AP Photo/Lucas Pelletier
Kansas defensive end Jeremy Robinson answers questions from the media during Big 12 NCAA college football media days, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS — Kansas defensive end Jeremy Robinson may have been off the field during spring practice recovering from offseason surgery, but he made sure he wasn’t absent.
“I had to try to find new ways to make myself available for the team,” he said at Big 12 media day on Wednesday. “You get lost in thinking, ‘I’m not doing what they’re doing, so I’m not part of the team,’ but instead I found new ways, different ways to connect with my teammates and see what I can do from there.”
On and off the field, Robinson has established himself as a team leader — head coach Lance Leipold said Robinson “does everything that’s asked of him” and is “highly respected in the locker room” — and this position group definitely needs a leader.
Robinson and veteran Youngstown State transfer Dylan Udke will be a formidable duo on the strong side of the defensive line, but it’s anyone’s guess who will play on the weak side, including little-used junior college transfer Dean Miller, Michigan State transfer Bye Jobe and freshmen Da’Quice Brinkley and DeShawn Warner.
“That’s the situation,” Leipold said. “We’ve got to deal with it. We have young guys. We’re too old at other positions, but we’re going to use some young guys. We might rotate a little bit more to keep them fresh and healthy, because we know they’re going to be playing some bigger guys.”
Robinson has already seen a lot of promising signs from his “hungry” young players.
“All I want to tell them is to keep your feet on the ground and when your time comes, your time will come,” he said. “Be prepared when it comes.”
Robinson, a senior, would know that, having had his number called on various occasions over the years dating back to his freshman season in 2020. And even though Leipold replaced Les Miles as head coach and then Taiwo Onatolu replaced Kwan Drake on Leipold’s staff, Robinson’s snap counts have steadily increased from season to season, from 79 snaps in 2020 to 280, 480 to 655, according to Pro Football Focus.
“He’s one of those guys that’s been through a lot of coaching changes,” Leipold said, “but he’s a consistent, well-respected player and a good football player.”
It’s worth noting that even if the majority of his pass rush comes from the weak side, he can still chase down the quarterback from his position, as Robinson himself noted during his media day appearance. (“Well, unless you count myself out,” he began when asked who Kansas’ sack leader will be in 2024, “I’ve got to put that name up there.” In fact, with Austin Booker leaving for the NFL, Robinson returned to lead the Jayhawks’ sacks with 4.5 last season.)
The very fact that Robinson was selected to represent Kansas at his first media day speaks to his status as what Leipold called a “quiet leader.”
“Before we left, the coaches said we deserved this moment, we did what we had to do, we know our level, we know how well we can represent the university, so just go out there and do it,” Robinson said.
He also has a great opportunity to make an impact on the field. Robinson said he’s benefited from an offseason of rest and is ready to get back to practice. “I feel fresh, I feel refreshed,” he said. Fall camp will require him to “not only keep to my pace, but also break it.”
“I want to push myself a little harder than I think I would at this stage to see what happens when game time comes,” he said.
That’s because he wants to bring a consistent presence to the defensive line. “I have to bring the same energy in Week 9 that I bring in Week 1. I have to be the same me all season.”
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Written by Henry Greenstein
