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

Kansas cornerback Jalen Todd participates in Kansas football's spring practice on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Lawrence.

Any given spring brings a flurry of number changes to the Kansas football roster, some more meaningful than others.

In the case of junior cornerback Jalen Todd, who wore No. 26 throughout his first two seasons in Lawrence, switching to No. 1 was an intentional tribute to one of his predecessors at KU.

“When I got here, I looked up to Kenny Logan, my senior year of high school when I was watching KU, and when I got here on the visit he was talking to me,” Todd said. “That was just somebody I looked up to.”

The safety Logan, it must be mentioned, did not sport No. 1 all five of his distinguished years at KU. The native of St. Augustine, Florida, donned the No. 23 jersey when he first arrived with the Jayhawks. But most of his work over the years as he led KU in tackles for four straight seasons and so accrued the most tackles in program history by a defensive back — 386 — was done while wearing a number that inevitably attracts plenty of attention in any sport.

“It’s always a chance to be better and do more, but I feel like I kind of set the standard and set the bar, really, on how to wear it,” Logan told the Journal-World in a recent interview.

Logan, who is now with the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (wearing No. 20, for the record), remembers meeting Todd when the young cornerback from Detroit visited KU in 2023. He doesn’t recall being Todd’s host, but it wasn’t uncommon at all for him to be involved with a visit regardless.

“They always had me come around them and just kind of explain and let them know my experience and how it was for me at the university, and then of course, he was a DB,” Logan said.

He remembered Todd being a bit quiet at the time, and added that for anyone he meets, he tries to “get them out of their shell.” Todd recalls Logan speaking to him about how it was in the KU football program. Whatever he did, it clearly made an impact, as the pair have maintained a relationship in the years since.

“I was just real genuine,” Logan said. “Like any of those guys I always meet, I’m probably still in contact with a lot of them, because I just show them the real side of me and then just tell them about the university, tell them what caught my eye, and then really just try to show them a great experience any time they come down, like this is what you can have if you put the work in, and stuff like that.”

Todd and Logan never actually overlapped on the field at KU, of course. The 2023 campaign, the second after which Logan earned second-team All-Big 12 honors, concluded with the Jayhawks’ Guaranteed Rate Bowl victory, in which he was defensive MVP in his final collegiate game. The following month, Todd enrolled early as a true freshman.

In the No. 26 jersey, he earned more playing time than just about any other young player on defense under head coach Lance Leipold. Besides his considerable action on special teams, by the end of the year he had worked his way into the nickel corner spot and even started a game against Colorado, showing flashes all the while.

Then, after more experienced corners Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson graduated, Todd took over as KU’s top player at the position in 2025, splitting time between the outside and the slot and managing to post reasonably consistent results in his first full year as a starter despite the overall struggles of the Jayhawks’ secondary.

Todd said that when he thinks of Logan, what comes to mind is “just how confident he is with himself.”

“I just want to take that step like how he did,” Todd said.

So it made sense to do it in the same jersey — although Todd made clear that they have enough of a bond that he did not actually ask permission so much as inform Logan he was going to do it. (In any case, JB Brown wore No. 1 on defense for KU in 2024, then Bangally Kamara did in 2025.)

“I just told him you got to make sure you hold it up to a high standard and be that guy every day,” Logan said. “I mean, having that number to me, it means something because you know, that’s a number that’s looked at a lot. So you just got to make sure you’re always holding the standard up, just not only for the number but for yourself, just trying to be great each and every day you go out and put it on.”

Logan said that whenever he finds his way back to Lawrence — like after he was waived by the Los Angeles Rams in 2024 — he tries to take the opportunity to share his knowledge with current players and “just talk about the experience I’m having, and then just how you can continue to push and reach your goals if you don’t stop.”

Ultimately, even with Logan’s old number, Todd is his own player — a player Logan respects.

“I love his game, so I mean, just finding ways to get better as himself,” Logan said. “He’s older now, so just being able to trust what you see, trust your technique and just play what you know.”

photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Kansas safety Kenny Logan Jr. (1) celebrates after an NCAA college football game against Iowa State, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. Kansas won 28-21.