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LAWRENCE — As Kansas football continues to prepare for the 2026 season in fall camp, there are players who’ve stood out to director of sports performance Matt Gildersleeve.
Gildersleeve pointed to junior cornerback Jalen Todd, who continues to raise his ceiling with his speed, size and strength. Todd is the fastest on the team, hitting 22.71 miles per hour — close to former KU player and eventual NFL draft pick Emmanuel Henderson Jr. Freshman wide receiver Corbin Glasco is also one of the top five fastest players on the team, and redshirt junior safety and Georgia Tech transfer Christian Pritchett has hit 22.64 miles per hour.
Gildersleeve also highlighted how junior defensive end Leroy Harris III is a freak of nature when it comes to his combination of strength and speed. Redshirt junior defensive tackle Blake Herold has become one of the strongest guys on the defensive line, too. This past summer, Herold almost hit 20 miles per hour — with Gildersleeve noting that 19.7 miles per hour is still very impressive for someone who’s 300 pounds.
RELATED: 3 first-week takeaways from Kansas football coach Lance Leipold at fall camp
Here are a few more takeaways from what Gildersleeve had to say, as fall camp progressed:
Gildersleeve noted Harris has one of the more unique set of talents and physical traits he’s ever coached. A year from now, he predicted people will be talking about Harris as one of the most intriguing individuals in the nation in that respect. Harris showed up in the summer of 2025 as a transfer from Chattanooga weighing 238 pounds and running 19.6 miles per hour, and now he’s at 270 pounds and running 21.57 miles per hour — while also gone from benching 295 pounds to nearly 405.
When it comes to the defensive tackles, given the various things they’re asked to do in defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald’s scheme, Gildersleeve has also specialized their training to be able to thrive there. It’s similar to what he does with the defensive ends, not to mention the tight ends and even running backs. An important principle for Gildersleeve is to study what someone is asked to do on the football field and reverse engineer that individual’s training from there.
Gildersleeve said it’s fair to compare junior running back Yasin Willis to former KU running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. They aren’t quite the same athlete, but their toughness and approach to the game are similar. It impresses Gildersleeve how much Willis loves the game.
Willis, a transfer from Syracuse, is someone Gildersleeve said has the ability to be more than just a running back who thrives through his power. Although Willis understands that’s what he leads with, there’s more to his game. Gildersleeve is making sure that the training they put Willis through helps him be able to make the strides so he can showcase that this fall.
Kansas football has an ongoing starting quarterback competition with redshirt junior Cole Ballard one of the potential picks to win the job. Gildersleeve said Ballard has done well as a leader by being his genuine self and the team is drawn to that. It’s not necessarily Ballard’s actions as a leader that separate him, it’s the way he goes about them.
Ballard has also improved physically, and Gildersleeve thinks he’s been able to become more mature in how he handles playing with physicality but not doing too much. Because of the various injury issues former quarterback Jalon Daniels dealt with during his time at KU, the Jayhawks’ training for quarterbacks has also become more individualized to meet each person’s needs. Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall, the other player in contention to start at quarterback, is someone Gildersleeve thinks will end up being one of the more explosive talents who’s been there in this staff’s time at Kansas.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Who’s the fastest Kansas football player? Plus, more fall camp updates
Continue reading...
Gildersleeve pointed to junior cornerback Jalen Todd, who continues to raise his ceiling with his speed, size and strength. Todd is the fastest on the team, hitting 22.71 miles per hour — close to former KU player and eventual NFL draft pick Emmanuel Henderson Jr. Freshman wide receiver Corbin Glasco is also one of the top five fastest players on the team, and redshirt junior safety and Georgia Tech transfer Christian Pritchett has hit 22.64 miles per hour.
Gildersleeve also highlighted how junior defensive end Leroy Harris III is a freak of nature when it comes to his combination of strength and speed. Redshirt junior defensive tackle Blake Herold has become one of the strongest guys on the defensive line, too. This past summer, Herold almost hit 20 miles per hour — with Gildersleeve noting that 19.7 miles per hour is still very impressive for someone who’s 300 pounds.
RELATED: 3 first-week takeaways from Kansas football coach Lance Leipold at fall camp
Here are a few more takeaways from what Gildersleeve had to say, as fall camp progressed:
What’s some more insight Matt Gildersleeve has into Kansas’ defensive line?
Gildersleeve noted Harris has one of the more unique set of talents and physical traits he’s ever coached. A year from now, he predicted people will be talking about Harris as one of the most intriguing individuals in the nation in that respect. Harris showed up in the summer of 2025 as a transfer from Chattanooga weighing 238 pounds and running 19.6 miles per hour, and now he’s at 270 pounds and running 21.57 miles per hour — while also gone from benching 295 pounds to nearly 405.
When it comes to the defensive tackles, given the various things they’re asked to do in defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald’s scheme, Gildersleeve has also specialized their training to be able to thrive there. It’s similar to what he does with the defensive ends, not to mention the tight ends and even running backs. An important principle for Gildersleeve is to study what someone is asked to do on the football field and reverse engineer that individual’s training from there.
What does Matt Gildersleeve see in running back Yasin Willis?
Gildersleeve said it’s fair to compare junior running back Yasin Willis to former KU running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. They aren’t quite the same athlete, but their toughness and approach to the game are similar. It impresses Gildersleeve how much Willis loves the game.
Willis, a transfer from Syracuse, is someone Gildersleeve said has the ability to be more than just a running back who thrives through his power. Although Willis understands that’s what he leads with, there’s more to his game. Gildersleeve is making sure that the training they put Willis through helps him be able to make the strides so he can showcase that this fall.
What stands out to Matt Gildersleeve about Cole Ballard’s leadership?
Kansas football has an ongoing starting quarterback competition with redshirt junior Cole Ballard one of the potential picks to win the job. Gildersleeve said Ballard has done well as a leader by being his genuine self and the team is drawn to that. It’s not necessarily Ballard’s actions as a leader that separate him, it’s the way he goes about them.
Ballard has also improved physically, and Gildersleeve thinks he’s been able to become more mature in how he handles playing with physicality but not doing too much. Because of the various injury issues former quarterback Jalon Daniels dealt with during his time at KU, the Jayhawks’ training for quarterbacks has also become more individualized to meet each person’s needs. Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall, the other player in contention to start at quarterback, is someone Gildersleeve thinks will end up being one of the more explosive talents who’s been there in this staff’s time at Kansas.
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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Who’s the fastest Kansas football player? Plus, more fall camp updates
Continue reading...
