photo by: Photo courtesy of KU Athletics

Kansas offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue (No. 77) and defensive lineman Marcus Harris compete during one of the Jayhawks' preseason practices, in 2020.

The Kansas football program’s transition to a new coaching regime included a tandem setback in the trenches, as defensive end Marcus Harris and nose tackle Da’Jon Terry opted to transfer out of the program.

Yet the position group’s leader, third-year D-line coach Kwahn Drake, downplayed this week what type of blow that might be for the unit.

“This spring, for me, the guys as a group got so much better. And they did so great at identifying what their weaknesses were and putting a plan together individually for each guy,” Drake began, when asked about the impact losing projected sophomore starters Harris and Terry might have.

“If you look at the tape for the spring game, it wasn’t just one guy making a play, it wasn’t just a second guy making a play,” Drake explained of his positive outlook.

It was the collective effort from KU’s D-linemen that excited him during the Jayhawks’ final scrimmage.

While Terry, who is transferring to Tennessee, made two tackles for loss in the exhibition, and Harris, who entered the transfer portal a week after Terry, had 2.5 tackles and one stop in the backfield during the scrimmage, Drake pointed out that other D-linemen also produced that night.

Jereme Robinson, a sophomore defensive end from Montgomery, Ala., led the defense with four tackles behind the line of scrimmage and made a sack. Redshirt freshman D-lineman Caleb Taylor came through with five tackles, two of those were for losses and one was a sack. Returning starters Caleb Sampson, a senior, and nose tackle Sam Burt, a super-senior, each contributed one tackle for loss.

“From the walk-ons to the scholarship players,” Drake said, “we had both sets of guys playing at a high level. And I’m really excited to see how far these guys go.”

The departures of Harris and Terry, naturally, give other D-linemen an opportunity to replace them. However, Drake declined to say which of the players remaining will have to take on larger roles.

“To shout one out would be to not shout another one out,” Drake said. “And I want to make sure that I give these guys a fair opportunity, which they deserve. And they worked for it this spring, and I’m truly impressed with that.”

One of the holdovers on Leipold’s staff from the short-lived Les Miles era, Drake is in his third year at KU. He thinks the D-linemen “improved their stock” during the program’s closed April practices, leading up to the spring game.

With players returning to campus in the next week, and summer strength and conditioning work around the corner, Drake said Leipold’s plan and the training ahead will put the D-line in position to have “multiple guys” contribute.

According to Drake, the tackles in his group took the biggest jump in the spring, particularly in their ability to handle blocks.

The assistant coach said he also was encouraged by the group as a whole, as the players’ knowledge grew and they cleaned up some of their techniques.

“This spring we said we wanted to find a way to get better at fundamentals with our eyes, our hands and our feet,” Drake said. “And those are the things that we’re going to continue to do. And if you do the little things, the big things will take care of themselves.”

That approach also ties in with one of Leipold’s philosophies, Drake pointed out.

“We’re not going to talk about wins and losses. We’re going to talk about getting better. We’re going to talk about the process,” he said.

D-linemen on KU’s roster

Jereme Robinson, soph.

Caleb Sampson, sr.

Caleb Taylor, R-fr.

Malcolm Lee, sr.

Sam Burt, super-sr.

Kenean Caldwell, soph.

Jelani Arnold, sr.

Jack Stallard, soph.

KU’s Class of 2021 D-line signees

Tommy Dunn Jr., 3-star DE from Texas

Deldrick “D.J.” Withers, 2-star DE from Arkansas