Kansas coach Lance Leipold and his staff are continuing their program-changing efforts in the offseason, putting together a strong 2024 recruiting class that on Tuesday received a potentially historic commitment for Jayhawks football. Four-star defensive end Dakyus Brinkley committed to Kansas on the Fourth of July, choosing the Jayhawks while also holding offers from 11 other Power Five schools including Baylor, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Texas and Texas A&M.
Brinkley's current 247Sports Composite rating of 0.9114 is the highest all-time among Kansas signees in the internet recruiting services era began (2002), and if he does goes on to sign with the Jayhawks during the early signing period in December, he'll beat out Pooka Williams Jr. (0.9055) and Corione Harris (0.9052) for that honor.
The 6-3, 220-pound edge rusher from Katy, Texas, is the son of former South Carolina and NFL linebacker Jasper Brinkley. He's the No. 17-ranked edge rusher in the country, according to the 247Sports rankings, and the No. 44 overall prospect coming out of Texas in the 2024 cycle.
Brinkley's commitment gives Leipold and the Jayhawks three four-star recruits in the 2024 class, all of whom could go on to be three of the top 10 highest-rated high school signees in the recruiting services era. The current 15-man class has an average commitment rating of 86.96, which per 247Sports would be the highest per-player average rating since 2010.
This recruiting success comes on the heels of a successful 2022 season during which Kansas earned a bowl bid for the first time since 2008 and was ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2009. The expectations for the present have changed, though, as Kansas is now expected to compete for bowl eligibility rather than celebrate it. With this kind of program-changing class in 2024, Leipold is setting up the Jayhawks for more success in the future as well.
