‘Run your own race’: Logan Brown could become Kansas football’s starting left tackle

LAWRENCE — When Logan Brown’s 2023 season with Kansas football ended early due to injury, there was an understandable level of frustration.

Brown, who’d spent his first four seasons at Wisconsin, had transferred in with a lot of potential. After all, he was a former 247Sports Composite five-star offensive tackle and was one of the best at his position in the 2019 recruiting class.

Then his fresh start hit a roadblock.

But as he reflected on that earlier this year, during spring ball for the Jayhawks, Brown explained the ordeal as something out of his control. Brown praised his grandfather for that mindset, and mentioned how Kansas director of sports performance Matt Gildersleeve told him during the offseason, “Run your own race.” While Brown’s been through what he described as a weird path, to get to where he is now, he’s also in contention to be the Jayhawks’ starting left tackle in 2024.

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“It’s been different, but it’s been OK,” said Brown, discussing how it’s been playing left tackle. “I mean, for my first three years I played left tackle and left tackle only, at Wisconsin. So, I played that fourth season at right tackle and then came here and played a little bit of both. So, I mean … it’s like riding a bike, man.”

At different points during the spring, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold mentioned Brown is still working his way back from injury. But Leipold also said amidst those revelations Brown was doing more than Leipold thought he would. Brown was moving confidently, with athleticism, and starting to put it all together as he also acclimated to a new position coach.

That new offensive line coach, Daryl Agpalsa, is someone Leipold has worked with in the past. According to Leipold, it didn’t take many meetings to be reminded how talented a teacher Agpalsa is. According to Agpalsa, it’s clear how open-minded Brown is and how willing he is to do what it takes to improve.

Brown is someone who’ll ask Agpalsa after practice what he can work on to get better. Brown is someone Agpalsa can already tell is taking a step forward from where he was last year. From Agpalsa’s perspective, as long as Brown can trust in what they believe in he will only be better by the fall.

“A lot of potential,” Jeff Grimes, KU’s new offensive coordinator/assistant head coach, said about Brown. “A guy that’s, I think, in a lot of ways, still trying to knock the rust off. Not quite himself yet, I’m sure, in many ways, but really coachable, really wants to do well. And I think he’s gotten better every day.”

Early on during the spring, in March, Grimes highlighted the offensive line position as the one with the biggest question mark. He made clear he didn’t mean that as a negative, but rather an acknowledgement of the unknown that existed with the pieces Kansas has to replace from last season. In addition to searching for who the Jayhawks’ top eight offensive linemen would be, he wanted to see if the group would have the toughness, aggression and mindset to be the tip of the spear for their offense.

Fast forward to the end of spring, in mid-April, and Grimes described the group as still being a work in progress. He felt confident it would be a good unit, especially with Agpalsa’s leadership, but wondered aloud if it would be a truly dominant one. The more Brown can progress from his injury, and reach his full potential, the more likely it will be that Kansas’ offensive line can enjoy that level of success.

“Still rehabbing from the injury,” said Brown, discussing what he would focus on once spring ball ended. “I mean, you’re never really 100% anymore. So, I’d say just keeping my body right, keeping my diabetes straight and my cardio up and get ready for fall camp.”

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

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Logan Brown is competing to start on Kansas football's offensive line