Under Lance Leipold, the Kansas Jayhawks have pulled together multiple successful transfer classes, with big performers like Lonnie Phelps, Austin Booker, Marvin Grant, Mike Novitsky and more joining the Jayhawks and immediately playing pivotal roles. This year, the class is smaller, but Kansas hopes to have found another crop of key guys for the upcoming season and beyond.

The Jayhawks lost 13 players to the transfer portal, but four names really stood out. From the offensive line, Spencer Lovell and Ar’maj Reed-Adams left for Nevada and Texas A&M, respectively. On the defensive line, edge rusher Gage Keys left to go to Auburn. And the loaded wide receiver room lost Tanaka Scott, but with so many people returning, his departure was pretty understandable.

The rest of the players are a mix of guys down on the depth chart that were hoping to make the jump into the rotation, but spring football showed that they were likely fighting an uphill battle to break the rotation without further development.

With only 10 commits in the transfer class, the Jayhawks didn’t rank out very well. But they did target some pretty big positions of need. And there were some rather impressive names on the list that will be calling Lawrence home next season.

Hanika hails from Topeka, and he comes to Kansas as a redshirt senior/graduate transfer after having spent three seasons with the Cyclones of Iowa State. He performed well in a crowded room in Ames, and he will have to do the same here, although his current availability is in question as he battles an injury in the offseason.

The 6’4″, 265 lb defensive end comes to the Jayhawks with 35 career starts. He earned all-conference honors in the Missouri Valley Conference in each of the last two seasons. With the pass rushing position being such a big question mark, Wudke will get a chance to earn some time in a rotation role.

While Simmons lost his starting job with the Cyclones, he had an extremely successful career at the right guard position. He had 32 starts in his three seasons in Ames and was part of multiple dominant rushing attacks. He is expected to compete for a starting role with a floor of high quality depth.

The brother of Kansas safety Jalen Dye, Devin comes to Kansas after a single year with the Aggies. He started 8 of 12 games as a junior college transfer, and looks to be a depth and development piece with a chance to work into a rotation this season.

The Jayhawks have long held the view that you can’t have enough offensive lineman, and that has served them well the last few seasons. And they have once again plucked a promising veteran from the Division II ranks to help fill some holes. With Mike Novitsky graduating this past season, Bumgardner is a solid option to slide right in at the center position, although he won’t be the only one competing for that spot.

A veteran interior defensive lineman coming from North Dakota State, Derritt put up some impressive stats for the FCS powerhouse. He comes to Kansas with a single year of eligibility remaining and continues the trend of taking established guys to fill the biggest positions of need in the trenches. Expect big things from him this season.

Cure was a fairly late target for the Jayhawks, as they looked to fill some spots on the roster to flesh out a position group that is both crowded and shorthanded at the same time. Hanika joins the tight end group from the transfer portal as well, but his injury means that his ability to contribute is in doubt. Cure impressed new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, and it also doesn’t hurt that his younger brother is an important target for the Jayhawks in the 2025 class. That meant the family was already building a relationship with the staff.

Cohoon joins a loaded wide receiver room, and the Maize High School alum out of Wichita has four years to make his mark on the program. After redshirting his only season at Syracuse, Cohoon decided to come back home. Kansas has a very deep wide receiver room, but Cohoon looks to join the wave of guys that will be here and established when the large stable of seniors have to move on after this season.

A four-star recruit coming out of high school, Jobe is best categorized as a raw talent who still has a lot to learn about the game of football. He has some very good physical tools, and the Jayhawks have a track record under Leipold of successfully developing transfer guys at the pass rusher position. I expect him to get immediate playing time.

The Detroit product was heavily recruited by many top-level programs coming out of high school, and the Jayhawks were thrilled to get a second chance at signing the gifted lineman. Herring comes to Kansas after having spent a season on the sidelines at Michigan. He will have four years of eligibility remaining and is talented enough to push for immediate playing time. But the real value is as a potential foundational piece of the offensive line moving forward after this season.

Once again, Lance Leipold and his staff found some big hits in the transfer portal, getting multiple guys that have the potential for big breakout seasons and a bunch of depth that will help restock positions of need after the upcoming season. It will be exciting to see how many of these players hit the field this season.

TOPEKA — The state is set to bolster benefits for families of workers who have been killed and for workers who have been permanently disabled, marking change for the first time in more than a decade. 

Kansas workers will see the effects of the change in little more than a month, following the passage of legislation overhauling what have been some of the lowest workers’ compensation rates in the country. 

Senate Bill 430, a bipartisan law formed after vigorous negotiations with business and labor groups, will go into effect July 1. Lawmakers sent the bill to the governor in March, and she signed it April 11. Gov. Laura Kelly held a second ceremonial signing Wednesday to reiterate the law’s importance, surrounded by lawmakers, labor groups and members of the National Guard.

Kelly estimated the last meaningful updates to workers’ comp happened 13 years ago, and it took 24 years of work before that to achieve change.

“I remind you of this so we all truly appreciate how big a deal this really is,” Kelly said. 

A family of a worker killed on the job will receive up to $500,000 in death compensation benefits, up from the previous cap of $300,000. For a worker with an injury resulting in a permanent and total disability, benefits will be capped at $400,000, up from $155,000. Compensation benefits for a temporary total disability will go from the previous cap of $130,000 to $225,000. The benefits will also undergo cost-of-living adjustments starting in 2027.

“The bill’s language is the result of countless hours of effort by representatives of injured workers, industry, and the state to craft much-needed and meaningful updates to the Kansas Workers Compensation Act,” said Anton Andersen, a defense attorney and director for the Kansas Self Insurer’s Association.

Other changes include extending workers’ compensation coverage to those in the Kansas National Guard and decreasing the Social Security retirement offset for certain disability benefits.

“This legislation is a significant step in achieving a balance between the needs of workers and the realities of the business world,” said Kansas Department of Labor Secretary Amber Shultz. “We are proud to play a part in the creation of a more fair and equitable system.”

SB 430 also allows for the settlement of workers’ compensation cases without a formal court hearing and limits use of independent medical examinations, among other provisions. 

“It has been way too long since we have revised our worker compensation laws,” Kelly said in an interview after the signing. “This was absolutely necessary. We were one of the states with the lowest workers’ compensation of any state in the country.”

As classrooms close for the summer and families and teachers reflect on the experiences and the ways that their students have grown since August, I am preparing my classroom for a new, incoming teacher.

After 11 years of service to the profession, I am stepping away from my beloved role as a public school teacher. 

In those 11 years, I’ve personally participated in and witnessed countless examples of educators and families collaborating for the success of their students. I’ve seen advocacy on behalf of greater educational equity. I’ve seen students’ lives changed through daily, incremental rhythms of continuity of care and the deliberate, skilled expertise of teaching teams focused on increasing students’ social, emotional and academic gains.  

I, too, have watched the many ways that systemic structures shortcut the potential of teachers, and as such, their students. Striving for the utmost support of our teachers is paramount for a world in which each one of our students and local communities is better empowered to thrive. 

Be leery of anything or anyone sugarcoating the privatization or commodification of education. Let’s recognize the role of Kansas public school teachers within our communities as cornerstones of our collective success. Our public school teachers are doing incredible work with what they are given. However, it is also true that teachers are systemically and rhetorically under-resourced.

The beauty of a public school is that the public, when informed by experts in the field, has the potential to be a part of exponentially powerful redesigns. We all benefit from public policy that supports public school teachers.

Kansas is at a critical juncture, one in which we are poised to blaze the trail forward. It is time we lead the way with a teacher supportive agenda. The following proposals would strengthen both educators and our state.

• Demand higher salaries for public school teachers.
• Equitably staff our public schools, including specialized support staff in the buildings.
• Finance individualized teacher professional development and continuing education with opportunities for rotating sabbaticals.
• Provide robust benefits, including paid parental leave and child care options.
• Adjust all teachers’ retirement packages to KPERS 2.
• Reduce teacher-to-student ratios.
• Create opportunities for flexible instructional hours and schedules.
• Reserve an elected position in our legislative government (specifically in education committees) and local school boards for active teachers.

In the near future, I won’t serve in the classroom daily, but I will be sending my child to a public school. I will continuously raise my voice for the teachers and for the policies that elevate teacher voices, wellbeing and expertise. When teachers succeed, their students do, too. When teachers are supported, their students are. 

May the heartland of our nation set the bar for unparalleled support of our public school teachers, our local public schools and our children. We know the way. It’s time to link arms, drown out the noise of distracting ploys from out-of-state demagogues, and remind the rest of the world just what Kansas is: a state that invests in its people.

For our people are our greatest asset, and the public school teacher teaches all. 

Whitney Morgan is the 2019 Kansas Teacher of the Year and taught ELA and ESOL at Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.