Kansas University defensive tackle Jamal Greene sports snazzy threads as he prepares to board a bus bound for Topeka en route to Florida for January's Orange Bowl. Greene has to juggle football obligations with daddy duties for 11-month-old daughter Justice.

Kansas University defensive tackle Jamal Greene sports snazzy threads as he prepares to board a bus bound for Topeka en route to Florida for January's Orange Bowl. Greene has to juggle football obligations with daddy duties for 11-month-old daughter Justice.

If there was an eye-popping moment from the Kansas University football team’s meeting with the media Tuesday, it occurred when defensive tackle Jamal Greene, a 6-foot-4, 301-pound mountain, sat in a chair in the back of Mrkonic Auditorium and started talking about “onesies.”

This, for the record, is not everyday lingo among members of the 14th-ranked Jayhawks. During interviews, players do not, generally speaking, spend significant amounts of time discussing baby attire.

Greene does.

In addition to being one of Kansas’ largest players, the third-year sophomore is also a father of two – daughter Justice, 11 months old, lives in Kansas City, Kan., with her mother, while 3-month-old son Jamal Jr. (“he’s the next monster of the family,” Greene says) lives with Greene’s current girlfriend in Lawrence.

In the past 12 months, Greene has endured a crash course in the joys of parenthood – the smiles and the hugs and the unconditional love – and everything that comes along with it.

“Yeah,” he sighs, asked about diaper changing. “Gotta do it.”

Not that he has any problems with the responsibility. Greene goes to great lengths to ensure his kids grow up with a father in their lives. Just about every weekend during the offseason, he heads home to spend the day with Justice. Which means he’s able to be around for some of the biggest moments – the first words and the early stages of walking.

Just recently, for instance, Justice began speaking.

“Her mom’s jealous because she calls me ‘Daddy’ more than she says ‘Momma,'” says Greene. “So that’s kind of good, because I’ve got something to tease her momma with.”

There have been sacrifices, of course. No more reckless spending habits or “Fast and the Furious”-type street races, both of which he busied himself with in high school. And there are many occasions now when he’s forced to pass on nights out with teammates in order to handle baby-sitting duties at home.

“That’s always a situation that’s going to make you grow up,” says fellow defensive lineman Caleb Blakesley. “But that’s just the responsibilities that come with the situation. And it’s understandable; and it’s respectable.”

Between daddy duties, however, Greene has found time to develop into a member of the Jayhawks’ defensive-line rotation, one that held visiting Florida International to a paltry 66 rushing yards in a 40-10 victory Saturday.

Despite not recording a tackle during the game – a fact that seemed to annoy him afterward – he helped plug the middle for a defensive unit that, after Week 1, ranks second in the Big 12 in total defense.

“He’s come a long way,” Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. “We think he’s starting to get a grasp on what the expectations are here.”

Added Blakesley, “Jamal is just a physical specimen. The kid is so strong and : fast for as big as he is, and I think he’s really starting to get his head around the game.”

Which is nice, considering he plans to have a couple of tiny fans in the crowd watching him this season. Justice was there for last week’s game, while Jamal Jr. is expected to make his first appearance at Memorial Stadium some time in the coming weeks.

“He’s gonna have a onesie with a No. 99 on it,” Greene assures.

And for the most part, Greene says, there have not been many “What if” questions about early parenthood, no palm-to-the-forehead moments.

No regrets.

“That’s how life is,” Greene said. “Unplanned. Take everything how it comes. I’m not complaining at all. (My kids are) a joy to my life and to all my family.”