Shortly after wrapping up the 2008 season the Kansas Jayhawks landed a pair of receivers for the future. I had a chance to chat with one of these future Jayhawks in Arlington Texas wideout Chris Omigie on Wednesday night and here's a quick recap of our conversation.
story after the jump...
First off I just have to say Omigie is clearly one of the more physically impressive receivers Kansas has landed in recent memory. Listed at 6'5" Omigie brings tremendous size and length with him to the position. I asked him about his size and he said it's probably closer to 6'4" weighing at about 195 and he's clocked at a 4.46 in the forty most recently. It's no coincidence that when asked what he felt his greatest strength was Omigie said, "I bring good size and an ability to catch the ball at it's highest point." Omigie's recruitment was headed by Coach Beaty and he is excited about the fact that Beaty will also be his position coach at Kansas. Chris feels Beaty and being in the Kansas program can help him to improve in a couple of areas specifically, "I think I need to work on my route running and coming out of my breaks without losing speed."
In terms of recruitment Chris recieved a fair amount of offers around the country but when I asked him about his thought process Omigie said, "In the end it came down to Kansas and Baylor." Besides those two Nebraska, Purdue, and Colorado State were the three other schools where Omigie took official visits. Omigie said Kansas provided an opportunity for, "a new beginning". He went on to say that while on his visit he had the chance to get to know the players and the coaches and he, "just got a good vibe from all of them and they did a good job of making me feel at home." In addition Omigie also had a connection with several Jayhawks from the Dallas/Fort Worth area from either playing with or against them. He felt that was a contributor to his feeling that Kansas was the right fit for him in the end.
As far as Chris' expectations for his time at Kansas he said he hopes to come in and play as soon as possible. His biggest goal however is to, "Win the Big 12 as a team and individually help to accomplish that." Chris particularly is looking forward to a matchup with Oklahoma although he said it seems that Kansas, "doesn't like Missouri too much so it will be fun to play them too."
On a personal note Chris plans on majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I also asked if there was a player he looked to as a role model and he laughed saying, "I don't want to be compared to anyone, I want to make a name for myself."
Overall Chris was a very focused and on point with the interview. Over the course of the conversation he definitely loosened up a bit and I think he has the potential to be a great addition to the team. I for one am very excited and impressed with what he brings to the table both from a physical standpoint and a character standpoint.