photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File

FILE - Iowa running back Leshon Williams (4) carries the ball up field during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Western Michigan, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, in Iowa City, Iowa.

As the Kansas football team begins the long process of replenishing its skill positions, it earned a significant commitment from an experienced power-conference running back on Monday.

Leshon Williams, a transfer from Iowa who had less than a week earlier committed to Memphis, announced on Instagram that he will instead attend KU.

Williams is a 5-foot-10, 214-pound running back who carried the ball 170 times for 821 yards with one touchdown while starting the majority of the Hawkeyes’ games in 2023. His 65.7 Pro Football Focus grade was one of the best on Iowa’s struggling offense.

This past season, he reportedly battled a leg injury, and he only got 11 carries for 21 yards in three early appearances before leaving the team to enter the portal midway through the year. Iowa’s new starting running back Kaleb Johnson has run for 1,537 yards this year as one of the national leaders.

Williams, who is originally from Chicago and attended Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, will be a sixth-year senior when he arrives in Lawrence. He started college in 2020 and played fewer than the four-game maximum for redshirts in 2021.

His addition to the running-back room, along with those of incoming freshmen John Kelly and Justin Thurman (who recently flipped to KU from Notre Dame), will help KU start to account for the loss of its all-time rushing leader Devin Neal. There is some uncertainty as to the future of Daniel Hishaw Jr. after he missed the final two games of the year due to a family matter, while Sevion Morrison is expected to return for a sixth collegiate season of his own after spending more time than usual as Neal’s primary backup in 2024.

The KU coaching staff has also been high on young running backs Johnny Thompson Jr., who will be a redshirt sophomore in 2025, and Harry Stewart III, who will be a redshirt freshmen. Both players participated in the Jayhawks’ opener against Lindenwood before Stewart got a single snap at Baylor on Saturday.

Williams is the second transfer to commit to KU after former Pitt and South Carolina linebacker Bangally Kamara.