Looking at the state of Kansas football’s cornerbacks room heading toward summer – The Topeka Capital-Journal

Kansas football coach Lance Leipold updates spring ball progress

Lance Leipold spoke Tuesday and provided an update on how spring football was progressing for the Jayhawks. Here's what the Kansas coach said.

Jordan Guskey, Topeka Capital-Journal

LAWRENCE Among the changes made by Kansas football coach Lance Leipold to the Jayhawks staff of defensive assistants afterthe 2021 season, Jordan Peterson returned to an on-field role with the program.

Peterson, an analyst last season, is now the defensive backs coach. The cornerbacks are his responsibility, but as Leipold saidThursday in a Hawk Talk appearance, Peterson will work with defensive coordinator Brian Borland with the defensive backs as a whole. And after the whirlwind experience that happeneda year ago, after embracing a chance to remain in Lawrence with Leipold during Leipolds first season at the helm, Peterson is excited to be where he is.

A lot of personalities in that room, said Peterson, speaking Thursday with reporters about the cornerbacks specifically. It kind of runs the gamut, as far as some guys are really, really quiet. Some guys, not so much. But they have one thing in common:They all really love football. And obviously theres different coaching styles and things that theyve got to get accustomed to, but Im really excited about the progress that that young groups made so far this spring.

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Here are a few things to think about with Kansas cornerbacks room, based on what's happened during spring ball through Thursdays practice, assummer approaches:

Redshirt junior cornerback Kalon Gervin was one of a number of transfers brought in after this past season ended, and onewhose effect on the secondary could be immediate. He joined the Jayhawks from Michigan State. And according to Peterson, Gervin was impressive from the first conversation the two shared.

Peterson said that as a staff they looked to the transfer portal for the position because they wanted to add maturity and leadership, and that Gervin has embraced that role and tried to earn the necessary respect from his teammates. Peterson described Gervin as a young man who has a quiet confidence and a quality demeanor, who understands scheme. Peterson said there are younger players in the room who have untapped talent, and Gervin adds an element that pushes them to improve.

(Gervin)s competed at a high level before, started a lot of games, Peterson said. … He kind of started behind the eight-ball just from a verbiage standpoint, trying to learn the defense and just trying to teach him multiple positions at corner and then again at our cinco/nickel positions in the slot. So, again, hes a guy that loves football. So, hes kind of putting the work in, and from a body-position and a body-type standpoint, hes really, really good. Really mature.

Gervin saidhe feels he has the playbook down now, and looking ahead will just try to improve his game holistically. Hes enjoyed building relationships with teammates and members of the staff. There have been challenges adjusting, of course, but hes accepted those challenges.

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There are a number of players whove stood out at cornerback, both to Gervin and Peterson.

For Gervin, that would be sophomores CamRon Dabney and Jacobee Bryant. Gervin considers both playmakers, and guys who arent hesitant like younger players sometimes can be.

For Peterson, everyones flashed their potential at times and redshirt sophomore RaMello Dotson has been the most consistent among those who returned. Peterson said Dotson leads by example, and has made tremendous strides with press technique and other things theyve asked him to be more consistent in.

So, are those the cornerbacks who have been receiving the most reps with the starters?

At corner, weve really tried to cycle that through, Peterson said. At safety its been (sophomore) O.J. (Burroughs) and (senior) Kenny (Logan Jr.), primarily, with (sophomore Edwin White-Schultz) coming in there and rotating with those guys. So, its kind of been a three-man rotation there.

"But at corner, especially with us playing those guys at cinco and other positions as well, I dont want them to ever feel comfortable just listening to one voice. So, all spring … theyve been cycling through whos with the 1s, whos with the 2s, whos with the 3s.

Peterson said the aim was to use the spring to push guys to their limit to see who can handle what. He wants them to perfect their craft, no matter whos on the field with them. As he points out, theres no telling what can happen during a season.

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Peterson is striving for more consistency with his current players, when it comes to their mental fortitude. He sees them learning the defense, and is looking for better technique. Looking back at last season, according to Peterson, some of the mistakes that made guys look like they got beat on plays were really due to mental lapses such as understanding where their help was.

On the recruiting trail, Petersons No. 1 goal is to analyze a prospects mentality. When it comes to physical traits, hes pointing to speed, ability to change direction, ball skills and an eager will totackle. And while the further they get into recruiting someone the more positional-based that recruiting can get, he does have specific areas of focus.

Ill have north Houston, Peterson said. Ill bleed over to east Texas and some of my connections closer into central Texas. My regional area is southeast Kansas City … and then I have Phoenix, and kind of the greater Phoenix area.

Jordan Guskey coversUniversity of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

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Looking at the state of Kansas football's cornerbacks room heading toward summer - The Topeka Capital-Journal