Lance Leipold calls out Kansas pass blocking in first quarter: 'We gotta protect Jalon a little bit more'

Kansas coach Lance Leipold would like to see his offensive line step it up in the second quarter against West Virginia. The Jayhawks ended the first quarter trailing 7-0 as Leipold joined the ESPN2 broadcast for an interview.

The coach called for his pass protection to be better after quarterback Jalon Daniels found himself under a lot of pressure early. KU allowed one sack as Daniels finished the opening quarter 4-of-6 passing for 46 yards and an interception.

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“Defensively, we came out and made that stop early, but then we didn’t generate anything,” he said. “We gotta protect Jalon a little bit more. We’re getting too much leakage right now. We’re playing downhill better than we’re reacting to that right now. We’re having success in the run game. We’ll settle down and get it going.”

Although the passing game has been spotty, running back Devin Neal has paced the offense early for the Jayhawks. He has so far rushed for 70 yards and scored a touchdown to tie the game at 7 with 7:31 to go in the second.

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Kansas did much better in the second quarter as it did not allow West Virginia to record another sack. However, they still trailed 14-7 heading into halftime.

They’ll aim to continue protecting the quarterback in the second half as they aim to make a comeback and start Big 12 play with a win.

Kansas AD Travis Goff ‘fired up’ about football renovations

For the first time since 1921, Kansas isn’t playing its home games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium this season. Instead, the Jayhawks are hosting their opponents at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City while construction occurs back on the school’s campus.

However, the Jayhawks will be rewarded for their wait. The Gateway District Project will transform the north entrance to campus, including Kansas’ football facilities. During the second quarter of Kansas’ showdown against UNLV on Friday, Kansas athletic director Travis Goff pulled back the curtain on the school’s massive project.

“We’re fired up,” Goff said. “First of all, it’s real. We are about nine months into construction, but we have about 10 months to go. On August of 2025, we’ll be playing in a new on-campus stadium in Lawrence and everybody’s fired up about that.

“You think about the importance of college football and athletics — this facility, this venue, this district, is a tangible indicator of that, right? It’s a way to draw people into the university. You think about enrollment impact, think about student experience, alumni engagement — so it runs far beyond football. And we want to have it activated 300+ days a year, conference center and other auxiliary components.”