0
Votes

A glance at Gill's recruits

By Clark Goble

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Kansas’ expected 2010 recruiting class

5 stars: 0

4 stars: 2

3 stars: 12

2 stars: 4

Total Recruits: 18

Average Stars: 2.89

National Ranking: 54

Big 12 Conference Rankings:

  1. Texas
  2. Oklahoma
  3. Texas A&M
  4. Missouri
  5. Oklahoma State
  6. Nebraska
  7. Texas Tech
  8. Baylor
  9. Iowa State
  10. Kansas
  11. Colorado
  12. Kansas State

-Rivals.com

Spotlight:

Keeston Terry- 4 star recruit

Terry is the fourth highest ranked player in Missouri and the 37th highest ranked player at receiver in the country. At 6’2’, 179 lbs., Terry has average D-1 size and speed but sure hands.

Kansas almost lost Terry in the wake of the resignation of Mark Mangino and subsequent loss of Clint Bowen, who originally recruited Terry. Turner Gill visited Terry quickly after being announced as head coach and seems to have kept Terry on board.

Missouri has tried to swoop in and get Terry, so there is still a little up in the air concerning today’s decision.

Terry spurned offers from Illinois, Kansas State, Nebraska, Stanford and Wisconsin.

Brandon Bourbon- 4 star recruit

One of the most anticipated pieces of Gill’s first recruiting class, Brandon Bourbon verbally committed to Kansas less than a week ago after initially committing to Stanford for six months.

Bourbon, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards his senior season at Potosi (Mo.) High, switched his commitment to Kansas late in the process largely because of the distance from home.

“A lot of times you get running backs that are power backs or downhill backs or scat backs or whatever the case may be,” Mark Casey, Bourbon’s high school coach, said. “But Brandon has a mixture of all of them.”

In one game during his senior season, Bourbon rushed for 451 yards on nine carries. He averaged 50.1 yards per carry.

“It was just unreal,” Casey said. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Every week he was on that pace almost.”

Bourbon is certainly the highest rated player signed by Gill, seeing as Keeston Terry, another four-star prospect, previously committed to the team under Mangino.

While committed to Stanford, Casey said that Bourbon drew comparisons to former Stanford running back, Toby Gerhart. Gerhart finished second in the Heisman Trophy race last season.

“They talked about that a lot,” Casey said. “They said he was the same type of runner as Toby, but they said he was actually a little faster than Toby.”

The rest of the class:

3 stars:

Keba Agostinho

Defensive End

6-3, 250 lbs.

Katy, Texas

Agostinho runs a 4.7 second 40-yard dash, so he has the speed to sack quarterbacks but may need to add strength. He is a possible redshirt candidate and is in a similar mold to Max Onyegbule.

Jaqwaylin Arps

Defensive end

6-3, 230 lbs.

Denison, Texas

Arps was a second team all-state offensive tackle, but Kansas defensive coordinator Carl Torbush wants him on the defensive side of the ball. He also needs to add weight, so he may not see the field until 2011.

Jeremiah Edwards

Defensive tackle

6-1, 270 lbs.

Garland, Texas

Gill pitched Edwards on his 4-3 defense that will shift to three down lineman in passing situations. He played hurt for a majority of his senior year, but Garland head coach Jeff Jordan noticed an improvement in Edwards’ consistency.

Ricki Herod, Jr.

Wide receiver

6-2, 175 lbs.

Mesquite, Texas

Though Fiesta Bowl qualifier TCU tried to get involved late, Herod connected with Kansas’ new receivers coach Darrell Wyatt and stuck with his commitment. Herod worked out with sophomore Daymond Patterson over winter break. Patterson is also from Mesquite.

Pat Lewandowski

Defensive end

6-6, 248 lbs.

Overland Park, Kan,

Lewandowski wasn’t getting too many serious looks until he sent his senior film out to possible colleges. Kansas saw Lewandowski’s ability to shed blockers and invade the backfield. He has a good frame and may be a sleeper as a three star.

Brian Maura

Wide receiver

6-3, 190 lbs.

Miami, Fla.

Maura is a highlight waiting to happen. In Maura’s senior year, he finished among the top 10 in receiving yards and touchdowns in talent-rich Dade County. He also had four kick return touchdowns.

Dexter McDonald

Cornerback

6-2, 180 lbs.

Kansas City, Mo.

McDonald originally committed to Illinois after being recruited by former Illinois assistant and current Kansas recruiting coordinator Reggie Mitchell. He switched to Missouri, and then when Mitchell came on with Gill’s staff, switched his commitment to Kansas. One of the highlights of McDonald’s official visit to Kansas? A trip to the Jaybowl.

Quinn Mecham

Quarterback

6-1, 195 lbs.

Ephraim, Utah

Mecham is already enrolled at Kansas. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who threw for 3,091 yards and 40 touchdowns last season at Snow College in Utah. He will vie for the starting quarterback position with Kale Pick and Jordan Webb.

Jimmay Mundine

Outside linebacker

6-1, 225 lbs.

Denison, Texas

Mundine caught 16 touchdowns at receiver his senior year, but he projects as a linebacker. With 4.6 40 yard dash speed, Mundine is probably better suited at an outside position so he can pursue ballcarriers. He is ranked #79 among outside linebackers by Rivals.

James Sims

Running back

6-0, 205 lbs.

Irving, Texas

Sims rushed for 1762 yards and 20 touchdowns in his senior season and had scholarship offers from Arkansas, Iowa State, North Texas, Purdue, Utah and UTEP. He was named state player of the week after rumbling for 377 yards and 7 touchdowns in his final regular season game.

Trent Smiley

Tight end

6-4, 225 lbs.

Frisco, Texas

Smiley is ranked the No.17 tight end in the 2010 class by Rivals. Gill has already said that the team will look away from a straight spread offense and perhaps use the tight end more. Smiley is an athletic pass-catcher with 4.6 speed.

Andrew Turzilli

Wide receiver

6-4, 185 lbs.

Butler, New Jersey

Turzilli doesn’t have top-end speed, but he has a knack for coming down with the ball and is a crafty runner after the catch. He had 48 catches for 888 yards and 11 touchdowns in his senior year.

2 stars:

Jake Farley

Safety

6-2, 210 lbs.

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Farley will come back to Lawrence after going to kindergarten through third grade here. His father, Mark, was the linebackers coach at Kansas at the time and is now the head coach at Northern Iowa. Farley is a hybrid linebacker with the ability to cover spread sets.

Ed Fink

Inside linebacker

6-3, 221 lbs.

Belleville, Illinois

Fink was relatively unknown before he committed to Kansas. He’s a player who compensates for less than stellar athletic ability with hard work and drive.

Chad Kolumber

Offensive tackle

6-8, 286 lbs.

Woodberry Forest, Virginia

Kolumber is another guy who didn’t have much hype until his senior film spread. He has a huge frame and is working on his footspeed.

Ray Mitchell

Safety

6-1, 180 lbs.

Irving, Texas

Mitchell is an athlete who might switch between cornerback and safety until he feels comfortable. His desire is to play safety, but Gill might try to develop his cornerback skills so he can cover the more athletic receivers in the conference.

— Edited by Megan Heacock

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Advertisement