photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Journal-World photo

Kansas safety Marvin Grant celebrates a tackle Friday, Sept. 1, 2023 against Missouri State.

The Kansas defense has some holes this offseason, and the team is getting creative in order to fill them.

Craig Young, a converted safety who served as something between a safety and a linebacker in the hybrid “Hawk” role for KU’s defense, has graduated. But over the weekend, redshirt senior safety Marvin Grant discussed his ongoing process of adaptation into a new role with some more linebacker-like qualities. He said he’s been drawing on his past experiences as a linebacker in high school.

“I definitely feel like this is a position for me that I can have a lot of success in the long run in my career,” he said. “Just even on the next level, I feel like this’ll be a great position for me.”

He said he had practiced it a little bit last year at times, too, and feels that he can “make more plays” in the modified role.

If he’s playing further down toward the line of scrimmage, that could provide opportunities for the Dye brothers, returnee Jalen and Utah State transfer Devin, to see additional action alongside returning safety O.J. Burroughs.

“That’s also putting Jalen Dye in a good position, giving him that next step to take that next step forward on our defense, helping us in the back end,” Grant said.

Searching for answers at defensive end

Veteran end Jereme Robinson is currently “really not doing anything” in terms of participation at spring practice, defensive coordinator Brian Borland said recently, “but he’s also played a lot (in the past), so it’s really given a lot of our other defensive ends great opportunities.”

Robinson is the most stable piece in a unit that has to replace last year’s breakout star Austin Booker as a pass rusher.

Borland mentioned “extremely physical” Youngstown State transfer Dylan Wudke. He may not end up sliding into Booker’s role, though.

“I don’t want to say he can’t rush the passer,” Borland said. “His strength would certainly appear to be his ability to get his hands on blockers and control blockers and that kind of stuff, but we really haven’t turned anybody loose in pass rush just yet to really know all those things.”

Borland cited Dean Miller as one player who has “shown some real aggressiveness and some speed” in Robinson’s absence. The 6-foot-5 Miller, a redshirt junior from Los Angeles who began his tenure at KU as a JUCO transfer in 2022, had three tackles last season.

He is one of the Jayhawks’ lightest defensive ends at 225 pounds. KU’s new dietitian Katie O’Connor posted on X on Friday to declare him the week’s “Nutrition MVP.”

“Dean struggled to gain weight last year, but January sparked consistency and his body responded,” she wrote. “His nutrition habits have improved and he earned this!”

Other defensive ends on the roster include Dylan Brooks and Davion Westmoreland, as well as early-enrolling freshman Dakyus Brinkley.

“We legitimately do need to find a couple guys that can really contribute to us winning games next fall,” Borland said.

Theme resonates through roster

Head coach Lance Leipold and strength coach Matt Gildersleeve’s recent assertions that the Jayhawks cannot afford to be satisfied with themselves after a strong 2023 season have already made an impact on some of the players.

“(The offensive staff says) don’t get complacent,” senior Jared Casey said. “We can’t really worry about last year … We can’t think that nine wins is enough because those can be taken away just as easily as we can get more.”

His fellow tight end Trevor Kardell emphasized a similar message.

“You see all over social media, people going crazy about how we’re going undefeated next year,” he said. “Then you got people saying we’re going to have a nine-losing-game year. It’s just blocking that all out, not letting it affect any of us.”