photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas safety Landon Nelson takes part in spring practice on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Lawrence.

When safety Landon Nelson joined the Kansas football team as a 168-pound preferred walk-on who “didn’t talk at all,” then-first-year head coach Lance Leipold and strength coach Matt Gildersleeve saw potential in him.

“They forced me to be uncomfortable,” Nelson said. “They forced me to push myself.”

Nelson had no preconception entering college in 2021 that he was going to be an every-down player on defense. Instead, over the course of his tenure at KU, which is now entering its final season — and at a time when rosters are becoming smaller, and walk-ons scarcer, due to newly imposed roster limits — he’s embraced the responsibility of identifying potential in younger players and helping to get the most out of them.

“I think pushing each other to reach that is something that’s really important to us,” he said.

It’s drawn the attention and gratitude of his coaches.

“I appreciate him,” defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald said. “I appreciate everything he brings. Most of all, I just appreciate how selfless he is. Man, that’s special in this day and age, for a guy who will sacrifice everything for his teammates, and that’s one thing I really love about Landon.”

Originally from Maui, Hawaii, Nelson’s high school football career took him to San Luis Obispo, California, and later Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he was an all-league and all-state player in the class of 2021.

As Nelson was making decisions about his college football future, he was also planning for further down the road. During his senior year of high school, he came to some realizations about his future career path.

“I didn’t grow up with a whole lot, and the industry that kept poking out to me was real estate,” he recalled. “So as I got into college, that’s something that I started to tap into more.”

He’s tapped into it to such an extent (and credited a mentor, former KU linebacker Mike Rivera) that prior to the start of his fifth and final collegiate season, Nelson is already a licensed realtor and a member of The Tina Team at Keller Williams Realty Partners. That’s the field he’ll be pursuing after school, and that’s how he ends up with a LinkedIn feed on which, in a recent post, he writes he’s “wrapping up my final days before camp with this stunner in Leawood.”

The summer saw Nelson balance his new real estate career with KU’s summer conditioning program.

“Yeah, it’s hard, but the greatest part is it’s balancing two of my greatest passions,” he said.

However he managed to do it clearly worked, as he was the recipient of KU’s Hammer Award. Nelson explains: “The Hammer Award is something that we give out at the end of the summer, and you earn a hammer if you push the team, you push that needle forward in the lift. And throughout the summer, whoever collects the most hammers gets that at the end of the year.”

Defensive end Justice Finkley, running back Daniel Hishaw Jr., and more were in contention for the distinction, Nelson said.

“Every day I just come into the facility with the mentality to just get a little better and push my teammates,” Nelson said. “I think being one of the oldest guys in especially our position room, I have that weight on me to uphold everyone else. Just really getting to tap into the younger guys and make sure that we’re elevating the culture every day is something that I take pride in.”

The safety group is indeed a young one, with players like redshirt freshmen Damani Maxson and Colter McDaniel (a walk-on) and freshmen Darrion Jones and Brandon Schmelzle; even potential starter Taylor Davis is still a redshirt sophomore. Veterans include Devin and Jalen Dye, Mason Ellis and transfers Laquan Robinson and Lyrik Rawls.

They can count on Nelson to “teach and know the defense from front to back,” McDonald said.

“He knows everybody’s spot,” he said. “We can throw him at safety, nickel, it doesn’t matter. Heck, if we needed to, he can try and rush the passer.”

A lot of players will undoubtedly remain ahead of Nelson on the depth chart when the fall rolls around, but he plans to “maximize” whatever role he can get. The last two years, that meant 69 combined special-teams snaps.

“I love special teams,” he said. “When I came to college, I’m not naive to the fact that God didn’t necessarily bless me with the athleticism to be a 60-snap kind of guy on defense, but the greatest thing about special teams is that’s a great way I could see the field and I can make an impact on Saturdays. I’m embracing my role and making the most of it, and that’s one thing I love.”

Nelson said his final year doesn’t necessarily add to his sense of urgency because he’s tried “to move with that kind of urgency every year.”

“It’s one of those things where I sit back and reflect,” he said, “And I asked myself, did I do everything I can? And this time around, because it is my last year, every day when I wake up I try to make the most of it.”

And when it’s all over?

“As I transition into this next phase of life, I’m not worried about it at all,” Nelson said. “But if y’all need a house, just let me know.”