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

Kansas linebackers runs through drills with coach Chris Simpson during the first day of fall camp on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Lawrence.

Kansas linebackers coach Chris Simpson knows there’s really no substitute for in-game experience.

“It’s kind of like becoming a parent,” he said on Tuesday. “Or maybe even a head coach, or whatever. It’s hard to say that you really know until you do it.”

The 2024 KU linebacker room has the outward impression of an experienced group; the players expected to serve as its foremost contributors are two redshirt seniors, two seniors and a redshirt junior.

But in the now-graduated Rich Miller and Craig Young, it lost a pair of starters who combined to play 1,261 defensive snaps last season. Meanwhile, this year’s group of five apparent veterans — returning starter JB Brown, plus Taiwan Berryhill, Jayson Gilliom, Alex Raich and Cornell Wheeler — totaled 1,236, and will be expected to match or exceed last year’s level of production as KU strives to put itself in Big 12 contention.

“There’ll be some guys that we got to go through some growing pains with,” Simpson said, “just because they haven’t played a ton.”

On the whole, this year’s group may be less rigidly defined than last season’s; specifically, Simpson said that at least half the linebacker room is training at more than one position.

For example, Berryhill and Brown are weak-side (“Will”) linebackers by trade, but could play the middle (“Mike”) if needed; Gilliom was Young’s backup at the hybrid Hawk position, but has worked at the Will and Mike; and Raich, whose clearest path to playing time after two years on special teams is at the Hawk, has also worked at Will.

“I’ve kind of changed a little bit over the last few years to get it by committee, whether it’s on the field in terms of positions … (or) probably even some leadership by committee,” Simpson said. “Everybody kind of has their thing that they almost hold themselves and each other accountable for, as opposed to having that one voice that everybody kind of looks to, it’s a little bit by committee.”

Wheeler, as the expected starter at middle linebacker — the quarterback of the defense — will receive in-helmet communication from defensive coordinator Brian Borland and therefore be charged with organizing his teammates on the field.

But like Simpson, he acknowledges that everyone has a role to play in running the show: “All across the LB room, you know, we just want to get everybody together, be a leader in their own way. So that’s what we just preach to the team, just being a leader altogether. Everyone can be a leader, no matter if you play or not.”

“We took a big loss with Rich and Craig, big veteran guys, guys that really helped us out on Saturdays,” Berryhill added. “They did a great job setting the standard while they was here, and teaching everybody else what to do and how to do it. And I feel like with the group we got now, we got a lot of veterans on the defense, a lot of veterans on the team in total, and I just feel like everybody’s doing their part.”

Simpson said that areas in which veterans have to express their leadership include instilling the “pillars of the program and whatnot, being on time, being coachable, giving your best effort, those types of things. Any time somebody’s not living up to the standard, then you have to address it, OK? And guys are doing a good job of that, like I said, both on and off the field.”

“Just having those older guys kind of encourage each other,” Gilliom said, “encourage the younger guys too, I feel like that’s been a very cool thing about the linebacker room.”

That’s particularly important because of the gap in age between this older group and more recent additions like redshirt freshman Logan Brantley (a potential candidate for some Hawk action this year) and true freshmen Jon Jon Kamara and JaCorey Stewart.

“For the guys that just got here, I feel like they (are) comfortable enough to come to me and ask any questions they need to know,” said Berryhill, who arrived at KU in 2020 and has been an active contributor since. “I’m an open book, so if anybody really needs help, I’m the guy to talk to regarding the linebacker room and the defense.”

Between Brown and Wheeler, standouts of both the spring and fall, KU has promising primary options at Will and Mike. As camp rolls on, Hawk remains more of a question mark, particularly with the increasing involvement of safeties in the role — although Borland recently laid out a plan for safeties Marvin Grant, Jalen Dye and Devin Dye to fill the role in KU’s 4-2-5 nickel package, with Gilliom and Raich filling in when KU uses a more traditional three-linebacker look.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas linebacker Taiwan Berryhill Jr. warms up during fall camp on Monday, August 5, 2024, in Lawrence.