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The official Rivals results are out on team rankings for the 2008 recruiting class. Rivals has KU as ninth place in the Big 12 based on their points system. That seems a little low after an Orange Bowl appearance. KU signed a smaller class of 20 players so that skews things a bit. If you take the average star ranking by Rivals, KU performs quite a bit better:
Source: JayhawkSlant.com
According to Rivals, KU has landed a verbal commitment from Alonso Rojas (6-3) out of Miami. He has an interesting background with FBS experience at Bowling Green during the 2006 season. KUsports.com has the full story.
Signing day is rolling up fast. Here is the breakdown of current commitments (both signed and verbal) for the Big 12 North teams based on 5-, 4- and 3-star commitments. The ranking source is Rivals.com
With three slots to fill and six days until players can officially sign, today is a good time to take a look at how the 2008 class stacks up historically for the Kansas football program. As the loyal readers know, this usually kicks off a couple days worth of Excel snapshots analyzing the KU class versus the conference. Enjoy:
Sources:
http://kansas.scout.com/a.z?s=172&p=9&c=8&yr=2008
http://kansas.rivals.com/commitlist.asp
Zach Stadther is officially out. KU considered him an academic risk and with just 22 spots couldn't afford hold the offer for him. He committed to Arkansas. That gives KU three spots to fill. It'd be nice to come up with another DT and another linebacker, but otherwise it looks like the class is addressing our needs nicely.
OFFENSE
Star/PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
4-OL -- Nathan D'Cunha/Santa Barbara, CA -- 6-7/307 -- 12/12/2007
3-OL -- Trevor Marrongelli/Round Rock, TX -- 6-4/285/5.1 -- 11/4/2007
3-OL -- John Williams/Tulsa, OK -- 6-4/335 -- 10/9/2007
3-OL -- Ben Lueken/St. Louis, MO -- 6-5/318/5.1 -- 9/17/2007
3-QB -- Kale Pick/Dodge City, KS -- 6-1/198/4.5 -- 10/22/2007
4-RB -- Jocques Crawford*/Cisco, TX -- 6-1/220/4.55 -- 1/20/08
3-WR -- Rod Harris*/Brenham, TX --6-2/190/4.5 -- 1/12/2008
3-WR -- Daymond Patterson/Mesquite, TX -- 5-8/165/4.43 -- 6/9/2007
3-TE -- Tim Biere/Omaha, NE -- 6-4/235/4.8 -- 6/18/2007
3-TE -- Tanner Hawkinson/McPherson, KS -- 6-6/230/4.8 -- 6/16/2007
DEFENSE
Star/PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
3-DT -- Darius Parish/Wichita, KS -- 6-3/325/5.08 -- 12/28/07
3-DE -- D.J. Marshall/Mesquite, TX -- 6-4/275/4.75 -- 12/9/2007
3-DE -- Duane Zlatnik/Rossville, KS -- 6-4/260 -- 11/18/2007
3-DE -- Nicholas Plato/Edwardsville, IL -- 6-6/228/4.82 -- 11/18/2007
3-LB -- Josh Richardson/Dublin, Ohio -- 6-4/195/4.45 -- 1/20/2008
3-CB -- Greg Brown/Cedar Hill, TX -- 5-11/164 --12/21/2007
3-DB -- Corrigan Powell/Garland, TX -- 5-10/161/4.5 -- 11/5/2007
3-DB -- Lubbock Smith/Dallas, TX -- 5-11/182/4.4 -- 12/17/2007
3-ATH -- Sean Ransburg/Harrisonville, MO -- 6-1/185/4.5 -- 4/10/2007
Rating Source: Rivals
Stadther Is Out
The message boards are reporting that Zach Stadther is off the list for KU -- an academic casualty. He's still listed on the commit list by Rivals.
Recruiting Targets
This information was snagged from a gridiron board thread. Flaredog does a great job of breaking down the situation. Basically with Stadther out of the mix KU has 19 commits and three spots left. Here are a few of the targets he mentions:
Gary Mason 3-star DE
http://kansas.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=58309
Keanon Cooper 4-star Safety
http://kansas.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=55667
Tremayne Scott 2-Star DE
http://kansas.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=76905&sport=1
Star/PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
4-RB -- Jocques Crawford*/Cisco, TX -- 6-1/220/4.55 -- 1/20/08
4-OL -- Nathan D'Cunha*/Santa Barbara, CA -- 6-7/307 -- 12/12/2007
3-LB -- Josh Richardson/Dublin, Ohio -- 6-4/195/4.45 -- 1/20/2008
3-WR -- Rod Harris*/Brenham, TX --6-2/190/4.5 -- 1/12/2008
3-DT -- Darius Parish/Wichita, KS -- 6-3/325/5.08 -- 12/28/07
3-CB -- Greg Brown/Cedar Hill, TX -- 5-11/164 --12/21/2007
3-DB -- Lubbock Smith/Dallas, TX -- 5-11/182/4.4 -- 12/17/2007
3-DE -- D.J. Marshall/Mesquite, TX -- 6-4/275/4.75 -- 12/9/2007
3-DE -- Duane Zlatnik/Rossville, KS -- 6-4/260 -- 11/18/2007
3-DE -- Nicholas Plato/Edwardsville, IL -- 6-6/228/4.82 -- 11/18/2007
3-DB -- Corrigan Powell/Garland, TX -- 5-10/161/4.5 -- 11/5/2007
3-OL -- Trevor Marrongelli/Round Rock, TX -- 6-4/285/5.1 -- 11/4/2007
3-QB -- Kale Pick/Dodge City, KS -- 6-1/198/4.5 -- 10/22/2007
3-OL -- John Williams/Tulsa, OK -- 6-4/335 -- 10/9/2007
3-OL -- Ben Lueken/St. Louis, MO -- 6-5/318/5.1 -- 9/17/2007
3-DT -- Zach Stadther/North Little Rock, AK -- 6-2/275/4.9 -- 6/19/2007 (may be out)
3-TE -- Tim Biere/Omaha, NE -- 6-4/235/4.8 -- 6/18/2007
3-TE -- Tanner Hawkinson/McPherson, KS -- 6-6/230/4.8 -- 6/16/2007
3-WR -- Daymond Patterson/Mesquite, TX -- 5-8/165/4.43 -- 6/9/2007
3-ATH -- Sean Ransburg/Harrisonville, MO -- 6-1/185/4.5 -- 4/10/2007
Rating Source: Rivals
We're 12-1 and have an Orange Bowl trophy in Mark Mangino's office. So where are the five-star recruits? According to Sout.com's Jamie Newberg, we better keep winning. Here's an excerpt from a little Q&A he did over at Fox Sports.
"Does a one-year boom really help recruiting in the long run? Will Kansas and Missouri start getting the top shelf guys?
JN: To stay a national power you have to recruit consistently well. While one very good class will help in the foundation, you need several back to back to back big years to truly be a contender and power each and every season. Consistency in recruiting is the key."
Billy Tucker at ESPN has an evaluation of the 2008 Big 12 North Recruiting classes. He seems pretty impressed with Darius Parish:
" ... a massive defensive line prospect with a ton of ability and potential. He carries his 300-pound plus frame very well and is explosive and disruptive at the point of attack when he utilizes his hands and uses proper technique. If he can refine his skills and takes to coaching at the night level, he could be a steal for Kansas. His raw physical tools are amongst the best in the country and should help KU maintain its strong run defenses over the next four to five years."
Hey, I like the sound of that. He also mentions something that has been bothering me:
"... the program still has its challenges on the recruiting end, particularly in-state. Losing linebacker Arthur Brown (Wichita, Kan./East), the No. 6 overall player in the country, to Miami and ESPN 150 athlete Chris Harper (Wichita, Kan./Northwest), once a KU pledge, to Oregon, still shows how far away the program may be from building a perennial national contender."
I like our class quite a bit, but it does bother me that we lost the top two in-state players -- especially to those schools which I think are second level national powers.
The link: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/jan/21/juco_running_back_commits_kansas/?football
The quotes:
“I like the fact that it is a no-huddle (offense), and they keep the defense spread out with their formations. They get guys out of the box with what they do. This year I was used to facing defenses with nine in the box.”
“I was stressing out where I would end up. I feel like Kansas is a place where I can step in and be the main guy.”
Regarding the "main guy" quote. I like his moxy, but overall you've got to feel like there is going to be a huge competition to get into what I think will once again be a two-back rotation (2006 was the only year that we really featured just one back under Mangino... well maybe 2002). So, you've got Jake Sharp, Carmen Boyd-Anderson and Angus Quigley as the main contenders, but Donte Bean could figure into the mix as well. Throw Crawford in and I'm feeling like the position is going to improve next year.
The KU football program landed a couple of key commitments today with four-star JUCO running back Jocques Crawford (6-1/220/4.55) and three-star linebacker Josh Richardson (6-4/195/4.45) both offering verbal commitments to play for Kansas. Crawford is pretty well know as the JUCO player of the year but Richardson is a nice surprise. If that 4.45 speed is a reality, that will go nicely with that 6-4 frame.
OFFENSE
Star/PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
4-OL -- Nathan D'Cunha/Santa Barbara, CA -- 6-7/307 -- 12/12/2007
3-OL -- Trevor Marrongelli/Round Rock, TX -- 6-4/285/5.1 -- 11/4/2007
3-OL -- John Williams/Tulsa, OK -- 6-4/335 -- 10/9/2007
3-OL -- Ben Lueken/St. Louis, MO -- 6-5/318/5.1 -- 9/17/2007
3-QB -- Kale Pick/Dodge City, KS -- 6-1/198/4.5 -- 10/22/2007
3-WR -- Rod Harris*/Brenham, TX --6-2/190/4.5 -- 1/12/2008
3-WR -- Daymond Patterson/Mesquite, TX -- 5-8/165/4.43 -- 6/9/2007
3-TE -- Tim Biere/Omaha, NE -- 6-4/235/4.8 -- 6/18/2007
3-TE -- Tanner Hawkinson/McPherson, KS -- 6-6/230/4.8 -- 6/16/2007
DEFENSE
Star/PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
3-DT -- Darius Parish/Wichita, KS -- 6-3/325/5.08 -- 12/28/07
3-DT -- Zach Stadther/North Little Rock, AK -- 6-2/275/4.9 -- 6/19/2007
3-DE -- D.J. Marshall/Mesquite, TX -- 6-4/275/4.75 -- 12/9/2007
3-DE -- Duane Zlatnik/Rossville, KS -- 6-4/260 -- 11/18/2007
3-DE -- Nicholas Plato/Edwardsville, IL -- 6-6/228/4.82 -- 11/18/2007
3-CB -- Greg Brown/Cedar Hill, TX -- 5-11/164 --12/21/2007
3-DB -- Corrigan Powell/Garland, TX -- 5-10/161/4.5 -- 11/5/2007
3-DB -- Lubbock Smith/Dallas, TX -- 5-11/182/4.4 -- 12/17/2007
3-ATH -- Sean Ransburg/Harrisonville, MO -- 6-1/185/4.5 -- 4/10/2007
Rating Source: Rivals
DJ Goodwin
