photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas linebacker Logan Brantley during practice on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Lawrence.

Before Logan Brantley had even played in a game, and the same summer he had arrived on campus, linebackers coach Chris Simpson told reporters that Kansas would take as many players like him as it could get.

After he redshirted during the 2023 season, playing just 16 snaps on kick coverage across two games, head coach Lance Leipold mentioned Brantley as a player standing out in practice ahead of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

And now, as the redshirt freshman from Colorado goes through his first spring practices, teammates like veteran linebacker JB Brown are already convinced he’s “going to be a great player.”

“Obviously, he can run sideline to sideline,” middle linebacker Cornell Wheeler added, noting that he’s seen more confidence from Brantley of late. “… He wants to learn every day, just to be better.”

To hear Simpson tell it, what Brantley needs to take the next step is just to become more mentally centered, as he’s a “very emotional player.”

“Sometimes that’s good, sometimes it’s bad, so his highs are high and his lows are low,” Simpson said.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound linebacker, who was a three-star recruit out of Cherry Creek High School in Denver, has a chance to go through many more highs and lows on the field this year. He could be one of the first players recruited as a freshman by Leipold’s staff to make a significant contribution.

Simpson has said that among members of the current linebacker room, Brantley is closest to filling the hybrid type of Hawk role that Craig Young did in the past. When opposing teams bring out 11 personnel — one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers — he will have a chance to take the field.

Marvin Grant has also come down from his safety spot to work in that role; Simpson noted that “we’re repping probably five guys right now at that position, but four of the five are coming out of the safety room.”

As head coach Lance Leipold put it recently, “We’re going to have some pieces there to work with.”

“Logan Brantley — athletically, speed, twitch, physicality — has as much (in terms) of tools of anybody in that group,” Leipold said. “Alex Raich’s a player that really is starting to come into his own. So I like the pieces within the linebacker room. But then again, we mentioned Marvin, the Dye brothers could end up in that. I don’t know, they haven’t done it yet, but a guy like Jameel Croft has shown physicality in some areas where he’ll be able to help this team.”

Simpson also noted Brantley’s athleticism and versatility. Now he just needs to work with his player to find a “happy medium” for his emotions.

“Because when he does that, and I do say when because I think he will, (if) he puts all that stuff together, he’s going to be a tremendous player for us,” Simpson said.

photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas redshirt freshman Logan Brantley poses for a photo during the first day of spring practice at the practice field on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas redshirt freshman Logan Brantley during the first day of spring practice at the practice field on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Missy Minear/Kansas Athletics

Linebacker Logan Brantley during fall camp in Lawrence on Aug. 13, 2023.