Devin Neal says he’ll return for senior season with Kansas Jayhawks football team

Jayhawks fans can finally celebrate.

Kansas running back Devin Neal will return for his senior season, he announced on social media Thursday.

Neal made the announcement in a video, which he ended with, “What would it mean for you to be a legend? Everything.”

The talk of whether Neal would depart for the NFL Draft or return to KU for his senior season started midway through his excellent junior season.

Before KU’s bowl game, a report surfaced that Neal would return for another year.

Neal ran for 1,209 yards on 183 carries, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, with 15 touchdowns in the regular season. He was rewarded with an All-Big 12 second-team nod.

Now, he’s chasing KU history.

Neal ran for 71 yards and a touchdown in the Jayhawks’ victory over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. With 3,077 career rushing yards, Neal is 764 shy of tying the all-time career mark at KU. June Henley holds that distinction, with 3,841.

Neal talked recently about how much fun he had this past season.

“It’s special,” Neal told The Star after KU’s 49-36 bowl victory. “You can say that you want to do this — you want to achieve your dream — but to actually be a part of the special group, it’s really cool. ...

“I know it means a lot to the older guys who’ve been through a lot in this program. I’m just glad everyone got to experience this — even for the freshmen, that they don’t have to experience what was in the past, too.”