How KU football’s recruiting class is different from those in the previous 20 years
For years, Kansas football has been dealing with a scholarship-player discrepancy. And for years, the program — in an effort to try to shortcut its way to success with some pressure to win immediately — has continued to pursue a high number of junior-college players, with no coach fully willing to pay the bill for the previous regime’s mistakes.
That cycle, at the very least, came to an end this week, as KU coach Les Miles announced his team’s 30-player signing class.
Each of those 30 pledges were from the high school ranks.
“This has been the kind of class that we’ve needed,” Miles said during KU’s signing day news conference Thursday. “Now, you’re gonna really know about this entire class in about two years. ‘That guy who had a great career. That guy’s coming.’ That’s just the way it is.
“But we have speed and size and ball skills, guys that have played and understand position.”
What Miles and his staff did this year is unprecedented, at least based off recent KU history.
Rivals’ recruiting rankings and information go back to the 2000 season. This is the first time over that span that the Jayhawks did not take one junior-college player or transfer as part of their signing list.
It’s worth noting that this decision will likely have short-term ramifications.
KU, coming off a 3-9 season in Miles’ first year, has a lot to replace in 2020. Notably, the Jayhawks will have major holes to fill at offensive line, defensive line and quarterback, and the most obvious way to fill each of those spots would be to grab a player with less eligibility remaining but more experience at another school.
And to be fair, the Jayhawks tried to land a quarterback this way. Florida graduate transfer Feleipe Franks visited KU in December and appeared to be a Jayhawks lean before eventually committing to Arkansas last month.
“I think that could have worked,” Miles said, when asked if the team was hoping to bring in a veteran quarterback. “But we’re thrilled with who we’ve got.”
Big picture, Miles’ recruiting philosophy in 2020 appears to reflect a needed admission that the fixing of KU’s football issues will require a long-term plan ... and also some time.
The program likely will take a step back in 2020 while getting young guys developed. But because Miles has stability in his second year and also the backing of athletic director Jeff Long, he was put in a position that he could be patient without worrying about immediate results.
Miles also is pleased with the number of players he was able to get to Lawrence early. He reported seven players in the class were already with the Jayhawks this semester, meaning they’ve started their academics, are getting in the weight room and also are benefiting from seven-on-seven drills with teammates.
“Now some of your better, most-skilled kids are playing and making significant gains,” Miles said. “Having them on campus early and having them be a part of that production just allows you, when you get to the fall, these guys aren’t playing as first-semester freshmen as they are. They’re playing as sophomores.”
Though the overall numbers will continue to shift, KU currently ranks tied for 47th in Rivals’ team recruiting rankings. That’s tied for seventh in the Big 12 and also the exact same spot as in-state rival Kansas State.
For reference, KU’s recruiting classes (according to Rivals) ranked 95th in 2016, 55th in 2017, 48th in 2018 and tied for 70th in 2019.
“I think the class that we’ve landed were specific to needs,” Miles said, “but at maybe a little bit higher level than we’ve recruited in the past.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 4:49 PM.
