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The first weekend after National Signing Day is traditionally a huge recruiting weekend for coaches as they turn their attention fully on the next recruiting cycle. Remember when David Beaty caused a splash with a bunch of highly regarded commitments (including Pooka Williams) around this time two years ago?
Well, Kansas didn’t get a bunch of (nonbinding) verbals commits this weekend, but there were some big names along with a bunch of local talent. Speaking of which, the state of Kansas appears to have a larger-than-normal list of players that will garner D1 offers, but that’s another article for another time.
For now, let’s just take a quick look at the kids who were in Lawrence for Junior Days this past weekend. Almost all of them are for the 2020 class, but there are a couple of 2021s in there as well.
This is just what I could find on Twitter (primarily @KUHawkRecruit and @JayhawkSlant); it’s very likely this is not a comprehensive list.
KU FB 2019 Junior Days
| Name | Class | Pos | Size | 247 Rank | Rivals | Hometown | Other Offers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Class | Pos | Size | 247 Rank | Rivals | Hometown | Other Offers | Notes |
| Kyle Douglas | 2020 | QB | 6'0" 185 lbs | NR | NR | Dallas, TX | None reported | No offers yet but interest from BU, CU, UH, OSU, TTU |
| Joe Campbell | 2020 | QB | 6'0" 210 lbs | NR | NR | Raytown, MO | None reported | |
| Malik Berry | 2020 | ATH-QB/LB | 6'3" 215 lbs | NR | NR | Lawrence, KS | KSU | Projects as a LB |
| Daniel Jackson | 2020 | WR | 5'11" 185 lbs | 4* | 3* | Mission, KS | ND, ASU, Iowa, ISU, KSU, Minn, MU, A&M, Wisc | |
| Malik Johnson | 2020 | WR | 5'9" 175 lbs | NR | NR | The Woodlands, TX | None reported | |
| D'Vontae Key | 2020 | WR | 5'10" 165 lbs | NR | 3* | Raytown, MO | Iowa | |
| Isaiah Gavin | 2020 | WR | 6'5" 165 lbs | NR | NR | Overland Park, KS | None reported | |
| Will Huggins | 2020 | TE/WR | 6'7" 225 lbs | NR | NR | Shawnee Mission, KS | None reported | |
| Turner Corcoran | 2020 | OL | 6'6' 280 lbs | 4* | 4* | Lawrence, KS | Neb, OhSt, OU, +14 more | Consensus Top-75 |
| Hayden Pauls | 2020 | OL | 6'4" 265 lbs | 3* | 3* | Emporia, KS | Iowa, ISU, KSU, Minn, Neb, Pur | |
| Cody Fayette | 2020 | OL | 6'6" 290 lbs | NR | NR | Wichita, KS | SDak | |
| Jaeden Roberts | 2021 | OL | 6'6" 320 lbs | NR | NR | Overland Park, KS | Iowa, KSU, Minn, Neb, MU | |
| Nate Matlack | 2020 | DE | 6'4" 210 lbs | 3* | 3* | Olathe, KS | KSU, Syr | |
| Javon Mosley | 2020 | DE | 6'0" 225 lbs | NR | NR | Raytown, MO | None reported | |
| Matthew Roberts | 2020 | DE/LB | 6'3" 210 lbs | NR | 3* | Overland Park, KS | KSU | |
| Dontae Manning | 2020 | DB-CB | 6'0" 175 lbs | 3* | 3* | Raytown, MO | Neb, ISU, IU, Iowa, KSU, Minn, MU, ND, OkSt, VT | |
| Kallun Chitama | 2021 | DB-S | NA | NR | NR | Lawrence, KS | None reported |
I like how many of these guys have not just D1, but P5 offers. Les Miles is going to battle with the big boys. We already know that Kansas has the facilities to compete, and Kansas has added to that with the nearly completed new indoor practice facility immediately west of Memorial Stadium. Now, it appears as if they have the head coach with which to compete as well. JayhawkSlant indicates Miles’ staff has already put out nearly 150 offers in the 2020 class.
Miles told an ESPN reporter back in December that his priority was to “harvest” the surprising amount of talent available in-state. David Beaty had his “Kansas blast” statewide recruiting trip that assistants took every year, but it appears as if Les Miles is actually backing up his talk of going after local recruits with actions:
Great to see KU back recruiting Kansas HS kids like they did in the Mangino era which was the Snyder blueprint. KSU vs KU recruiting competition is good for our state as its only going to create more offers for KS HS kids and there’s enough talent to go around for the both!
— Sports in Kansas (@sportsinkansas) February 10, 2019
KU Football is hosting another Junior Days event later this month on February 23. Ky Thomas (3* RB) out of Topeka and Cole Putnam (ATH-QB out of Tennessee) have indicated they will be attending. We’ll keep our eyes on Twitter for other attendees, and hopefully those verbals will start coming in soon.