Kansas’ running back room looks ready to carry a lot of the load next season, and the Jayhawks didn’t exactly build it the ordinary way.
What makes this group stand out is the mix of talent Kansas brought in through the transfer portal, including one of its biggest rivals’ more intriguing names in Dylan Edwards. Add Syracuse’s Yasin Willis and former Colorado State back Jalen Dupree, and the Jayhawks suddenly have a backfield that looks far deeper than a typical portal patch job.
Edwards arrives after a season that never really got off the ground at Kansas State. He played in only four games, finishing with 34 carries for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns before leaving the team midseason and moving to KU on January 18th. Even with that limited sample, he brings the kind of burst that can change a game in a hurry.
Willis offers a different kind of threat. At 6-foot-1, he brings power to the table, and his sophomore year in the ACC showed it: 558 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, and an average of 62 yards per game.
He also posted 4.3 yards per carry. If Edwards is the speed element, Willis is the force.
Dupree gives Kansas another layer. Last season for the Rams, he ran for 508 yards on 102 carries and scored 2 rushing touchdowns. He may not have the same headline appeal as Edwards or Willis, but he looks like the kind of steady third option who can keep the offense moving when the first two backs need a breather.
That’s why this group earns an A. Edwards and Willis look like the clear top two, though Kansas shouldn’t be surprised if their workloads end up close to even.
Willis has enough pace to fit into different situations, and his vision between the blocks already stands out. Dupree, meanwhile, should be a dependable option off the bench and a useful final punch when defenses are worn down.
The context around the room matters too. Kansas finished last season with the nation’s 60th-best rushing offense, averaging 157.8 yards per game on the ground.
But the offense won’t be built around former quarterback Jalon Daniels anymore. Instead, the job likely falls to redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall or redshirt junior Cole Ballard, and neither has logged meaningful minutes yet.
With that kind of uncertainty at quarterback and in the passing game, the Jayhawks may lean hard on this backfield. If the pieces fit the way they look on paper, Kansas could end up with one of the better power-conference running back trios in the country.
In Other News...
Kansas Fall Camp Could Change More Than Fans Realize
Fall camp is arriving at just the right time for Kansas, because this roster looks more layered than it did a year ago. With the season opener set for Sept. 4, the Jayhawks are heading into training camp with a mix of transfers and returning players all fighting for meaningful snaps, and the depth chart feels a lot less settled than it did coming out of spring.
The biggest intrigue is not just who starts, but how much the competition will reshape the rotation once the pads come on. Kansas is also sorting through defensive scheme changes and new faces at key spots, which means camp could determine more than a few roles before the first game ever kicks off. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Is Making A Bold Move That Could Change Everything
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Athletic director Travis Goff said the role drew a large candidate pool, including people from professional sports franchises, which gives a sense of how seriously Kansas is treating the move. For a department trying to keep pace in a changing college sports landscape, the addition signals a more business-minded approach to major programs, and it should be one of the more interesting new pieces to watch as Kansas continues to reshape how it operates. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Faces A Troubling 2026 Question Beyond Replacing Jalon Daniels
Kansas heads toward 2026 with more than one roster hole to fill, and the concern stretches well beyond the obvious task of replacing Jalon Daniels. The Jayhawks are dealing with a defense that has lost significant production through graduation and transfers, leaving questions in the pass rush, run defense and secondary after a run of injuries and roster turnover.
Cole Ballard is the leading candidate to take over at quarterback, but the job is still not locked down and the conversation around him has already turned to how his physical tools compare to Daniels. On top of that, the defense took another hit with Tulane transfer Tre'Von McAlpine reportedly out for the season with a knee injury, adding one more complication to a unit already trying to steady itself before 2026 arrives. [Read more 🡒]