Jayhawk football coach named to 30under30 list

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas running backs coach Jonathan Wallace was named to 247Sports 30Under30 List on Tuesday.

The annual list was started by 247Sports in 2017 and recognizes the top young coaches and off-field staffers in the world of college football.

Wallace, 29, is in his fourth season with the Jayhawks after joining the staff in February of 2020 under former head coach Les Miles. Following helping land local legend Devin Neal who was one of the highest-ranked recruits in program history as a four-star, Wallace impressed current head coach Lance Leipold and keeping him on the Kansas coaching staff.

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Neal rushed for 1,090 yards and nine touchdowns on 180 carries, is averaging 6.1 yards per carry, 83.8 yards per game and rushed 1,000 yards since 2019.

A skilled recruiter, Wallace’s running back group includes three players who averaged at least 6.0 yards per carry last season in Daniel Hishaw, Sevion Morrison and Neal. Kansas also added graduate transfer Dylan McDuffie from Georgia Tech for the upcoming season.

Wallace previously played quarterback and wide receiver at Auburn from 2012 to 2015 and held coaching stints at Air Force and Bethel College.

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Former All-American linebacker and Jayhawk Joe Dineen was named to the same list as he currently is the linebackers coach at Purdue. The star for Kansas from 2014 to 2018 joined his former linebackers coach, Kevin Kane, at Southern Methodist University as a graduate assistant in 2020. In 2022 he joined Kane at Illinois and when Ryan Walters got the Purdue gig, Dineen came along with him and made him one of the youngest on-field coaches in the country.

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