Kansas heads into Friday’s showdown with Missouri still waiting on clarity for two important defensive pieces.
After KU’s 51-6 win over Long Island in the opener, head coach Lance Leipold addressed the media Monday and was asked about the availability of wide receiver Cam Pickett and linebacker Bam Crouch. Neither player has been cleared yet for the rivalry game, though Leipold did leave the door open.
"Not yet," Leipold said when he was asked if he had a timetable for their recovery. "Bam did not practice today.
Cam was out there, still has a ways to go. So, I really don't have the status yet, but trying to be hopeful on both."
Pickett has been working through a leg injury that has limited him since fall camp. He was on the field for warmups against Long Island, but he was not in full uniform. On Monday, he did take part in practice.
Crouch’s situation looks less certain. The Boston College transfer suffered an upper-body injury on the second defensive drive against Long Island after colliding with a ball carrier and immediately reaching for his shoulder. He also missed most of BC’s 2025 season, so any new setback would be a frustrating one, but his spot on this week’s depth chart suggests the injury may not be as serious as it first appeared.
Kansas now turns to a No. 25 Missouri team that will be in Lawrence for the first time since 2005.
The Jayhawks are also trying to erase last year’s loss in Columbia, and with little margin for error in this one, getting healthy would help. Meanwhile, Missouri has its own uncertainty, with superstar running back Ahmad Hardy’s status still up in the air.
In Other News...
Kansas O-Line Has Something To Prove Before Missouri
Kansas spent its opener sorting out a rebuilt offensive line, and the early returns were encouraging. After losing three starters from 2025, the Jayhawks rolled past LIU 51-6 behind 613 total yards and strong work on third and fourth downs, a sign the front was doing its part in keeping the offense on schedule. Head coach Lance Leipold liked what he saw from the group as Kansas opened the year, but there is still a clear next step for a line trying to settle in quickly.
The next test comes into sharper focus with Missouri, a program that presents a much tougher style matchup than LIU did. The Tigers have a strong rushing offense and were already in action against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, so Kansas knows the challenge is about more than just pass protection or clean pockets. For a line with something to prove, this is the kind of game that can show whether the opener was a promising start or just the first step toward real steadiness. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Faces Two Lingering Questions Heading Into Its First Real Test
Kansas got little in the way of a real stress test in its first stretch, which is why the next game looms as a far better measuring stick for what this team actually is. The early schedule against lower-tier opponents told the Jayhawks only so much, leaving the usual September optimism intact while still keeping a few big-picture questions unresolved heading into a matchup that should reveal more.
The secondary is one of those spots, since the early pass defense work has not yet shown how the back end will hold up when it is challenged more consistently. The offensive line is another, with the unit still working toward a fuller answer after limited time together in camp, and those two areas figure to draw plenty of attention once Kansas finally faces an opponent capable of pushing both lines of the equation. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Brings A Border War Concern Kansas Fans Need To Watch
Missouris early-season outlook has already become part of the conversation around the Border War, and for Kansas fans that means the usual rivalry chatter now comes with a little more roster watching. A Q&A with Tigers football writer Sammy Stava dug into what Missouri hopes to be this season, what stood out in the opener and which players could shape Fridays matchup, with the focus landing as much on emerging offensive pieces as on the overall direction of a team still settling in.
The bigger concern, though, sits on the other side of the ball, where Missouri is trying to sort through a defensive front that has been forced into a reset. There are still questions hanging over availability in the backfield and up front, and the uncertainty around those pieces makes the matchup feel a little different than the standard rivalry snapshot. For Kansas, that means the scouting report is less about a finished product and more about a Tigers team still trying to define itself in real time. [Read more 🡒]