THE INVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2009
SPORTS
25
COMMENTARY
Kansas football to shine with committed recruits
Two summers ago, Yahoo! acquired Rivals.com for an estimated sum of $100 million.
You can't tell me fans don't want their recruiting dirt.
National Signing Day becomes more of a circus each year and the months leading up to it are tracked by college football fans like rabid beasts.
And now with the inclusion of Lane Kiffin in Tennessee, his fog machines and fake press conferences and recent news of a 13-year-old committing to the Volunteers, there's enough theater to keep everyone glued to message boards and recruiting sites.
That considered, let's have a look at who the Jayhawks are lining up for their 2010 class. Last week Kansas moved one step closer to addressing one of its biggest questions of this season when junior college transfer linebacker Vernon Brooks gave coach Mark Mangino a verbal commitment during a campus visit.
Eligible to play immediately, Brooks, from Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, only recently found out he was eligible to play Division I football. The 6-foot, 230-pound Brooks was clocked running a 4.6 40-yard-dash, and had also received offers from Oklahoma, Tennessee, Auburn, Tulsa and UAB. He stands a good chance of contributing early in Mangino's 4-2-5 base defense this year.
In further recruiting news, Kansas
counts the following players as commitments thus far.
Jacoby Walker, Quarterback, Spring, Texas, Westfield High School: This dual-threat quarterback would arrive on campus early. Set to graduate this December, Walker, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, is a Rivals.com three-star recruit and, before his June 6 verbal commitment, also fielded offers from Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Houston and Iowa State.
Ricki Herod, Jr., Wide Receiver, Mesquite, Texas, North Mesquite High School: Herod, 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, promptly committed to Kansas in April when it was the first college to offer him a scholarship. Kansas first commit, Herod was named to the U.S. Army National Combine team in January and won an MVP award at the Nike Camp in Fort Worth, Texas in April.
Geneo Grissom, Defensive End, Hutchinson High School: Grissom, 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, committed to Kansas a day ahead of Walker, passing over an offer from Colorado State. The Rivals.com three-star defensive end has speed to match his size with a 40-yard time of 4.6 seconds.
Jeremiah Edwards, Defensive Tackle, Garland, Texas, Garland High School. This commit looks better by the day. Edwards, 6-foot, 270 pounds, became the second commitment for Kansas in April and passed up offers from Texas Tech, SMU, UTEP, Tulsa, Arizona and Houston.
Dave Clark, Cornerback, Independence, Mo., Independence Community College: Kansas' third April commitment was the latest junior college addition to the Jayhawks. Clark, 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, is listed on the Super Sophomores team in the Sporting News 2009 College Football annual's JUCO section.
MEN'S BASKETBALL Henrys' father says sons may break commitment
— Edited by Derek Zarda
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The father of highly sought Kansas basketball recruits C.J. and Xavier
henry says his sons may not play at Kansas, after all.
Xavier Henry, a 6-6 guard, is largely considered one of the most
X. Henry
talented players Kansas coach Bill Self has ever recruited.
Xavier and his older brother, C.J., were headed to Memphis before switching to Kansas in the wake of John Calipari's decision to coach at Kentucky.
But their father, Carl Henry, told Kansas City sports-talk station WHB Tuesday that the family was upset with a story in The Kansas City Star. The story, the father said, portrayed his sons as being disinterested in attending classes at college.
Henry said he planned to meet Tuesday night with his sons to see if the boys want to go to Kentucky or keep their commitment to Kansas.
7:30 p.m.·July 17,18,24,25,2009
5:00 p.m.·July 19 & 26,2009
Stage Too! Murphy Hall
General admission tickets are on sale in the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, 864-3982, and Lied Center, 864-ARTS, and online at www.kuheatre.com. Tickets are $12 for the public, $11 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff, and $10 for all students. All major credit cards are accepted for phone and on-line orders.
The University Theatre is partially funded by the KU Student Senate ActivityFee; funding is also provided by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a national agency.