LAWRENCE — Kansas football made the additions of five more transfer portal talents official Wednesday during signing day.
Those five, who with tight end DeShawn Hanika (Iowa State) make six through this route, are defensive lineman Dylan Wudke (Youngstown State), offensive lineman Shane Bumgardner (Tiffin), offensive lineman Darrell Simmons Jr. (Iowa State), defensive lineman Javier Derritt (North Dakota State) and safety Devin Dye (Utah State). That’s an even split, three to three, on offense and defense. And according to a KU release, the five newer Jayhawks combined total almost 200 games played while they’ve been in college.
Here are three, though, among the six, who could be critical to Kansas’ efforts during the upcoming 2024 season:
DeShawn Hanika, tight end
With Mason Fairchild’s career at Kansas coming to an end with the 2023 season, there’s an opening for playing time at tight end for the Jayhawks. That doesn’t mean it’ll be handed to Hanika. But Hanika has experience at another Big 12 Conference program in Iowa State that should serve him well.
Hanika, a Topeka native, also has special teams experience from his multiple years at Iowa State. So, it’s not as if he needs a high number of targets to be able to make a difference at Kansas. He’s rated as a three-star transfer by 247Sports.
Shane Bumgardner, offensive lineman
Kansas’ offensive line also saw a key member’s college career end with the 2023 season. Mike Novitsky, a regular starter at center across the past three seasons, is moving on. So Bumgardner’s addition becomes all the more important with the 2024 season approaching.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/3-transfer-portal-additions-could-013432855.html
Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal
Publish date : 2024-02-08 01:34:32
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