Kansas football coach Mark Mangino announced yesterday that 25 high school and junior college players had signed national letters of intent to play for the Jayhawks next season.

Mangino called this the best class that the Jayhawks have had commit since he had been with the program.

He and his staff focused on bringing offensive and defensive lineman in to the team for next season.

“We need to add some physical play to it,” Mangino said. “We need some depth.”

Mangino will be counting on defensive lineman Rodney Allen to make an immediate impact next season. Allen, a four-star recruit according to rivals.com, played last season for Garden City Community College. Allen was named as a NJCAA preseason firstteam All-American and had 62 tackles with 10 sacks last season.

Six junior college players are already taking classes and will participate in spring practices.

“They are learning how our football program operates, so that is a great advantage to them,” Mangino said of the junior college players.

The junior college players that Mangino hopes to make the most impact on the offensive line are Marcus Anderson, who played at the City College of San Francisco, and Jake Cox, who played at Iowa Central Community College.

Anderson played left tackle last season and started every game as a sophomore. Cox was a junior college All-American after last season.

Mangino also was pleased with the fact that they were able to land the top quarterback on his coaching staff’s board. Kerry Meier, who played at Pittsburg High in Pittsburg, passed for nearly 1,000 yards last year. Meier also rushed for more than 600 yards.

“He has everything that I am looking for in a quarterback,” Mangino said. “I couldn’t find any negatives with him.”

Meier signed even though two of his brothers had Kansas State connections. His oldest brother, Shad, was a tight end for the Wildcats and currently plays for the Tennessee Titans in the NFL. His other brother, Dylan, started most of the Wildcat games last season at quarterback.

Mangino said that every high school player the coaching staff targeted in the state of Kansas gave a commitment.

Kansas also received commitments from two wide receivers. Brian Murph, who played last season at Butler County Community College, and Raimond Pendleton, who played at South Garland High School.

Murph caught 20 balls for 396 yards last season.

“He is what you call a dependable guy. If you throw the ball near him, he’s going to catch it and secure it,” Mangino said.

Pendleton comes in with a good pedigree as his father played cornerback for the Miami Dolphins. Pendleton was a first team all-state selection in Texas last season.

“Pendleton is a speedy guy that we had a lot of competition for,” Mangino said.

But this year’s haul was not a complete success. Mangino said Kansas lost three or four recruits because of de-committing this recruiting season. That is, the recruits verbally committed, but eventually signed with other programs.

“It is a hazard that comes with college football recruiting and it is going to be there for a long, long time,” Mangino said.

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NATIONAL SIGNING DAY RESULTS FOR THE JAYHAWKS

Kansas coach Mark Mangino announced the signing of 25 high school seniors and junior college transfers yesterday.

The 2005 Kansas football signees:

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class Hometown (High School/Previous School)

Rodney Allen DE 6-3 275 Jr. Miami (Coral Gables HS/Garden City CC)

• Marcus Anderson OL 6-31/2 285 Jr. Hayward, Calif. (Skyline HS/City College of San Francisco)
• Tang Bacheyie S 6-1 195 Fr. Windsor, Ontario (Sandwich HS)

Josh Bell TE 6-7 250 Fr Hitchcock, Texas (Hitchcock HS)

Caleb Blakesley DL 6-5 277 Fr. Ottawa, Kan. (Ottawa HS)

Russell Brorsen DE 6-4 235 Fr Stillwater, Okla. (Stillwater HS)

• Paul Como OLB 6-2 248 Jr. Dana Point, Calif. (Murrieta Valley HS/Saddleback College)
• Jake Cox OL 6-5 295 Jr. Marengo, Iowa (Iowa Valley HS/Iowa Central CC)

# Alex Hanson PK 6-0 180 Fr Ankeny, Iowa (Ankeny HS)

James Holt S 6-3 200 Fr. Altus, Okla. (Altus HS)

Bobby Johnson DT 6-3 270 Fr Kansas City, Mo. (Westport HS)

Kerry Meier QB 6-3 208 Fr Pittsburg (Pittsburg HS)

• Brian Murph WR 6-1 185 Jr. Marston, Mo. (New Madrid County HS)

Raimond Pendleton WR 5-10 180 Fr. Garland, Texas (South Garland HS)

Angus Quigley RB 6-2 210 Fr Cleburne, Texas (Cleburne HS)

Jose Rodriguez OL 6-6 255 Fr. La Puente, Calif. (Bishop Amat HS)

Jake Schermer LB/S 6-2 200 Fr. Nixa, Mo. (Ozark HS)

Darrell Stuckey DB 6-1 183 Fr. Kansas City, Kan. (Washington HS)

Justin Thornton DB 6-1 185 Fr. St. Joseph, Mo. (Central HS)

Jonathan Throneberry DT 6-3 300 Fr. Lone Grove, Okla. (Lone Grove HS)

Darius Warner DE 6-3 245 Fr Grapevine, Texas (Grapevine HS)

• Eric Washington LB 6-2 220 Jr. Detroit (Crockett HS)

Adam Welty OL 6-6 280 Fr. Newton, Kan. (Newton HS)

Jeff Wheeler DE 6-7 240 Fr. Houston (Clear Lake HS)

• Wayne Wilder DT 6-3 295 Jr. Forsyth, Ga. (Mary Persons HS)

Arist Wright LB 6-0 205 Fr. Houston (Alief Taylor HS)

• - will participate in spring drills

# - non-scholarship athlete

Source: Athletics Department