Kansas’ tight end room has a real opening, and Jailen Butler may have walked into it at the perfect time.
The Jayhawks have already shown they can get production from transfer tight ends. Last season, Boden Groen - a Rice transfer - became a steady part of the offense and finished with 36 catches, 450 yards and five touchdowns, good enough to earn All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. If Kansas is going to find another newcomer who makes noise, Butler is the kind of name that fits the profile.
Butler arrives from Old Dominion after a winding college path. He made an immediate splash with the Monarchs as a freshman, catching nine passes for 44 yards.
His second year was wiped out by injury, and he didn’t take a snap. In 2025, he was back on the field and posted nine receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown before transferring to KU.
247Sports lists Butler as the nation’s No. 555 overall prospect and the No. 33 tight end in the 2026 portal.
He’ll have to earn everything in a crowded room. Kansas already has redshirt sophomore Carson Bruhn, redshirt senior Quinton Conley, redshirt senior Leyton Cure, redshirt freshman Conlee Hovey, redshirt senior Mikey Pauley, freshman Mike Utz, redshirt senior Carter Moses and freshman Kevin Sullivan on the depth chart. Moses and Butler are the only two transfers Kansas added through the latest portal cycle.
Even with all that traffic, Butler has a path to playing time. Kansas’ portal class ranked No. 53 overall and No. 13 in the Big 12, and the tight ends are coached by Matt Lubick, who returned to the Jayhawks ahead of last season after one year as offensive coordinator at Nevada.
That position group already proved it can matter in the passing game. Last season, two of Kansas’ top seven receivers were tight ends: Groen, who ranked third, and Deshawn Hanika, who ranked seventh. Hanika’s season was shortened by injury, and the former Iowa State transfer would have finished with far more than 97 yards if he’d stayed healthy.
So while Butler isn’t arriving as a finished product, Kansas clearly sees enough in him to give him a shot. The next step is simple: compete for a starting job and try to become the Jayhawk who forces his way into the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year conversation.
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