KU Football Signing Day (Open Thread)

It's a big day, so I thought I'd just open this up. Post your thoughts or surprises by clicking comments below.

KU Quarterback Club Hosts A Signing Day Party

The KU Quarterback Club will host a special event to showcase KU's 2009 football recruiting class Thursday, February 5th from 7 – 8 p.m. at Zig and Mac's Bar and Grill (SE corner of Bob Billings Parkway and Wakarusa). The event includes a rundown of KU's newest football recruits, including video highlights, by recruiting coordinator Brandon Blaney and co-defensive coordinator Clint Bowen. Highlights of the 2008 season will be shown. Also “Rock Chalk – Sports Talk” will air live from Zig and Mac's from 3:30 - 6 p.m. featuring special football guests. Both events are open to the public, so get there early and bring a friend. Contact Pat Henderson in the Williams Educational Fund at 785-864-3196 for more information.

Another Recycle: Four-Star Bradley McDougald Commits

I've got a pretty good backlog of original content building up, but Kansas football news is dominating the scene right now. This has become a 365-day a year operation. Looks like I need to find some interns. Anyway, let's roll with the best news first.

BEST MANGINO CLASS EVER
Hey, print is not dead because I read this one in the print version of the KC Star. Four-star safety Bradley McDougald (6-0/181/4.5) out of Dublin, Ohio committed to KU yesterday and plans to play at wide receiver. Rivals is not listing him yet, but Scout has him on their list as a three star.  I can't wait to see what kind of bump this gives us in the Rivals team rankings.

D.J. BESHEARS TALKS DB
The word over at Rock Chalk Talk is that D.J. Beshears will play at cornerback for KU. It makes sense for his size (5-9/185) and McDougald thinking receiver. I really like the depth we're building in the secondary with this class.

KANSAS FOOTBALL AWARDS JANUARY 31
This was in the forum yesterday, but I think it's worth another mention. It'll be 7: 30 p.m. on January 31 at the Lied Center in Lawrence. I attended last year and I would recommend the event for all fans. The video alone is worth the trip.

GALE SAYERS HONORED AGAIN
They say KU football history started in 2007. Wrong again, my dirtbag friends. Just so happens that the greatest running back to ever play the game is a Jayhawk. Gale Sayers will be in inducted into the John McClendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame on June 19 in Orlando, Florida. Old-timers remember what Sayers did on the field. I always remember him for the post-Terry Allen coaching search. He was part of the committee and when word started to surface that Mark Mangino was the leading candidate, Sayers said, "This is the right guy for the job."

That was all I needed. On the field, off the field -- the guy knows football.

Update on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 07:08AM by DJ Goodwin

Bradley McDougald officially came off the KU board for both sites yesterday. Essentially, he's not ready to announce a decision. There's a lot of chatter that this will still happen, but we'll see.

WR D.J. Beshears Commits To KU

DJ Beshears... Raw

Rivals is reporting that Denton, Texas WR D.J. Beshears (5-9/185) has commited to Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks. Beshears is a three-star by Rivals and is KU's 23rd commitment for the 2009 class.

Rivals Profile

Flickr photos:

http://flickr.com/photos/80171498@N00/2930898290

http://flickr.com/photos/80171498@N00/2930898126/

2008 Stats From MaxPreps

Interview with high school coach from October when he was committed to ISU

Recycle: Omigie and McGriff Links

The KU blogs are working hard this week. I found a couple of recruiting profiles/stories in the feed this morning:

Denverjhawk has spoke with WR commit Chris Omigie and has a good report on that encounter over at Rock Chalk Talk:

"... expectations for his time at Kansas he said he hopes to come in and play as soon as possible. His biggest goal however is to, 'Win the Big 12 as a team and individually help to accomplish that.' Chris particularly is looking forward to a matchup with Oklahoma although he said it seems that Kansas, 'doesn't like Missouri too much so it will be fun to play them too.'"

To bookend that perfectly, The Shiver put together a nice piece on WR commit Erick McGriff:

“Playmaker. He is a money player. If we needed something to happen, we put the ball in his hands."
--McGriff's high school coach John Ross

Kevin Young Video

Holiday Wishes from Santa Mangino

Oh, Santa Mangino, thy recruiting bounty is plentiful. Please enjoy the updated commit list with Toben Opurum added for your holiday pleasure:

OFFENSE
PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
QB -- Christian Matthews/Arlington, TX -- 6-3/180/4.6 -- 6/20/2008
QB -- Jordan Webb/Union, MO-- 6-0/204 -- 4/12/2008

RB -- Toben Opurum/Plano, TX -- 6-2/229 -- 12/23/2008
RB -- Deshaun Sands/Coconut Creek, FL -- 5-9/175/4.5 -- 4/10/2008

OL -- Tom Mabry/Althoff, IL -- 6-5/270 --10/13/2008
OL -- Gavin Howard/Owasso, OK -- 6-5/260 -- 6/23/08
OL -- Riley Spencer/Hesston, KS -- 6-6/265/5.1 -- 6/22/08

DEFENSE
PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
DT -- Travis Stephens/Brenham, TX (JUCO) -- 6-3/265/4.6 -- 12/21/2008

DE -- Jacoby Thomas/Texarkana, TX -- 6-3/223/4.71-- 12/9/2008
DE -- Randall Dent/Grand Prairie, TX-- 6-4/256/4.9 -- 12/7/2008
DE -- Tyrone Sellers/McCook, NE -- 6-4/215/4.57 -- 7/2/2008

LB -- Julian Jones/Lawton, OK -- 6-2/253 -- 10/27/2008
LB -- Huldon Tharp/Mulvane, KS -- 6-0/208/4.65 -- 8/25/2008

DB -- Calvin Rubles/Tyler, TX (JUCO) -- 6-2/180/4.4-- 12/10/2008
DB -- Dexter Linton/Arlington,TX -- 6-0/180 -- 6/20/2008
DB -- Darian Kelly/Girard, KS -- 6-2/195/4.5 -- 6/5/2008
DB -- Prinz Kande/Euless, TS -- 5-11/182/4.5 -- 6/2/2008
DB -- Tyler Patmon/Cedar Park,TX -- 5-11/180 -- 4/17/2008

Note: There's a lot of talk that Travis Stephens will play DE in college and Randall Dent will end up as a DT.

For star rankings, check the Rivals Commit page.

Toben Opurum: Just a Quick Link and Quote

It's Christmas Eve and I already opened my present. It was a Toben Opurum verbal commit. Thank you, Santa Mangino. Here's a Toben quote from the KUsports.com story (via Rivals) plus should check out the MaxPreps page with his junior year stats. There's a video and I think you'll see in his receiving stats that the kid can catch the ball.

“The visit went great. The thing that stood out was how well I meshed with all of the players and coaches. I knew after the visit there was no need to take others. I saw what I needed and knew I could make decision off that.”

Monday Recycle: Travis Stephens Verbal + Website Header

A NEW BANNER
The banner above was created by Phog user Cactii. He's also known to be the brother of single-season rushing record KU legend Jon Cornish. I picked it up at KJIBT a while back and it fits Hawk Digest so nicely, I figure I'll leave it up for a while (11 months or so). By the way adverstisers, that space is available.

JUCO DT FOR KU
The Jayhawks picked up JUCO DT Travis Stephens (6-3/265) who will graduate in May. An interesting move as a lot of fans were expecting a JUCO DE. KUsports.com has more details on Travis here. Full 2009 list:

OFFENSE
PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
QB -- Christian Matthews/Arlington, TX -- 6-3/180/4.6 -- 6/20/2008
QB -- Jordan Webb/Union, MO-- 6-0/204 -- 4/12/2008

RB -- Deshaun Sands/Coconut Creek, FL -- 5-9/175/4.5 -- 4/10/2008

OL -- Tom Mabry/Althoff, IL -- 6-5/270 --10/13/2008
OL -- Gavin Howard/Owasso, OK -- 6-5/260 -- 6/23/08
OL -- Riley Spencer/Hesston, KS -- 6-6/265/5.1 -- 6/22/08

DEFENSE
PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
DT -- Travis Stephens/Brenham, TX (JUCO) -- 6-3/265/4.6 -- 12/21/2008

DE -- Jacoby Thomas/Texarkana, TX -- 6-3/223/4.71-- 12/9/2008
DE -- Randall Dent/Grand Prairie, TX-- 6-4/256/4.9 -- 12/7/2008
DE -- Tyrone Sellers/McCook, NE -- 6-4/215/4.57 -- 7/2/2008

LB -- Julian Jones/Lawton, OK -- 6-2/253 -- 10/27/2008
LB -- Huldon Tharp/Mulvane, KS -- 6-0/208/4.65 -- 8/25/2008

DB -- Calvin Rubles/Tyler, TX (JUCO-SIGNED) -- 6-2/180/4.4-- 12/10/2008
DB -- Dexter Linton/Arlington,TX -- 6-0/180 -- 6/20/2008
DB -- Darian Kelly/Girard, KS -- 6-2/195/4.5 -- 6/5/2008
DB -- Prinz Kande/Euless, TS -- 5-11/182/4.5 -- 6/2/2008
DB -- Tyler Patmon/Cedar Park,TX -- 5-11/180 -- 4/17/2008

Updated 12/22/08

Details available on the free Slant Commit page.

KEVIN YOUNG DEFECTION -- THE BIG, HUGE POSITIVE

You want this to go away, right. Well, never fear. I'm bringing this up in a different context. It was so ugly that everyone wanted to turn away (sort of like the Chizik exodus to Auburn). Here's one thing that gets me excited for the future of the program -- KU football fans were nearly outraged and on the verge of labeling the kid from Olathe a traitor. Do you understand the cosmic shift that represents? In the past, KU fans yawned when a high-rated local would choose Nebraska over the Jayhawks -- that's just the way it is. Actually go back to Wichita's Bryce Brown earlier this year. The KU nation didn't bat an eye when the five-star chose Miami -- yes, former national power Miami (headed to the coveted Emerald Bowl) because every kid wants to play college football in the tradition-rich ACC. Check that, I guess that would be hoops. 

Anyway, it was a good call by Bryce who didn't even visit KU. Right now, we'll have Rell Lewis and Deshaun Sands battling for the starting RB job at KU in the spring of 2010 (approximately 15 months from now) as we head into the weak schedule rotation (OSU, Baylor, A&M). Yep, some youngster is going to become a star RB at KU in 2010. The Jayhawks will absolutely be in the mix for another north division title and with a new QB at the helm, KU will need to rely a little more on the ground game while the next Todd Reesing gets comfortable.

Ronnie Wingo Jr. and Toben Opurum come on down because Mark Mangino is going to make you famous.

Update on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 06:37AM by DJ Goodwin

I don't think I really focused on the main point in this piece. The intention was to emphasize the fact that I think it's a good thing that KU fans have now set their expectations higher and they feel strong enough about the program that we can actually criticize top-rated locals that abandon their home state. Not sure, how I got sidetracked onto Bryce Brown, but hopefully that makes a little more sense.

Kansas Football Updated Recruiting List (2009 Class)

OFFENSE
PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
QB -- Christian Matthews/Arlington, TX -- 6-3/180/4.6 -- 6/20/2008
QB -- Jordan Webb/Union, MO-- 6-0/204 -- 4/12/2008

RB -- Deshaun Sands/Coconut Creek, FL -- 5-9/175/4.5 -- 4/10/2008

OL -- Tom Mabry/Althoff, IL -- 6-5/270 --10/13/2008
OL -- Gavin Howard/Owasso, OK -- 6-5/260 -- 6/23/08
OL -- Riley Spencer/Hesston, KS -- 6-6/265/5.1 -- 6/22/08

DEFENSE
PS Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
DE -- Jacoby Thomas/Texarkana, TX -- 6-3/223/4.71-- 12/9/2008
DE -- Randall Dent/Grand Prairie, TX-- 6-4/256/4.9 -- 12/7/2008
DE -- Tyrone Sellers/McCook, NE -- 6-4/215/4.57 -- 7/2/2008

LB -- Julian Jones/Lawton, OK -- 6-2/253 -- 10/27/2008
LB -- Huldon Tharp/Mulvane, KS -- 6-0/208/4.65 -- 8/25/2008

DB -- Calvin Rubles/Tyler, TX (JUCO) -- 6-2/180/4.4-- 12/10/2008
DB -- Dexter Linton/Arlington,TX -- 6-0/180 -- 6/20/2008
DB -- Darian Kelly/Girard, KS -- 6-2/195/4.5 -- 6/5/2008
DB -- Prinz Kande/Euless, TS -- 5-11/182/4.5 -- 6/2/2008
DB -- Tyler Patmon/Cedar Park,TX -- 5-11/180 -- 4/17/2008

Updated 12/12/08

Preferred Walk-Ons:
DB -- Rashawn Copeland/Highland, KS (JUCO) -- 6-2/190/4.4 -- 12/8/2008

Defections:

WR -- Neil Barlow
LB -- Earnest Norman
DE -- Kevin Young

LB Julian Jones Verbals to KU

Rivals is showing Lawton, OK linebacker Julian Jones (6-2/253) as a verbal commit for the KU football program. He is rated as a two-star commit by the recruiting site which also recently assigned KU OL commit Tom Mabry as a two-star as well.

KUsports.com has a brief write-up on Jones here.

FULL LIST OF 2009 COMMITS

OFFENSE
PS    Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
QB -- Christian Matthews/Arlington, TX -- 6-3/180/4.6 -- 6/20/2008
QB -- Jordan Webb/Union, MO-- 6-0/204 -- 4/12/2008

RB -- Deshaun Sands/Coconut Creek, FL -- 5-9/175/4.5 -- 4/10/2008

OL -- Tom Mabry/Althoff, IL -- 6-5/270 --10/13/2008
OL -- Gavin Howard/Owasso, OK -- 6-5/260 -- 6/23/08
OL -- Riley Spencer/Hesston, KS -- 6-6/265/5.1 -- 6/22/08
OL -- Ty Cloud/Flower Mound, TX -- 6-4/285 -- 6/18/08

DEFENSE
PS    Player/Location/Ht/Wt/40/Signed
DE -- Kevin Young/Olathe, KS -- 6-4/227/4.78 -- 7/6/2008
DE -- Tyrone Sellers/McCook, NE -- 6-4/215/4.57 -- 7/2/2008

LB -- Julian Jones/Lawton, OK -- 6-2/253 -- 10/27/2008
LB -- Huldon Tharp/Mulvane, KS -- 6-0/208/4.65 -- 8/25/2008
LB -- Ernest Norman/Euless, TX -- 5-11/220/4.58 -- 5/27/2008

DB -- Dexter Linton/Arlington,TX -- 6-0/180 -- 6/20/2008
DB -- Darian Kelly/Girard, KS -- 6-2/195/4.5 -- 6/5/2008
DB -- Prinz Kande/Euless, TS -- 5-11/182/4.5 -- 6/2/2008
DB -- Tyler Patmon/Cedar Park,TX -- 5-11/180 -- 4/17/2008