Kansas is looking a lot sturdier off the edge this fall, and the change starts with two transfers who arrived at very different sizes and ended up meeting in the middle.
Leroy Harris III came to KU in the spring of the 2025 offseason at 230 pounds. Alex Bray, who also joined during that transfer window, had played at 270 pounds at Illinois.
Now the gap is basically gone. Defensive coordinator D.K.
McDonald recently listed Harris at 274 pounds, and Bray said he sits somewhere between 265 and 270.
“Yeah, he put on size pretty quick,” Bray said of his teammate. “He’s a monster now.”
That added bulk is a big part of the Jayhawks’ plan up front. Last season, McDonald pointed to a defensive end who was 225 pounds, a body type that fit better on the edge than inside.
This year, Kansas is leaning into heavier ends and the results are showing in the numbers on the roster. Strength coach Matt Gildersleeve has said the defensive line is 11 pounds heavier on average than it was a year ago.
Defensive ends coach Joe Dineen made it plain why that matters.
“I think to stop the run - outside zone’s a big one - you got to create knockback on the front side, you got to squeeze things down on the back side, and having two guys that are 270 that are hard to move, that creates knockback on the front side of these runs,” Dineen said. “And if we can do that consistently, big people beat up little people … Shoot, that’s like Darwinism or something.
That’s like evolution, right? So we got to keep them big.”
Bray is no stranger to playing on the larger side. He came out of Marquette High School in Chesterfield, Missouri, and after transferring from Illinois he said part of the appeal at Kansas was getting more chances to work on the edge. He played in all 12 games last season as Justice Finkley’s backup and finished with 21 tackles.
This year, Bray says the biggest jump has come between his ears.
“I’d say I have the strength and stuff,” Bray said. “It’s been there for me.
I’ve been in college football for a while. So just taking what I learned from the classroom, because you know, D-end, you have a lot going on, especially at our ‘stud’ (strong-side) position, where you can be from a 3-tech to a 5 out in coverage, so taking what I learned from the classroom and applying that to the field has helped me more so mentally.”
He’s also stepping into a leadership role. Bray is the only senior on the defensive line this year, though he recently picked up another year under the NCAA’s new eligibility model. Even so, he said he plans to approach 2026 as if it were his last season.
“During spring ball, they kind of pushed - I wouldn’t say pushed, but they wanted a couple guys to step up, and I felt like I took that role, commanding the defense sometimes when it comes to walkthroughs, making sure that we’re all there,” Bray said. “When it’s the D-ends, making sure the younger guys are getting extra work, helping them out, so I feel like that’s kind of a step I’ve taken through this past year, so yeah, that’s kind of big.”
Harris, meanwhile, has been focusing on the finer points after adding the weight so quickly. Dineen said the combination of size and athleticism can become a serious weapon if Harris keeps sharpening the rest of his game.
“With that size, with that athletic ability,” he said, “if you can match that and pair that with great technique and great violence, then the sky’s going to be the limit.”
Harris said his work is centered on becoming more complete.
“Just my all-around game, whether it be the pass rush, setting the edge, sparking gaps. Just trying to be a master of my craft, work on my details.”
Kansas has more than just those two bodies to lean on, too. Michigan State transfer David Santiago, redshirt sophomore Dakyus Brinkley and others give the Jayhawks a deeper, bigger group at defensive end than they had before.
Bray put it simply: “You can’t be too small,” he said. “I would say last year we had some D-ends that were smaller, but I would say our lightest D-end’s probably 245 … Sleeve’s done a good job of putting size on, emphasizing the nutrition. I remember last year we didn’t have this, but this year we drink protein shakes right in the weight room when we’re done with the workout to make sure that we’re putting on size, we take creatine right after, all that good stuff.”
It all fits into a larger push the Kansas staff made across the roster this offseason, using both the transfer portal and internal development to add size throughout the lineup.
“I remember Sleeve put on the board of the weights from last year to this year,” Bray said. “… It’s crazy to see how far we’ve come, how much we’ve emphasized it.”
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