New KU football assistant had immediate respect in Lawrence

LAWRENCE (KSNT) - It felt like a steal for KU football.

The Jayhawks lost Jordan Peterson, their former defensive backs coach, to an SEC school. Without leaving much time for panic, they hired an NFL assistant.

D.K. McDonald comes to KU as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach after serving as the defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023.

He says the opportunity to work with Lance Leipold and take over the responsibility of coaching KU's secondary was too good to pass up.

"He's really done a good job, such a good hire," KU defensive coordinator Brian Borland said of McDonald. "He's got the instant 'street cred' because of his background... so they'll listen. It's not unwarranted 'street cred,' he knows what he's doing, too."

It's true, the players say. McDonald had their trust and respect right away.

"He just came from the league," KU redshirt junior cornerback Damarius McGhee said. "He's the coach that knows what the league expects because he was just there last year. He's just trying to bring that culture here, make sure everybody is playing at 110% every day. Even in the meeting room."

Even the newest Jayhawks are already benefitting from McDonald's experience.

"He tells us a lot about the Eagles [cornerbacks] he had... learning from him is really good," KU freshman cornerback Jalen Todd said.

It's much more than just a resume which earned respect for McDonald and got KU's defensive backs to listen. His demeanor and leadership went a long way in a short time, too.

"Everybody respects him because he came in with a tone of voice like, 'I'm here to help you all out, if [you're all] with it or not," KU senior cornerback Mello Dotson said. "Everybody respected him off the bat basically off his tone of voice. He isn't trying to be cool, he's here to do his job and I feel like that's what everybody respects.''

McDonald says KU's two preseason all-Big 12 picks, Dotson and Cobee Bryant, are working on 'off-field habits,' like how they study the game, to take their play to the next level as seniors.