Kansas defensive end Leroy Harris III has spent the first part of the season turning himself into one of the Jayhawks’ most disruptive defenders, and the numbers are starting to back that up.
Through four games, Harris has been all over the field for Kansas. He came into the year after a strong 2025 season that included 31 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, production that earned him honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. Kansas Athletics lists him at 6-foot-5, and he has kept building into a bigger piece of the defense.
His early-season line has been loud. Before Kansas played Middle Tennessee, Harris had 15 tackles, six tackles for loss, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one sack and a blocked kick. Kansas Athletics described him as a "menace" early in the season, and that label fits the way he keeps showing up in different spots and different ways.
That production has pushed him near the top of the Power 4 statistical charts. A current Power 4 defensive statistics database has Harris 12th in tackles for loss with six, putting him in company with names like Texas’ Colin Simmons and LSU’s Princewill Umanmielen.
He added more to that résumé in Kansas’ 55-0 win over Middle Tennessee. Harris finished with three tackles, one tackle for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
It was another reminder that he can wreck a drive without necessarily getting credit for a sack. According to Kansas’ official box score, he was one of the Jayhawks’ defensive leaders in the shutout.
The fumble recovery mattered in a big way during a night when Kansas dominated from start to finish. The Jayhawks held Middle Tennessee to 136 yards of total offense, the fewest yards allowed in Lance Leipold’s tenure. It also marked the program’s first shutout since 2008.
Now the challenge gets bigger. Kansas heads to Utah next Saturday, and Harris’ knack for creating pressure, stopping the run and forcing turnovers gives the Jayhawks another edge as Big 12 play starts to ramp up.
The Utes will be a tougher test, but Harris has already shown he can be one of the most disruptive players on the field. If this pace holds, he has a real chance to finish as one of the Power 4’s most productive defensive linemen and keep rising as a name to know at Kansas.
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