Kansas defensive tackle Marcus Calvin (56) swats a pass from Wagner Seahawks quarterback Jack Stevens (7) during the second quarter on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Photo by Nick Krug

The Kansas football team recorded two sacks in Saturday’s 38-21 victory over Oklahoma State. Both came from defensive tackles who were part of KU’s 2023 recruiting class.

Blake Herold has long been a part of KU’s rotation on the interior, to the point that former defensive coordinator Brian Borland said late last season that he might have developed into the Jayhawks’ best overall pass rusher.

But Saturday’s game provided the first sack for his classmate Marcus Calvin, a more recent recipient of regular playing time who has integrated himself quite nicely. Driving OSU center Austin Kawecki so far back that Calvin was able to wrap up quarterback Zane Flores for a sack — and punctuate it with a celebratory dance, encouraged by Herold, who was right there with him — was a sign of that progress.

For Calvin, it was what he called a “woosah moment” (that’s a reference to a scene in “Bad Boys II”), an opportunity for calm amid the chaos.

“Honestly, it felt like a dream come true,” Calvin said. “It’s one of the moments where you’re always imagining, you always have this vision of you doing something great … It finally happened and I was very blessed for it to happen.”

As was expected prior to the season, KU’s defensive tackles have proven to be perhaps the deepest group on the team, with Tommy Dunn Jr., D.J. Withers, Kenean Caldwell and Herold all experiencing productive seasons ahead of Calvin (and without Gage Keys even getting much playing time). Calvin may be lower in the pecking order, but he’s averaged about 15 snaps per game and appeared in every contest with 10 total tackles. That’s actually an increase from the 10 snaps or so position coach Jim Panagos had been expecting to give him during the offseason.

“I don’t want to come in and the energy go from here to here,” Calvin said, moving his hand from high to low, “or the execution go from here to here. I just want to come in and keep the team rolling.”

The OSU game was the highest-graded showing of the redshirt sophomore’s career, per Pro Football Focus. Head coach Lance Leipold mentioned him postgame as a standout along the defensive front.

Calvin credited his improvement largely to his proactive efforts to learn from his fellow Jayhawks.

“I see my teammates go out there, make great plays and they’re not selfish players,” Calvin said. “So they come to the sideline and they give out any knowledge they have. I just be sitting there jotting down and whenever my time comes, whenever my number (gets) called, I’m going to answer it.”

That’s gone a long way for the product of St. Petersburg, Florida, whose weight room at Gibbs High School notoriously did not contain a barbell (a fact strength coach Matt Gildersleeve has frequently cited to provide a baseline for Calvin’s development in the years since).

While he didn’t get on the field as quickly as Herold, who flashed early out of Shenandoah, Iowa, Calvin drew his own value from seeing his “brother” play extensively in 2024.

“It was so exciting watching him play because Blake is one of the most humble people ever,” Calvin said. “He’s not cocky or nothing like that. He comes to work every day. He put his body and his life on the line every play, play with 100% effort.

“That’s a player I like watching to motivate me because if you just watch his motor and watch how he go about things on the field, he’s just a dude at all times. So it was very motivational and inspirational, to be honest with you, to watch Blake out there do his thing at a young age.”

And now they’re out there together.

“We used to have a lot of talks about when we go out there, when it’s going to be our time to play together and stuff like that,” Calvin said. “But being able to create and share memories like this is amazing.”

That time, in fact, is only beginning. Calvin and Herold each have two years remaining, while Caldwell, Dunn, Keys and Withers are all seniors. The only other player on the interior expected to have additional eligibility for next season is freshman Josiah “Cheese” Hammond.