KU football picked up a late QB signee ... and appears to looking for one more, too
The Kansas football team secured a surprise pledge from a quarterback on Wednesday’s early signing day.
And, if things go as planned, the team won’t be done recruiting the position for the upcoming 2020 season.
Let’s start with the known: KU added Jalon Daniels to its 18-person recruiting class on Wednesday, as the three-star 247Sports quarterback flipped his choice after originally committing to Middle Tennessee State.
“I think there is any question that he has talent and ability and can step back in the pocket, can rush the ball and have quarterback rushes,” KU coach Les Miles said. “Is he a quarterback of the future? He’s certainly a choice.”
This is where Miles started to tip his hand a bit, following that statement by saying, “I think there could be another quarterback out there that is being pursued. I’m not real sure at this point.”
Logic would point to that being one person: Florida graduate transfer Feleipe Franks, who visited KU’s campus last weekend.
Franks, who started the last two seasons at Florida before a season-ending ankle injury in September, threw for 4,593 combined yards the last three years with 38 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also previously committed to Miles at LSU out of high school before later changing his mind and deciding to join the Gators.
As a graduate transfer, Franks does not have a timeline for announcing his choice, and KU’s coaches are not allowed to talk about him until he chooses a destination.
Reading the tea leaves, though ... it sure seems like Miles and staff are ready to welcome Franks if KU is his choice.
Miles, for instance, was asked Wednesday about loading up on high school players; the Jayhawks currently have no transfers or junior-college players as part of their signing class.
“We’re not building that way (through short-term players), and that doesn’t that doesn’t appeal to us,” Miles said.
The coach was quick to talk about exceptions, though. He said there could be an opportunity to take on a potential transfer or older player, depending on “how severe the need is.”
And for KU, there perhaps isn’t a bigger 2020 necessity than a plug-and-play quarterback.
The reason is simple. KU’s offense, on paper, returns some nice pieces at other positions, including two-time all-Big 12 first team running back Pooka Williams and top-10 Big 12 receivers Andrew Parchment and Stephon Robinson.
“We know that we’ve got a lot of skill players that can hurt people,” KU offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon said, “and if that QB’s pulling the trigger at the right time, things can look really good.”
The potential signing of Franks would also serve as a bridge season for Dearmon, allowing him an extra year to develop his own future quarterback. That very well could be someone like Daniels — a player that Dearmon had tracked in recruiting even in his first months as an analyst for KU.
Dearmon, who evaluates each quarterback recruit on a 10-criteria grading scale, said Daniels graded out well. In fact, Dearmon was so excited to hear Daniels had chosen KU that he “almost did a backflip, but I realized I probably would have broke my neck.”
As far as potentially landing another QB ... Dearmon wouldn’t rule that out. He said, in his experience, coaches were always looking for four types of players in recruiting: pass rushers, offensive linemen, cornerbacks and quarterbacks.
“Those four positions ... if you can find a game-changer, you always take them,” Dearmon said.
Because quarterback is so important, KU appears ready to use another 2020 scholarship at that spot.
If, of course, someone like Franks is ready to pick the Jayhawks.
“I won’t ever say we’re out of the market (for a QB), Dearmon said, “but it’d have to be a perfect situation for us.”
KU’s football signings
Player, Position, Height, Weight, Previous school (Hometown)
Armaj Adams-Reed, OL, 6-5, 350, DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas)
Lawrence Arnold, WR, 6-3, 185, DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas)
Taiwan Berryhill, LB, 6-2, 200, St. Augustine (New Orleans)
Krishawn Brown, LB, 6-1, 200, Booker T. Washington, (Tulsa, Okla.)
Jalon Daniels, QB, 6-0, 207, Lawndale (Lawndale, Calif.)
Tristan Golightly, WR, 6-4, 200, Poteet (Mesquite, Texas)
Daniel Hishaw, RB, 5-11, 195, Moore (Moore, Okla.)
Will Huggins, TE, 6-7, 235, Shawnee Mission South (Lenexa, Kan.)
Malik Johnson, ATH, 5-9, 178, The Woodlands (The Woodlands, Texas)
Garrett Jones, OL, 6-4, 285, Berrien Springs (Berrien Springs, Mich.)
Trevor Kardell, TE, 6-5, 225, Lee’s Summit West (Lee’s Summit, Mo.)
Johnquai Lewis, CB, 6-0, 185, Champagnat Catholic (Hialeah, Fla.)
Nicholas Martinez, OL, 6-5, 285, Servite (Anaheim, Calif.)
Duece Mayberry, CB, 6-0, 185, Owasso (Tulsa, Okla.)
Steven McBride, WR, 6-0, 160, East Ascension (Napoleonville, La.)
Alonso Person, LB, 6-3, 200, Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.)
Karon Prunty, CB, 6-1, 190, I.C. Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.)
Caleb Taylor, DE, 6-2, 255, Staley (Kansas City, Mo.)
*KU does not distinguish between scholarship and non-scholarship players when listing its signing class
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 7:39 PM.
