Bryce Foster Making Kansas Football Offensive Line More Competitive

LAWRENCE – Kansas football came through spring ball with competition along its offensive line, especially at center.

When Mike Novitsky’s college career came to an end, it left a hole for the Jayhawks to fill. Novitsky was a central pillar during the first three years of Lance Leipold’s tenure as coach. Senior Michael Ford Jr. has put himself in position to be the potential replacement, as has redshirt senior transfer Shane Bumgardner — last season’s Division II Center of the Year out of Tiffin.

Then, during the offseason, Kansas also signed Bryce Foster from Texas A&M. Foster, who will be a redshirt junior this fall, started 12 games in 2023 at center and was one of the best freshmen in the country in 2021. Leipold highlighted that experience and those starts, that at the very least Foster will add competition and depth.

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“(Foster) is a big man now,” Leipold said last week during Big 12 Conference media days in Las Vegas. “He’s thick, he’s strong and I’m excited about that. And again, during his recruitment, the track and field team was a part of that when he arrived on campus. And we know that within his framework, he will be able to divide his time there. And again, at this stage of his career we know we can make these things work and we’re excited for him.”

Foster, who competed in track and field events, was a four-star 247Sports Composite prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. An interior offensive lineman, he was a top-100 player in the country. Leipold mentioned that offensive linemen can be difficult to find, and offensive linemen with Foster’s pedigree are especially difficult.

Foster’s ability at center would allow Ford to be one of Kansas’ starting guards alongside redshirt junior forward Kobe Baynes. For a while, it looked like redshirt junior offensive lineman Logan Brown would start at left tackle and senior offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue would start at right tackle.

All told, it’s an offensive line with experience and promise. It will be important to stay healthy — Brown and Cabeldue are both recovering from injuries in 2023 — but that’s a sentiment any team would express.

“I’ve always said the biggest differences I’ve seen between Big 12 play and SEC play are internal,” said senior running back Devin Neal, who described the 6-foot-1 player. , 330-pound Foster as a gentle giant. “You can really see that, and Bryce – I watched a lot of movies about Bryce too. He moves very well, he fits very well into the counterattack scheme.”

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

This article originally appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal: KU Football: Bryce Foster transfer helps offensive line depth, competition