KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas linebacker Taiwan Berryhill was up at 2 a.m. Saturday morning. Not because of pregame jitters, but because he had a plane to catch.
Berryhill had traveled to New Orleans after Thursday’s practice so he could attend his mother’s wedding Friday evening. He attended the ceremony and reception but couldn’t join in on the fun after the reception as he had to get ready for the flight to Kansas City.
“It was a long weekend,” Berryhill said following KU’s 38-27 loss to TCU at Arrowhead Stadium. “It was stressful just worrying about flight times and flight delays, stuff like that.”
With Hurricane Helene causing problems on the East Coast, Berryhill had no issues getting back and landed in Kansas City at about 9:30 a.m. He soon met up with the Jayhawks at the team hotel before they went to the stadium.
For Berryhill, there was no way he was going to miss the game. With starting middle linebacker Cornell Wheeler out with an injury, Berryhill started and served as the MIKE linebacker.
“I knew how important it was, and I knew our situation at hand,” Berryhill said noting that a lack of sleep made it difficult for him. “It was nothing short of hard. It took a lot just to stay focused all four quarters. And being in the role I was in I knew that just stepping into this role as the primary MIKE for this game, you’ve got to be the glue on and off the field.
“You’ve got to communicate with guys to get them lined up and make sure they know the situation at hand, and they know the right play.”
Berryhill had seven tackles, but the defense gave up 507 total yards, and the Jayhawks (1-4) lost for the fourth consecutive time. Berryhill, however, said the team isn’t pointing fingers, despite a start that none of them could’ve envisioned.
“We’re battle tested,” Berryhill said. “I’m battle tested. I’ve been here since 2020. I’ve seen a lot. We knew what it was, we knew the situation. We just have to step up.
“We’re not panicking. What we like to say is that the structure that we have around the program, and how we do things works. It’s evident the last two years. You’ve seen it. We just got to get better.”
