Before I get into some profiling, the the Jayhawk football program has received its 6th committment in the 2008 class. Tim Biere is the most recent commit who is another TE joining fellow recruit Tanner Hawkinson as the future options to replace Derek Fine. Fine is a senior this year and while it isn't likely wither Hawkinson or Biere will be impact players in 20088, one of them will be the future TE in Lawrence. Mark my words. Biere will be profiled at a later date, for now let's take a look at the first commit in this class of 2008, "athlete" Sean Ransburg.
High School Statistics:
According to his Rivals page, he had a very rounded 1,500 yards of passing and 1,300 rushing last year as the QB of Harrisonville High School in Missouri. It is always nice to "steal" a recruit from Muzzurah, despite the fact that it is closer to Lawrence than Columbia. For a more comprehensive look at Ransburg's statistical output check out MaxPreps. He ran as many as 22 times (vs. Warrensburg) and threw for as many as 255 yards (vs. Grandview). Of course, his chances of playing quarterback at Kansas are minimal at best so his passing statistics are somewhat irrelevant. He also assisted in a tackle, once, making him average an entire .1 of a tackle a game. All in all he averaged a pretty impressive 6.2 yards a carry from the quarterback position, flashing speed that was backed up by his 40 time (more on that in a second). He knows success, leading Harrisonville to a 14-0 record including a 56-21 rout of Owensville in the Edward Jones Dome, clinching the Class 3 State Championship (scroll down). It's always nice to bring established winners into the program, whether it truly does have an impact on the team or not.
Rivals Take
He ran a 4.5 in the 40 yard dash, a very impressive number especially considering he is still a senior-to-be in high school. He received 2 stars from the Rivals folks, a decent prospect but nothing groundbreaking. He is also ranked as the 12th best prospect in Missouri in the class of 2008, while bringing home a 5.4 rating on Rivals scale. Their little scale means little to me as nearly everyone is around the same number, but according to their scale a 5.4 is classified as:
I'll take that, especially considering that he is one of the worse signings in this class.
Scout's Take:
First off, what is Sean's true hight and weight? Rivals lists him at a smaller 6'1" 185 whereas Scout favors a bigger Ransburg, a 6'2" 205 pound "version" of Sean. Odds are he is 6'1.5" and 195, or closer to the smaller Rivals size. There is always the potential of a growth spurt and I'm not sure when each website received their information, but it isn't too big of a deal. On to more important stuff, Scout's take of him as a prospect, not of his size.
He had received interest from both Kansas State and Muzzurah before committing to Kansas, in case you were wondering who you beat out. They have listed him as only a 1 star, a more pessimistic view on the Harrisonville High product than Rivals. Here is their little blurb about him:
Their statistics are quite a bit more accurate than Rivals estimates, but they give us little else besides his All-Metro selection.
Future Impact:
With the speed he has he has the potential to be a punt returner or kick returner, depending on his willingness to get hit hard and often as well as how well he can read blocks. He also could be an "X-Factor" QB of sorts, possibly fulfilling a similar role to what Brad Smith does for the New York Jets. Line up all over the field, from running back to wide receiver to quarterback, and have specially designed plays for him. He likely won't make a major impact in his first couple of years in Lawrence, but don't be surprised if he is a secret weapon Mangini keeps in his cupboard during Ransy's (his new nickname) junior and senior campaigns.
I should be able to complete another one tomorrow, likely our second recruit WR Jamaal Johnson.
ROCK CHALK!