ESPN GameDay appearance a reward for KU players who didn’t transfer after 2-10 season

Regarded as one of the Big 12’s top safeties, Kansas Jayhawks senior Kenny Logan could have entered his name in the transfer portal last winter and continued his college football career at basically any other school in the country.

Logan, a 6-foot, 210-pound native of St. Augustine, Florida, instead kept his trust in Lance Leipold, who went 2-10 during his first year as KU’s coach, to get the program rolling in a short period of time.

Voila … the Jayhawks are off to a 5-0 start in 2022, and players like Logan — he’s not alone, of course — are reaping rewards for their patience.

The No. 19-ranked Jayhawks (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) are preparing to take on No. 17 TCU (4-0, 1-0) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Booth Memorial Stadium before a third-straight sellout crowd: 47,233 fans.

Three straight sellouts? That hadn’t happened for nearly 15 years. To add to the hoopla, ESPN’s GameDay will broadcast its weekly show from Lawrence for the first time in the 36-year history of the KU football program.

The GameDay telecast, which will run 8-11 a.m. Saturday from a stage on Campanile Hill, figures to lavish praise on Jayhawks players such as Logan of KU’s defensive unit — and quarterback Jalon Daniels on the offensive side — a good portion of the time its on-air.

“It’s definitely exciting to see what we’ve got to (as a program),” Logan said. “All of us guys who stayed here … this is what we stayed for.

“We stayed for the rebuild. We stayed to see the better days, Finally seeing the tree starting to grow is definitely exciting, but the work is not done. There’s still a lot of work we have to do, keeping our heads level. We’ve still got to chop wood each and every year.”

Logan said it’s a nice reward to have GameDay in Lawrence after Saturday’s 14-11 home victory over Iowa State. The show features host Rece Davis and panel members Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard.

Logan said he learned about GameDay’s pending arrival like a lot of others in, around and rooting for the KU program — via Twitter.

“It was pretty late,” he said. “We didn’t pay too much attention to it, but we were definitely excited we get the opportunity to do that (host GameDay).”

Logan ranks second on the team in tackles with 27 to Rich Miller’s 38.

“We’re trying to stay focused,” Logan said. “We’re not distracted by anything. We’re happy it’s here for the city of Lawrence, happy it’s here for our fans. ... We’re blessed for the opportunity but are trying to focus on the game, make sure we are in position to win and in position to make plays all day.”

GameDay is a popular topic of conversation around the Jayhawks’ athletic facilities this week ... though KU receiver Lawrence Arnold, it seems, has never tuned in to the football editions of the GameDay program.

“Just growing up, it was basketball for me,” said Arnold, a 6-3 sophomore from DeSoto, Texas, who has 14 catches for 194 yards and a touchdown this season. “I loved basketball. I never got to pay attention for real until I started getting in high school. I always watched the games. I waited for the games to come on (and did not watch the pre-game shows).”

Though he apparently hasn’t seen an edition of GameDay, Arnold is pleased his school will host the show.

“We won’t get to see much of College GameDay, but it’s something we’ve worked for,” Arnold said. “It’s motivation for sure. There’s a lot of motivation that comes with it. The main thing for us to do is stay focused. There will be a lot of publicity, a lot more people around than we’re used to seeing. We need to use the energy from the crowd (third straight sellout) and make sure we stay focused. We’ve emphasized that part a lot.”

Daniels said it’ll be business as usual, even with Game Day on Campanile Hill during Saturday’s pre-game warmups.

“Same preparation. Same everything,” said Daniels, a 6-0 junior from Lawndale, California, who has thrown for 983 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 335 yards and five TDs.

“I mean, it’s great to be able to see our program is finally getting that type of notoriety and everything like that. We’re looking forward to packing ‘The Booth’ again three games in a row.”

Daniels said GameDay’s presence in town can help the program.

“Being able to have that type of exposure from everybody … I mean, College GameDay is something everybody around the nation is looking at,” Daniels said. “The fact they are coming to our campus and our game means everything to us as a program. We are still going to go with the same preparation, treat TCU like it’s another team we are going against.”

And KU coach Leipold? He, too, welcomes the attention that’s focused on his program. This can only help recruiting, he said.

“There’s a reason over 3 million people probably will be watching (the morning GameDay show preceding kickoff), because that’s how many watch that. That’s really neat,” Leipold said. “That part I want them (players) to embrace. We also have to know when the ball is kicked off, we have to play at a level that earned that opportunity. And hopefully we’ll get another opportunity.”

Some additional details about ESPN’s GameDay

The GameDay bus was to arrive in Lawrence at 2 p.m. Thursday. Crews were planning to spend all day Friday setting up the ESPN stage on Campanile Hill.

Pat McAfee will host his ESPN show live on set at noon Friday for an hour. Fans are welcome to attend. ESPN’s College Football Live will then be broadcast at 2 p.m. with Jen Lada, Desmond Howard and David Pollack on set.

Following that 30-minute show, fans may head to the bottom of Campanile Hill to send off the football team as the Jayhawks depart for their team hotel Friday afternoon.

On Saturday, the GameDay “pit” will open for fans at 6 a.m. The following items are not permitted in the pit: bags, food and drinks, pens, pencils, markers or dry-erase boards and signs on sticks. Those rules pertain only to the pit, not the general fan area.

Parking lots will open at 6 a.m. for individuals with football parking passes to the tailgating lots around Booth Memorial Stadium.

Admission into the College GameDay area is free, and no tickets are required. Leading up to College GameDay, there will be live ESPN SportsCenter segments on set at 6:45 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.

College GameDay will run from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. The show will move into Memorial Stadium for the final few segments, leading into KU’s game with TCU, which is set for 11 a.m. on FS1.