Tate Nagy made his first season at Kansas look a lot calmer than it could have been. Thrown right into the job of full-time punt returner as a freshman, the former Blue Valley West quarterback held onto the ball, handled the pressure and gave the Jayhawks something steady on special teams.
Now, heading into his sophomore year, Nagy wants more than just clean catches and safe decisions. He wants forward momentum.
“It was good,” he said of 2025. “It wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be.
Obviously catching the ball is the first thing that I want to do, and then this year, I plan on getting more vertical this year. Last year, I ran a little bit side to side, and this year … I’m trying to get forward.”
That’s a pretty good snapshot of where Nagy is in his development. Last season, the Overland Park native made 17 fair catches, returned 17 punts for 116 yards and had one muff against West Virginia that bounced right back into his hands as he went out of bounds. It was the most punt-return yardage by a Jayhawk since Nick Harwell in 2014.
He also showed a little burst when he had space, with returns of 20, 21 and 30 yards over a three-week stretch, plus a 34-yard kick return. The bigger picture, though, was reliability.
Even as Big 12 play wore on, Nagy stayed mistake-free. Along the way, he also leaned on advice from people around his father Matt’s old job with the Kansas City Chiefs, including special teams coordinator Dave Toub and punt returner Nikko Remigio.
Matt Nagy is now with the New York Giants.
Kansas special teams coach Taiwo Onatolu said recently that Nagy is still the Jayhawks’ incumbent punt returner, though Dylan Edwards is expected to get work there too and especially in the kick-return role left open by Emmanuel Henderson Jr.’s graduation.
Nagy sounds more than ready to share the field with him.
“He’s a great person,” Nagy said of Edwards. “He’s fast.
He’s super fast, he’s super quick and he’s fun to have as a teammate and a player. I want to block for him, I want to do all that kind of stuff so he can score.”
There’s another layer to Nagy’s year, too. With slot receiver Cam Pickett dealing with injuries and missing several recent practices - though he and Lance Leipold expect him to be fine for the opener on Sept.
4 - Kansas has been a little thinner at receiver. That has opened the door for Nagy to get more meaningful snaps on offense.
Cole Ballard said Nagy’s background as a quarterback helps him see openings in the defense. Terrence Samuel, KU’s wide receivers coach, likes the instincts but says the next step is learning how to channel them inside the offense.
“He’s working through it right now,” Samuel said. “Tate is one of those guys.
He has such great vision and his instincts are so good. Sometimes your instincts can put you in the wrong place, and so that’s where he’s continuing to grow in, and understanding this offense and putting himself in position to make plays.
“He stands out when he runs a great route. We just got to make sure that we’re doing all those other little things to make sure that the details are part of his game.”
Nagy has also put on some weight, which he thinks has helped him feel more settled on the field. He entered last season as the lightest player on Kansas’ roster at 165 pounds, listed at 5-foot-10. He still carries that distinction, but he’s now listed at 170.
“I’ve gotten a little bit bigger than I have from last year, and I think that’s helped overall, is just feeling more comfortable on a football field,” he said.
After looking back at his first year in the program, Nagy called himself “a little bit raw” as a wide receiver.
“Every single year, you just got to get better and continue to have that mindset, and that’s what I’m trying to do every single day.”
He played only 15 offensive snaps last season and caught two passes for 20 yards, but that number should climb this fall. Listed as Kansas’ apparent No. 5 wide receiver, Nagy is in line for a much bigger role than the one he had a year ago.
In Other News...
Mizzou Finally Settles A 1960 Title Debate Fans Never Forgot
Missouri has officially put a stamp on a debate that has lingered for generations, recognizing its 1960 football team as a national champion after a U.S. Senate resolution was adopted. The move follows a fresh review of historical records, with Missouri pointing to the Poling System as the basis for the claim and to a season that, on paper, came out undefeated in Big 8 play.
For Kansas fans, the old wound is part of the backdrop, because the conference record that Missouri leaned on was shaped by the later forfeiture of Kansas wins over an ineligible player issue. The decision gives Missouri its first official national title claim in football, and it closes one more chapter in a rivalry history that has never needed much encouragement to stay alive. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Self Faces Early Recruiting Pressure With Two Key Visits Ahead
Bill Self is set to get a closer look at two forward prospects next month as Kansas keeps working the board after a recent commitment loss. Malachi Jordan and Jalen White are both scheduled to visit Lawrence in September, giving the Jayhawks a chance to make an early impression on a pair of long, athletic frontcourt targets while the staff continues to press ahead on multiple recruiting fronts.
Jordan brings the more established profile of the two, with Kansas already among the programs he has been considering, and his trip will come after several other high-major stops. White is a different kind of evaluation at this stage, a lower-ranked four-star whose fit in the Kansas picture is still being sorted out. For Self and his staff, the timing matters as much as the names, because September could help clarify which frontcourt pursuit is gaining real traction. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Just Reopened A Border War Fight Kansas Never Forgot
The 1960 Border War still has a way of resurfacing, and Missouri just gave Kansas another reason to brace for it. After formal recognition from Sen. Eric Schmitt and the U.S. Senate, the Tigers are claiming the 1960 college football national championship, pointing to the Poling Systems designation and a disputed season that has lingered for decades in the rivalrys memory.
For Kansas, the sore spot is familiar. Missouris only loss that year came against the Jayhawks, then later was forfeited by the Big Eight Conference because of an eligibility ruling, and Kansas still treats that game as part of its own official Border War win. Missouri plans to honor the 1960 team during a home game on Sept. 19, which only adds another layer to a rivalry that has never really let the old arguments go. [Read more 🡒]