Jalon Daniels, high-powered, veteran-laden Kansas offense will be tough for UCF to corral

• Nickname: Jayhawks

• Location: Lawrence, Kan.

• Enrollment: 27,638

• Home field: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 47,000)

• Conference: Big 12

• 2022 record: 6-7, 3-6 Big 12

• All-time series record vs. UCF: 0-0

• Last meeting: This will be the first head-to-head meeting

Editor's note: This is the sixth installment in a 12-part series highlighting UCF's 2023 football opponents.

UCF's eighth-place projected finish in its debut Big 12 football season is truly in the eye of the beholder.

The middle of a 14-team pack might not seem fitting for a program that has consistently challenged for American Athletic Conference championships, defeated Power Five opposition and cracked the AP Top 25 over the last half-decade. On the other hand, UCF is the highest-ranked newcomer and immediately bypassed three of the league's holdovers.

Kansas, one of the tenured members looking up at the Knights in the preseason standings, turned in the feelgood story of the first half of the 2022 college football season. The Jayhawks stormed out to a 5-0 start under second-year head coach Lance Leipold and hosted College GameDay for the first time ahead of a battle with TCU.

UCF Week 1 opponent: Kent State undergoes roster overhaul under new coach Kenni Burns

UCF Week 2 opponent: Boise State seeks Mountain West redemption behind QB Taylen Green

Kansas came up a touchdown short that day. TCU rode the momentum all the way to the national championship game, and the Jayhawks spiraled with seven defeats in their final eight contests.

However, there's optimism brewing in Lawrence ahead of the 2023. Kansas return dynamic quarterback Jalon Daniels and the squad should feel rejuvenated after a triple-overtime Liberty Bowl battle with Arkansas last December.

Here's a closer look at the Jayhawks ahead of UCF's road trip to kick off October.

Lance Leipold: a winning coach at multiple NCAA levels

Little was expected of Kansas in Leipold's second year at the helm, considering it went 2-10 in 2021. And yet by October, the Jayhawks entered the AP poll for the first time in 12 years and needed a solitary win to secure bowl eligibility.

Leipold, 59, has a winning reputation as a head coach — beginning with a dominant eight-year run in charge of Wisconsin-Whitewater in which he won six NCAA Division III national titles. Buffalo hired Leipold during the middle of the 2014 playoffs, and he turned the Bulls into two-time MAC East Division champs and took the team to three bowl games.

In 16 years, Leipold holds a record of 154-56. He reached 100 wins faster than any coach in NCAA history, needing just 106 games to break a 93-year-old record.

Kansas hung 35.6 points per game on opponents last season, good for 21st in the Football Bowl Subdivision, but also surrendered 35.5 points per game, which ranked 124th of the 131 teams.

Jalon Daniels poised for another monster season

Top Offensive Returners: WR Lawrence Arnold, OL Bryce Cabeldue, QB Jalon Daniels, TE Jared Casey, TE Mason Fairchild, OL Michael Ford Jr., WR Luke Grimm, RB Daniel Hishaw, RB Devin Neal, OL Mike Novitsky, OL Dominick Puni, WR Quentin Skinner

Top Defensive Returners: LB Taiwan Berryhill Jr., DB O.J. Burroughs, DB Cobee Bryant, DB Ra'Mello Dotson, DB Kenny Logan, LB Rich Miller, DL Jereme Robinson, LB Craig Young

Selected by Big 12 media members as the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Daniels returns with plenty of help and could boost his gaudy numbers from 2022 (66.1% completion rate, 2,014 passing yards, 18 TD passes, four interceptions, 425 rushing yards, seven TD runs).

UCF Week 3 opponent: Experienced-upset-minded Villanova eyes return to FCS playoffs

Kansas returns 91% of its offensive productivity from a year ago. Devin Neal topped 1,000 rushing yards with nine touchdowns, Daniel Hishaw averaged 6 yards per carry with five scores in five games, while the trio of Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold and Mason Fairchild each registered at least 35 catches, 400 yards and four touchdowns.

Mike Novitsky, another All-Big 12 preseason pick, leads four returning starters along the offensive line.

The back-seven should be a strength for the Jayhawks' defense. St. Augustine native Kenny Logan produced a team-high 96 tackles with a pair of interceptions; Cobee Bryant (three) and Mainland grad Ra'Mello Dotson (two) also snagged multiple picks with 13 pass breakups between them.

Lonnie Phelps, who signed with the Cleveland Browns after going undrafted, is the biggest loss for the Jayhawks after he registered team-highs in tackles for loss (11.5), sacks (seven) and QB hurries (six).

Offensive tackle Logan Brown highlights Kansas' transfer portal activity

Transfer Portal Additions: EDGE Austin Booker (Minnesota), EDGE Dylan Brooks (Auburn), LB JB Brown (Bowling Green), OL Logan Brown (Wisconsin), K Seth Keller (Texas State), EDGE Patrick Joyner (Utah State), DL Gage Keys (Minnesota), OL Spencer Lovell (California), RB Dylan McDuffie (Georgia Tech), DB Damarius McGhee (LSU), QB Mikey Pauley (Nebraska), DL Devin Phillips (Colorado State), K Charlie Weinrich (Nebraska)

Transfer Portal Losses: DL D'Marion Alexander (Illinois State), K Jacob Borcila (Vanderbilt), DB Shad Dabney (Northern Illinois), TE Max Dowling, LB Eriq Gilyard (Connecticut), WR Steven McBride (Hawaii), DB Jarrett Paul (Appalachian State), LB Gavin Potter (Arkansas State), WR Kelan Robinson, RB Ky Thomas (Kent State), QB Ethan Vasko (Coastal Carolina), DB Edwin White (North Alabama)

Kansas took some big swings in the NCAA transfer portal, hoping to get the most out of some highly touted former high school prospects — none bigger than ex-Wisconsin tackle Logan Brown.

Once viewed as a first-round NFL draft pick and the top tackle prospect in the country by 247Sports, Brown made three starts for the Badgers last year before being dismissed from the team by interim coach Jim Leonhard for an "internal incident" less than two weeks after Paul Chryst's firing.

Dylan Brooks, once a high four-star recruit, served as Derick Hall's backup at Auburn and played in nine games as a redshirt freshman last fall. Damarius McGhee's playing time evaporated after LSU changed coaching staffs, but he made five tackles in a 2021 Texas Bowl start against rival Kansas State.

UCF Week 4 opponent: Defending league champ Kansas State to welcome Knights to Big 12

Defensive line depth and placekicking were points of emphasis for Kansas. Seth Keller converted 14 of 16 field goals with a long of 49 yards and all 28 PATs at Texas State, twice earning Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Week honors in 2022. By comparison, Jacob Borcila — now at Vanderbilt — made only 7 of 13 field goals last season.

Two other outgoings are notable for UCF fans: Ky Thomas projects as the starting running back for Week 1 opponent Kent State, and linebacker Eriq Gilyard — now at former Civil Conflict adversary UConn — spent four years with the Knights and made 22 starts in the 2019-20 seasons.

Freshmen unlikely to factor, but keep an eye on Johnny Thompson Jr.

Top incoming freshmen: ATH Surahz Buncom (Chula Vista, Calif.), OL Calvin Clements (Lawrence, Kan.), DB Jameel Croft (Detroit, Mich.), DB Jacoby Davis (Houston, Texas), TE Jaden Hamm (Eudora, Kan.), EDGE Tony Terry (Jackson, Mo.)

With the volume of returning starters back in the fold for Kansas, it's unlikely many true freshmen will make meaningful contributions in 2023.

UCF Week 5 opponent: Baylor aims for bounce-back, travels to Orlando for Knights' Big 12 home opener

Calvin Clements, one of Kansas' top high school prospects, will get a great opportunity to be groomed behind a talented collection of offensive linemen. Jaden Hamm is in a similar position at tight end with Fairchild and Jared Casey creating an early logjam on the depth chart.

Kevin Flaherty, of 247Sports, singled out running back Johnny Thompson Jr. (Westlake Village, Calif.) as a Jayhawk with the potential for earning quick reps due to his differing skill set to the rest of the team's position group. At 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds, he's smaller than his peers but possesses home run speed and can be a weapon as a receiver out of the backfield.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF will face Jalon Daniels, dynamic Kansas Jayhawks in October