Kenny Logan Jr. doesn’t just make plays for Kansas football, he may be its biggest personality

ARLINGTON, Texas — Kenny Logan Jr. has a smile on his face, and his right hand raised in the air.

Standing on the field inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, last week, Logan is aiming to take a turn at asking his Kansas football teammate a question. It’s the Big 12 Conference’s media days for football, and sophomore running back Devin Neal is in the midst of answering questions from reporters. Logan, a senior safety, begins to grill — not really — Neal.

“Who would be the best player on KU’s defense,” Logan asks.

“Best player on KU’s defense? I would probably say (super-senior defensive lineman) Caleb Sampson,” says Neal, deadpan, before smiling as he continues, “Nah, I’m playing Kenny, you got it.”

“Who would be the hardest person to get by on KU’s defense?” Logan presses, smiling still.

“Kenny Logan,” Neal responds, before laughing and moving on.

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'That’s just Kenny being Kenny'

In all, the exchange lasts only about 30 seconds during a day that has athletes and coaches from various Big 12 teams talking about the months ahead. If only for a brief moment, it breaks up a setting where the questions can become repetitive at times. And, as should likely be expected, Logan is the one involved.

Because, among the Jayhawks set to play for head coach Lance Leipold this fall, there might not be a bigger personality than Logan. And don’t just take a teammate’s word for it, like junior quarterback Jalon Daniels. Logan feels that way, too.

“Just because I’m always outgoing,” Logan said, after picking himself. “I always like to have fun. I’ll pick, mess with, anybody on the team, and they know that’s just Kenny being Kenny. So, I would say definitely me. I mess with coach Leipold. I mess with coach Leipold when he’s down. I mess with (director of sports performance) coach (Matt Gildersleeve). I’ll mess with anybody just to brighten up their day.”

Daniels confirmed later: “It’s definitely probably Kenny, probably Kenny, yeah, it’s definitely probably Kenny. I mean, Kenny is always going to be Kenny no matter what the situation is. And that’s probably what I love about him the most. He’s never a person that switches up, and that instills that loyalty that he has. He’s been loyal from the jump, and that’s exactly what I can say since I’ve been here.”

Logan explained it doesn’t rise to pranks, just jokes with people as he tries to make them laugh. When Logan first met Leipold, Logan would always tell Leipold to smile more and at times mock some of the stuff Leipold did. Now, more than a year into that player-coach relationship, Logan said Leipold actually mocks him sometimes.

It might not be something fans are able to see the full extent of, considering they aren’t in the locker room or around the athletes and coaches away from the facility as much as those athletes and coaches are around each other. But through social media, possibly fan-specific events and other avenues, personalities like Logan’s have opportunities to showcase themselves. And earlier this year during spring ball Kansas did feature Logan, who led the team in tackles last season, in that way.

There were multiple episodes of “Wat’s Happenin'? With Kenny Logan Jr.” that the team posted to its Twitter account. The first one saw Logan having a conversation with Leipold, and began with Leipold poking fun at Logan for the type of microphone Logan was using. The second one saw Logan speaking with the Jayhawks’ athletic director, Travis Goff.

“Most of the time, as you can see, I’m a pretty boring guy … but it’s about the team and the program, it’s not about me,” Leipold said. “But when you have (Logan) and a Jalon, that’s part of what everybody wants these days as well, is not just line up and play. We want to see personality. We find ways to utilize it, whether it be for the young man or for the program or for the whatever it may be.”

Leipold said it’s great for the team to give Logan such opportunities — it’s great for Logan to have such opportunities.

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Jacobee Bryant also wins kudos for outgoing personality

And if Daniels doesn’t take over for Logan when Logan’s collegiate career ends there might be another option to consider.

Earlier in the day, Wednesday last week during media days, Daniels brought up sophomore cornerback Jacobee Bryant as the team’s biggest personality before Daniels decided on Logan. Daniels said Logan didn’t like hearing Bryant's name first.

In Bryant, is someone with an energy that Daniels can’t get enough of.

“And what I mean by his best day is as good as his worst day, that’s what I mean when I’m talking about him and how he interacts with everybody,” Daniels said. “You’ll never know when (Bryant)’s having a bad day, because (Bryant) comes in with that energy every single day like nothing’s wrong."

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kenny Logan Jr. doesn’t just make plays for Kansas football