LAWRENCE — During spring ball, the Kansas coaching staff sat down with defensive tackle Tommy Dunn and had the talk. They told him his play was too up and down, and they demanded more from him.
Dunn took the meeting to heart and vowed to make his junior season one to remember. So far, so good for the 6-foot-3, 310-pounder. Coach Lance Leipold and defensive coordinator Brian Borland have said Dunn has been one of KU’s best players on defense, and they’re hoping Dunn can help the Jayhawks get back in the win column Saturday at West Virginia.
“My focus level has been better,” Dunn said. “I’ve been focusing on the details, what gap I’m supposed to be in, the checks I’m supposed to get. And I got my teammates encouraging me and that helps a lot. And I’m just locked into the game.”
Last week against UNLV, Dunn had six tackles, half a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
“He’s played really well,” Borland said. “He’s practicing well. He’s really taking to some of the details of coaching and doing things the way they’re supposed to be done.
“He’s a big dude, extremely strong, he’s quick, good athlete, and he’s really leveled out his game. And we want guys to consistently play at a high level and occasionally be great, that’d be awesome. We had the highs and lows, and Tommy was kind of a high-low guy in the past. But he’s really playing consistently well now, and he’s shown up and made some great plays.”
Dunn’s play has also been noticed by WVU coach Neal Brown, who said Dunn is playing at an All-Big 12 level.
“People are starting to recognize me,” Dunn said with a smile. “I feel like I just got to keep going, keep stacking weeks over and over so I could actually get the All-Big 12 thing.”
To help in that cause, Dunn also had to take better care of his body. This season he said he’s trimmed his body fat from 31 percent to 27 percent.
“I feel a lot better, and I move a lot better,” Dunn said.
Dunn and the Jayhawks (1-2) will also be looking to close out strong against the Mountaineers (1-2). That’s something they haven’t done the last two weeks as they’ve struggled in the second half. But Dunn said the Jayhawks have been working to remedy that situation.
“The way we practice is the way we play in the games,” Dunn said. “So if we attack the end of practice harder — and we have — we feel like in the game it’s going to be there.”
