photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas redshirt junior Doug Emilien (5) stiff-arms redshirt freshman Logan Brantley (16) during the spring showcase at Rock Chalk Park on Friday, April 12, 2024.

The six spring practices the Kansas football team has staged thus far have featured an atmosphere of competition that strength coach Matt Gildersleeve has called “revitalizing” and “reinvigorating.”

That’s not only because KU brought in upwards of 20 transfers to fill the void left by an accomplished senior class, but because the new blood has sparked something among the Jayhawks who stuck around after 2024.

“Sometimes when you bring in guys and you still have guys that are in the early part of their career, guys who have been backups,” head coach Lance Leipold said on Thursday, “you see them rise to the occasion well with experience.”

One of the defining position groups that features players of that sort is linebacker.

KU, which typically uses a middle and weak-side linebacker and subs in a third periodically at the hybrid “Hawk” position, brought in three veteran starting-caliber players in the portal: Bangally Kamara from South Carolina, Trey Lathan from West Virginia and Joseph Sipp Jr. from Bowling Green.

That has in turn created a “sense of urgency” among some of the returning linebackers, position coach Chris Simpson said, who played various roles during the 2024 season. That includes redshirt sophomore Logan Brantley, redshirt senior Jayson Gilliom and redshirt freshman Jon Jon Kamara.

“We’ve always had a culture of competition that we’ve tried to stress that and emphasize that, so that guys know that they’re going to work their butts off and things will pay off in the end if they do,” Simpson said, “but you start bringing some other guys in that maybe come from other programs, and the guys that are in house seem to elevate a little quicker.”

Each of the three returnees will have his own part to play in shaping the on-field prospects and broader identity for a position group that lost its three primary contributors in Taiwan Berryhill Jr., JB Brown and defensive captain Cornell Wheeler, along with auxiliary pieces like Tristian Fletcher and Alex Raich.

Brantley, who fits the mold of KU’s Hawk position from recent years (though it’s not clear how that position may change schematically under new defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald), is a highly athletic, sideline-to-sideline linebacker who redshirted in 2023. He then received praise in spring and fall practices the following offseason, but only played one defensive snap and 22 on special teams in four games, according to Pro Football Focus, before missing the rest of the season due to injury.

He’s been limited early in spring practice as he works his way back into action.

“I feel like everything happens for a reason,” Brantley said. “I feel like this was God’s plan. Injury’s not ever fun in football, but it’s part of the game. The healing process has been good, so getting back to it this year’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Brantley said his personality lends itself well to taking charge at times in a room that is searching for guidance after losing the veteran presence of Wheeler.

“It’s time for the other linebackers in the room to take that leadership role, and when things aren’t going as they should in practice, you got to step up and say something,” Brantley said. “I’ve been trying to step into that role a little bit when things are kind of flat, and things like that.”

Gilliom also has responsibility in that realm.

“Just taking what I know from what Sleeve has taught us,” he said, “and my experience here — on the field, off the field — just (to) try to be that player for the guys in the room right now.”

He’ll be a bona fide linebacker for the first time, as Leipold suggested he has “fully transitioned” into the role after starting his collegiate career as a defensive back before shifting into the Hawk position. He had already cross-trained at other linebacker spots last offseason before playing 117 defensive snaps in 2024, with his playing time varying widely due to health and matchup considerations.

“I think J-Gill is just naturally the leader,” Jon Jon Kamara said. “He’s been here the longest and he knows what he’s doing.”

Kamara’s tenure at KU has been among the shortest in the room, along with those of fellow redshirt freshman JaCorey Stewart and this year’s early-enrolling scholarship recruit, Malachi Curvey.

Like Gilliom, Kamara has taken time to adapt to his position; he was a cornerback early in high school but has grown into the frame of a linebacker and now weighs 228 pounds.

“I’m 10 times better,” Kamara said of his improvement since arriving in Lawrence. “I thought I came in here prepared, but Sleeve took it to another level. I’m feeling the best I’ve ever felt and I’m just ready for whatever’s ahead.”

He redshirted in 2024 but worked his way into some periodic playing time on kick-coverage and punt-return units. He said he was grateful the coaches found an opportunity to include him, something they didn’t necessarily have to do.

“It helped me a lot,” he said. “I got my feet wet a little bit and now I’m ready to take it day by day and just get better.”

For Kamara, getting better means using his hands more effectively and improving his physicality, “because I got the body to do it, I just got to do it.”

“He’s becoming more confident, which you want,” Simpson said. “You want confident players that know what’s going on, and that’s certainly the case for him. Still working on just transitioning to being a true backer, (and) that things just happen a lot faster, but he’s got great length and can run as well as any of them and certainly looks the part, so I’m excited to see where he goes from here.”