Special teams coordinator Jake Schoonover talks with media members on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at the Anderson Family Football Complex.

Jake Schoonover has a pretty simple philosophy for how to coach special teams that has very little to do with what takes place on the field.

It also lines up perfectly with his run as one of the new assistant coaches working for the first time under new KU coach Lance Leipold.

“I say this to our guys all the time: Our special teams is a reflection of the character in the locker room,” Schoonover said on Monday after KU’s fifth practice of preseason camp. “If kids are bought in to what’s important to special teams, they’re usually bought in to the culture that’s trying to be installed.”

Getting the current crop of Jayhawks, new and old, to buy in to Leipold’s approach has been a big and important part of the offseason this year.

But now that their first game day together is nearing, an equal amount of time at practice has been spent teaching, coaching and drilling so that this group will be ready to put a competitive product on the field for the season opener against South Dakota on Sept. 3 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

While that means more strategy and scheme talk for a lot of coaches, it means more of the same for Schoonover, who came to KU after a three-year stint at Bowling Green.

While some of his time has been spent coaching the defensive ends, Schoonover’s work with KU’s special teams has continued to be about rallying players for the common good.

“Team over me. Cause over comfort. That’s what special teams is,” Schoonover said.

As he goes about emphasizing those points, the first-year KU assistant takes pride in celebrating team achievements over that of the individual.

“Nobody knows the name of the backside left tackle on kickoff return who’s got to sprint 30 yards to take on a guy that’s coming at him,” Schoonover gave as an example. “Nobody knows the names of the shield players who are taking a dead sprint from a bigger body right in the chin. Nobody knows those names. But if we have a buy in from the entire group that that’s important, then you’ll see it on Saturday.”

As is the case at most programs, the success of special teams often comes down to which players the coaching staff is willing to put on the field for punt coverage, kickoff return, field goal block and more.

It can be difficult for some coaches to put offensive or defensive starters on those units for fear of wearing key players down. But to go without them runs the risk of putting less talented players in spots that can make or break a game.

Schoonover said he and Leipold have had discussions about how to walk that line. And it’s clear, Schoonover said, that Leipold both understands and values the importance of special teams.

“He knows that, he says that and he emphasizes that, and you see the emphasis he puts on it in practice,” Schoonover said.

It’s up to the two of them, together, to figure out the best way to maximize the contributions of KU’s first-string talent without having them on the field too much.

And Schoonover likes the plan they’ve formulated.

“Guys are available for special teams, within the understanding that we’re not going to hamper our offensive or defensive production, as well,” he said. “It’s all about the team. The entire team. Every decision we make in this program, from top to bottom with coach Leipold, is about what’s best for the organization. At the end of the day, it’s what makes us best.”