Kansas football spring ball: KU’s offensive line has new position coach, roles to fill

LAWRENCE — As Jeff Grimes spoke with reporters early on during Kansas football’s spring practices, he highlighted the offensive line room as the biggest question mark.

Grimes, the Jayhawks' offensive coordinator/assistant head coach, noted he didn’t mean that as a negative. He added he didn’t say that to imply the team’s offensive linemen aren’t good. But considering how much was unknown at that point in March, and the fact there are multiple starters to replace like Mike Novitsky and Dominick Puni, there was a lot to work out.

Grimes wanted to uncover who the top eight offensive linemen are going to be. That meant the top five guys, a backup center, backup interior talent and swing tackle. He also to know if Kansas would have the toughness, aggression and mindset necessary to be the tip of the spear for the offense.

Fast-forward to the end of spring drills in April, and Grimes acknowledged there’s still work to be done. He once again highlighted that there are some really good guys KU has to replace, with some ready to challenge for those jobs and others. It could take fall camp to finalize how the offensive line will look in the coming season.

“I feel confident that they’ll be a good unit,” Grimes said. “I really feel like (offensive line) coach (Daryl) Agpalsa’s going to get them there. I feel confident that they really want to be good. Whether they can truly be dominant and lead our offense with a team that’s filled with so much talent at the skill positions, I don’t know. I think that’ll be an interesting piece of how far this offense can go.”

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Here are a handful of things to think about Kansas’ offensive line position as the Jayhawks progress after spring ball:

Daryl Agpalsa replaces Scott Fuchs as Kansas football OL coach

Agpalsa is Kansas’ new offensive line coach after Scott Fuchs left for the Tennessee Titans and the NFL. Agpalsa joined after a stint as an assistant coach with Northern Illinois and rejoined a coaching staff led by head coach Lance Leipold, who he was with when he was an assistant at Buffalo. And as Agpalsa has taken over a new room, he’s tried to be open-minded with the veteran group he has at his disposal.

Agpalsa said the goal is to marry ideas so the guys are able to play as fast as possible. One example of that is which techniques players use to accomplish a task. He explained he’ll ask what the players have done, and if it’s similar — potentially with something concerning footwork or hand placement — he’ll make sure it’s something that works and everyone’s comfortable with so they can continue to play fast.

Leipold said early during spring ball he was reminded quickly how good of a teacher Agpalsa is. Agpalsa noted he knows how successful the team was last year, so he feels his jobs to keep the momentum going. This is a position that’s been a strength for the Jayhawks.

There’s competition at center

Novitsky’s departure leaves a starting spot open at center, and it looks like it’s down to senior Michael Ford Jr. and redshirt senior Shane Bumgardner. Ford is a returning talent who could very well start at guard if this job goes to Bumgardner. Bumgardner is the reigning top center of the year in Division II making the jump up to Division I.

Leipold noted Bumgardner continues to get better and more comfortable in the Kansas system, but that Ford has also shown consistent improvement. Leipold is excited to see Bumgardner progress and how Bumgardner looks during the fall. Bumgardner said himself it was taking longer than anticipated, but he’s getting there.

Here are more names to know at guard

Ford would be just one of the two starters at guard if he’s not at center. So there are more names to know. During the spring, Leipold mentioned redshirt senior Darrell Simmons Jr., redshirt junior Kobe Baynes and redshirt junior Nolan Gorczyca. It’s important to note that someone who could have been an answer here, Ar'maj Reed-Adams, transferred to Texas A&M after last season.

Kansas seems to have an idea of what it will do at tackle

With Puni’s departure, comes an opening at left tackle. Due to an injury to redshirt freshman Calvin Clements, redshirt junior Logan Brown appears to be the favorite to slide in there. And on the right side, returning starter and senior Bryce Cabeldue is a familiar face.

Both Brown and Cabeldue are working their way back from injuries. So, that’s something the coaching staff has been monitoring. But Leipold, Grimes and Agpalsa all spoke positively about the duo during the spring, and those two appeared confident about their potential as well.

Calvin Clements does still have a lot of promise

Cabeldue acknowledged it’s tough Clements suffered an injury, but highlighted it is good to see younger players develop physically and become stronger and faster. Brown mentioned Clements started out really strong this spring before the injury, and that it’s been fun to see Clements grow. Clements joined the team ahead of the 2023 season as a prized, in-state high school prospect, and has a bright future in Lawrence.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football's offensive line has new position coach, roles to fill