The les miles effect in recruiting



  • @jayballer73

    Even if we don’t flip Starks specifically, we can compete in recruiting down there, now even more than before. That can make a huge difference in terms of talent coming into the program.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    https://247sports.com/player/cameron-burt-46056131/

    His QB was Graham Mertz, but you can’t say he doesn’t deserve a chance. Has the size, and made HS kids look slow so I assume he has the speed. Give him a chance Les!

    How did he do against Aquinas and Miege? Those are the two programs that have D1 level DBs on their rosters.

    That’s one of the tough things about evaluating Kansas kids. You can look good, but might not be doing that against D1 or P5 level competition. And since most Kansas teams don’t face teams from out of state, you may only have a couple of games to really evaluate on.



  • @justanotherfan Good grief, a few of the better local teams occasionally play Stratford, Texas. They get destroyed.

    My best friend growing up moved there, his kids got involved in football and he claims the amount of practice time is incredible. It’s pretty much year round.



  • @justanotherfan In every game they lost this season, he had over 100 yards receiving and a TD. The kid absolutely dominated all season long.



  • ReggieKansas said:

    @Kcmatt7 corey williams

    His recruitment still appears very open and his Twitter definitely shows interest in KU.



  • DAM - -we picked up 4 CB’s for Parker last night - -landscape is changing. - -I think we have a really good shot for starks also

    Sur is nice to see starting to turn - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @jayballer73 parker who





  • There is going to be some serious offensive talent coming in at the WR position.



  • Jones was obviously the lead recruiter for Parker while he was committed to Tech. But KU was involved with the old regime so this is sort of the best of both worlds. Don’t be surprised if TCU gets in the mix though.



  • Starks did just start following Jax Dineen and a couple of KU players. That Louisiana connection is amazing.



  • https://247sports.com/player/valerian-agbaw-46055314/ This one is done. Just won’t be announced until his Birthday in January. Hoping they make him a CB.



  • @justanotherfan Besides him playing well consistently against all opponents, he is 100% worth the risk unless you think you are going to fill this entire first class.



  • ReggieKansas said:

    @jayballer73 parker who

    4 star WDE 6’4 220 lbs from Dallas we lead for him at 75%



  • @ReggieKansas Also another player we are in on - - La’Vontae Shenault - - -a high 3* player off rivals -a 4* off rivals a de-commit from Texas Tech that Jones was the lead recruiter on - -picked up a CB on him also late last night



  • From Jayhawk slant: - -Phone was ringing all day from area high school Coach’s - - -Dirk Wedd was spotted in several local High Schools representing the Jayhawks - - Stops in Blue valley - - Bishop Meige - -Shawnee Mission north - - -Shawnee Mission East - - sound pretty sweet. - -Yet my question is - - Who is Dirk Wedd? - -Anybody help me? - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @jayballer73 Google search says defensive analyst for KU.



  • @mayjay - -found out this is not sit in stone yet - -was just reading that we are down to 2 people for this position – -Jimmy Brumbaugh - -& then just heard about this other one - - Frank Okan pretty good back ground on him:

    1st Jimmy Brumbaugh: - -Has been a DL Coach for Kentucky & Maryland and was also Asst for Strength and Cond Coach for LSU. -12 yrs as DL Coaching experience

    2nd Frank Okan : Yes only 3 yrs as DL Coach - -However some pretty good qualification - - He just completed his 1st year as DL line at Baylor - -then 2 at Rice - -yet however he has tons of ties with Texas( can never get enough connections in Texas ) - -plus he is from Arkansas - - -he attended High School in Dallas - -he won a National Championship @ Texas Really nice run in the NFL.

    Just for me personally - -I think I would rather take Okan - - just personal preference - -don’t think we could go wrong either way. - -love the group Les is assembling . - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY



  • @jayballer73 yeah now we need to start lockin up some coaches with florida ties



  • SMU starting quarterback Ben Hicks, the school’s all-time leading passer, has left the program and will be a graduate transfer for 2019. Any chance he ends at KU?



  • @JayHawkFanToo With already having the JUCO kid committed and limited number of scholarships to hand out this class I highly doubt they take another QB unless its a high level High School kid.



  • jayballer73 said:

    From Jayhawk slant: - -Phone was ringing all day from area high school Coach’s - - -Dirk Wedd was spotted in several local High Schools representing the Jayhawks - - Stops in Blue valley - - Bishop Meige - -Shawnee Mission north - - -Shawnee Mission East - - sound pretty sweet. - -Yet my question is - - Who is Dirk Wedd? - -Anybody help me? - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    This is a critical step in rebuilding the program. While some may think I am down on Kansas HS football (I am not), having those local ties is critically important. We need to repair the bridges that were burned in the past, largely by Charlie Weis.

    We need to do the same on the Missouri side of the metro area. KU also needs to have a stronger presence in the Wichita area.

    Instate talent won’t be the base - Kansas simply doesn’t produce enough D1 talent year in and year out to do that, even if KU were to land every prospect each year. But it can act as a starting point.

    Outrecruiting K-State, Mizzou, Iowa and Nebraska in the KC metro area is the first step. Securing Wichita from the Oklahoma schools is step 2.



  • @justanotherfan Very true, I think Kansas usually has about 5 or 6 D1 guys in the average class. Most of those guys are at KSU or OU it seems.



  • @Woodrow

    I was under the impression that KU needed to bring 15-20 recruits and it is not even close to that number so scholarships should not be an issue. KU needs able bodies and a high caliber 1 year graduate transfer would be the perfect band aid.



  • justanotherfan said:

    jayballer73 said:

    From Jayhawk slant: - -Phone was ringing all day from area high school Coach’s - - -Dirk Wedd was spotted in several local High Schools representing the Jayhawks - - Stops in Blue valley - - Bishop Meige - -Shawnee Mission north - - -Shawnee Mission East - - sound pretty sweet. - -Yet my question is - - Who is Dirk Wedd? - -Anybody help me? - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

    This is a critical step in rebuilding the program. While some may think I am down on Kansas HS football (I am not), having those local ties is critically important. We need to repair the bridges that were burned in the past, largely by Charlie Weis.

    We need to do the same on the Missouri side of the metro area. KU also needs to have a stronger presence in the Wichita area.

    Instate talent won’t be the base - Kansas simply doesn’t produce enough D1 talent year in and year out to do that, even if KU were to land every prospect each year. But it can act as a starting point.

    Outrecruiting K-State, Mizzou, Iowa and Nebraska in the KC metro area is the first step. Securing Wichita from the Oklahoma schools is step 2.

    very true and I think when Les said he was making it a priority to recruit , check out the Kansas kids - -this is a Coach that is actually following through, and repair and reconnect with Kansas high schools - -Kids and Coach’s - -Coach’s of these kids play an important role in this too.

    If you turn a Coach off or ignore possible recruits that he thinks might have a chance - -you snub him - -then it can turn South in a hurry and then the word spreads - -Gonna take a lot to reconnect and then when there are some really sweet kids - -GOOD LUCK.

    I Think Les ins in the know enough he knows how it works - -he says it - - he is doing it - -AL READY LOVE THIS GUY



  • I’d like to see us hit Denver, St. Louis, Memphis, NW Arkansas and Minneapolis hard recruiting. It gets back to Les saying he’ll have a radius to build a base from. There definitely won’t be enough Kansas/Metro Area kids to build a base from. But building relationships in these other cities could provide us a solid pipeline to tap.



  • Has anyone heard any news of anyone transferring out of the program? I haven’t I am just curious



  • This kid might be the 1st diamond in the ruff hes only played 1 yr but hes got huge upside http://www.hudl.com/profile/10186445/Dajon-Terry



  • @Kcmatt7 is there good football recruiting in Denver?



  • @dylans It is a great place to steal some kids, because Colorado doesn’t dominate the area. Just like Missouri doesn’t dominate St. Louis. A major Metro area without much hometown loyalty is the perfect place to build some connections and poach a player or two every season.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    I’d like to see us hit Denver, St. Louis, Memphis, NW Arkansas and Minneapolis hard recruiting. It gets back to Les saying he’ll have a radius to build a base from. There definitely won’t be enough Kansas/Metro Area kids to build a base from. But building relationships in these other cities could provide us a solid pipeline to tap.

    The Denver metro could yield 1 or 2 a year.

    St. Louis will be a competitive spot, but they usually turn out a fair number of D1 recruits, so you might be able to get 1 or 2 a year from there.

    Minneapolis/St. Paul doesn’t turn out a ton of talent, but again, if you build some good relationships, that’s another place to find a little talent.

    Memphis is super competitive with the SEC recruiting, but you can do as well there as New Orleans, so that could be a secondary spot.

    Houston and Dallas are good targets, because you have to compete there to compete in the Big 12.

    All told, if you can get 4-5 in each class from Denver/STL/MPLS area, plus 4-5 more from Memphis/New Orleans/NW Arkansas and 5-6 more from Dallas/Houston, you can get your 3 or 4 Kansas/KC area kids to round out a nice 18 or 19 man class.

    Broken down like that, its very doable. But you have to have a pretty wide radius of recruiting to pull that off.



  • @justanotherfan

    Don’t forget Ohio, it is consistently among the top 5 states in producing top HS football prospects.



  • @Kcmatt7 I see, I was thinking more genetics and aptitude. I spend a little (very little) time there every year and it never inspires thoughts of football for me. I’m usually downtown and it’s all scrawny somewhat rich people looking like they need a meal, though. -I know it’s not all like that- I’ve never looked at it through a football lens. Not doubting there are recruits to be had, just not a place I would have thought to look.

    My stereotypes are old fashioned, I guess. Look for a good farm kid with a big frame. He knows how to work and take a beating already, just teach him football (small town in the Midwest pretty much anywhere). So I don’t think of Denver much, even though it’s got well over a million people in the metro area. No reason there shouldn’t be a recruit or two a year for KU, but I’m betting Les spends more efforts recruiting south and east than that far west given his reputation in the geography.



  • dylans said:

    @Kcmatt7 I see, I was thinking more genetics and aptitude. I spend a little (very little) time there every year and it never inspires thoughts of football for me. I’m usually downtown and it’s all scrawny somewhat rich people looking like they need a meal, though. -I know it’s not all like that- I’ve never looked at it through a football lens. Not doubting there are recruits to be had, just not a place I would have thought to look.

    My stereotypes are old fashioned, I guess. Look for a good farm kid with a big frame. He knows how to work and take a beating already, just teach him football (small town in the Midwest pretty much anywhere). So I don’t think of Denver much, even though it’s got well over a million people in the metro area. No reason there shouldn’t be a recruit or two a year for KU, but I’m betting Les spends more efforts recruiting south and east than that far west given his reputation in the geography.

    You’re not wrong lol. I mean they probably only have 8-10 P5 caliber guys a season. But it’s something.



  • @dylans

    Florida, Texas and California have by far the most recruits, add Georgia and Ohio and between those 5 states you have likely more recruits than the rest of the country combined.



  • justanotherfan said:

    Kcmatt7 said:

    I’d like to see us hit Denver, St. Louis, Memphis, NW Arkansas and Minneapolis hard recruiting. It gets back to Les saying he’ll have a radius to build a base from. There definitely won’t be enough Kansas/Metro Area kids to build a base from. But building relationships in these other cities could provide us a solid pipeline to tap.

    The Denver metro could yield 1 or 2 a year.

    St. Louis will be a competitive spot, but they usually turn out a fair number of D1 recruits, so you might be able to get 1 or 2 a year from there.

    Minneapolis/St. Paul doesn’t turn out a ton of talent, but again, if you build some good relationships, that’s another place to find a little talent.

    Memphis is super competitive with the SEC recruiting, but you can do as well there as New Orleans, so that could be a secondary spot.

    Houston and Dallas are good targets, because you have to compete there to compete in the Big 12.

    All told, if you can get 4-5 in each class from Denver/STL/MPLS area, plus 4-5 more from Memphis/New Orleans/NW Arkansas and 5-6 more from Dallas/Houston, you can get your 3 or 4 Kansas/KC area kids to round out a nice 18 or 19 man class.

    Broken down like that, its very doable. But you have to have a pretty wide radius of recruiting to pull that off.

    Bingo. EXACTLY my thoughts. A couple here. A couple there. Before you know it you’re at 20.



  • JayHawkFanToo said:

    @justanotherfan

    Don’t forget Ohio, it is consistently among the top 5 states in producing top HS football prospects.

    To me, it isn’t that St. Louis or Memphis aren’t competitive. They are. But they are competitive in a way that lacks loyalty.

    Ohio recruiting is ran by Ohio State first and foremost. Then it has a pretty clear pecking order. Michigan State. Kentucky. Cincinatti. And then throw in Notre Dame and Penn State to pick off a few. Purdue after that. Iowa State makes some noise.

    It just seems like a place where it would be hard to find connections. But I suppose landing a player or two from there each year wouldn’t be an outrageous thought. There are around 70 kids that would be intriguing.



  • justanotherfan said:

    Broken down like that, its very doable. But you have to have a pretty wide radius of recruiting to pull that off.

    It does seem like Les is casting a pretty wide recruiting net based on hires. And like he might be going after the Denver area with the two Colorado hires.

    I’ll definitely be interested to see who else he ends up picking up on the staff. I think it will be very telling.



  • I hadn’t looked yet, but it definitely looks like Chevis Jackson has Georgia recruiting ties. 7 of the recruits he got to Ball State were from Georgia.



  • Kcmatt7 said:

    I hadn’t looked yet, but it definitely looks like Chevis Jackson has Georgia recruiting ties. 7 of the recruits he got to Ball State were from Georgia.

    All the assistant hires have been for damn good reason.



  • BShark said:

    Kcmatt7 said:

    I hadn’t looked yet, but it definitely looks like Chevis Jackson has Georgia recruiting ties. 7 of the recruits he got to Ball State were from Georgia.

    All the assistant hires have been for damn good reason.

    Yea Les is no dummy.

    It also helps that Les has former players he can tap as well as just being Les freaking Miles. An advantage that no other KU coach in history has ever had. Being able to attract this type of coaching talent is a skill that can’t be taught.



  • @JayHawkFanToo

    @Kcmatt7 basically took the words off my keyboard. Without a clear link to Ohio, it will be tough to beat out (in some order) Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Kentucky, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Indiana and Purdue. And that doesn’t include Cincinnati, West Virginia and then close to home options like Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, etc. for the three star that wants to stay in the area. That’s a hard hill to climb, and KU does not, at least not yet, have a link to Ohio.

    We have a link to Louisiana. Without Hull (and now Miles), we would not be getting these guys from Louisiana. LSU, Alabama, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, etc. would be taking those players.

    I’d love for KU to get into Ohio (and Florida, Georgia, California), but we honestly don’t have the connections to win a lot of those battles right now. We do have the connections to get guys from the areas mentioned yesterday, and that’s how you can rebuild the program. Then you can reach into Ohio.



  • I’m so happy to see these football boards talking about us recruiting the traditional football hot spots. The past several years we’re happy to get a couple of good walk ons and maybe a guy from Hutch Juco or somewhere.



  • Donte Starks twitter is KU strong atm. Makes me think he is KU bound???

    https://twitter.com/donte_starks8/status/1071536061514477568



  • Benton Smith ‏

    @BentonASmith 20m 20 minutes ago

    More KU announces Les Miles has hired Mike Ekeler as special teams coordinator. Last job was at UNC as LBs coach. Ekeler worked with Miles at LSU.



  • @nuleafjhawk hey now on hutch juco!



  • @Crimsonorblue22 Not a slam on them at all !!



  • https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20181212/desoto-receiver-breaks-tech-commitment

    La’Vontae Shenault 4 star Wide Receiver re-opens recruitment. His lead recruiter at TT was KU’s new WR coach Emmett Jones.



  • Looks like Les has filled 7 of the open coaching positions at this time. I am wondering if he will leave room to retain Hull, and at what capacity. Sounds like he is still working hard for KU. Hope it pays big dividends. Only 3 positions left to fill.



  • Boy grabbing Starks would be a coup. 5 days.


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