six players for Simpson to sift through.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me and my room, those guys are all working with each other \u2026 and who\u2019s working with who, I change that day to day, I change that drill to drill, and it\u2019s all by design,\u201d Simpson said. <\/p>\n

He said he knows that either \u201ca natural rotation\u201d or injury issues will inevitably force many pairings into action during the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to cross-train guys as much as possible that they can play multiple positions as much as we can, and I want everyone to feel comfortable, when I look to my right, and I look to my left, the guys that are around me, I\u2019m good with it,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cI mix that up quite a bit. So they probably feel that, and maybe you guys too, that I\u2019m mixing and matching a lot of pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilliom said the depth and versatility create \u201can elevated feeling of competition since the previous seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s getting better because of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"articleAP Photo\/Rick Osentoski<\/p>\n

Bowling Green linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr. (3) pursues a play on defense against Akron during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Bowling Green, Ohio.<\/p>\n

\"articleAP Photo\/Gregory Payan<\/p>\n

West Virginia\u2019s Trey Lathan (19) in action against Pittsburgh during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, in Morgantown, W. Va.<\/p>\n

\"articleAP Photo\/Keith Srakocic<\/p>\n

APTOPIX \u2013Pittsburgh linebacker Bangally Kamara (11) deflects a pass to Duke wide receiver Jordan Moore (8) in the end zone during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh won 28-26.<\/p>\n

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\"Author<\/p>\n

Written By Henry Greenstein<\/p>\n


\n Henry is the sports editor at the Lawrence Journal-World and KUsports.com, and serves as the KU beat writer while managing day-to-day sports coverage. He previously worked as a sports reporter at The Bakersfield Californian and is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis (B.A., Linguistics) and Arizona State University (M.A., Sports Journalism). Though a native of Los Angeles, he has frequently been told he does not give off “California vibes,” whatever that means. <\/p>\n

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