Special Teams Becoming a Strength for Kansas Football

For many years, special teams play has often been a weak spot for the Kansas football program. Whether it was missed field goals or broken coverage on kickoffs or punt returns – it’s always seemed to be one of the weak spots for the team.

This year, the Jayhawks appear to be flipping the script on their opponents.

Through four games, KU has demonstrated a well-balanced attack in both their kicking and return game thanks to a pair of key transfers who joined the team this offseason.

Laith Marjan has been everything the team hoped he would be and more since transferring from South Alabama. During the 2024 season, Marjan converted 16 of 17 field goal tries and was a semifinalist for the 2024 Lou Groza Award – an honor given annually to college football’s best kicker.

Since joining KU, he’s a perfect 5-for-5 on field goal attempts (including three makes from beyond 40 yards) and a perfect 17-for-17 on extra points. He’s currently the team’s leading point scorer with 32 on the year.

Having a kicker you can rely on for clutch moments in games is huge for a team whenever the offense is unable to score points. If Marjan can continue this level of accuracy, it’s going to pay dividends for this KU team in key moments down the stretch.

Another advantage KU has on special teams has been the play of Alabama transfer Emmanuel Henderson Jr.

In four weeks of action, Henderson has been one of the best kick returners in all of college football. He currently ranks sixth in the country with a return average of 35.7 yards per return and has racked up 214 yards on just six returns.

Henderson was recently recognized as the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week following his monster game against West Virginia last week where he finished with 137 yards on two kick returns, one of which resulted in a 94-yard touchdown score to open up the second half.

With Henderson’s speed and the excellent blocking shown by the rest of the special teams unit, they have been able to put quarterback Jalon Daniels and the KU offense in great position to start their drives time and time again.

As the Jayhawks move into the tougher part of their schedule coming up, having that return threat could provide the edge KU needs to outduel some of their Big 12 foes.