Current recruiting commitments

As of today, KU currently has 15 new players committed for the class of 2012 (12 recruits, 3 transfers). 

New recruits

Greg Allen: 5'11" 190 lb. DB from Alief Taylor HS in Houston, TX.
Brian Beckmann: 6'6" 280 lb. OL from Blue Valley West HS in Overland Park, KS.
Charles Brooks: 6'5" 245 lb. TE for from Scottsdale CC in Scottsdale, AZ.
Sean Connelly: 6'7" 290 lb. OL from St. Edward's HS in Lakeville, OH.
Taylor Cox: 5'11" 200 lb. RB from College of the Siskiyous in Weed, CA.
Josh Ford: 6'4" 195 lb. WR from Arizona Western CC in Yuma, AZ.
Tyler Ford: 6'3" 270 lb. DT from Sachse HS in Sachse, TX.
Ty McKinnie: 6'3" 310 lb. DT from Trinity Valley CC in Athens, TX.
Tre Parmalee: 5'10" 160 lb. WR from Bishop Miege HS in Overland Park, KS.
Chaquil Reed: 6'3" 290 lb. DT from Butler County CC in El Dorado, KS.
Jordan Smith: 6'5" 220 lb. TE from Reicher HS in Waco, TX.
Keon Stowers: 6'3" 273 lb. DE from Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, GA

Everyone exept Sean Connelly is rated a 3 star player by Rivals while Connelly is a 2 star.

Transfers

Dayne Crist: 6'4" 235 lb. QB from Notre Dame.  Crist will have one year of eligibility at KU because of the 5th year senior rule.
Jake Heaps: 6'1" 200 lb. QB from BYU.  Heaps will redshirt this year as he sits out his transfer year and will have 2 years of eligibility after that.
Justin McCay: 6'3" 220 lb. WR from Oklahoma.  His eligibility status is still up in the air as he is trying to get eligible for the 2012 season.

Charlie Weis has said that the majority of KU's 2012 class will be JuCo's and transfers to try and compete immediately and fill in the gaps on the roster while developing the young players already on the roster.  So far, 9 of the 15 players committed so far are either a JuCo or transfer and Weis has said that he may not fill up the class on Feb. 1 because of more potential transfers coming to KU to take advantage of the 5th year senior rule that won't be eligible to transfer until May after they graduate.

I would bet Charlie will land a few of those 5th years that graduate in May. he wants to compete now and that will only enhance those chances to do so. 

I think CW will have u guys competing right away, great hire for the Kansas Jayhawks. As I stated in a previous post on this board I will be rooting for Kansas football this year just to see Dayne Crist succeed. He is a great kid and deserved better than he got at ND. Good luck next season.

Winning right away is great an all, but building a program takes landing some good recruits out of high school and making them good players when they are Jrs and Seniors.  I don't mind getting some Juco's.  God knows that Snyder has built KSU on Juco transfers.  Still, winning on a consistent basis starts with recruiting good high school players first.

Not saying that winning some games right now won't help in that regard.  Totally know what Weiss is doing.  Instant credibility goes along ways now.  If we could come in next year and  take a 2 win team and get bowl eligible that would be a big boost for us in our recruiting.  Now if it back fires and we only win maybe 3 or 4 games, I don't know if that does us or him much good.  Thats where the danger is in loading up on Transfers and 5th year players in my mind. 

I am not being negative Nelly by any means, but we have seen what recruiting can do for a school.  Mangino had some really good players that were only 3 star players while being recruited and alot of them went on to get drafted.  5th year seniors are just that, 5th year players that are not NFL caliber, or even CFL caliber.  So when you really study things, is it worth while or should we be out working on finding the next Todd Reesing or Briscoe or Meier?  4 year players, 2 who are or were drafted into the NFL.  Would anybody here trrade those guys for a Dayne Crist?

I am sorry but this shows me that maybe the recruiting process is too much work for Weiss considering his health, Hips, Kness, and such.  Will this work, most likely, but will it last or is it designed to last being the next question?

The one thing CW really excelled at while at Notre Dame was recruiting. I know Notre Dame is a different place than KU but I believe that CW will bring in some quality recruits to Kansas.

Still, winning on a consistent basis starts with recruiting good high school players first.

And to get the good high school players you have to win on a consistent basis first.

Now if it back fires and we only win maybe 3 or 4 games, I don't know if that does us or him much good.

Winning 'only' 3 or 4 games is not a backfire.

It is still more than last year and improvement.

If the team wins 0 or 1 game next year, then that would be a backfire.

But to say that if one of the worst teams in the FBS isn't bowl eligible in Weiss' first year that everything he has done backfired is a bit absurd.

Would anybody here trrade those guys for a Dayne Crist?

It isn't an either or situation.

The team has brought in what, ONE 5th year transfer??

And somehow that is going to cripple the recruting??

There are only THREE transfers right now and Heaps and McCay will still have two years of eligibility.

I can't possibly see how a whooping THREE transfers will ruin recruiting.

I am sorry but this shows me that maybe the recruiting process is too much work for Weiss considering his health, Hips, Kness, and such

Really???

THREE whole transfers shows you that recruiting is too much for Weiss??

Because he brought in THREE FIVE STAR transfers??  The first three five star recruits the school has ever gotten by the way.

This seems to be making Mt. Everest out of a pebble.

So when you really study things, is it worth while or should we be out working on finding the next Todd Reesing or Briscoe or Meier?  4 year players, 2 who are or were drafted into the NFL.  Would anybody here trrade those guys for a Dayne Crist?

And Meier came to KU as a QB.  Barely played WR the Orange Bowl year, so he really only had 2 quality seasons at KU.

And Briscoe went pro after his Junior Year.

So you can't really count those guys as 4 year players.

And heck even Reesing started out his freshman year with a redshirt and only came off the bench in three of the last four games of the season.

Boyd go and read the CBS sports line column about Weiss and KU football.  He can't sign anymore until May because graduations and all.  CRist has graduated.  He is planning on alot more signing then.  I said I understand why he is doing it and if we win some games thats a neccassary thing.  All I am saying is if he doens't win some games, its not worth while. 

My arguement is if your buildling a program you want kids here for 3 and 4 years, not one year wonders.  IF the trend continues that is.  His first year I don't blame him for doing it this way.  Gives him a chance to evaluate just what he has on the  roster.  So next year at this time if we are still bringing in 5th reserves I will question in which direction this program is heading into and so should others.  5th year players aren't good enough to either have started or really played alot.  They are not good enough.  Some like Russel Wilson were good enough, and needed some where else to prove it.  Most are not, and were mislabeled as a recruit.  Besides we won't have to worry about this for too long because the NCAA will step in and do away with this silly rule soon enough.  Soon as someone wins a bunch of games this way, it will get stoppped.  ITs like free agency in some ways.  ITs in some ways wrong.  If we are going to do this at least go and get border line NFL talent that needs one more year to get stronger.  Dont bring in meaningless players that weren't good enough to play for other schools.  THat says to me that some of these guys have issues or just arn't that good. 


I will support Weiss next year and I do think he is a good football coach.  Doesn't mean I agree with this way of building a program.  Like I stated, understand this year, we need an extra boost.  Just don't want to see him this all the time because its not going to work for a long period of time. 

I will take Reesing and Briscoe over any and all 5th year players.  How many games did Reesing and Briscoe win on the field.  More than they lost.  Talib?  Program players.  Our Orange Bowl team was mostly program recruits. 

GoK, I hear what you're saying but I can't help but feel like you're jumping the gun a bit.  This team needs a lot of work and if Weiss can get some 5th year guys and JuCo players for his first year or two, while he recruits "his" type of players, I don't think you can look at it as anything but good.  Sure they may not be NFL caliber talent but that doesn't mean they're chops.

The way I see it, Weiss is using the 5th year/JuCo transfer type players, who have more experience now, to help him speed up the process of winning which is the goal.  He'll use that to help him by time while he brings in his guys and then he'll gradually go away from that type of player once he has his recruits fully integrated into his system and will continue to build on recruiting at that point. 

Weis will do this for a year or two just to get it going.  He will always draw attention from QB's and WR's.  He can get guys to the league. If he can get a few guys a year like a Crist or Heaps then its worth it all day long.....Weis is a smart guy folks he knows what he is doing.  If you want to win football games I suggest you role with what Weis is doing......You have two guys on your roster now that never would have thought about KU football without a Weis....Crist and Heaps....You guys are set for 3 years at QB....Charlie can get a QB next year to replace Heaps when he leaves....Charlie has a plan....Just stick with it and enjoy the ride.....

My arguement is if your buildling a program you want kids here for 3 and 4 years, not one year wonders.

Weiss coming in as late as he did was WAY behind on recruiting for this season.

All the 3-5 star players coming from High School are already well into their decisions.  You arent going to change any of those kids minds.

Most of the list of the current recruiting commitments are kids out of high school. 

Would you rather Weiss use up the rest of the scholarships on 1-2 star players simply because they would be four year players?

That is ridiculous.

If we are going to do this at least go and get border line NFL talent that needs one more year to get stronger.

Have you been paying attention??

The three players being brought in are FIVE STAR players.

Crist was the #2 pro style QB coming out of high school.  Heaps was the #1 pro style QB.

KU was one of the five worst FBS teams last year.  We are not in a position to pick and choose and say sorry, but you are not a four year player so we are not interested.

You really are trying to make Mt Everest out of a pebble.

Back to recruiting, KU has added 3 more recruits and lost one over the weekend.  The new commits are:

Courtney Arnick who is a 3 star LB from Carter HS in Dallas, TX.  He is listed a 6'2" 200 lbs. and runs a 4.5 40 and had offers from Boise St. and Houston among others.
Jordan Tavai who is a 3 star DT from El Camino CC in Torrence, CA.  He is listed at 6'3" 280 lbs. and is a JuCo all-American
Tyree Williams who is a 2 star ATH from Dulles HS in Houston, TX.  He is listed at 6'0" 190 lbs. and will likely play in the secondary for KU.

The player who is no longer committed is DT Chaquil Reed from Butler County CC who has reportedly committed to KSU now.

As for the transfers, Crist and Heaps are far better than anything KU had on their roster last season and Justin McCay is likely going to have 3 years to play at KU according to most sources with knowledge of his situation and how it's playing out.  The other positons Weis is targeting for 5th year transfers are a TE and WR from ND who are both better than anything KU has on their roster now.  I love the way Weis is recruiting because he is identifying the biggest weaknesses on the team and is addressing those with players who have experience and can play right away.  Because of the coaching change, Weis wasn't going to be able to get a high quality class of HS kids because most of them have already committed so Weis is going after other means of getting players who can help KU immediately.  I have a feeling that next year we will see Weis and his staff target more HS kids to develop for the long term and filling in immediate needs with JuCo kids instead of focusing primarily on JuCo's and transfers like he is doing this year.

Go back and read what I wrote.  I said that I understand this year, and the fact that he needed some boost in his recruiting by bringing in these 5 year guys.  I get that.  Just was saying that I don't thinkin the future you can build a program with  this mentality.  Bill Snyder is the only one who can live off of Juco talent and win 10 games a season.  He is the only one who has done it for years. 

I do understand the need for instant talent right now.  I wrote that as well.  Not saying Crist won't do just fine next year either.  Dont read into to much  of what I was saying other than I don't think it will work for the long haul.  THats it. 

City College of San Francisco QB Turner Baty has also committed to KU.  Baty is 6'2" 220 lbs., won the JuCo national title last season and will have 3 years of eligibility for KU.  Other schools that showed interest in him were OU, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Miami among others.  Baty comes to KU knowing full well he will be the back up next year and likely for all 3 years at KU.

Strange that Baty would come to Kansas but you never know....injurys happen all the time.  Sounds like the kid likes a challange. Good for him.  Weis will only do this jucco thing for a year or two.  He never recruited a jucco to ND but then again that would not ever happen at ND. He is doing what he needs to do to compete right away.  Wies has a plan......Just roll with it....

Go back and read what I wrote.

I read it the first time, I don't need to go back and read it again.

Once again you are making Mt Everest out of a pebble.

I like Mt Kilamanjaro better!  I do like Weiss.  I will be one of his biggest supporters overall.  I think next year we need to kick start this program and try to win some games.  Thats all good. 

Now if he is bringing in a top Juco Qb, thats a good sign already.  Maybe Crist isn't what most think he is, and Weiss is filling the cupboard with talent at the quarterback spot. 

Now, we need some defensive help.  That is where our biggest gap on talent is overall. 

The reason why Charlie Weis signed David Baty is because Dayne Crist has a history of injury problems and KU did not have a capable backup.  Michael Cummings is a not a pro-style QB and will probably going to end up at WR so he can see the field at some point and Blake Jablonski is a walk-on for a reason.  David Baty is a competent back up for Crist and will be able to compete with Jake Heaps for the job in 2013.

I kind of wished Webb would have stayed and actually got some real coaching from a true offensive coach before he transferred.  I think with his arm strength Weiss might have turned him into a decent QB, but thats not what he chose to do.  I am glad he has got some good Qb's coming in.

Like I said, I saw where he signed a good CB and we all know the defense needs a lot of attention right away.  THe Big 12 is a hard league to just outscore people in, need some token defense along the way. 

KU football is on the up and up boys....Sit back and enjoy the ride.....I will be rooting for Weis and KU and would love to see Dayne Crist have a monster year with charlie.  KU will be my new 2nd favorite team behind my beloved Irish.....