Trey Lathan doesn’t need much time to spot the biggest change in Kansas’ linebacker room from one year to the next. For him, it comes down to bodies - and what those bodies can actually do.
At Big 12 Media Days, the redshirt senior pointed to depth as the clearest upgrade heading into 2026. That’s a notable shift for a position group that left KU leaning heavily on Lathan in 2025.
"We actually got more depth than we had last year," Lathan said. "We got guys who can play multiple positions… We got guys who can play.
That's just something that we lacked last year, [not] being able to give guys breaks and not being able to take guys off the field. But now we got the opportunities."
That mattered a lot last season. Lathan arrived in Lawrence after a productive three-year run at West Virginia and was one of three transfer linebackers KU brought in.
On paper, the room looked stocked. In practice, it never quite settled.
Joseph Sipp Jr. barely saw the field. Bangally Kamara was inconsistent on Saturdays and battled injuries away from them.
Jon Jon Kamara, Logan Brantley and Jayson Gilliom all had trouble carving out reliable rotational work. The result was a heavy load on Lathan, who ended up playing more snaps than any other KU defender.
He gave one game as the clearest example. Against Missouri in 2025, Lathan was on the field for roughly 80 snaps, and by the end of it, he was feeling every bit of that workload.
"Toward the end, I think I felt it a lot," Lathan said. "And some of the times I'm on the ground like, 'Damn, I gotta get up again.'"
That kind of wear and tear is exactly what Kansas wants to avoid moving forward, especially with the way games have gone late in recent seasons. If the Jayhawks can trust more linebackers early, Lathan can stay fresher for the moments that matter most.
Quincy Davis is one of the main options behind him at mike linebacker. The former New Mexico State rotational player brings efficiency, and Lathan clearly appreciates having him around - even if Davis keeps asking for more work.
"It's kind of funny because Quincy, he asked me all the time, 'Do you need a break?'" Lathan said.
"I'm like, 'Nah, I'll probably get you like 10 snaps a game. It's my senior year.'
But it's pretty good [having depth]. Those guys are somebody who could come in and compete and obviously be starters at another program."
Bam Crouch is another name in the mix, and he may be the likeliest second starter next to Lathan. He’s no stranger to the college game, with 40 appearances at Boston College, and Lathan said that experience shows.
"Bam played a lot of football," Lathan said. "Those other guys played a lot of football, but Bam played a lot of football at a really high level. He has more of an understanding than most guys know at the position."
Kansas also has Jaron Willis, an SEC linebacker who rotated at South Carolina, and Jibreel Al-Amin, who came from Marshall after previously playing at Jacksonville State. Lathan had especially strong words for Al-Amin.
"Jabriel, he's like a freak of nature," Lathan said. "The guy's like 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, runs like 23 miles per hour. Just having him around, it's gonna be a big piece for us."
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