KU football: Neal and Hishaw give offense ‘one-two punch’
Jayhawks’ offense features feared backfield tandem.
When running back Devin Neal announced in January his intention to return for his senior season, speculation suddenly swirled that his backfield running mate, Daniel Hishaw Jr., might take advantage of college athletics’ new open-door transfer policies and search for a program where he’d be a certain starter.
Whoever stoked those rumors clearly didn’t have an inside line with the players involved.
“He knows he has a role as much as I have a role,” Neal says of Hishaw, “and he knows we’re a one-two punch as much as I know we’re a one-two punch. There’s no jealousy in our room.”
Hishaw’s announcement that he’d be back for his junior season, along with the apparent good health of junior quarterback Jalon Daniels, silenced the doubters and made their teammates and coaches giddy about the yards and touchdowns to come.
“It’s unusual to have one running back who is as good as either of them are,” says Jeff Grimes, entering his first full season as KU’s offensive coordinator, “so to have two at the same time is a blessing. And a challenge. The challenge is for me to make sure that we get those guys enough touches. And then the nice thing is, you can keep rolling those guys in and out of a game and not feel like either of them is going to get worn down.”
Neal, a face of the program ever since he announced his commitment to KU as a Lawrence High junior, enters his final season with 3,077 career rushing yards and 33 touchdowns, and needs 765 yards and nine TDs to top June Henley, ’98, KU’s career leader in both categories. His 12 100-yard games trails Tony Sands, c’94, by five. With 1,092 yards as a sophomore and 1,280 last year, Neal became one of five KU running backs with two 1,000-yard seasons; none has had three.
“With Devin, you really don’t know what’s coming next,” Hishaw says. “There’s been a lot of dudes who’ve been in front of him who didn’t tackle him. When you go back and look at the film, you’re like, ‘Wow, I don’t know how he did that.’ He’s just a real electric dude.”
Injuries limited Hishaw, of Moore, Oklahoma, to 12 games in his first two seasons, during which he rushed for 491 yards and seven touchdowns. Healthy last year, he gained 626 yards with eight TDs, helping the Jayhawks to a No. 9 national ranking in rushing offense.
“He’s probably the most freakish athlete on our team, and you see it: super explosive, super powerful,” Neal says. “We’re a great tandem duo because we have different parts of our game that make it hard for defenses to cover.”
Daniels is the most immediate benefactor of the one-two punch, notably because both Neal and Hishaw are capable and eager pass blockers. The defensive front seven must account for Neal and Hishaw whenever they’re on the field, opening up Daniels’ play-action passing and allowing at least one of KU’s fleet receivers to enjoy single coverage.
“We have three people in the backfield who can run,” Daniels says, “so (the defense) is not accounting for the other three receivers, who will run straight downfield if you fill the box. Daniel Hishaw and Devin Neal create space for my receivers to run one-on-one routes. That’s a blessing.”
As the players assembled in their indoor practice facility to greet local press at media day Aug. 20, the view to the east was filled with a scene of steel, dirt and machines. Their new football stadium is made possible by their success—the 22nd-ranked Jayhawks must now be considered a contender for their first Big 12 championship—and no current KU player deserves more credit for the program’s full-throttle rise than Devin Neal.
“I don’t know if I could ever hit on all the great things that he’s done, from the day he committed to this program,” says fourth-year coach Lance Leipold. “One of the coolest things about it, for a guy like Devin, is that he’s one of the best guys to be around. Despite all the success, all the things that could really get to a guy or change a guy or make him feel entitled, he’s pretty much the same dude he was when he walked in. More mature, but still humble and appreciative and giving.”
Leipold continued, “This is a really good group, and we’re going to miss them a year from now. We’re hoping it’s the fastest, slowest, most productive season we can ever have.”
Chris Lazzarino, j’86, is associate editor of Kansas Alumni magazine.
Photos by Kansas Athletics
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