Kansas football: The long march from the bottom begins
By Phil Poling
Defense
The Jayhawk defense was nearly college football’s worst in 2017, ranking 129th out of 130th in opponent’s points per game. Those opponent’s averaged 43.4 points per game and Kansas surrendered a season-high 65 against Texas Tech.
Along with every Big 12 game, Kansas lost star defensive end Dorance Armstrong, Jr. to the NFL. Beaty’s defense does retain some experience from last year’s squad, though.
Senior linebacker Joe Dineen led the Jayhawks’ defense with 133 tackles last year. He earned second-team All-American honors from Sports Illustrated, being the first Jayhawk since Aqib Talib ten years earlier to do so. Joe’s younger brother, Jay, is also a KU linebacker.
Stopping what he could on the back-end in 2017 was safety Mike Lee. It’s never a good sign when your safety is second on the team in tackles like Lee was, but look at the bright side KU fans: at least Lee’s capable of making those tackles. The junior from Louisiana is a veteran too, having started early in his career as a freshman.
The only defensive starters the Jayhawks lost are Armstrong, Jr. and Josh Ehambe, both 3-year letter-winners along the defensive line. While 23 letter-winners return on the defense altogether, nine starters will be back. Hopefully losing habits weren’t formed last season and the returning core can build off prior experiences.