Turner Gill and the Kansas Jayhawks have released the official depth chart for game one against McNeese State this afternoon.
Not a whole lot in the way of surprises on the offensive side of the ball. James Sims will start in the backfield but expect to see plenty of rotation between Sims, Brandon Bourbon, Darrian Miller and Anthony Pierson.
On the offensive line the Jayhawks are experienced with four juniors and one senior slated in the starting rotation. Expect Riley Spencer and Gavin Howard to be the primary two rotating in as needed, but it is interesting to see three true freshman listed on the two deep.
Jimmay Mundine's absence might raise a few eyebrows given the strong praise he received last Fall and leading into the Summer. But it is a position where the Jayhawks have three experienced seniors and Mundine did miss some time over the Summer months.
On the defensive side of the ball Kevin Young was able to beat out Richard Johnson in a move that probably provides the defensive front with a little more quickness. The linebackers look much more athletic on paper than in years past and have a completely different look with plenty of new faces. In defensive backfield things look to have shaped up almost exactly as one would have expected based on the indications from the staff over the past six months.
Two freshman get the nod on special teams with Alex Mueller taking the place kicking duties and Tanner Gibas winning out as the longsnapper which was to be expected. If you're going to give a longsnapper a scholarship, he should be able to start.
OFFENSE
LT 74 Jeff Spikes (6-6, 325, Jr-2L) 79 Riley Spencer (6-7, 300, So-1L)
LG 69 Trevor Marrongelli (6-2, 293, Jr-2L) 53 Tom Mabry (6-4, 287, So-SQ)
OC 77 Jeremiah Hatch (6-3, 332, Sr-3L) 75 Dylan Admire (6-3, 264, Fr-HS)
RG 67 Duane Zlatnik (6-4, 326, Jr-2L) 75 Travis Bodenstein (6-5, 295, Fr-HS) OR 68 Luke Luhrsen (6-5, 290, Fr-HS)
RT 72 Tanner Hawkinson (6-6, 293, Jr-2L) 70 Gavin Howard (6-5, 292, So-SQ)
TE 86 Tim Biere (6-4, 260, Sr-3L) 87 Ted McNulty (6-5, 230, Sr-1L) OR 11 AJ Steward (6-3, 233, Sr-2L)
WR 20 D.J. Beshears (5-8, 174, Jr-1L) 12 Christian Matthews (6-1, 186, So-1L)
WR 15 Daymond Patterson (5-9, 173, Sr-3L) 7 Kale Pick (6-1, 208, Jr-2L)
FB 45 Nick Sizemore (6-2, 246, So-RS) 43 Ed Fink (6-3, 221, Fr-RS)
TB 29 James Sims (6-0, 206, So-1L) 25 Brandon Bourbon (6-1, 208, Fr-RS) OR 3 Darrian Miller (5-10, 181, Fr-HS)
QB 2 Jordan Webb (6-0, 210, So-1L) 8 Quinn Mecham (6-2, 207, Sr-1L)
SPECIALIST
PK 10 Alex Mueller (5-10, 160, Fr-HS) 13 Ron Doherty (5-11, 206, So-1L)
P 13 Ron Doherty (5-11, 206, So-1L) 19 Victor McBride (6-2, 201, Fr-RS)
LS 59 Tanner Gibas (6-2, 200, Fr-HS) 54 Justin Carnes (6-3, 230, So-1L)
KR 20 D.J. Beshears (5-8, 174, Jr-1L) 24 Bradley McDougald (6-1, 195, Jr-2L)
PR 15 Daymond Patterson (5-9, 173, Sr-3L) 20 D.J. Beshears (5-8, 174, Jr-1L)
DEFENSE
DE 96 Keba Agostino (6-3, 253, So-1L) 91 Pat Lewandowski (6-6, 248, Fr-RS)
DT 71 John Williams (6-3, 290, Jr-2L) 64 Randall Dent (6-5, 275, So-SQ)
DT 90 Kevin Young (6-2, 256, So-1L) 97 Richard Johnson, Jr. (6-3, 283, Sr-3L)
BUCK 35 Toben Opurum (6-2, 240, Jr-2L) 44 Malcolm Walker (6-1, 220, Jr-JC)
WLB 52 Steven Johnson (6-1, 237, Sr-3L) 34 Huldon Tharp (6-0, 217, So-1L)
MLB 2 Darius Willis (6-3, 243, So-RS) 47 Isaac Wright (6-3, 240, Jr-JC)
SLB 17 Tunde Bakare (5-10, 215, Jr-JC) 4 Prinz Kande (6-0, 194, So-1L)
FC 19 Isiah Barfi eld (5-11, 185, Sr-3L) 33 Tyler Patmon (5-11, 180, So-1L)
SS 24 Bradley McDougald (6-1, 195, Jr-2L) 1 Lubbock Smith (6-0, 206, Jr-2L)
FS 9 Keeston Terry (6-2, 185, So-SQ) 40 Ray Mitchell (6-1, 183, Fr-RS)
BC 5 Greg Brown (5-11, 185, Jr-2L) 30 Anthony Davis (5-11, 205, Sr-3L)