photo by: Brent Beerends/Photo courtesy of KU Athletics

Kansas center Colin Grunhard looks in the direction of defensive lineman Caleb Sampson during the Jayhawks' practice on April 15, 2021.

After just a few weeks of observing veteran offensive lineman Colin Grunhard during preseason practices, Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold already is convinced the former Notre Dame walk-on will bring “toughness” and a “blue collar mentality” to the Jayhawks’ offense.

“He’s my type of guy on the line. He’s gritty,” Leipold said of Grunhard, a 6-foot-1, 290-pound junior who joined KU as a graduate transfer early in the offseason.

Referencing Grunhard’s father, Tim, who starred at Notre Dame in the late 1980s before going on to start at center for the Kansas City Chiefs, Leipold said it’s obvious Colin was raised around football.

“He’s about the team,” Leipold said of another quality he likes about the younger Grunhard. “I could go on and on.”

Grunhard, a former high school standout at nearby Bishop Miege, enrolled at KU for the 2021 spring semester, allowing him to practice with the Jayhawks in the offseason, before Leipold and the new staff members arrived. At the time, it looked like Grunhard could end up becoming KU’s starting center this fall.

Not long after Leipold and several former Buffalo assistants came in, though, so did transfer Mike Novitsky, the Bulls’ starting center during Leipold’s final two seasons at UB.

That prompted a move to right guard for Grunhard. KU O-line coach Scott Fuchs said Grunhard has performed well during practices this month and he’s excited about that.

“Pretty much every inside guy has to learn how to snap, has to be a center, whether they’re playing center or guard,” Fuchs said, when asked about Grunhard moving over one spot up front. “So whatever we do, we want to make sure we’ve got the five best guys out there.”

Fuchs added he’s “not a real big fan” of having his O-linemen strictly play one position.

“I think you should know what we’re doing,” he said. “We keep it simple enough.”

On an offensive line that is likely to feature the 6-5, 295-pound Novitsky on one side of Grunhard and either 6-3, 285-pound Michael Ford Jr. or 6-6, 282-pound Bryce Cabeldue on the other side of him at right tackle, Leipold doesn’t mind that Grunhard (listed at 6-1, 290) wouldn’t be considered a tall O-lineman.

“I’d take as many of that type of guy as you could possibly have in the locker room,” Leipold said. “He’s a fine young man. He doesn’t say a whole lot, and he goes about his business the way you’d want him to.”

What’s the KU defense’s strength?

It’s only a matter of time before the KU football defense will be on display in games and establish an identity for itself. In the meantime, Leipold doesn’t want to give any hints about his expectations on that side of the ball.

Asked to identify the strength of the defense at this point, Leipold said earlier this week he didn’t want to answer that question and disrespect a position group in the process.

“I think holistically it’s getting better,” Leipold said of the defense, “and understanding what we’re doing. I like the way our front four is developing (on the D-line). Our linebackers are understanding the scheme better and I like the athleticism of the back end of our young secondary.”

While Leipold noted KU’s defensive backs include veterans at safety in junior Kenny Logan Jr. and super-senior Ricky Thomas, he also pointed out KU is “really young” at cornerback.

“But I think they’re really talented,” Leipold added of a corner group that includes sophomore Duece Mayberry, graduate transfer Jeremy Webb, freshman Jacobee Bryant and redshirt freshman Ra’Mello Dotson.

“For us to be a good football team, holistically we need to be a good defense,” Leipold said.

Neal could return kicks

As true freshman running back Devin Neal keeps finding ways to impress the KU coaching staff during the preseason, it’s possible the Jayhawks won’t only look for him to contribute on offense.

Leipold said, Neal, a former Lawrence High star, has dabbled in kick returning, too, at the team’s closed practices. KU’s head coach said the staff began earlier this week examining personnel closely as they began to determine what will be asked of certain players during the first couple of games of the season.

Neal, at 5-11 and 210 pounds, Leipold said, has the build, speed and physicality to handle kickoff returns, and the coach anticipates the true freshman will play throughout this season and not redshirt.

“If that stays the course, then we need to find ways to have him (on the field),” Leipold said.

“If he’s going to burn a year, then he needs to be on as many special teams as we could possibly have,” he said.