Blake Herold left Big 12 Conference media days in July with a little more perspective on where Kansas football stands heading into 2026.
The redshirt junior defensive tackle said it felt surreal to be in Frisco, Texas, representing the Jayhawks on that stage. He also said this offseason has given him a chance to build connections with the newcomers and help them understand the culture at KU.
There’s still disappointment over how last season ended, and Herold said the group knows it has to finish games better. Kansas has even added work at the end of workouts to help sharpen execution in those key moments.
Herold’s own role is growing, too. He said the coaches want him to take a bigger leadership role for the defensive line and the defense overall, which means being more vocal. He also wants to keep improving his execution for a team that is trying to be better later in practices and workouts so that carries over to game days.
That kind of responsibility is a far cry from where Herold started. Early in his career, coming from a small town and not playing much right away, he didn’t always feel comfortable speaking up. Now, with more experience, he said he’s come out of his shell more and appreciates the chance to keep growing while helping others along the way.
A big part of that help is being directed toward Kansas’ new faces up front. Herold said he’s excited about the additions at defensive tackle, including transfers redshirt senior Tre'von McAlpine from Tulane, redshirt freshman Kevin Oatis from Arkansas and redshirt junior Jibriel Conde from Grand Valley State. He said they’ve been eager to learn, and he’s been helping them adjust to the KU system.
He also likes the flexibility Kansas has along the defensive front. Herold said one of his favorite things about the defense is how multiple it can be, especially up front, and that he enjoys moving around the line whether he’s inside or outside. He expects Kansas to use that variety in 2026 to keep offenses guessing.
That versatility could show up in a lot of different ways. Herold said the defense has the ability to line up looking completely different from one snap to the next, whether that means three down linemen on one play and five on another. He thinks that kind of unpredictability will be fun for fans.
And there’s another reason Herold believes Kansas’ defense will be ready: the offense it practices against every day. Associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki is back on staff, and Herold said Kotelnicki’s offense is one of the craziest he’s seen because of all the motions and formations. In Herold’s view, that makes the defense better prepared for whoever shows up on the schedule.
He’s also looking forward to Kansas playing a game overseas in London this season.
In Other News...
Bill Selfs Latest Kansas Gamble Hinges On One NCAA Decision
Kansas is taking another swing in the international market, this time on 7-foot Serbian big man Mihailo Musikic, whose path to college basketball runs through the NCAAs eligibility process. The Jayhawks are interested enough to keep pushing, and the appeal is obvious: a player with size and experience who could eventually become a frontcourt piece if the paperwork and rulings break the right way.
Musikics background makes this a trickier evaluation than a standard recruiting chase, with his age and prior professional seasons adding layers to the process. Still, Kansas staff members see a realistic route forward, and if he does get cleared, the payoff would come in the 2026-27 season, when the Jayhawks could use a seasoned interior presence to bolster the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Fans Will Have The Same Reaction To Caleb Wilson And Darryn Peterson
Darryn Petersons first summer as a pro has already taken an odd turn, with the No. 2 overall pick by the Utah Jazz held out of recent NBA Summer League games and likely shut down for the rest of the summer. For Kansas fans, it is a familiar kind of frustration after a lone college season in Lawrence that never quite settled into a rhythm, especially with Peterson missing nearly half the games and leaving some supporters wondering how invested he really was.
The on-court part of the story has at least shown a different layer, because Peterson has been more active as a playmaker in Summer League than he was at Kansas. Even so, the bigger question for Jayhawks fans is less about the box score than the pattern around him, and whether this latest pause is just a summer precaution or another chapter in the same uneasy conversation that followed him through college. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas May Have Found The Size It Desperately Needs Inside
Kansas may have found a long, needed answer for its frontcourt in Mihailo Musikic, a seven-foot Serbian commit for 2026 who gives the Jayhawks a different kind of size to think about. For a program that always has to balance talent, depth and fit inside, a player with that frame naturally draws attention, especially when the roster picture can shift quickly from one season to the next.
The catch is that the path to campus still comes with questions because of the new NCAA rules affecting international players with professional backgrounds. Kansas has not officially announced his status, and the uncertainty around how those guidelines will apply leaves his arrival in a holding pattern for now, even as the commitment itself gives the Jayhawks something concrete to build around. [Read more 🡒]