In the midst of last season’s slog, the Jayhawks lost four-star defensive back JJ Dunnigan, who decommitted from the Jayhawks and instead committed to the Miami Hurricanes of the ACC.
While three-star class of 2027 cornerback Nazir Pitchford was maybe not as certified a talent as Dunnigan, the Jayhawks still suffered a rug pull from under them, which ended up in Pitchford decommitting from the program and instead flipping to the UNC Tar Heels earlier today, leaving the Jayhawks with no defensive back recruits in their 2027 recruiting class.
The story that ends up with Pitchford far away from Lawrence
Zach Blostein of 247Sports originally reported that Pitchford had decommitted from the Jayhawks yesterday.
https://x.com/ZBlostein247/status/2066276931910209705
Michael Swain, 247Sports’ beat writer for the Jayhawks, then chimed in, revealing that Pitchford’s official visit to the Tar Heels meant he was already no longer a part of Kansas’ recruiting class, since Kansas has a no-visit policy for committed recruits
https://x.com/MSwain247/status/2066283393353203883
Earlier today, Pitchford then announced his commitment to UNC, completing the flip.
https://x.com/AnnaH247/status/2066543852773650660?s=20
Pitchford now becomes UNC’s 10th-best recruit in the class of 2027, with one year left to play to boost up his rankings. When he was committed to the Jayhawks, Pitchford was ranked as Leipold’s 10th-highest recruit in the class, tied with the same rating (86) as running back Trey Stewart, tight end Luke Gazzaniga and wide receiver Tavares Powell. Currently leading Kansas’ recruiting pack is tight end Mason Oglesby, who was handed an 89 overall; that rating is tied with the recently acquired JaMarquis Hudson.
Where does this leave the Jayhawks?
Yesterday, KU picked up Hudson in what was a stellar get in the linebacker department. Reeling in a promising three-star helps mellow down many sour feelings towards the loss of Pitchford. But while Hudson is a great get, this is still a Kansas team that is severely lacking in cornerback depth.
Here is a look at Kansas’ cornerback depth heading into next season.
Elijah Cannon (Redshirt Sophomore)
Roman Pearson (Redshirt Senior)
Trey Brown (Freshman)
Jalen Todd (Junior)
Jameer Moore (Redshirt Sophomore)
Chris McCorkle (Redshirt Freshman)
Jahlil Hurley (Redshirt Junior)
Syeed Gibbs (Redshirt Senior)
Austin Alexander (Redshirt Sophomore)
Without transfers either entering or leaving the portal by the start of 2027, the Jayhawks will be enlisting Cannon, Brown, Todd, Moore, McCorkle, Hurley and Alexander.
Roster space is quickly filling up with this heavy recruiting period over the past few weeks. Currently, KU is reeling in 16 commits in the class of 2027, three fewer than last year’s class that finished No. 13 in the Big 12 and No. 60 overall, and the same number of recruits from Kansas’ 2025 class that finished No. 15 in the conference and No. 75 overall.
The Jayhawks will be in desperate need of an improved secondary, as the Jayhawks gave up 225.4 passing yards per game, which measures out to No. 68 in the nation last season, and with both the defensive line and linebacker groups taking big strides forward from last season, if Kansas’ secondary takes progresses under the tutelage of Brandon Shelby, Kansas’ defensive backs coach, and second-year defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald, then several of Kansas’ woes from last season should hopefully be ridden of.
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