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Injured Kansas RB Hishaw to be out ‘extended period of time’; also, Potter leaves team

Kansas redshirt sophomore running back Daniel Hishaw is out for “an extended period of time” after suffering an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter of the Jayhawks’ 14-11 victory over Iowa State Saturday at Booth Memorial Stadium, KU football coach Lance Leipold said Tuesday.

The 5-foot-10, 215-pound Hishaw was injured on a running play in which he lost nine yards and was tackled by a swarm of Iowa State players.

He was taken off the field via stretcher and cart and transported by ambulance to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

“I don’t have specifics yet. That’s probably the best I can give you at this time,” Leipold said, referring to the “extended period” timeframe for Hishaw’s absence.

“He seemed to be in decent spirits, considering everything. I’ll let you know more as we move along,” Leipold said.

Hishaw finished the game with eight carries for 28 yards and a first-quarter touchdown. For the year, the Moore, Oklahoma native has 262 rushing yards on 44 carries (6.0 yards per carry) and five touchdowns.

He also had a 73-yard pass reception for a touchdown in KU’s win over Duke on Sept. 24 at Booth Memorial Stadium. He has three catches for 95 yards this season.

Hishaw missed all of last season because of a hip injury he sustained during preseason camp.

“I was able to see him at the hospital (Saturday after game). He was doing a lot better than I could have expected,” Leipold said. “Our training staff, medical staff did an outstanding job as well as the people at the hospital. His father was there as well as his uncle. There were a lot of people there. He was getting ready to get discharged.

“Team doctors were coming in. We made sure everything was arranged for he (Hishaw) and his family (and) let those people (medical personnel) do their job.”

Hishaw will definitely be missed in Saturday’s game against TCU (11 a.m., Booth Memorial Stadium).

“You can see the different things he gave us. He gave us speed. He showed himself as a receiver,” Leipold said. “I think his running style, his physicality. He’s probably one that separated himself. There’s different styles there (in running back group). They all complement each other. Now we have one piece of the group that’s going to be missing unfortunately.”

KU does have several running backs on the roster. Devin Neal has rushed for 333 yards on 49 carries (6.8 per carry) with four touchdowns. He’s caught three passes for 31 yards and one score.

Ky Thomas, a transfer from Minnesota who has been hobbled by an injury of his own, has 25 yards on 11 carries, He’s caught a pair of passes for three yards.

Leipold said Tuesday that he hopes to have Thomas back at 100% this week.

Sevion Morrison, a transfer from Nebraska, has 110 yards on 12 carries (9.2 average) and one TD. Also available in the Jayhawks’ running backs room is Torry Locklin, who has five yards on three carries thus far this season. Locklin has caught one pass for 60 yards and a touchdown.

“We talked about depth of that position. We’ve been utilizing a lot of people offensively. We’ve got to find a way to keep doing that,” Leipold said.

KU’s coach also confirmed that linebacker Gavin Potter has left the program. He played in KU’s first four games, meaning he can redshirt this season and still have two seasons of eligibility left. The 6-1, 200-pound Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native had five tackles this season, playing 73 snaps over four games.

Leipold said Potter wanted to “redshirt and move on. Unfortunate … that’s because of the way things are set up today — those things are happening across the country. That’s disappointing, but not always surprising, either.”

Players are allowed to participate in as many as four games and still redshirt. The transfer portals allows immediate eligibility at a player’s transfer destination.