TCU wide receiver Jack Bech (18) lays out for a first down after being tackled by Kansas linebacker Taiwan Berryhill Jr. (6) and Kansas defensive end Dylan Wudke (95) during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at GEHA Field in Kansas City. Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas City, Mo. — By the time Kansas’ game against TCU on Saturday kicked off at 2:30 p.m., Taiwan Berryhill Jr. had already been awake for more than 12 hours.

It wasn’t pregame jitters, or anything like that. Berryhill had spent the previous night at his mother’s wedding in Louisiana. The veteran linebacker had left Lawrence after practice on Thursday to make it to his hometown New Orleans in time for the celebration.

“They’d been planning for a long time,” he said, “and once the final date came out and I knew it was this game, I was like ‘Ah man, I’m on edge a little bit.’ But we made it work. It was a beautiful wedding, it was a fun reception. Kind of salty I couldn’t go out with them after, but it is what it is.”

He said he knew he had to make it back for the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Head coach Lance Leipold said he landed back in Kansas City around 9:30 a.m.

“I knew how important it was, I knew the situation at hand, so I’m just glad I’m here,” Berryhill said.

Saturday wasn’t just any game for Berryhill. The wedding happened to coincide with a game week during which the rotational linebacker’s services were needed far more than usual. With middle linebacker and captain Cornell Wheeler out due to an injury suffered at West Virginia, the Jayhawks had suddenly become incredibly thin at linebacker.

So what was it like for Berryhill suddenly starting as the primary organizer of the defense in such an adverse situation?

“Hard,” he said. “Nothing short (of) hard. That’s all I really can say. It took a lot just to stay focused all four quarters.”

He said that he had no choice but to occupy as best he could the role of “the glue on and off the field” — a role Wheeler has played thus far this season.

“You got to communicate with guys and get them lined up,” Berryhill said, “but also before you get on the field you got to make sure everybody’s heads (are) right, make sure they know the situation at hand and make sure they’re ready to play. It just took some perseverance.”

Berryhill and JB Brown, the primary players tasked with accounting for Wheeler’s production, had seven tackles each in the loss to TCU.

The process of planning Berryhill’s departure and arrival was far from straightforward. Berryhill said it ultimately proved to be “God’s plan,” particularly that Hurricane Helene didn’t end up interfering with the wedding as it hit much of the southeastern United States.

“My mom was scared about that because it was on the wedding day,” he said. “So I mean, yeah, we just prayed and I think it all worked out.”

As Leipold put it postgame, “Our guys are doing everything possible to try to be here.”

Leipold cited the depleted nature of KU’s defense postgame as a potential reason why the Jayhawks wore down and missed tackles in the second half. Safeties Devin Dye and Mason Ellis missed time, along with Wheeler and reserve Hawk linebacker Logan Brantley.

If they had a full complement of players, he said, “Some of those guys in some spots might have played a little bit longer and so on.”

If KU continues to struggle with injuries at those positions, Berryhill may be pressed into service again. He’ll just be doing so under somewhat more favorable circumstances.