Kansas football remains in the mix for highly touted 4-star WR recruit

Kansas football has not been successful in the slightest in 2024. Jayhawk fans are still recovering from the heartbreaking loss to K-State in the Sunflower Showdown this weekend. The seemingly never-ending losing streak to the Wildcats has now extended to 16 years.

While this has been a lost season for quite some time, the struggling Jayhawks are staying active on the recruiting trail. Head coach Lance Leipold and his staff managed to make the top five list for one of the best WR prospects in the country. Jaden Nickens would be a massive pick-up for a school that recently lost its top-rated signee:

Jaden Nickens includes Kansas football in final five list

Nickens is one of the most highly touted wideouts from his class. He is a 6-3, 195-pound receiver who attends Sierra Canyon in California. Previously, he played at Millwood and Douglass in Oklahoma, leading Millwood to consecutive state championships when he was previously committed to the OU Sooners.

The versatile senior plays on both sides of the ball in high school but plans to stay at WR in college. He is even a basketball star when the football season ends. 247 Sports Composite rankings list him as the No. 356 player in the Class of 2025 and the No. 52 ranked receiver.

In his final five list, Nickens included Cal, Texas A&M, Georgia, and Oklahoma State. The Pokes are the favorites to land Nickens, as they were involved in his initial recruitment before he landed at Oklahoma. However, he had not been connected to KU before the surprising announcement, so Leipold might sway him to a fellow Big 12 program.

Kansas football certainly needs a player to bolster its 58th-ranked recruiting class in the upcoming graduating year. The loss of JuJu Marks — who flipped to Nebraska last week — was detrimental to the Jayhawks' future. Adding Nickens would quickly put KU back on top of the recruiting trail.