Kansas football’s injury situation has reached the point where the depth chart at running back barely resembles the one the Jayhawks opened with, and Andy Kotelnicki didn’t try to sugarcoat it.
What began with Dylan Edwards, Yasin Willis and Jalen Dupree as Kansas’ top three backs has already been whittled down. Willis is expected to miss the rest of the season after getting hurt against Arizona State, leaving Edwards and Dupree as the main holdovers in a room that has been battered early.
Even that pair comes with question marks: Edwards played only four games for Kansas State last season, while Dupree sat out the Union Jack Classic loss to Arizona State. Kansas also added Chase Belcher, who previously spent time at Northern Arizona and Kennesaw State, to help stabilize the position group.
Kotelnicki addressed the injury issue earlier this week, and his message was blunt.
“Injury is part of the football game. I'd be lying if I said I hadn’t had to deal with it almost every season throughout my coaching career. So, when guys get dinged up, you feel for them personally, internally, but you can't dwell on it; you gotta have the next-man mentality,” opened a sharp Kotelnicki.
He continued by making clear that the rest of the league isn’t waiting around for Kansas to get healthy.
“And the reality is, nobody cares outside of our room. So we have to move on.
You got to and hopefully, with how we've practiced, you know, throughout spring and fall camp, that you feel good about developing people and depth in every position. And you’ve got to have the next-man-up mentality.”
That attitude matters now more than ever for a Kansas team that can’t afford to lean on injuries as an explanation. The Jayhawks are already off to a 1-2 start, coming off back-to-back 5-7 seasons, and the early outlook has only intensified the pressure. In this spot, a bowl game already feels far off, and the usual injury buffer isn’t much of a shield.
The running game may be the most important piece of the puzzle. With Kotelnicki back running the offense, Kansas has reason to believe the ground attack can again be a strength, just as it was in his final two seasons in Lawrence before he left for Happy Valley.
That becomes especially important with Isaiah Marshall still trying to settle in at quarterback. Through three games, he has looked overexcited at times and inconsistent at others, which makes a dependable rushing attack even more valuable.
For Kansas, the hope is simple: Belcher can give the offense some relief, and Edwards and Dupree can stay on the field long enough to provide it.
The Jayhawks host Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT, with the game set to stream on ESPNU. A win would move KU to 2-2.
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 🡒]