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

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold talks to his team during the Kansas Football Fan Appreciation Day Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Lawrence.

It wasn’t quite a Spring Showcase, nor did it follow the original longer outdoor model for Saturday’s event due to fears of inclement weather, but the Kansas football team still welcomed a throng of eager fans to campus for its Fan Appreciation Day.

With four and a half months to go before the Jayhawks take the field at the revamped David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium for their season opener against Fresno State, they showed off some of their offseason progress in the form of about 45 minutes of practice in their indoor practice facility.

“Before we know it, it’ll be August and we’ll be kicking off,” head coach Lance Leipold told the assembled fans at the end of the event.

The four periods for which KU opened its practice were active ones — a team passing period, a walkthrough, a special-teams tackling drill and, for the longest time and with the most action, a climactic red-zone showdown that saw the offense rally to defeat the defense, 21-12.

d

“You come out of this thing sometimes and you’re trying to figure out … if somebody has a good day, is the other side struggling, or where it’s at,” Leipold said afterward.

The real star of the red-zone period might have been a player technically on neither offense nor defense, South Alabama kicker Laith Marjan, who drilled three field goals, including two from long range.

The event constituted the Jayhawks’ 12th practice of spring, with just three more to go and one week remaining.

“I’ve been extremely pleased with the attitude, the effort, the work ethic of this team, embracing what we’re setting as standards,” he said. “Got a lot of work to do yet, got a lot to clean up and some things in critical times, but 12 practices in, I’m very pleased where we’re at.”

A chance for the fans to meet the Jayhawks — as they did face to face afterward, during an autograph session — might have been more necessary than ever this offseason, with nearly two-dozen transfers making the move to Lawrence from other schools, not to mention incoming freshmen.

“I really got to thank our staff and commend them for the job they’ve done, not only just what the guys have done on the field but how they fit in the locker room,” Leipold said. “… These guys have come in and understood that opportunity is here but at the same time they have to earn it by working hard and doing things. And they’ve been able to do that.”

One aspect of spring that has not quite lived up to Leipold’s expectations is the Jayhawks’ overall health.

KU’s players are still on track to undertake the full number of live snaps it has experienced in recent years, and the “thud” periods (initial contact allowed but not full tackling) have gone well, he said, but the health situation is “not exactly where I’d like it to be,” Leipold said. He added that KU had eight players out on Saturday, including three or four at running back.

Quarterback Jalon Daniels, whose injury situation tends to receive the most scrutiny, is working his way back into action after an offseason knee procedure. Tuesday was the first practice in which he had taken part in the period open to the media; on Saturday, he mostly stood near the offense and watched as backups Cole Ballard, Isaiah Marshall and David McComb took reps.

“He’s starting to throw more and do some things, moving around,” Leipold said. “He’s getting anxious, I can tell. I tell you what, unfortunately, we all know the road he’s kind of gone through. He’s done a great job of taking the mental reps and staying engaged and being encouraging and being a leader that he is. Everything will be on course when we hit summer workouts that he’ll be 100%.”

KU concludes spring practice on Friday and starts fall camp on July 23.