photo by: AP Photo/Matthew Putney

Kansas wide receiver Cam Pickett (7) runs the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa State, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State won 38-14.

For the first time in years, Kansas enters an offseason with uncertainty at quarterback.

That alone should make for an extremely intriguing transfer-portal window for the Jayhawks. At first it seemed they would primarily have to build an offensive line and a corps of skill-position players to make the eventual quarterback’s job as easy as possible — a significant task in and of itself. KU replenished its set of pass catchers rather successfully last offseason and will have to do so once again this year. That’s a fact of life in the modern era of roster turnover, especially with the Jayhawks’ focus on bringing in already experienced transfers at receiver and tight end.

Head coach Lance Leipold had said he was happy with the players KU had at the quarterback position itself. However, when David McComb made his intentions to enter the portal known, it added a new element to the offseason, as KU now seemingly has an open scholarship at quarterback it could use to add a new face to its quarterback competition.

Here’s a closer look at where KU’s personnel stands at each offensive position, at least pending any additional transfer announcements before the portal opens for real on Jan. 2.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas quarterback Cole Ballard looks to find an open receiver against Kansas State at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 in Lawrence.

Quarterbacks: The Jayhawks no longer have Jalon Daniels to rely on, setting up a quarterback competition between Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall. McComb was a potential factor too, despite his youth, but now he’s seemingly bound to start his career in earnest at another school.

Ballard has spent the last two years as Daniels’ backup ever since he was thrown into the fire as a freshman former walk-on in 2023, while Marshall arrived in the 2024 freshman class with high expectations. Both played at various points in 2025, with KU deploying Marshall quite frequently as a threat in the run game. With McComb’s departure, it won’t be a surprise at all if the Jayhawks choose to add a fourth scholarship quarterback (they also have Jaylen Mason in the class of 2026).

Running back: The Jayhawks experienced what was an inevitable downturn in the backfield with the loss of all-time leading rusher Devin Neal, but Daniel Hishaw Jr. and Leshon Williams made for an effective one-two punch with 587 and 560 rushing yards, respectively. Now both are gone after six-year collegiate careers.

Who will replace them is essentially a mystery. After the departure of Johnny Thompson Jr., KU seemed poised to pair Harry Stewart III — who had generated plenty of positive buzz since he arrived, and looked capable when he garnered touches at various points over the course of the season — with another Williams-like addition with some veteran savvy to shore up what was already an incredibly young position group. But then Stewart made his own intentions to leave known on Tuesday.

So now KU is left with Justin Thurman, John Kelly and signee Kory Amachree — a group with five career carries and no one older than a freshman. The Jayhawks might even have three spots available after KD Jones’ late flip to Oklahoma State in the class of 2026, but making two acquisitions and then betting on player development might be the way to go.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas sophomore Keaton Kubecka celebrates scoring a touchdown against Fresno State at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 in Lawrence.

Wide receiver: When all was said and done, KU reeled in five transfer receivers over the course of last offseason: Bryson Canty, Jaidyn Doss, Emmanuel Henderson Jr., Cam Pickett and Levi Wentz. Three of them are gone — Henderson was a solid success who performed rather well in his first year of significant collegiate action, while Canty never quite hit his stride due to a late arrival and training-camp injury and Wentz faded down the stretch.

Pickett provides a reliable target in the slot to whoever ends up playing quarterback, although he didn’t score a touchdown in conference play last season. Doss is at this point a complete enigma after his unusually timed arrival (right before fall camp), and he didn’t see the field in 2025, though he does have two years remaining.

Keaton Kubecka, while never Daniels’ top target, made some big catches over the course of his first full season of play and seems like a probable starter in 2026, but even so, the reality is that KU will again have to hunt for multiple immediate contributors at this position in the portal. At the bare minimum, the Jayhawks need a deep threat to start opposite Kubecka with Pickett in the slot.

They also have four players from the class of 2025, headlined by Tate Nagy, and it’ll be interesting to see if any are able to get on the field early in their careers. Nagy, of course, already did so as the punt returner, and it’s easy to imagine him backing up Pickett in the slot in year two.

photo by: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas tight end Leyton Cure (87) catches a pass before running into the end zone to score a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Utah, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Lawrence.

Tight end: KU does not need to overhaul this position, as Carson Bruhn and Leyton Cure provide a strong starting point. Bruhn only caught five passes for 55 yards in eight games before suffering a season-ending foot injury, but looked to have developed considerably as both a blocker and receiver and will be a strong candidate to start as a redshirt sophomore. Cure took advantage of increased playing time late in the year and caught his first touchdown at the Division I level.

If the Jayhawks want to continue to use three tight ends fairly extensively as they have in the past, they’ll need to make one complementary addition, and they have the spot available to do so with Jaden Hamm departing in the portal.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas sophomore Tavake Tuikolovatu lines up for a drill during practice Friday, Aug. 1, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.

Offensive line: KU’s front endured a bit of a down year, at least compared to the high standard it had established in prior seasons, even though many of its season-long metrics were hampered by the influential outlier of facing Texas Tech’s otherworldly pass rush. In any event, the Jayhawks do have some promising personnel slated to return in 2026, with little work to do in the portal after they brought in numerous young linemen last winter.

Calvin Clements struggled mightily at times in his first year as a full-time starter, but he did improve over the course of the year and KU seems quite committed to leaving him on the blind side. Amir Herring and Tavake Tuikolovatu are easy choices to start at the two guard spots; Herring emerged as the unexpected winner of a training camp battle to start at left guard, where he acquitted himself quite well, and Tuikolovatu looked solid rotating in from time to time. Tyler Mercer is quite clearly the heir apparent at center after he redshirted behind Bryce Foster last season; he already has significant playing experience from his first year at North Texas.

The big question is who else will step up from KU’s significantly overloaded class of redshirt sophomores — which is somewhat less so after recent defections. Besides Mercer, that includes a combination of high school recruits (David Abajian and Carter Lavrusky) and transfers (DeAndre Harper and Jack Tanner). Is anyone from this group (or Antonio Wilson, a former JUCO transfer who is a year ahead) ready to start at right tackle, or at least serve as a swing tackle? Tanner seems like the favorite, but it’s hard to say.

It would make sense for KU to look for a veteran tackle transfer, someone with one last year to play in the vein of Enrique Cruz Jr. last year — he was quite a successful pickup from Syracuse. With James Livingston providing depth on the interior, the Jayhawks should be fine there.