Linebacker is actually a position that the last staff did a fairly good job of in terms of bolstering depth. Next year the Jayhawks return starters Darius Willis and Tunde Bakare. Several others figure to be a factor for major minutes next year as well including Collin Garrett, Ben Heeney and Huldon Tharp just to name a few.
With that in mind Charlie Weis and his staff seemed to zero in on a couple of very targeted players at this position. One committed early and one just made the call about thirty minutes ago.
Courtney Arnick
LB | 6-2 | 200 | Dallas Texas / Carter HS
Arnick was a late addition to the class committing after last weekends visit to Lawrence. He's actually a player that I like for Kansas because of where we were able to steal him from. Arnick was committed to Colorado State early on but was narrowing his choices down to Boise State and Kansas late in the game. Obviously Boise State has had some success over the years and they've done it by developing players like Arnick, now we have to hope Kansas can do the same.
Arnick will need some work, but he has a good frame and is very athletic recording around a 4.5 forty time at the outside linebacker position. Some projected him as a safety, some as a linebacker, some as a tight end. That uncertainty was probably one reason why he didn't see more offers from BCS schools, but it's also a testament to his versatility. Arnick is actually similar to a prospect that Kansas passed on before in Olathe product Tre Walker. Walker now plays for Kansas State where he saw significant time even back during his true freshman season under Bill Snyder.
These don't always turn into successful stories, but Carter HS is a good football program, Arnick has some physical attributes that can be viewed as a positive and I certainly would consider his offer list a strong one for a developmental prospect. A nice late addition for Kansas and Weis.
Schyler Miles
LB | 6-2 | 220 | Tampa Florida / Berkeley Prep
Profile story on Miles from earlier today