The Jayhawker

Interim head football coach Emmett Jones has been around some of the top names in college football, with time spent around former Texas Tech and current Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury making him ready for this moment. Jones, who cut his teeth in the Dallas metro area as a successful high school coach, wound up on a path that he did not expect, but when the right opportunity came calling, Jones left Dallas to coach at Texas Tech, where he mentored four wide receivers who landed on NFL rosters, along with NFL star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Jones sees a lot of potential with the Jayhawks, and he has an idea on how to bring that potential to light. Being genuine.   

A regular guy. Terry Nooner was a crowd favorite at Allen Fieldhouse from 1997-2000 because he was one of them. Nooner, who walked on with the Jayhawks and played for Coach Roy Williams from 1997-2000, is currently an assistant with the Jayhawk women’s team. But in the beginning, he never wanted to get into coaching. However, after realizing he had a talent and calling for mentoring others, he has had a fruitful career in the women’s game, while also garnering some NBA experience, working with his childhood friend and current Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. And after all of those times waiting on a whistle in conditioning drills as a player, now he’s the one holding the whistle.

If you didn’t know Chris Harris and his story, his success in football and in life almost sounds like it is make believe. He wasn’t supposed to play at the University of Kansas and he wasn’t supposed to make an NFL team. But Harris grew up with a different mentality, one that he still relies on today. Harris took advantage of his opportunities after leaving Kansas in 2010, and a free agent deal led to an opportunity with the Denver Broncos, which has turned into into a fruitful NFL career that has now spanned 11 seasons. But Harris has made more of an impact off of the field than on, which says a lot after he was one of two cornerbacks named to the NFL All-Decade team in 2020. The winner of numerous off-the-field honors wants people in his community to find their own underdog mentality, just like the one that helped change his life.

Former Kansas track star Bryce Hoppel grew up in a sports family and he started his athletic career running the soccer fields in Midland, Texas. Ironically, staying in shape for soccer led him to things he could have never imagined in a different sport. At first, Hoppel didn’t really like the running. He just liked being one of the guys. Hoppel began turning heads with his teammates in high school, and then in college in Lawrence, where he was a five-time All-American, two-time National Champion and four-time Big 12 Champion. In 2019, Hoppel completed a sweep of both the indoor and outdoor 800 meter NCAA titles, becoming the first male from the University of Kansas to win a collegiate title in the event. And although those were great memories, his greatest memories revolve around his teammates. Now, Hoppel hopes his teammates will be cheering on for another adventure – a run to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.