Kansas holds off Ohio State, Michigan to sign top football recruit Deshawn Warner
Kansas football fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Four-star defensive end commit Deshawn Warner officially signed his NLI (National Letter of Intent) to play football for the Jayhawks on Wednesday.
KU announced the news shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.
According to MaxPreps, Warner had 63 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 16 sacks in his senior year. After his strong senior season, Warner received offers from Michigan and Ohio State, even while already committed to KU.
In fact, Kansas beat out multiple college football powerhouses for Warner’s services, including Texas, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and Washington, according to his 247Sports offer list.
According to 247Sports, Warner is the No. 148-ranked recruit nationally. He’s also the highest-ranked high school recruit ever to sign with KU since recruit tracking began (2010).
Warner was the third player from Desert Edge High School to join KU’s class of 2024 recruiting class, joining cornerback Aundre Gibson and linebacker Jonathan Kamara.
Warner received high praise from 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins.
“We’re just big fans of the overall profile and the senior tape really pops as he’s constantly creating pressure off the edge, winning with both speed and power,” Ivins said in a 247Sports story. “To be honest, there’s really not a ton of third-party verified information out there when it comes to the measurements and all that, but he looks to have plenty of growth potential, especially in the lower half. He also owns some impressive track and field markers like his 41-2 effort in the triple jump.
“That’s notable because recent NFL Draft trends show that a lot of the edge rushers selected early on these days did track and field in high school, and to a high degree, especially with the jumps. I also think four pick-sixes over the past three years is pretty wild. Impressive get for Kansas and someone that can absolutely be a true different-maker in the Big 12 if he keeps progressing.”
