Hearings: KU Football 🏈

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• 🏈⏰ Three top KU football Hearings 

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• 🔒 VIP: Two Hoops recruiting Hearings

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EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

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3 KU Football Hearings

Thank you to the 1,330 of you who filled out the KU football fan survey! Please make sure to fill out the survey by 5pm CT today.

I’ll be sharing the results tomorrow.

Onto three top Hearings on KU football this year to start off GAME WEEK:

1) Jalon Daniels and the QBs

• I’m Hearing Jalon Daniels is good to go. There’s a general sense of cautious optimism with Daniels’ health after fall camp.

  • You already know the biggest question for KU this year is: Will Daniels’ back makes it through the year?

    • The chatter around Daniels has been even better than expected.

• I’ve also Heard good things about the two backup QBs Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall.

  • KU not bringing in another QB this spring was the biggest sign of the staff’s confidence in their backups.

• I expect Ballard to be the second-string to start. He’d be the more stable of the two options.

  • This could and should flip by the end of the season.

2) Standout Freshmen DEs

• Freshman DE Deshawn “DJ” Warner has been one of the stars of fall camp. He’s the highest-ranked recruit in KU football history and hasn’t disappointed.

  • Still, I don’t want expectations to be unreasonable here. Warner is replacing Austin Booker, a fifth-round NFL Draft Pick. The Athletic just listed Booker as a standout rookie of training camp for the Bears.

    • You just can’t expect a freshman to be a step up from an NFL DE.

    • While it seems Warner has a bright future, it’s still a concerning ask for a true freshman.

• Dak Brinkley, the other four-star DE for KU, has also looked quite good.

  • I expect both freshmen to have some standout moments this year.

• And in general, having two players like Brinkley and Warner is a sign of good things to come for the program.

3) Some Question Marks

• While the freshmen look good, I still have concerns for the defensive line.

  • Junior Dean Miller and seniors Jereme Robinson and Cornell Wheeler will try to hold it down on the edge while the freshmen come along.

• Linebackers have struggled for KU in the Leipold era, and it’s hard to see this group taking a huge step forward.

  • I’ve Heard good things about redshirt freshman LB Logan Brantley, but he’s still young.

    • I’ll be watching for improvement from seniors Alex Raich, Taiwan Berryhill, and JB Brown, along with junior Jayson Gilliom.

• And then there’s the offensive line.

  • Replacing First-Team All-Big 12 LT Dominick Puni will be a challenge for senior Bryce Cabeldue.

    • Cabeldue started the fall at RT, but swapped with Logan Brown, who was originally on the left side.

      • Brown’s natural position is RT, so the move makes sense… but it’s not a great sign to see it happen midway through camp.

  • The interior of the line, however, should take a step forward. Transfer Bryce Foster at center is gonna be fun.

  • If the tackles are OK, then the OL should be just fine. But it’s a top question mark for me heading into the year.

P.S. More to Come:

‘Tis the season! Let’s do this thing!

I’ll publish the survey results Tuesday and Wednesday, along with additional football Hearings.

Thursday is game day! You’ll get a preview and prediction for the Lindenwood game with additional analysis to follow.

Please pass this along to any KU friends/family who may enjoy reading this!

🏀🏈 UConn and the Big 12 are in discussions for the Huskies to join the league in basketball starting next year, according to Brett McMurphy. I’ll have more on this in VIP tomorrow.

🏈 ESPN’s Rece Davis predicted KU would make the playoffs on College GameDay last Saturday.

🏈 Take the KU Football fan survey by 5pm CT today!

VIP: Two Hoops Recruiting Scoops

I sent out multiple VIP texts last week. I think KU’s next recruiting class is starting to take shape.

Tomorrow, I’ll share VIP Hearings on the UConn-Big 12 rumors.

After upgrading, you’ll unlock access to the hoops recruiting scoops below and everything else in VIP.