Kansas defensive end Austin Booker (9) focuses on the task at hand against Missouri State this season.
Submitted photo
The customary 16,300 fans crowded inside venerable Allen Fieldhouse for a men’s basketball game last December included a young man longing for change.
Austin Booker, who had spent two years essentially having his football skill set collect a thick layer of dust at the University of Minnesota, was now experiencing Kansas hoops up close and personal as part of his recruiting visit.
The former Center Grove defensive end heard from a handful of suitors after putting his name in the transfer portal. Turns out Booker’s two favorites — Kansas and Indiana — were meeting on the hardwood that day, creating an interesting blend of emotions.
Booker is quick to admit his decision to eventually become a Jayhawk had absolutely nothing to do with Kansas’s 84-62 triumph.
“I feel the Big 12 Conference fits my body type more than it does the Big 10,” said Booker, a rangy 6-foot-6, 245-pound redshirt sophomore who feels his frame is better suited to chase down quarterbacks in the pass-happy Big 12 than it is to shed blocks in the more run-oriented Big 10.
“It was about me being lengthy. More speed than strength. I feel more part of this program in six months than I did in my two years in Minnesota.”
Understandably so.
Redshirted as a freshman with the Golden Gophers, Booker saw limited action in six games last fall, chalking up a total of two tackles.
Roughly 500 miles due south of Minneapolis, greener pastures awaited. Furthermore, Booker’s contributions in the Jayhawks’ 4-1 start this season are his sport’s version of zero to 60 miles per hour.
Booker leads the defense in tackles for loss with six, is second in sacks with four and tied for fourth in total tackles (18). His best outing to date was leading Kansas in tackles with seven in a 38-27 decision over visiting BYU on Sept. 23.
“I didn’t have any meaningful reps at Minnesota, so my best college games are all this season,” Booker said. “I’m finally showing what I can do, and am really happy that Kansas sees my potential.”
Booker claims his emergence as a viable contributor at the Division I level began long before the Jayhawks kicked off the season with a 48-17 victory over Missouri State.
“Fall camp was definitely what got me back to being myself,” Booker said. “We were just always working. Once we put on the pads, everyone was flying around and making plays. Everybody had that fire. Everybody wanted to be there.”
Over the weekend, Kansas finally absorbed its first loss of the season at No. 3 Texas, 40-14, a game in which Booker still performed well with seven tackles, 1.5 of which were behind the Longhorns’ line of scrimmage.
Nonetheless, Booker is understandably stoked about being part of coach Lance Leipold’s program. The third-year mentor is creating magic in Lawrence, previously a breeding ground for losing with KU football going a laughable 21-108 (.194) under five different head coaches from 2010-20.
“Man, it’s great,” Booker said. “But we’re still going to have to go out and earn our respect.”
Booker, who is doing just that, knows about what he speaks.
