After an inspiring late-year comeback, there was real hope for the Kansas football team to finish the 2024 campaign on a four-game winning streak to attain bowl eligibility. However, the Jayhawks’ season came to a screeching halt this past Saturday against Baylor when the Bears comfortably defeated KU in a game it never had much of a chance in.
Since Lance Leipold’s squad ended the season at 5-7 and didn’t give itself a chance for postseason eligibility, the college careers of many Jayhawks are officially over. Kansas had one of the deepest collections of seniors in the nation, and fans will miss a good number of these players.
More than 30 Kansas football seniors have college careers ended
Losing seniors who have poured everything they had into the program is always difficult to accept, but this bunch stands out from the rest. Headlining the group is RB Devin Neal, who leaves the University of Kansas as the leading rusher in school history. The future NFL Draft selection was a perfect embodiment of Kansas football and was largely responsible for KU’s turnaround.
Others include Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson, the standout CB duo that made up most of the Jayhawks’ success in the secondary. Bryant will likely be taken in the draft, while Dotson could find himself on a practice squad early in his career. A talented trio of senior WRs in Luke Grimm, LJ Arnold, and Quentin Skinner also have pro potential.
Thirty-eight Jayhawks completed their Senior Day, one of them being QB Jalon Daniels. Although he has one year of eligibility remaining, he has not unveiled whether he will be transferring, entering the draft, or staying with the program. Leipold suggested he went through with the celebrating just in case, though it did raise some eyebrows.
Kansas has done a great job on the recruiting trail and could add significant players in the transfer portal. However, it will undoubtedly have trouble recovering from all the roster turnover from this collectively fantastic unit of seniors. Jayhawk fans across the state will miss them, and hopefully, all the seniors have success in their future endeavors.
