photo by: KU Athletics

Kansas football offensive lineman Jacobi Lott

Jacobi Lott prefers not to talk about it.

The details of the incident, the offensive lineman says, he wants to keep in his past.

What Lott, a redshirt freshman from Amarillo, Texas, is focusing on now, he’ll tell you, is his football present and future.

Lott and his University of Kansas teammates were in the midst of their fifth preseason practice this past August when the young O-lineman had to leave the team’s practice fields in an ambulance.

The scare, of which Lott decided not to reveal any details while speaking this week with media members for the first time since, ended his season.

However, after medical evaluations and an ample recovery period, Lott got cleared to return to football activities in December — a moment he described as his “golden ticket” — and has been a full participant with the Jayhawks during spring football practices.

“In the end, I’m just thankful to be here and just know that I’m better and back,” the 6-foot-4, 309-pound lineman said.

Rated a three-star prospect in KU’s 2018 recruiting class, Lott arrived as a promising talent. He hoped to spend this past fall competing for playing time, but instead had to watch from the sideline.

That’s a big part of the reason why Lott is so excited to be involved this spring as a left guard. Lott described himself as a spiritual person, and said that had a lot to do with his progress. He also pointed to his teammates, whom he repeatedly referred to as “his brothers,” and his coaches at KU for helping him get to this point, which feels like a fresh opportunity to him.

“As far as I know, I’m getting better,” Lott said. “I’m getting way stronger than I was. And I’m just happy to be here.”

While observing the 2018 season and waiting to hear about when he could get back to playing the game he loves, Lott always felt like he was still a member of the team, he said, because of efforts made by coaches and teammates to keep him involved.

“Every team’s a band of brothers. I give thanks and tip my hat off to them,” Lott said, adding he would do the same for any one of them.

The redshirt freshman said whatever his new offensive line coach, Luke Meadows, asks of him, he’s always “ready to play.”

As Lott takes reps at left guard, doing his best to put himself in position to play in the fall, he’s enjoying the process, and not stressing about it.

“It’s always going to be competition. In the end, whatever happens happens. We’re just gonna compete together,” Lott said. “Everybody’s gonna get their chance to play. Even though we need that front five, the front strong five, whatever happens happens with the depth chart.”

As the young lineman does his best to work on techniques and study video to put himself in the best position to succeed, he said veterans such as Hakeem Adeniji, Clyde McCauley III and Chris Hughes have helped him out.

“All of them were starters for a few years past, when the O-line didn’t have as many guys,” Lott said. “So they know what to teach me and everything. I’m grateful for them.”