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

Kansas defensive end David Santiago participates in Kansas football's spring practice on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Lawrence.

Michigan State transfer David Santiago still thinks highly of his defensive coordinator with the Spartans, Joe Rossi. Santiago said he thought he became a lot smarter as a player and as a student of the game during his year in East Lansing, Michigan.

But during his time at the school, he also felt like he “had to fit into a glove” to be a defensive end. Not so at Kansas, where he transferred this past winter in part for the opportunity to “play and be more creative and free in how I played.”

“Here I feel like it’s more like, ‘It’s third-and-5, David, we need you to get a stop — go out and do it,'” Santiago said. “Within the play call, obviously, but just play more freely.”

More stops in those situations would be a welcome contribution from Santiago, who has seen a lot during his two seasons at Air Force and one at Michigan State. He’s now a redshirt junior entering his first campaign as a Jayhawk.

“Dave came in just guns blazing first day, been showing up, making plays all over the place,” said teammate Leroy Harris III. “He came in the other day, got a forced fumble the other day, David did. He’s showing that veteran experience … We’re really glad to have him just showing all his flashes.”

For the most part, defensive end is one of precious few positions on the KU roster characterized by continuity this offseason. The Jayhawks return the young, high-upside duo of Harris and Dak Brinkley, and former Illinois transfer Alex Bray has garnered plenty of praise heading into his senior season.

Harris made a significant impact at the weak-side pass-rush end spot last year, and Bray figures to replace the graduated Justice Finkley at the strong-side, or “stud,” position.

Santiago has already taken part in a couple different schemes during his collegiate career. Listed as a linebacker at Air Force in 2024, he had 37 tackles with 3.5 sacks; in somewhat reduced playing time (in a higher-level conference) as an edge rusher at MSU the following year he tallied 24 tackles with 1.5 sacks.

Now, along with Brinkley, he’ll work at both the rush and stud end spots for KU this fall. That means, as he said, he’ll have to get better dropping into coverage at the pass-rush position and taking on double teams at the strong-side position.

KU felt confident Santiago would be able to produce as a Jayhawk when it encountered him in the portal because, as new defensive ends coach Joe Dineen said, he “just did everything well.”

“You know, he was a good athlete, moved well, had some pass-rush ability, strong at the point of attack,” Dineen said. “And when we got here, he’s really smart. You know, you don’t know that necessarily in the portal. You talk to him a little bit and do the one-day official visit deal, and that’s kind of the extent of what you find out about him, but he’s a guy that’s learning both the rush and the stud, and is being impactful on the field, again, like that rush ability, that point-of-attack strength is showing up, and he’s been everything that we thought he would be.”

Santiago said that as an older player, he has started to deduce similarities between the defenses he has learned. That helped him pick up both positions, which he should have the appropriate frame to play at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds.

Dineen said he tells players all the time, “The more you can do, the longer you can stay.”

“Whatever it takes to get on the field and make plays, help the team,” Santiago said.

photo by: AP Photo/Jose Juarez

Michigan State linebacker David Santiago reacts during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Penn State, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in East Lansing, Mich.