THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
HURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012
SPORTS
PAGE 9
17 football players commit to Kansas on National Signing Day
I MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
Charlie Weis stood proud at his third press conference as the coach of Kansas football. The two video screens hanging above Weis displayed the reason for the press conference.
In bold, the screens showed the words, "Kansas football signing class 2012."
In just under two months, Weis completed his first round of recruiting, bringing in 17 players on
National Signing Day, 20 players in all— to this point — to help the Kansas football team next season.
Name
"As you come and you analyze your own team to start off with, you see where the holes are rather gaping." Weis said. "I think once you identify what your problems are, then you have to decide how we're going to go about solving them. Although it's never perfect, you never get everything you want. I think that we filled several of our declared needs."
And the immediate help for the
Hometown Previous School
Greg Allen
Allen, the 2011 District 18 5-A defensive player of the year, was a three time All-District selection, being named to the first team in 2010 and 2011, and an honoree in 2009. His senior season, Allen recorded 58 tackles and one interception.
Courtney Arnick
LSU 6 foot 2 203 Dallas, texas Carter HS
Arnick, a unanimous first team District 11 4-A selection in 2011,
recorded 112 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, and one interception his
senior year. Arnick is ranked seventh in his class at Carter and serves
as the senior class vice president.
Turner Baty
"When I left Florida, I believe in being ethical with the guys you're working with," Weis said. "I told coach Muschamp that the only guy that they were recruiting that I was going after, was Schwier Miles."
Beckman
6 foot 2 220 Redwood City, Calif. City College of San Francisco Baty led the City College of San Francisco to a perfect 12-0 season in 2011, and they were named the 2011 Junior College National Champions. Baty threw for 2,410 yards, 25 touchdowns, and five interceptions on his way to being named California Community College state championship MVP.
Charles Brooks
OL 6 foot 6 315 Overland Park Blue Valley West HS Beckman was the top offensive missing him coming out of Kansas for the class of 2012 despite missing his entire senior season due to injury. Beckman is a member of the National Honor Society.
Sean Connolly
On offense, junior college recruits included running back Taylor Cox, quarterback Turner Baty, wide receiver Josh Ford and tight end
TE 6 foot 6 240 St. Louis, Mo. Scottsdale Community College Brooks did not start playing football until his senior year of high school. Brooks caught 26 passes for 317 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Jayhawks will, in all likelihood, come from their eight junior college transfers, who will all be eligible to play next season.
Miles — a recruit from Tampa, Fla.
Miles signed with Kansas over offers
from Florida and West Virginia.
Weis made it clear that Schyler was
high on his wish list.
OL 6 foot 7 290 Kirtland Hills, Ohio St. Edward High School Connolly was on the undefeated 2010 Division I state champion St. Edwards team. In 2011, his team lost in the regional semifinals.
While Weis did not get into the specific holes they needed to fill, it's clear that bringing in fast help for the defensive line was a priority for Kansas. The Javahawks signed three junior college defensive linemen and another from high school signed with the team.
Another big help for the defense, and somewhat of a surprise commitment for the layhawks, was Schyler
Hometown
Previous School
Charles Brooks all have the potential to be impact players for Kansas next season.
Taylor Cox
"When a kid comes here, and it's 50 degrees and sunny and the wind's not blowing and your looking out over the stadium, it's a pretty impressive hit to tell you the truth." Weis said.
RB 5 foot 11 206 Mill Creek, Wash. College of the Siskiyous Cox ran for 1,507 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2011 for College of the Siskiyous. Cox holds the career records for rushing yards in a game, with 326, rushing yards in a career, with 2,744, and career touchdowns with 31.
Weis admittedly had a limited time to fill the holes enveloping the Kansas football team, and he said his biggest recruiting tool came once he got his players on campus.
WR 6 foot 3 190 Landover, Md. Arizona Western Community College Ford led his team with 58 receptions for 845 yards and 10 touchdowns last season at Arizona Western. He was named first team All-ACCAC and All-Western States Football League in 2011.
"I don't have enough fingers to put in the dike, if that's what you're saying right now," Weis said. "There's plenty of holes yet to fill, but I think we made a good start."
Josh Ford
of his accomplishments throughout the press conference, he ended the press conference, before being asked for his thoughts about the super bowl, on a similar note that he started with.
DL 6 foot 3 280 Garland, Texas Sachase High School Holmes made 104 tackles, five sacks, and forced three fumbles his senior year on his way to being named first team All-District and Sachase High School MVP.
And while Weis stood proud
- Edited by Max Lush
Tyler Holmes
6 foot 3 310 Weatherford, Texas Trinity Valley Community College McKinney had four sacks last season for Trinity Valley, and recorded 27 total tackles. In 2009 he was named defensive player of the year for District 7-4A.
Ty McKinney
LB 6 foot 2 220 Tampa, Fla. Berkeley Prep High School Miles recorded 123 tackles, four sacks, and forced four fumbles in 2011. He led his team to the 2011 Class 3-A District 5 title. Miles was named to the St. Pete Times and the Tampa Tribune's All-State team.
DB 6 foot 1 185 Suwannee, Ga. East Los Angeles Community College Moore had eight interceptions last season for East Los Angeles, as he led them to a victory in the American Division Championship Bowl Game. Moore started the season as a wide receiver before moving to the defensive side of the ball after two games.
Schyler Miles
Nasir Moore
Hometown
WR/DB 5 foot 10 170 Overland Park
Tre Parmalee
Previous School
WKDU 3 feet 10 in 170' Overland Park Bishop Miege HS
Paralmee set the Bishop Miege record for receiving yards in a single season with 1,164 yards on 82 receptions, and he also caught 15 touchdowns on his way to being named first team All-State team by the Kansas City Star, Wichita Eagle, and Topeka cap Journal.
Jordan Smith
TE 6 foot 5 240 McGregor, Texas Reicher Catholic HS Smith had 16 catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns as a senior and also scored three times from the defensive side of the ball.
DL 6 foot 3 280 Rock Hill, S.C. Georgia Military Academy Stowers had 26 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two interceptions last season. Stowers was named to the All-region team his senior season at Northwestern high school.
Keon Stowers
Jordan Tavai
DL 6 foot 3 290 Redondo Beach, Calif. El Camino Community College
Ty'ree Williams
DEL Boots 236 Redondo Beach, Gum. El Camino Community College Tavai made 58 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, five sacks, forced two fumbles and blocked a kick on his way to being named to the 2011 All-Northern Conference Defensive Player of the Year and named an All-American by the California Community College Football Coaches Association.
DB 6 foot 0 189 Stafford, Texas Dulles HS
0 foot 0    189 Stafford, Texas    Dulles HS
Williams had three interceptions his senior year and earned all-district honors. He also had three touchdown receptions as a wide receiver.
Ethan Padway
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