Kansas has plenty of offensive pieces in place, but Andy Kotelnicki still sees a team in search of its most important trait: consistency.
That has been the big message out of fall camp as the Jayhawks try to smooth out the uneven production that marked last season. Kansas averaged 26.5 points and 368.8 yards per game, and while the offense was solid on a per-play basis at 5.7 yards, it did not keep that level going long enough to turn good stretches into full-game dominance.
Kotelnicki said the staff is still sorting through how each player fits best in the system.
“There's been a ton of flashes,” Kotelnicki said. “For me, it's about consistently showing it over and over and over again.
I think, one of the biggest things that coaches have to do is identify what are the limitations of players? And what are the capabilities of players?”
He said the answer will come with more time on the practice field.
“As long as you put a picture of that, you can always put the puzzle pieces together to get guys in the right spots,” Kotelnicki said. “And so you just need a few more practices of that evidence.”
Kansas does have more clarity now that redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall has been named the starting quarterback for the Sept. 4 opener against Long Island University. Marshall steps into an offense with several new faces around him, including Buffalo transfer wide receiver Nik McMillan, offensive lineman Connor Stroh and running back Yasin Willis.
The red zone is one of the biggest areas the Jayhawks need to clean up. Kansas finished last season with a 71.79% red-zone conversion rate, which ranked 124th nationally. The third-down numbers weren’t much better, with the Jayhawks converting just 38.13% of the time.
That’s a step down from Kotelnicki’s earlier run in Lawrence. In 2023, Kansas converted 81.82% of its red-zone chances and 47.76% of its third downs.
If the Jayhawks can get back toward that level while tightening up the week-to-week and drive-to-drive inconsistency, Kotelnicki’s offense could be in position for a much better 2026.
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The caution flag is the same one that tends to shadow young, talent-heavy rosters: experience. Kansas has only three true upperclassmen on the roster, which leaves a lot of the burden on freshmen to settle in fast and carry meaningful minutes in a demanding Big 12 grind. ESPNs projection range makes the point clearly enough, with a path that looks solid if the newcomers are merely good and another that gets much more ambitious if they become something closer to immediate difference-makers. [Read more 🡒]