photo by: Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Kansas running back Devin Neal speaks to media at a press conference in Arizona on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023.

A sea of Kansas blue greeted the Jayhawks inside of Phoenix’s Chase Field on Dec. 26. The baseball stadium that permanently houses the Arizona Diamondbacks, complete with foul poles by the end zones and the smells of kettle corn and hot dogs wafting through the stadium, was transformed into a stage for long balls of another variety.

When it came time to play ball, passing dominated the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, an eventual 49-36 win for KU over UNLV. Neither team eclipsed 150 rushing yards in the game, as a majority of the offense came through the air; 142 of the Jayhawks’ 591 total yards came via the ground, while UNLV could only muster 95 rushing yards on the natural grass.

Kansas’s prior bowl win — the 2008 Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona — had seen similar tactics play out. Only one of the Jayhawks’ six total touchdowns in that game came from the rushing attack. The junior running back Jake Sharp was responsible for that score, putting a bow on the 42-21 victory over Minnesota.

The Salina native bolstered the Jayhawks’ backfield in the 2008 season. His touchdown in the Insight Bowl put him into the Kansas top 10 for both single-season and career touchdowns. It capped off a season where Sharp ran for 860 yards and 12 of his 19 career touchdowns.

Sharp’s impact was not immense in the Jayhawks’ bowl win that season, but without his regular-season performance they may not have been in bowl position.

The same could be said for current running back Devin Neal.

The junior did not light up the stat sheet, running for 71 yards on 20 carries and scoring once on a 1-yard rush. Regardless, the Lawrence local dominated the backfield as the Jayhawks pushed toward a 9-4 record this season.

Neal became fourth all-time in Kansas history with 3,077 rushing yards, third in rushing touchdowns with 33 and tied for third in total touchdowns with 36. He also ran for eight touchdowns in the Jayhawks’ final four regular-season games, including three games with at least two scores each.

photo by: Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Kansas running back Devin Neal plows toward the goal line in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.

Over the past two seasons Neal has cemented his name in Kansas football history with consecutive seasons over 1,000 yards rushing and back-to-back bowl appearances. He has become a treasured player for head coach Lance Leipold and the Jayhawk fan base.

Skeptics said his talent was too good for Kansas, but Neal has shown dedication to Lawrence and has proved those who attempted to talk him out of committing to the Jayhawks wrong.

“As they tried to talk me out of committing to KU, their message always sounded the same: ‘Why are you doing this? You have a chance to go somewhere else, somewhere that’s established. You don’t have to do this,'” he wrote in a “Love Letter to Lawrence” posted on the KU website in 2021, early in his freshman year.

“Here’s what they never understood: There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here, right now.”

photo by: Shane Jackson

Lawrence High senior Devin Neal (middle) signs his national letter of intent while his family watches Wednesday afternoon at 23rd Street Brewery on Dec. 16, 2020. Neal, who is the top-ranked recruit in the state, signed to play football and baseball at KU.

Choosing the hometown team

Neal’s decision to stay in Lawrence had a ripple effect on the future of the football program. His impact was felt immediately when Leipold took over in 2021, Neal’s first season.

“One of the more impactful things that happened even before we arrived as a staff was Devin Neal, Lawrence native, turned down many opportunities to play in other programs,” Leipold said at a recent press conference, “to stay right in Lawrence, Kansas, and help turn around the Jayhawk football program.”

It was evident as soon as Neal entered the program that he was a difference-maker. His play spoke for itself, but it was his passion for Lawrence and commitment to Kansas football that separated Neal from the rest of his class. He knew that playing for Kansas was an uphill battle to success, but he craved the opportunity to be a part of a turnaround and accepted the challenge.

In the “Love Letter to Lawrence,” he promised success and detailed his dreams for Kansas, writing, “I’ll be able to say I was part of the group that brought bowl games, sellout crowds and winning football back to KU. That, truthfully, is exactly why I came here.”

Now, coming off of a winning season and the program’s first bowl victory in over a decade, Neal can revel in the reality of his dream come true.

“It’s really special,” Neal said recently. “It’s one thing to say that you’re going to strive to do something and you dream of doing it, but to actually be a part of the change and be a part of a special group that’s actually brought forth my dream and a lot of other dreams.”

photo by: Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Kansas quarterback Jason Bean hands off to running back Devin Neal during the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.

The ultimate team player

Neal’s redshirt senior quarterback Jason Bean was especially thankful for the Lawrence kid who lined up behind him.

Entering the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Bean was seeking redemption for a Liberty Bowl incompletion in 2022 that ended Kansas’s season. And the sixth-year quarterback got it against UNLV with a Kansas bowl-game-record six touchdown passes and 449 yards on 19-for-28 passing, enough to secure the offensive MVP award for the game.

Neal was not a prominent figure for much of the game, but a string of runs when Kansas was faced with 99 yards to the end zone helped set Bean up for an electric start to the fourth quarter.

A UNLV punt had pinned the Jayhawks inside their own red zone with 6:45 left in the third quarter and momentum appearing to shift in the Rebels’ direction. Kansas had not scored since the second quarter, allowing UNLV to close the deficit to one score, 28-24. Bean was also coming off an offensive possession that ended with an interception in his own territory. The Jayhawks’ defense held down the hatches, forcing a three-and-out, but it was the offense’s turn to ensure that the lead did not slip away.

Neal rushed for 36 yards on the drive, including a 16-yard run to put the Jayhawks at the UNLV 40-yard line as time expired in the third quarter.

With favorable field position to begin the fourth quarter, Bean connected with junior wide receiver Lawrence Arnold for a 40-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to extend the lead to 35-24. But Neal’s heroics led Kansas out of its own end zone and toward its eventual victory.

“It takes a little stress off of you, just knowing you can turn to your right hand and he can go for however many yards he needs to,” Bean said of Neal. “I have been trying to praise him all year and I’m thankful for him and everything that he’s done.”

Now Neal stands on the mountaintop of Kansas football, having become the leader that he dreamed of. He does not bask in the glory of a few successful seasons; instead he stands proudly as a member of the Kansas football program and stays committed to the coaches and players who have aided him in his journey.

“I want to do everything I can to be the best teammate and player that I can be to change our program through and through,” Neal said.

He hopes now that he has changed the mind of those who questioned why he would choose Kansas over a more established program.

“You can see the change,” Neal said. “I think there’s a lot of things that people could see that is fulfilling to me and fulfilling to a lot of people. Not necessarily go somewhere where it’s established and you’re maintaining, but somewhere where you can completely flip the script.”

Should he decide to return for a fourth year — ESPN has reported he plans to, though he has not made an official announcement — Neal will have an opportunity to become the school’s all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in his final season in Lawrence.

Statistically he has proven to be an asset for the Jayhawks, but the person Neal is off the field will leave an impact well beyond his years as a player. Leipold applauded Neal for his maturity, character and composure prior to kickoff in Phoenix. All attributes that have aided in the resurgence of a football program that did not see more than three wins in any of the 11 previous seasons before Neal’s arrival.

“It’s not just his on-field play that has helped the Jayhawks move in a positive direction on the football field, it’s him as a person,” Leipold said. “He’s a great young man. Love everything about him and he’s going to have a chance … to be one of the finest Jayhawks to ever put on a uniform.”