photo by: AP Photo/Young Kwak

Arizona tight end Keyan Burnett (88) runs a route while pressured by Washington State defensive back Cam Lampkin (3) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Pullman, Wash.

Kansas will be starting fresh in plenty of position groups ahead of the 2025 season. One such group in which it had not yet made inroads in the transfer portal prior to Friday was tight end, but the Jayhawks strengthened their outlook there for 2025 by adding Arizona transfer Keyan Burnett.

Burnett, a 6-foot-6, 248-pound tight end from Ladera Ranch, California, will have one year of eligibility remaining. He announced his commitment on social media on Friday morning.

The son of a former NFL linebacker, Burnett was a four-star recruit out of Servite High School and one of the top tight ends in the 2022 recruiting class. After playing sparingly in 21 games his first two years at Arizona, he was limited to eight with four starts in 2024 but caught 18 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown with a strong Pro Football Focus grade of 73.9 for the season.

Burnett immediately provides a big target for returning quarterback Jalon Daniels and competition for former Iowa State transfer DeShawn Hanika to start at tight end. Hanika, a Topeka native, missed the 2023 season at ISU due to a gambling investigation and the 2024 season at KU due to an offseason injury. He caught 17 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns for the Cyclones in 2022.

Other options for the Jayhawks at the position include Leyton Cure, who played periodically and primarily as a blocker in 2023 after transferring from Division II Fort Hays State, and younger players like Jaden Hamm and Carson Bruhn.

They all have a new coach this year in Matt Lubick, who recently rejoined KU as its co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach after Jeff Grimes departed for Wisconsin. For Hamm, suddenly the longest-tenured scholarship player in the room, that’ll mean three position coaches in three seasons in Lawrence after Andy Kotelnicki left following the 2023 season.