:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69497976/624422160.0.jpg)
Well, this article may be short and sweet. The 2022 class currently has just three (verbal) commits after four recruits decommitted since Les Miles was released by the university. All three of these players committed prior to KU hiring Lance Leipold (meaning they probably actually committed to Emmitt Jones), and so far have held firm with their verbals.
They are:
WR Nikki Taylor, 3-star, Luverne, AL
DB/CB Dewuan Mack, 3-star out of Lee’s Summit, MO
DB/S Jacobe Chester, 3-star out of Missouri City, TX
Chester has a Colorado offer as well as multiple G5 offers, while Mack’s only other offer was Miami (OH). Currently, Taylor’s only offer is the one from KU, but per Rivals he was drawing some interest from schools like Florida State, South Carolina, and Duke.
Obviously if Leipold is to have any modicum of success at KU, local talent will be key. The problem is, out of the top 11 recruits in the state of Kansas for the class of 2022, 7 are already verbally committed elsewhere, and 3 are nearing the end of their recruitment and expected to commit out of state soon.
Leipold had a reputation at Buffalo for recognizing talent early and jumping on it before the P5 schools did. I’ve also seen some comments about how well his staff was able to develop contacts across their recruiting region in the mid-Atlantic area. That will take time to establish here, but the staff is already working on 2023 and 2024 recruits too, so those classes will likely be much stronger than their first class.
Until then, we’ll just have to see what they can put together over the next 6-ish months and hope that the new staff can put together a solid and competitive recruiting class for 2022.