photo by: Steve McLaughlin/Central Connecticut State

Central Connecticut State defensive tackle Clifton Thompson (0) is pictured during a game against UConn on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in East Hartford, Conn.

Former Kennesaw State running back Chase Belcher and former Central Connecticut State defensive tackle Clifton Thompson have joined the Kansas football team after earning a fifth year of eligibility in the courts, head coach Lance Leipold confirmed at his press conference on Monday morning.

They received their eligibility last Wednesday in Monroe County, Indiana, via an injunction, as two more of the 97 plaintiffs in the lawsuit that also featured KU men’s basketball player Tre White. The terms of that injunction required the NCAA to open the transfer portal for a week for all players involved.

Thompson’s agency Nilson Sports told the Journal-World that Thompson signed on Friday and was present at team meetings on Sunday night. Previous legal documents suggested that Thompson might also have had interest from Cal. As for Belcher, however, those same documents suggested he would return to Kennesaw State, which proved not to be the case.

“Both young men got in this weekend, going through the acclimation periods that are going to be needed,” Leipold said. “… It’s hard to tell, this stage of it, but when the opportunity by rule and roster slots presented itself of areas where we’re banged up and thin in some spots, we decided to make this move. And it’s pretty early at this time.”

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 340 pounds, Thompson should provide another option at nose tackle behind Eamon Smalls, who impressed in the Union Jack Classic. Smalls has had to shoulder a great deal of responsibility when KU deploys odd fronts this season because of an offseason ACL injury that knocked marquee Tulane transfer Tre’von McAlpine out for the year. The Jayhawks’ defensive tackles have generally had a strong start to the season regardless.

Originally from Hackensack, New Jersey, Thompson played one year at Division II American International College before making the move to CCSU at the FCS level for three seasons. In his senior year with the Blue Devils, he recorded 27 total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. He was a second-team all-conference selection.

Thompson had been briefly working on the coaching staff at Penn. He will wear No. 89 at KU, while Belcher wears No. 29.

Belcher, 6 feet tall and 213 pounds, will be playing at his fourth school and first at the FBS level. A Valdosta, Georgia, native, he spent two seasons at Northern Arizona as a part-time contributor and then one at West Georgia during its first season in Division I. His biggest workload, however, came in 2025 for Kennesaw State, as he appeared in 13 games and carried the ball 107 times for 566 yards and caught 13 passes for 194 yards, totaling four touchdowns.

Once viewed as a major strength, running back has suddenly become a significant question for KU with the high probability that Syracuse transfer Yasin Willis is out for the season in addition to Kory Amachree and Justin Thurman. Belcher could have the opportunity to contribute behind Dylan Edwards and Jalen Dupree.

The ongoing eligibility of Belcher and Thompson is not assured, as the NCAA is both attempting to stay the Indiana injunction in Monroe County court as well as appeal it in the Court of Appeals of Indiana.

“As I talked to them, there’s no guarantees in this,” Leipold said. “We expect you to do what everyone else does. But obviously we hope that they can contribute in some way as they progress here in the upcoming weeks.”

Time will tell whether the Jayhawks feel comfortable making any other additions as they prepare for a final stretch of the season that features nine consecutive games.