Kansas took another hit to its backfield on Monday, and the ripple effect lands squarely on Dylan Edwards.
The Jayhawks added running back Chase Belcher and defensive tackle Clifton Thompson, but the bigger headline was the decision to rule out Yasin Willis for the rest of the season. That’s a brutal blow for a team already scraping for depth at running back. With Willis out, Kansas can really only lean confidently on Edwards and Jalen Dupree - and even Dupree was banged up entering the Union Jack Classic loss, where he didn’t log a snap.
That leaves Edwards in a very different spot than the one Kansas envisioned when the season began. He and Willis were supposed to form the top of the backfield, with Edwards bringing the burst to hit the edge and turn the corner, while Willis handled the more physical work between the tackles. Through this point, they had been nearly even in production, separated by just three carries and 34 yards.
Now the load shifts heavily toward Edwards, and head coach Lance Leipold made it clear that the staff knows it.
“I think Dylan really embraces that. He wants the touches.
He wants to see opportunities. Now, what are those touches look like and how we're gonna do that?
That can be a lot of different ways as we know.”
Edwards has already shown enough to justify the increased responsibility. He has 159 rushing yards on 30 carries, good for 5.3 yards per attempt, with a long of 24 yards. He’s also become a real factor as a receiver, catching 9 passes for 68 yards at 7.6 yards per catch.
The challenge now is keeping him available for the stretch run. Kansas played the Union Jack Classic in Week 3, which pushed its bye week back and left the Jayhawks with nine straight games to finish the season.
“But, again, giving him a position where he's gonna play more snaps, and be willing to play that, and with nine straight coming up, that's gonna be something that I'm sure it's gonna be a challenge, and we're gonna have to be smart on total reps.”
Leipold also hinted that the staff may have to scale back Edwards’ workload in the return game.
“You know, again, I don't like using load management, but there's probably something to that. We might, you know, we'll look at how much we continue to be using the kick return, things like that. But Dylan's gonna have a big role in this program, just like we thought he would from the day he arrived.”
Edwards has 38 return yards this season on two tries, and with the backfield thinned out the way it is, Kansas may need every bit of him on offense. Andy Kotelnicki’s attack is built on a strong run game, and right now Edwards looks like the key to keeping that part of the offense alive.
In Other News...
Kansas Backfield Trouble Just Got Harder To Ignore
Kansas already had reason to worry about its ground game, and the timing of the latest setback only sharpened the concern. The Jayhawks have seen their rushing offense slide badly from where it was in 2023, and they are trying to piece together answers while averaging just 3.4 yards per carry. With a home game against Middle Tennessee on deck, the backfield picture has become a major talking point around a team that needs more stability on offense.
The latest change came with Yasin Willis expected to be out the rest of the season after surgery, a blow that forces Kansas to reshuffle its options yet again. The Jayhawks responded by adding Chase Belcher and moving Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman to running back, a sign of how thin things have become as the team looks for workable depth and a more reliable rotation heading into another important stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Suddenly Need An Unlikely Answer In The Backfield
Kansas football has had to reshuffle its running back room after a likely season-ending injury to Yasin Willis, a setback that leaves the Jayhawks searching for answers sooner than expected. To help stabilize the position, the staff added Chase Belcher, giving the offense another body as it tries to absorb the loss and keep the backfield from thinning out further.
One of the more interesting moves has come with Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman, who was brought in from Iowa State and is now working in the backfield after spending his time on the other side of the ball. The switch gives Kansas a wild card with size and athletic traits that coaches clearly believe can translate, but how quickly he can turn that potential into actual game-time help remains the real question. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Faces Early Pressure In Game That Could Shape Its Season
Kansas is already feeling some early-season pressure as it gets ready to host Middle Tennessee in its fourth game, a matchup that carries more weight than the calendar would suggest. The Jayhawks have shown some defensive strength, but offensive issues have kept the start uneven, and now the focus shifts to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, where the expectation is that KU will look to steady itself and avoid letting the season slip further off course.
The timing matters because this is the kind of nonconference game Kansas is supposed to handle, especially with bowl hopes still in play. It will be on ESPN News and comes with the Jayhawks favored by oddsmakers, but the bigger storyline is whether they can turn that edge into a clean win and reset the tone before the schedule tightens again. [Read more 🡒]