The 2021 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Jayhawks 132nd season. They were members of the Big 12 Conference. They played their home games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. They were coached by Lance Leipold in his first year as head coach.
The Jayhawks entered the season with multiple losing streaks: 41 games to AP ranked teams, 54 road conference games, twelve conference games, and an overall losing streak of thirteen. Only one of the streaks would still be standing by the end of the season. They would end their thirteen game overall losing streak with their victory over South Dakota on September 3, 2021. Their victory over Texas on November 13 ended several more losing streaks: 8 straight overall losses, 18 straight within the Big 12, 20 straight to FBS opponents, and 56 straight in road conference games. They lost all their games against AP poll ranked teams during the season extending the streak to 44 games. The Jayhawks also failed to qualify for a bowl game for the 13th consecutive season, dating back to the 2008 season. They finished last in the Big 12 for the 7th consecutive season.
Les Miles departure On March 5, 2021, head coach Les Miles, was placed on administrative leave following allegations of inappropriate comments and actions with female students while the head coach at LSU. Kansas and Miles agreed to mutually part ways on March 8, 2021. Wide receivers coach Emmett Jones served as interim coach from March 11 through the team's spring practices at the end of April. On April 30, Lance Leipold was hired as the head coach.
Offseason
Starters lost Overall, the Jayhawks had 17 players run out of eligibility. Below are the starters from 2020 who have run out of eligibility.
Elijah Jones CB Logan Klusman LS
Coaching staff changes Including new head coach Lance Leipold, the Jayhawks will have five new coaches on their coaching staff replacing five coaches, which includes filling one position that was officially vacant the previous season.
Brent Dearmon Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki Joshua Eargle Tight ends John Morookian Offensive line Scott Fuchs Chidera Uzo-Diribe Linebackers Chris Sampson Vacant Special teams coordinator Jake Schoonover
Recruiting The Jayhawks have 22 commitments for their 2021 recruiting class. Below is the breakdown. The only positions KU did not have any recruits for were kicker and punter.
Overall class ranking Rivals 45 5 1* 21 247 Sports 63 9 0 20
Positional breakdown WR 3 RB 1 TE 1 QB 2 OL 3 LB 2 DL 3 DB 5 ATH 2
Transfers Only notable transfers are listed below. Kansas had 27 players transfer out and 13 transfer in.
Incoming Colin Grunhard C Notre Dame Kevin Terry WR Texas Tech Jason Bean QB North Texas Mike Novitsky C Buffalo Jeremy Webb CB Missouri State
Outgoing Andrew Parchment WR Florida State Kyle Thompson P N/A* Karon Prunty CB North Carolina A&T Marcus Harris DT Auburn
Entered NFL draft
Pooka Williams Jr. RB
Left during season Velton Gardner RB
Big 12 media poll The 2021 media poll was released on July 8, 2021. The Jayhawks were picked last for the 11th consecutive season receiving all 39 potential last place votes.
Big 12 media poll 1 Oklahoma 386 (35) 2 Iowa State 351 (4) 3 Texas 273 4 Oklahoma State 266 5 TCU 255 6 West Virginia 185 7 Kansas State 163 8 Baylor 124 9 Texas Tech 103 10 Kansas 39
Schedule
Source:
Roster 2021 Kansas Jayhawks FootballQuarterback 3 Miles Kendrick Senior 6 Jalon Daniels Sophomore 9 Conrad Hawley Freshman 13 Jordan Preston Sophomore 15 Miles Fallin Senior 16 Ben Easters Freshman 17 Jason Bean Junior
Running back 4 Devin Neal Freshman 20 Daniel Hishaw Jr. Sophomore 22 Rob Fiorentino Junior 23 Amauri Pesek-Hickson Freshman 24 Malik Johnson Freshman 25 Gayflor Flomo Senior 26 Jack Codwell Sophomore 29 Ben Miles FB Senior 33 Spencer Roe FB Junior 36 DeAndre Thomas Jr. Freshman 47 Jared Casey FB Sophomore
Wide receiver 2 Lawrence Arnold Junior 5 Majik Rector Freshman 7 Trevor Wilson Freshman 8 Kwamie Lassiter II 10 Tristan Golightly Sophomore 11 Luke Grimm Sophomore 12 Terry Locklin Sophomore 14 Jordan Medley Freshman 18 Jordan Brown Freshman 19 Steven McBride Sophomore 27 Kyler Pearson Freshman 81 Taneka Scott Freshman 83 Quentin Skinner Freshman 84 Kevin Terry Junior 85 Kelan Robinson Freshman 88 Jamahl Horne Junior
Tight end 45 Trevor Kardell Freshman 49 Mack Moeller Freshman 82 Mason Brotherton Freshman 86 Mac Copeland Junior 87 Will Huggins Freshman 89 Mason Fairchild Junior Offensive line 50 Mike Novitsky Junior 54 Michael Ford Jr. Freshman 55 Ar'maj Reed-Adams Sophomore 57 Hank Kelly Freshman 58 Larson Workman Freshman 61 Malik Clark Super Senior 63 Jake Eisenhauer Freshman 64 Colin Grunhard Junior 66 Danny Robinson Sophomore 67 Corey Robinson II Freshman 68 Earl Bostick Jr. Senior 69 Joe Krause Sophomore 70 Nick Williams Junior 72 Adagio Lopeti Super Senior 73 Jack Werner Sophomore 74 De'Kendrick Sterns Freshman 75 Jackson Satterwhite Freshman 76 Chris Hughes Super Senior 77 Bryce Cabeldue Freshman 78 Nicholas Martinez Freshman 79 Joseph Gilbertson Senior
Defensive ends 14 Steven Parker Sophomore 15 Kyron Johnson Super Senior 35 Zion DeBose Senior 37 Hayden Hatcher Senior 46 D'Marion Hatcher Freshman 94 Kevin Orange Jr. Sophomore 96 Cole Petrus Freshman
Defensive line 11 Eddie Wilson Senior 52 D. J. Withers Freshman 53 Caleb Taylor Freshman 90 Jereme Robinson Sophomore 91 Jelani Arnold Senior 92 Tommy Dunn Jr. Freshman 93 Sam Burt Super Senior 95 Ronald McGee Senior 97 Kenean Caldwell Sophomore 98 Caleb Sampson Senior 99 Malcolm Lee Senior Linebackers 0 Nate Betts Super Senior 6 Taiwan Berryhill Sophomore 7 Takulve Williams Senior 19 Gavin Potter Junior 20 Donovan Gaines Freshman 23 Alonso Person Freshman 30 Rich Miller Junior 32 Dylan Downing Sophomore 38 James Wright Freshman 39 Cole Mondi Freshman 41 Nick Channel Junior 43 Jay Dineen Senior 49 Krishawn Brown Freshman
Defensive back 1 Kenny Logan Jr. CB Junior 2 Jacobee Bryant CB Freshman 3 Ricky Thomas S Super Senior 4 Johnquai Lewis S Freshman 5 O. J. Burroughs S Freshman 9 Jeremy Webb CB Super Senior 10 Jayson Guillom S Freshman 13 Ra'Mello Dotson CB Sophomore 16 Cam'ron Dabney CB Freshman 17 DeVonte Wilson CB Freshman 18 Edwin White-Schultz S Freshman 20 Donovan Gaines CB Freshman 22 Duece Mayberry CB Sophomore 26 Cody McNerney S Junior 28 Kwinton Lassiter CB Junior 29 Jaden Robinson CB Freshman 31 Landon Nelson S Freshman
Special teams 24 Reis Vernon P Sophomore 34 Owen Piepergerdes K Freshman 37 Grayson Addison P Freshman 51 Emory Duggar LS Freshman 60 Luke Hosford LS Sophomore 80 Tabor Allen K Sophomore 83 Jacob Borcila K Sophomore
Coaching staff Lance Leipold Head coach Andy Kotelnicki Offensive coordinator/tight ends Brian Borland Defensive coordinator/safeties Jake Schoonover Special teams coordinator Emmett Jones Wide receivers Jim Zebrowski Quarterbacks Jonathan Wallace Running backs Jordan Peterson Cornerbacks Taiwo Onatolu Defensive line Scott Fuchs Offensive line Travis Partridge Offensive quality control Chris Sampson Linebackers
Game summaries
Vs. South Dakota
Statistics SDU KU First downs 14 12 Total yards 262 245 Rush yards 164 82 Passing yards 98 163 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 25:52 34:08 Team Category Player StatisticsSouth Dakota Passing Carson Camp 10/22, 98 yards Rushing Travis Theis 18 carries, 96 yards Receiving Kody Case 2 receptions, 37 yardsKansas Passing Jason Bean 17/26, 163 yards, 2 TD Rushing Jason Bean 15 carries, 54 yards Receiving Mason Fairchild 4 receptions, 58 yards
In the first game of the Lance Leipold era, the Jayhawks played South Dakota. The Jayhawks would score a touchdown first in the second quarter with a 8-yard pass by Jason Bean, a transfer from North Texas. After halftime, Kansas would take a 10–0 lead after a 30-yard field goal by Jacob Borcila. South Dakota would score two touchdowns to take their first lead with 5 minutes and 13 seconds left in the game. Kansas would then answer that touchdown with their own touchdown after Bean's second passing touchdown of the game with 1 minute and 3 seconds left. South Dakota would turn the ball over on downs after the kickoff to give the Jayhawks their first win since October 26, 2019, breaking a 13-game losing streak.
At No. 17 Coastal Carolina
Statistics KU CCU First downs 16 27 Total yards 412 460 Rush yards 174 215 Passing yards 238 245 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 30:49 29:11 Team Category Player StatisticsKansas Passing Jason Bean 12/24 189 yards Rushing Jason Bean 13 carries 102 yards 2 TD Receiving Kwamie Lassiter II 7 receptions 85 yardsCoastal Carolina Passing Grayson McCall 17/21 245 yards 2 TD Rushing Reese White 14 carries 102 yards 3 TD Receiving Jaivon Heiligh 6 receptions 122 yards 1 TD
Kansas would strike first kicking with a 46-yard field goal in their first road game of the season. Coastal Carolina would respond with a touchdown on the following drive to take the lead, only for the Jayhawks to take the lead back 9–7. They would not hold a lead for the rest of the game as Coastal Carolina would outscore the Jayhawks 42–13 the rest of the game. The loss extended the Jayhawks losing streak to teams ranked in the AP poll to 42 games.
vs Baylor
Statistics BU KU First downs 29 8 Total yards 576 166 Rush yards 307 109 Passing yards 269 57 Turnovers 2 1 Time of possession 33:22 26:38 Team Category Player StatisticsBaylor Passing Gerry Bohanon 19/23, 269 yards, 2 TD Rushing Abram Smith 16 carries, 122 yards, 1 TD Receiving R.J. Sneed 6 receptions, 128 yards, 1 TDKansas Passing Jason Bean 8/17, 57 yards, 1 TD Rushing Jason Bean 12 carries, 62 yards Receiving Luke Grimm 2 receptions, 25 yards
In the Jayhawks Big 12 opener, they struggled to keep up with Baylor being outgained by Baylor 576–166. Jason Bean also had his fewest passing yards of the season to that point in the game with only 57, but was still the Jayhawks leading rusher. The Jayhawks lost the game after never leading at any point 7–45. The loss was the Jayhawks' 15th consecutive loss to FBS opponents and their 13th consecutive loss in the Big 12.
At Duke
Statistics KU DUK First downs 21 27 Total yards 530 607 Rush yards 207 279 Passing yards 323 328 Turnovers 2 2 Time of possession 30:43 29:17 Team Category Player StatisticsKansas Passing Jason Bean 19/32, 323 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Devin Neal 17 carries, 107 yards, 1 TD Receiving Kwamie Lassiter II 4 receptions, 99 yards, 1 TD Duke Passing Gunnar Holmberg 22/29, 328 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Mataeo Durant 21 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD Receiving Jake Bobo 7 receptions, 105 yards
The first half featured a back and forth game. The entire second quarter, the teams traded touchdowns. The Jayhawks went into halftime with a 24–21 lead. Duke would begin to pull away in the second half, however. The Blue Devils finished the game on a 31–9 run to win the game 52–33. The game was the Jayhawks most points scored and the most yards they put up in the season to that point. Kansas quarterback Jason Bean set a career high with 323 yards, but also threw two interceptions. His first interception was the first he had thrown in the season. The loss extended the Jayhawks losing streak to FBS teams to 16.
At Iowa State
Statistics KU ISU First downs 18 25 Total yards 302 504 Rush yards 175 290 Passing yards 127 274 Turnovers 2 0 Time of possession 33:15 26:45 Team Category Player StatisticsKansas Passing Jason Bean 10/20 120 yards 1 INT Rushing Devin Neal 15 carries 83 yards Receiving Trevor Wilson 3 receptions 55 yardsIowa State Passing Brock Purdy 17/22 245 yards 4 TD Rushing Breece Hall 17 carries 123 yards 2 TD Receiving Xavier Hutchinson 7 receptions 96 yards 1 TD