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

Kansas linebacker Malachi Curvey runs through a drill during the first day of KU Football's fall camp on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Lawrence.

Malachi Curvey found himself in a bit of an unusual position entering his second year at Kansas.

On the one hand he was one of precious few returning players in the linebacker room, along with starting middle linebacker Trey Lathan; on the other, he was coming off a redshirt year.

“Malachi was here before me, so he got a little bit more experience,” said Bam Crouch, a transfer linebacker from Boston College, “and this is really his first time getting his feet wet too.”

Indeed, Curvey is getting the chance at an early stage of his career to battle for playing time at weak-side linebacker, the open spot alongside his fellow returnee Lathan. And while Crouch may be the leader there — position coach Chris Simpson says he’s been the most consistent — head coach Lance Leipold also made sure to single out Curvey for praise in a crowded linebacker room.

“Year two in the program, he’s taken that step that you’d want in the second year, and physically looks excellent, moves well, plays with twitch and does the things that you want,” Leipold said. “I know we talk a lot about the transfers sometimes in these things, but don’t leave Malachi out of this thing either.”

It’s the second straight offseason in which Curvey, a class of 2025 three-star recruit out of Waukee, Iowa, has received positive buzz.

He had to endure a bit of an adaptation process considering that he played defensive end in high school.

“D-end, I feel like you’re more straight up,” Curvey said. “You have less time to see things and plays develop. But linebacker, now I see everything, I got to know what’s going on behind me, what’s going on next to me and what’s going on in front of me.”

He has rounded into form, however, and this year it could amount to far more than the 12 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, that he received as a true freshman as KU was trying to maintain his redshirt. (The Jayhawks won’t have to do that sort of thing anymore with the NCAA’s new eligibility rules.)

He did make a notable tackle on special teams in the season finale against Utah. On the whole, though, he described it as a year in which he encountered some adversity but learned a lot.

That adversity continued to some extent into the spring, which he spent in a yellow non-contact jersey as he was coming off shoulder surgery: “Getting a body on a body, it’s really good to get back out there,” Curvey said of KU’s ongoing fall camp.

“It’s exciting now to see him just be able to cut it loose,” Simpson said. “Still working on just making sure that he has the confidence in his shoulder and knowing that he’s OK. So there’s times when I’m like, ‘You can rip it now. You can cut it loose.’ But yeah — big, long, tall and can run.”

Bigger than before, in fact. Since the end of the 2025 season, Curvey has grown to 6-foot-4 and bulked up to 245 pounds.

“I think it’s a lot easier to move people and not be moved by people now,” he said.

The former defensive end is nearly defensive-end-sized at linebacker, and because of his background playing on the line, coming off the edge “fits him naturally,” Simpson said.

“I think I show my rush when I get those one-on-one looks,” Curvey added.

By Curvey’s own characterization, the linebacker room is more talented than it was in 2025. With the additions of players like Crouch and Marshall transfer Jibreel Al-Amin, Curvey faces no shortage of competition for reps during fall camp.

“I think that everybody’s making a case and I think that the coaches are going to put who’s best out there,” Curvey said.