Why KU football is excited to play at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs

As the Kansas Jayhawks football team prepares to play TCU on Saturday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, there’s plenty of excitement among KU players.

After all, Arrowhead is home to the back-to-back reigning Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. The last time KU played at Arrowhead was against Missouri in 2011 — the latest iteration of the Border War.

“It should be a great game,” KU defensive tackle Caleb Taylor said on Wednesday. “A lot of people have family and that type of stuff that are interested in coming to see us and everyone play here for the first time. … TCU is a good team, too. So we have a good matchup for the first game. We (are) just excited to get out there and get it going.”

Taylor admitted that any potential pregame nerves would be reduced because KU had practiced at Arrowhead during fall camp.

“I think we got a lot of the oohs and ahhs out the way a little bit,” he said. “Of course, it (will) always be surreal playing in such a storied NFL stadium with one of the best teams in the league that’s actively playing in it, but I feel like we will be able to focus for the few hours that the game goes on. It may be on the way to or way back from the game we will still be able to have those moments.”

It’s also undoubtedly easier for Taylor, as he isn’t a Chiefs fan.

“We have a lot of big Chiefs fans on the team, and I’m happy for them, honestly,” he said. “They get to play at the same stadium as some of the people they look up to and cheered for a long time.”

KU has played home games on Thursdays and Fridays until now, making it difficult for recruits to attend. That looks to change on Saturday.

“We’re expecting a big group this weekend, and we’re excited for it,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “I know they’ve been excited. And just in the conversations we’ve had, from here on out, I anticipate those numbers to be back where they normally are as far as game-day visits.

“Of course, the tough part about it is you don’t get to show this new facility or campus. But there are some that have made plans that if they’re traveling into town to stay overnight and come here on Sunday. So we’ll get that, but it was an exciting topic for recruits to (watch KU) play at Arrowhead, and we’re excited as well.”