photo by: Ray Soldano/GoMocs.com

Chattanooga defensive end Leroy Harris III walks onto the field at a game against Georgia State on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Atlanta.

Not long after losing a young defensive end to the transfer portal, the Kansas football coaching staff found a new one.

Leroy Harris III, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound end out of Brentwood, Tennessee, announced his commitment to KU via Instagram on Tuesday afternoon. He played his freshman season at Chattanooga at the FCS level.

Harris tallied 11 tackles and recovered three fumbles in 302 snaps of defensive action, according to Pro Football Focus. He was a Southern Conference all-freshman team selection, and Phil Steele named Harris to his FCS all-freshman fourth team. Harris chose KU over portal offers from a variety of Group of Five schools, including Appalachian State, Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina and Florida Atlantic.

He is the son of Leroy Harris Jr., a former NFL offensive lineman for the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans from 2007 to 2013.

In the near term, the addition of Harris helps KU provide an immediate replacement for Bai Jobe, a redshirt sophomore who occupied a rotational role for the Jayhawks during the 2024 season and on Sunday night became the first (and so far, only) KU player to enter the portal during the spring window.

KU may still need an additional player along the defensive line and has certainly been involved in recruiting multiple ends, such as Cam Williams from Georgia State.

It’s not clear on which side of the line Harris and any potential future transfers might fit in — that is, whether they’d play on the strong side or weak side — but even before Jobe’s departure the Jayhawks needed depth on the strong side behind Texas transfer Justice Finkley, the presumptive starter.