With the early signing period for college football just a little more than two months away, the Kansas Jayhawks are currently in a great position to upgrade their roster.
According to Rivals, KU has the No. 51-ranked 2024 class in the country and the No. 8-ranked class in the Big 12 with 15 current commitments from high school prospects from across the country – including a trio of four-star talents in cornerback Jalen Todd, cornerback Damani Maxson, and linebacker Dakyus Brinkley.
Lance Leipold and his staff have recruited very well, but there’s one area they haven’t succeeded in thus far this recruiting cycle, and that is gaining commitments from top local talent in Kansas.
There are eight players currently listed on Rivals.com as the top players in Kansas. Of that group, all but one player has given a verbal commitment to the school of their choice – and none of those schools were KU.
Just the other day, three-star defensive end BJ Canady out of Topeka chose the California Bears over KU and K-State. He’s currently ranked as the No. 2 prospect in Kansas.
Following Canady’s news, that leaves just one Kansas high school prospect in the top 10 that hasn’t given a verbal commitment – the No. 1 recruit in the state, Michael Boganowski.
Boganowski is a four-star linebacker out of Junction City, Kansas. He holds offers from KU, Oklahoma, Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, and others.
However, the general consensus among recruiting experts seems to be that he is down to three schools: Kansas, Kansas State, and Oklahoma.
This year alone, Boganowski has taken three visits to Oklahoma, five to K-State, and four to KU – the last of which came just two weeks ago when he was in the house to see the Jayhawks thump Big 12 newcomer BYU.
KU obviously doesn’t have the pedigree of the Oklahoma or K-State programs, especially in recent years, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot to offer.
The Jayhawks can likely provide the most immediate playing time of any of the three schools, they’ve got one of the best coaches in college football in Leipold, brand new state-of-the-art weight room and locker room facilities with a new stadium just a couple of years away, and a well-run NIL initiative through the school’s partnership with Mass St. Collective.
KU’s recruiting class is going to be fine with or without Boganowski (assuming the current commitments stay intact through signing day), but you’d really like to see a program on the rise like Kansas be able to secure at least one of the state’s top prospects. And landing Boganowski would be a welcome consolation prize to missing out on the other Kansas recruits they offered this year.