Lance Leipold Gives Concerning Injury Details on Several Star Jayhawks

With the Kansas Jayhawks football season opener approaching a week from now, head coach Lance Leipold and his coaching staff are finalizing the roster and determining how the snap counts might look heading into the year.

During his media appearance on Thursday, Leipold offered a few discouraging updates on the statuses of several important Jayhawks. Among those is All-Big 12 defensive end Dean Miller, who has not been practicing often.

“Dean Miller hasn’t practiced much in the last couple of weeks, that’ll be a big question mark going into [the game],” Leipold said about Miller.

Miller recorded 10 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks in 2024, earning Preseason All-Big 12 honors entering this campaign. Kansas will be relying heavily on him to help replace lost production along the defensive line.

However, he is not the only player in the trenches who may carry a questionable status heading into the opener against Fresno State.

Leipold noted that defensive tackles Gage Keys and Blake Herold, both expected to be significant contributors, have also not practiced much.

“Gage Keys hasn’t practiced much. Bryson Canty hasn’t practiced much. And other guys have been — Blake Herold hasn’t practiced much.”

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Keys and Herold are expected to be vital to the Jayhawks' ability to control the line of scrimmage and stop the run, so KU’s defensive interior would take a major hit without them.

In addition to the defensive concerns, Leipold shared that Columbia transfer wide receiver Bryson Canty has also been sidelined for much of fall camp.

Canty is already competing for snaps with fellow transfer additions Emmanuel Henderson, Jaidyn Doss, Cam Pickett, and Levi Wentz, along with returners like Keaton Kubecka and Doug Emilien.

Missing time early could leave him on the outside looking in when the initial depth chart is set.

Leipold did not seem overly worried about Miller’s long-term status, but an absence in Week 0 would be a massive development. If the star pass rusher is unavailable, Kansas could struggle to generate consistent pressure on Bulldogs quarterback E.J. Warner.

Thankfully, Kansas still has DJ Withers and Tommy Dunn Jr. up the middle to aid in stuffing the run, but Keys and Herold still serve as much-needed depth in certain situations.

While there is plenty of time before kickoff, the availability of these four players will be worth monitoring closely in the coming days. The Jayhawks cannot afford to be short-handed in the trenches if they hope to open the season with a victory.