Kansas’ offensive line is spending camp building more than a depth chart. With new faces arriving, jobs up for grabs and a fresh offense taking shape, the Jayhawks’ big men are trying to make sure the unit comes together as one before the season starts.
For this group, the work starts with communication. The line has to process what it sees, understand what the guy next to it is thinking and then handle the defensive front as a single piece. That matters even more up front, where players rotate less than in most other position rooms and continuity can make or break a drive.
Redshirt junior Connor Stroh said that connection is already taking root away from the field.
“We’re all really tight,” redshirt junior Connor Stroh said. “We all hang out together, which I think is really awesome.”
Stroh is one of the incoming transfers working his way into a new setting after coming from Texas. He said he made a point of being himself and learning the people around him, and that effort has carried over once the pads came on.
“Five guys have to act as one in order to succeed,” Stroh said. “The communication between every guy is great, and because we’re so tight, that helps on the field be efficient.”
That kind of unity can matter even when the line doesn’t get every call right. Kansas can still function if everyone is on the same page in the moment, because the goal is to move and react together.
The competition is real, too. Kansas has 19 offensive linemen on the 2026 roster, but only five spots are available in the starting group.
In games, two or three linemen may rotate in, which still leaves more than 10 players without much action. Even with that squeeze, the group has kept its focus on building trust rather than letting the battles split them apart.
“The guys are mature enough to know that we’re competing for each other’s jobs but to also know it is what it is,” Stroh said. “That’s football. (Offensive line) coach (Daryl Agpalsa) makes it clear he’s going to put the best five out there, so there’s no hard feelings.”
Left tackle Calvin Clements, entering his fourth year with the Jayhawks, has watched that culture develop from the inside. He understands how much it matters to bring newcomers into the fold the right way.
“It takes a lot of intent with having new guys around,” Clements said. “It’s nothing more than what we’ve always done. We’re always trying to make sure we are on the same page and that the new guys understand the culture.”
Associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki, who will call the offense in 2026, said the team needs “guys who are athletic and can move and groove and play physical.” Stroh agreed with the emphasis, calling physicality “the separator” and “something you have to have to be an o-lineman.”
That physical edge gets harder to show when linemen are stuck thinking instead of reacting. Kansas is trying to avoid that by keeping the communication clean and the relationships strong, giving the group a chance to play faster and more forcefully when the season begins.
Nick Morrow, another incoming transfer, is expected to step in at right tackle. It’s a demanding spot, one that can leave a tackle alone in pass protection, but the same chemistry still matters there too.
Stroh said the welcome he and Morrow found at Kansas made the transition easier. Both players came through the recruiting process before as high school prospects, so they knew how to sort out what was genuine. In this case, Stroh said, Kansas has been exactly what it seemed to be.
Morrow said the bond inside the room has helped him settle in.
“There’s a really tight-knit family feel on the team, so getting that connection wasn’t too hard,” Morrow said. “It makes it that much easier when you’re able to connect outside of football and just genuinely care about the guys next to you. It helps a lot.”
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