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Last year at this time, Kansas football had one verbal commit in four-star QB Lance Legendre, who ended up at Maryland. However, this time, things look to be different. Les Miles has injected new life into this moribund program, and that is already showing on the recruiting trail.
According to a tweet I saw a few weeks ago that I of course I can’t find now, Kansas is in the top 10 in number of scholarships offered for the 2020 class. So, it appears as if Les Miles is still recruiting like he’s in the SEC!
KU’s positions of need for 2020 will be along the offensive line and in the secondary, as that is where Kansas will lose a lot of starters after this coming season. I would look for this coaching staff to strategically pick up four or five Juco transfers later this fall, while beginning to develop some depth on the rest of the squad.
Unfortunately, Kansas has already missed out on a couple of highly regarded in-state prospects, both offensive linemen. National top-100 recruit Turner Corcoran (Lawrence) verbally committed to Nebraska, while Hayden Pauls (Emporia) gave Iowa State his verbal.
The Jayhawks currently have six verbal commits. From what I can tell, this class is expected to be around 15 signees again, so if these hold they are already a third of the way there. Let’s take a quick look at the current (nonbinding) verbal commits.
ATH/QB Da’Vonshai Harden, Topeka, KS, 3*
At 6’4” 195 lbs, Harden is a top-10 recruit in the state of Kansas. His highlight tapes mostly show him playing QB, although there are some clips at safety as well. His only two D1 offers to this point are KU and K-State, along with a few Missouri Valley schools.
WR Keenan Hambrick, Athens, AL, 3*
The 6’3” 195 lb receiver has the size that Miles is looking for in his WR corps and should fit in nicely. KU was his first P5 offer, although Tennessee and Auburn had reportedly begun to show some interest. Hambrick also has a handful of offers from Sun Belt and C-USA schools.
WR Keith Miller, The Colony, TX, 3*
Miller is the headliner of this class so far, verbally committing to KU over Colorado, Texas Tech, and two dozen other offers that included eight other P5 schools. Depending on how his senior year goes, Miller may work himself up to four-star status. He currently measures in at 6’2” 200 lbs.
WR/TE Trevor Kardell, Lee’s Summit, MO, 3*
A promising baseball pitcher, Kardell committed to Kansas over Missouri reportedly with the promise that he would be allowed to join the KU baseball team and be on a full football scholarship (apparently UM-C was only offering a partial baseball scholarship). At 6’6” 200 lbs, highlight reels show him towering over high school defensive backs, and often lining up out wide or in the slot.
TE Will Huggins, Overland Park, KS
Another top-10 player in the state of Kansas, Huggins is blowing up the camp scene this spring, and I’ve seen more than one recruitnik say that KU will have its work cut out to keep his committment. At 6’6” 235 lbs, KU was his first (and so far only) P5 offer. Huggins reportedly gave KU his verbal over Arkansas, with K-State and Iowa State in the mix as well.
OL Jackson Stoefen, Eldridge, IA
The 6’5” 270 lb lineman is listed at a tackle at 247Sports. With a handful of G5 offers, KU was the first P5 school to offer Stoefen, although from his list it looks like Nebraska, K-State, Iowa, Iowa State, and Virginia Tech may have had some interest as well.