Quotes from Lance Leipold on Hawk Talk- Fresno State week

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold held his first Hawk Talk of the year with host Brian Hanni. They covered several topics from team captains, to players to watch and thoughts on Fresno State. Here are some of the highlights and quotes from Leipold.

Comments from Leipold

You announced three captains today and will rotate in a fourth during the season:

We’ve had some fine leadership in guys that, after the large senior class and guys that departed, there was a lot of room for guys to emerge as leaders, and I think we were able to get that done in the offseason.

We vote every year for captain, three guys really kind of pulled away in the voting and then there was another group of guys that were kind of packed together. So, we made the decision to go with three and then rotate some of the other guys, or other guys that emerged during the season that are worthy of that opportunity. It’s something we don’t take lightly. I know some guys can be disappointed when they’re not appointed.

A lot of guys can be a leader, and being a captain is not just going out for the coin toss and doing things like that. There’s a lot of things that go into it in our program, and I think we got a lot of quality guys that can handle that role.

Jalon Daniels is playing his final season. Talk about the leadership you see from him:

One of the things that we talked with Jalon is that he needed to be more direct as a leader. He’s such a good young man that I think sometimes he becomes too people-pleasing at times. And sometimes in that role as a quarterback or as a leader, you’ve got to speak your mind. You’ve got to be vocal; you’ve got to get things straightened out. Sometimes it’s not about being friends, it’s about getting the team right, and I think Jalon’s done a great job with that.

He’s got such an infectious personality and his work ethic has been off the charts this year. I’ve said this multiple times, but I get a list every day from the strength staff of the first five guys in the building and the last five guys. And Jalon has consistently been one of the first two guys in the building all fall camp, many times just a few minutes after 5 a.m., and he’s ready to go. I think he’s determined to have his best year yet.

Bryce Foster, another one of those announced captains, talk about his leadership:

Bryce is interesting because he transferred in, he missed part of spring. He was around, but he was participating in the track program and went to nationals. But he’s well respected. His work ethic, his knowledge, his relationships within the locker room and highly respected. And again, a guy that’s well looked upon in the locker room and within the program.

The other captain is Justice Finkley a transfer from Texas:

Another young man that we’ve been pleased with all our transfers and how they adapted. But Justice is one that really, much like Deshaun when he transferred in, is very mature, understands the process. He’s driven, he knows the process of getting ready each and every day, and it’s been infectious. DJ alluded to the effort and motor with which Justice plays and it’s infectious to our defense. And again, to me, once it got going, it wasn’t very surprising that he was a captain.

Name a couple returners on offense who have elevated their game and a few newcomers:

I think Daniel Hishaw has had an excellent camp. I think he’s ready to step into the role and be the dependable back and be the back that he has shown flashes of in his career. And then I’d say Calvin Clements at the left tackle spot, probably another one. I’m kind of cheating on this but Kobe Baines. I think those are guys that have really grown in what they’re doing, and I’m ready for them.

And newcomers offensively:

I think you have to go out to the receiver spot probably. Emmanuel Henderson, we’ve been talking about him a lot. I think our fans will really appreciate him, his speed, and what he can give us. Levi Wentz, another receiver, as well as Cam Pickett. I think all three are going to give us the receiving core that we hoped we could get through the portal, along with some of those returners. Again, I’m going to cheat and keep throwing guys in here, Enrique Cruz has won the job at right tackle. We were looking for depth there, and he’s answered that for us and then some.

On the defensive side a couple of veterans that have been with the program but are now looking better than ever, and two or three newcomers as well.

We talked a little bit about DJ (Withers) and what he’s done. I think he’s had an excellent camp. Tommy Dunn would be another one. Probably the two that come to mind that have been the most consistent and productive for us in fall camp.

Justice Finkley, which we already talked about. And then Leroy Harris has probably been the biggest surprise of the whole camp. Linebackers Bangally Kamara and Trey Lathan, I think are also going to be players that our fans will get to know and really like. And then Lyrik Rawls as a safety, I think, is another one that has been an addition that really strengthened us up the middle after the departures of O.J. and Marvin Grant.

Leroy Harris’ dad played seven years in the NFL he sounds like he is developing:

We brought Leroy in early in the summer—late May, maybe June. Somebody we thought would be more of a developmental player. He has great length inside. He put on over 20 pounds in two months and then really blossomed into understanding the defense and making plays. He’s put himself in position to play a lot of football this fall.

From the kicking game to your punt returner to your kick returner, who are some newcomers in special teams?

Well, you know, we got Laith Marjan. He came from South Alabama, also was at East Carolina. He’s another mature guy that I’m sure will get out here this year. Very accurate, and I’ve been very pleased with him where he’s at. Finn Lappin, we had to stick with an Australian. We lost an Australian, so we had our quota on Australian punters and made sure we brought one in. He’s won the punting job. Tate Nagy will be one of the true freshmen that’ll be our punt returner. And then Emmanuel Henderson will handle the kickoff returns.

Matt Entz won national titles at NDSU and will bring Fresno State in Saturday:

Yeah, they’ll be an excellent football team, well coached. In fact, I think somebody in our office said today that Fresno State in the last 20 years has beaten a Power Four team 19 times in those years. They’ll line up and play against anybody in the country. Matt Entz, like you said, was the head coach at North Dakota State, won two national titles. He was Chris Kleiman’s defensive coordinator when Chris was the head coach there. So, you know he’s an excellent coach. They brought in an offensive coordinator from the University of South Dakota, and they had their best season in probably their FCS history, and the defensive coordinator from Northern Illinois. As we know, Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame last year. They’re going to be a well-coached football team.

Brought in 43 new players, kind of matching us almost in those type of numbers between portal players, which was I think 21 or so, six junior college players, and the rest high school players.