They often say the linebacker core is the quarterback of the defense. A principle in football is that without strong linebackers, your defense is going nowhere fast. Without linebackers who can read the play, even paltry offenses can snuff out yards thanks to the gaps left by a confused core of linebackers.
For the Jayhawks, there was a large emphasis put on their ability to reel in linebackers through the portal. Perhaps the biggest name in the portal that Kansas had landed was Bangally Kamara. Kamara had been at both Pitt and South Carolina before making the move to the Jayhawks and was rated by 247Sports as a .