Kansas is leaning on Tate Nagy right now, and the sophomore wideout-return man is answering.
The Jayhawks have stumbled out of the gate with losses to Missouri and Arizona State, leaving a 1-2 start that has taken some of the shine off the summer optimism around a team hoping to get back to bowl eligibility for the third time in six years under Lance Leipold. The injuries have only made things messier, and at this point the excuses are wearing thin with a fanbase that expects more.
Even in that kind of environment, Nagy has started to separate himself.
As a freshman in 2025, the former 3-star prospect handled 17 punt returns for 116 yards and added three kickoff returns for 57 yards, but he never quite got loose for a score. Still, the speed was there.
He kept his feet moving, picked up yards after the catch when he could, and flashed the kind of return ability that suggested more was coming. He also chipped in 2 receptions for 20 yards.
Now in 2026, the production has jumped.
Nagy has 7 punt returns for 125 yards, a 17.9-yard average, and a touchdown. That score came in KU’s 24-17 loss to Arizona State in the Union Jack Classic, when he took advantage of shaky punt coverage and turned a return into a 72-yard touchdown. The play briefly put Kansas ahead 7-3 with 10:57 left in the second quarter, before the Sun Devils responded with 20 seconds left in the half on a 25-yard pass from Cutter Boley.
“I don't wanna use the word “scrappy,” but he's a highly competitive guy that's kind of a great feel for the game. He can make people miss in the return game,” Lance Leipold said after the game.
Nagy has also become more involved as a receiver, with 6 catches for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns already on the season.
“Even on the touchdown, or I think it was the catch before they touchdown he had, he just kind of throttled down, and found an opening to get a catch, and gives us a first down, and then the next one, of course, he makes a guy miss, and I thought he played extremely well. And again, with everything that's going on, we're going to need somebody like him to step up.”
His latest touchdown came on a sharp throw from redshirt sophomore quarterback Isaiah Marshall, who dropped the ball over a defender and right into Nagy’s hands. From there, Nagy kept his momentum moving in the right direction, slipped into busted coverage and finished the play in the end zone to cut the KU deficit from 17 to 10.
Nagy still has work to do before he rises into the top tier of Kansas’ receiver group, but he’s doing exactly what this team needs from him - and then some.
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