Kansas

83 Days Until Kansas Football – Illinois Preview

Published

2 years ago

June 7, 2024

83 Days Until Kansas Football – Illinois Preview

The Kansas Jayhawks’ first road test comes in the second week in the year against a Big Ten opponent that will give KU a good litmus of what type of season might be in store.

This is the return game from last year’s matchup where Kansas earned a 34-23 win during the blackout game on a Friday night at The Booth. KU led 28-7 at the half in the first of three games Jalon Daniels played in 2023. Daniels threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns and an interception as Kansas compiled 539 yards of total offense while holding Illinois to 341.

First Down

The Illini ended the season just outside of bowl eligibility at 5-7 after losing five of its final eight games, including against Purdue and Nebraska who both had losing records. Despite the struggles in the win column, Illinois had four players drafted in the NFL this spring.

Second Down

The defense saw a big drop off from 2022 when Ryan Walters was the defensive coordinator. But when Walters left for the Purdue head coaching job, Illinois went from allowing a nation’s best 12.8 points per game in 2022 to a 96th best 29.4 ppg in 2023. Part of that was talent that left for the NFL – mainly Devon Witherspoon – but the Illini had talent this year as well. At the top was defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton, who was a second-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Third Down

Another key to Illinois’ success will be the play of quarterback Luke Altmyer. Altmyer was just fine in his first year with the program after transferring from Ole Miss. He completed 64% of his passes but threw for just 1,883 yards and 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Though he did provide some decent production on the ground, with 282 yards and three rushing touchdowns. But his leading receiver – Casey Washington – is gone after being drafted in the sixth round.

Josh Paddock played in seven games and was a fixture late in the season for Illinois’ final three games and ended with 1,278 yards, nine TDs and three picks. His best game was a win over Indiana where he threw for 507 yards, four TDs, and an interception.

Fourth Down

One big area to watch with this matchup being early in the season is Illinois’ offensive line. Both starting tackles from last year’s squad are gone, and four linemen overall are no longer with the team. Meanwhile, only two returnees have more than 10 starts for their career. It looks like the Illini did a solid job in the transfer portal, but how quickly they can gel is still to be determined.

I would guess Kansas at this point would be the favorite in this game – as long as everyone stays healthy through the beginning of the season – but this is still a true road game against a Big Ten team that has the potential to be solid. It should be a fun matchup early in the season, and makes sense why it’s the FS1 primetime game.

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Kansas

IU football lands Kansas State transfer edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi

Published

9 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

IU football lands Kansas State transfer edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi

Indiana’s portal haul continued to grow Sunday as multiple outlets reported the addition of Kansas State edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi.

Osunsanmi has played in 36 games over the last four years and has 8.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Most of that production came over the last two seasons. He has a total of 47 QB pressures during his college career.

In 2025 he played in six games and had 20 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. He suffered a season-ending injury in October.

He saw action in all 13 games in 2024 as a reserve defensive end and on special teams, recording 19 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble over 303 defensive snaps and 31 special teams plays.

In 2023 he saw time in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker, a rush end on passing downs and on special teams. He was tied for team-high honors with five tackles on kickoff coverage.

He played in four games in 2022 and preserved his redshirt.

The 6-foot-3 and 250-pound Osunsanmi has one year of eligibility remaining.

The Wichita, Kan. product (Wichita East H.S.) was regarded as the 232nd-best overall player in the nation for the Class of 2022 by 247Sports.

Osunsanmi will help fill the void left by outgoing edge rushers Mikail Kamara, Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley.

More transfer portal information:

For complete coverage of IU football recruiting, GO HERE.

The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

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Kansas

Kansas football transfer portal tracker: Jan. 4 developments for KU

Published

22 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Kansas football transfer portal tracker: Jan. 4 developments for KU

LAWRENCE — The Division I transfer portal window for college football is open from Jan. 2 through Jan. 16, and that means Sunday is another chance for the Kansas football program to shape its roster.

The Jayhawks already gained one public addition earlier this offseason in Grand Valley State transfer Jibriel Conde — whose signing was announced Dec. 4. Conde, who is making the jump up from Division II, is a 247Sports-rated three-star defensive lineman in the portal and is listed by KU as a defensive tackle. On Saturday, a number of current Kansas players — including redshirt freshman quarterback Isaiah Marshall, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Keaton Kubecka and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Blake Herold — also outlined in social media posts on X that they are locked in with the program for the 2026 season.

Marshall is set to compete for the starting quarterback job next season. Kubecka has the chance to step up into a more significant role at wide receiver. Herold is in line to be a key part of Kansas’ defensive line.

Those positives, though, don’t outweigh the fact that there has been a sizable group of players who have revealed their intentions to transfer away. Looking overall, when it comes to those whose decisions became public before and after the portal opened, the significant names to know include redshirt senior safety Lyrik Rawls, redshirt junior linebacker Trey Lathan and freshman quarterback David McComb. Lathan led KU in tackles in 2025.

Check in here for more updates during this transfer portal window about a KU team that finished 5-7 during the 2025 season, with transfer ratings as outlined by 247Sports.

Kansas football transfer portal additions

Jibriel Conde (3-star defensive lineman from Grand Valley State) — KU lists him as a defensive tackle

Kansas football transfer portal departures

Joseph Sipp Jr. (linebacker)

Jacoby Davis (cornerback)

Dylan Brooks (defensive end)

Jaidyn Doss (wide receiver)

Carter Lavrusky (offensive lineman)

Trey Lathan (linebacker)

Tyler Mercer (offensive lineman)

Harry Stewart III (running back)

Caleb Redd (3-star edge) — KU lists him as a defensive end

Aundre Gibson (3-star cornerback)

David McComb (3-star quarterback)

Kene Anene (3-star interior offensive lineman) — KU lists him as an offensive lineman

Laquan Robinson (3-star safety)

Jameel Croft Jr. (3-star cornerback)

Logan Brantley (3-star linebacker)

Greydon Grimes (3-star offensive tackle) — KU lists him as an offensive lineman

Jon Jon Kamara (3-star linebacker)

Lyrik Rawls (3-star safety)

Damani Maxson (3-star safety)

Jaden Hamm (tight end)

Bryce Cohoon (wide receiver)

JaCorey Stewart (linebacker)

Johnny Thompson Jr. (running back)

Efren Jasso (punter)

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

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