Laith Marjan reunited with Kyle Deween at Kansas

Kansas kicker Laith Marjan is entering his last and only season in Lawrence with a proven past and brings a competitive mentality.

The transfer from South Alabama was a semifinalist for the 2024 Lou Groza Award, earned Second Team All-Sun Belt honors, and converted 16-of-17 field goals last season. Now, he’s taking on a new challenge in the Big 12 while pursuing his MBA at KU.

Training camp has been a positive start for Marjan.

“It’s been good,” he said. “We got a little blessed by the weather the last few days, so it’s been cooler out there, but yeah, it’s been going well.”

Marjan takes missed field goals personal

He is a perfectionist by nature and breaks down every miss. Kansas special teams coach Taiwo Onatolu said when there is missed field goal, Marjan immediately wants to dissect the issue.

“Lathe is a personality,” Onatolu said. “He’s confident, meticulous in what he does, and extremely competitive. If he misses, he wants to see the film, break it down, and have an answer. He’s had a lot of success in the past, he’s accurate, and he brings something to our group.”

Marjan said he takes every miss to heart and studies what he can improve after every miss.

“It’s usually the same things every time, which is a good thing,” Marjan said. “You don’t want to have a variety of reasons why you miss. I take it personally. I go out there to do a job, and if I don’t do it, I take it personally. I always look at the film pretty quickly after, and I look for my plant foot, where is it angled, what’s the width like?”

Connection to the KU program

Choosing Kansas was a decision that came down to academics, football and a past connection to the coaching staff. He knew the Jayhawks were looking for a kicker and they had the major he is studying.

“First and foremost, the MBA program,” he said. “I really wanted to be part of a program that had a strong alumni association and a ton of opportunities and connections. They didn’t have a kicker when they were recruiting me, and they had a need and I had a desire to be here, so it just kind of matched up really well.”

Playing at Kansas gave him the opportunity to reunite with special teams analyst Kyle Deween. He was the special teams analyst at East Carolina with Marjan in 2023. Deween left East Carolina for Kansas.

Marjan transferred to South Alabama the next season. When he entered the transfer portal the connection to Deween quickly paid off for the Jayhawks.  

“Coach Deween does a really good job of telling us that when you’re doing well, you can’t get too high, and when you’re doing bad, you can’t get too low,” Marjan said. “You constantly have to master the ability to stay level-headed, and I think that’s the biggest challenge.”

When it comes to range, Marjan is confident in his leg. If the team needs a field goal in the 50-yard range he believes he can deliver. He has already attempted them from that distance in practice.

“The furthest Coach Leipold has pushed me back in practice is 57,” he said. “If we needed it, I think he’d put me out there for a 58. Obviously, I don’t want to speculate for him, but I know he has confidence in me, and I have confidence that if they put me out there, I’m capable.”