2/3/00 - Great recruiting summary from FoxSports. Looking ahead, it appears there is 19 scholarship seniors on the roster (Algen Williams may be on track scholarship). Figure 20-21 scholarships offered next year.
     Some of the more notable rankings for this class, particularly from the Texas ranks.
High School
     Three on the Lone Star Recruiting Top 99 are No. 25 B.J. Thompson (WR), No. 79 Satana Lane (DB), No. 99 Mario Kinsey (QB). Big 12 Blitz Top 101 from the Big 12 area are No. 42 Kevin Long (QB), No 56 B.J. Thompson, No. 60 Travis Watkins (DL), No. 80 Tony Coker (OL). From the Lone Star 100 are No. 8 Mario Kinsey, No. 86 B.J. Thompson. Texas Football's Top 20 DL - David McMillian and Top 20 DB - Santana Lane.
Junior Colleges
     Max Emfinger's Super 124 - No. 1 WR Roger Ross; No. 11 DE De'Nard Whitfield; No. 12 DE John Culp; No. 13 DE Marquis Hayes; No. 1 DT Ervin Holloman; No. 5 DT Demond Benford; No. 2 OLB Columbus Wooley.

2/2/00 -
     8:00a.m. - Well, this is in advance of signing reports. I will add news through out the day as breaks allow. First off is the news that De'Nard Whitfield didn't graduate at break and will sign today for the fall. Three signed for the spring meaning that there can only be 28 total possible LOI after today for 2000.
     11:20 a.m. - GCCC Coach Bob Larson reported that Ervin Holloman signed with KU this morning along with John Culp and Roger Ross.
     11:30 a.m. - MOKAN reports that Ervin Holloman, Roger Ross, John Culp, Mario Kinsey and J.T. Thompson have all signed so far.
     11:55 a.m. - KU is reporting all their commitments at this time on the KUAC web site. Here is the link to the list. TA is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. press conference and Darrell Wyatt will be on Big12 Blitz for audio interview.

2/1/00 - Well, I figure that TA is glad that Mario Kinsey just had to "go with his heart" and recommit to Kansas! That brings the total of commitments to 27 and possibly the last. We will see. Tomorrow night sure has to be one for the coaches to sit back and feel good about what they have accomplished.
1/31/00 - KU has their 26th commitment apparently. John Culp came back from Marshall and verballed to Coach Farley yesterday. Rumor is that Mario Kinsey decommitted from Baylor Friday and is reconsidering what he wants to do. Other news on former prospects - Corey Alexander (verbal Colorado) is rumored to be reconsidering his pledge. CU doesn't have a baseball program which Corey also plays well. Corey's brother is being recruited by KU's baseball team apparently. Most reports would place the number of free scholarships at 27 but with school just restarting, there may be other unknown departures. Additionally, the severity of Brandon Weir's knee injury is unknown and may have meant the end of his college career. Saying all that, there may actually even be 28 LOI actually offered at this time. So keep close to the news on Wednesday as the coaches watch the fax machine run.
1/30/00 - KU regained the 25th commitment lost by Mario's change of heart but not from Mario. This one also involves a change of heart but this time in KU's favor. Tony Stubbs, recruited as an athlete (RB/S, 5-11, 192, 4.38), decommitted from Louisville when KU called and offered. Still waiting on word from John Culp. Wondering what name will come out of wood work on Wednesday. A QB? Jimeson? Karas? Posey?
1/27/900 - Sometimes, the last days of recruiting can be the hardest. The excitement over Mario Kinsey's verbal turned to disappointment on Thursday when he decided not to leave home and verballed to Baylor. Baylor now has four HS QBs coming in next year including another KU prospect, Aaron Karas. KU is still waiting to hear from John Culp who is taking a weekend trip to Marshall and then decide on Sunday night.
    There is speculation that KU may sign as many as 27 players leaving lots of speculation on who the last three will be. Will KU look at other QBs? Talk to Aaron Karas again? Do they have an interest in any TEs or FBs? What about LBs? They were talking to Kinsey's cousin LB John Garret probably as a package. There is Josh Walker (OLB/DE/TE) from Tulsa and B.J. Mosley from Iowa, both LBs that KU was associated with earlier in the recruiting process. They may be prospects that a school would have to wait on to see if they qualify. What about another Safety, probably a HS prospect? Do they offer a kid from Kansas that may be considered more of a project? Do give a walkon one of the available scholarships? Any earned one? There will probably be a surprise of two which was about the only suspence left for KU once they addressed their major needs. All in all, this class should be considered a great accomplishment and tremendous progress over previous years.
1/25/00 - KU now has 25 commitments with QB Mario Kinsey (6-2, 185, 4.6). Many figure on KU signing 26 players but that is probably a flexible number. News of DT John Culp's (6-6, 270, 4.9) is premature but looks good. The only big question remaining is who gets the last LOI and how much respect this class gets. The class very easily could rate in the top 20 - 25 and is the best overall class to sign at KU in probably two decades (my opinion whatever that's worth!).
1/23/00 - KU's class is rapidly moving up the charts with the latest two commitments. Leo Bookman (6-2, 205, 4.35) is a superb athlete and could play a multitude of positions on defense or even WR. Ervin Holloman has to be the biggest recruit of TA & Staff's efforts in their four classes or even this decade. A 1st team NJCAA A-A, everyone wanted this player who will be an immediate impact on the DL next year. Now we hear that his team mate John Culp is making a late visit to Lawrence today and chances are there TA could receive his commitment as well. An interesting side note is the number of recruits from Blinn CC and Garden City CC. If all the commitments sign in February, there will be three from both schools.
1/20/00 - KU is loading up on linemen (11th) with their 21th commitment by an offensive lineman from the powerful HS team of Belle Glades, Florida, Clarence Laws (6-5, 260, 5.0). They appear to be in the hunt for some quality DBs. There is one new name from Florida and another name but I lack details among the DBs. KU almost attracted a player from Texas but the lure of his brother and baseball at KU was not enough inducement. With 21 commitments, we could expect 4-5 more names in the next 12 twelve days. Most assuredly there will be some suprises but things are looking good either way. KU is still in the thick of things with Ervin Holloman, DE from Garden City CC, but it will be a tough sell job with his brother at KSU and mom living in Manhattan. If things break the Jayhawks way on a few more kids, this could be a top 25 class for TA and staff!
1/18/00 - KU broke the ice on commitments in the next century with news of a RB/LB commitment. Austin Nwabuiasi (6-1, 215, 4.5) is one of the top performers among private school players bringing the total of commitments up to 20.
1/16/00 - Since the end of December when KU received their last commitment, news has been kind of slow, until tonight. No, its not another commitment but a former commitment affirming his commitment. Say, what?! Yes, Travis Watkins visited KSU this weekend and returned home mind unchanged about his commitment to KU. This news is as big as the day he originally committed to KU. It keeps KU's class in the tops of the Big12 and has the top two players in state this year planning on signing with Kansas. Don't underestimate the impact of Travis' verbal on NEXT year's in-state recruiting by KU. MOKAN reports there may be more news in the next 48 hours on commitments.
12/29/99 - KU received their 19th commitment going into the dead period from Culver City, CA , Westchester HS, West LA College. Marlon Dale (6-5, 275, 5.0) is an OL that is transfering in after one year leaving 4 years to play 3. He was a qualifier out of HS.
    Now that the dead period is over and KU can rev back up to finish strong in recruiting the few remaining prospects. One guru stated that KU accomplished what they needed and with the meat of their recruiting done, they can cruise to completion. Signs are they won't "cruise" into February. They can, however, be more selective with the remaining LOI to offer. We could anticipate that the coaches will try to recruit the best prospects interested in KU, possibly take a chance on late bloomers or marginal qualifiers with the intent of placing them if qualifying isn't successful.
    Most figure that KU will sign a RB, a FS/SS, CB and possibly a TE. No one would be surprised with another OL or DL recruit or even an ILB. Whoever finishes out this class, it appears to be about the best at KU in the last ten years.
12/22/99 - KU now has 18 known commitments including 4 who signed as mid-year transfers. The latest two - J.T. Thompson (WR, 5-11,175, 4.4) and Brandon Watkins (OLB, 6-3, 215, 4.6) are quality HS players who had stand-out seasons. J.T. rates right up at the top in the top 5 WRs in Texas this year placing him squarely in the top 50 nationally among WRs. Brandon really came on during the year to grab attention of recruiters after very little pre-season recognition. More surprises could be in store before Christmas arrives.
    One of the previous visitors who still has KU among his favorites is Patrick Dendy (CB). That would be a great present for KU. Other prospects to keep an eye on are: Jesse Groves (Ath), Austin Nwabuiasi (RB), Marvyn Godbolt (FS), and Adam Hutzell (OL/DL). KU probably has about 8 more LOI to offer to prospects. RB, FB, DB, TE, and linemen are where we are most likely to see the offers and mostly out of the high school ranks.
12/19/99 - Well, KU got the cover corner to replace graduating Abdul-Rahim. Jamarei Bryant, a fast JuCo CB from Arizona, verballed and will enroll next fall.
12/17/99 - Well, good news continues to flow out of Lawrence. Another commitment by a promising young LB who will get a chance to develop before being thrown into the frey and an existing commitment made firm. Tony Coker is not going to visit CSU and he will for sure sign in February (as sure as any other prospect verballing to any school!). Greg Tyree is the LB from Tempe,AZ. A late bloomer but played in the best program in the state. Fifteen commitments todate! The Hawks are looking in great shape to have a quality class and a strong finish will put the program on solid footing for years.
12/15/99 - Well the beat goes on!! KU will sign two linemen from the junior college ranks who will transfer in at semester! Marquis Hayes, DE from local Kemper Military, and Tony Damiani, OL/DL from Mesa, AZ. What a great two days of recruiting. Certainly putting together quite a class and addressing most of the major needs for next fall. Big kudos to MOKAN Football for breaking these names.
12/14/99 - Well, things certainly looking quite bright for TA and his staff. Apparently Terry Allen and probably young QB coach Jay Johnson did well recruiting a QB. Highly touted Kevin Long commitment was reported today. The list of impact prospects continues.
12/13/99 - KU received two more commitments from familiar recruiting grounds. Killeen team mates Johnny McCoy and David McMillan both made commitments but they do intend to continue with other visits. The Dallas Morning News recruiting site is now operational for 2000.
12/10/99 - Jon Kirby of MOJAN Football broke the latest commitment to KU by Cali JC defensive tackle Ryan Atkinson. KU is obviously focused on the defensive side in their JC recruiting this year. A small class recruited late in Terry's first recruiting year obviously has some talent gaps that need catching up. There were some quality players but just not enough have developed into impact players in what would be their fourth year on the field. Recruiting by TA's staff has to have an "A+" grade so far!
12/5/99- Well, chalk up two more big commitments and the first news out of their big visit weekend. JC ILB, Columbus Wooley, a teammate of Demond Benford at Blinn CC, verballed today. Big time recruit. He was a high prospect for KSU as well. Also, JC DE, De'Nard Whitfield, at Ft. Scott verballed. De'Nard had been placed by MU but their failure to keep in contact benefited KU. The commitments so far are very centered on the defensive side of the ball. HS OL prospect, Tony Coker, has canceled his visit to KSU and asked their recruitment to stop.
11/8/99 - Listening to the pregame last Saturday with the football operations coordinator, Rob Bolks. He mentioned that they have reeived over 1000 tapes of prospects to review. That of their annual allotment of 56 visits, they have 41 setup for when offical visits can start (Dec. 1st?). They will sign a full 25 LOI this spring and expect several mid-year transfers credited to last years class.
11/1/99- The Topeka Capital-Journal has a good article on the recruiting needs for the Hawks this year.
10/27/99 - Another big commitment along the line. The second OL prospect verballed yesterday and a quality one at that. There is also word of a transfer on campus who will be competing next fall for placekicking duties.
10/20/99TA and staff continue their ways working on a great start for recruiting this year. They are taking advantage of the wealth of in-state talent for linemen by receiving their second HS commitment and third lineman overall to bring the total of verbal commitments to four. The lone non-lineman is a probable NJCAA A-A at WR this year. We can expect to see numerous linemen pursued and signed with more than a couple from the juco ranks.
    A successful program gets a cycle developed of red-shirting most if not all their linemen, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. The lack of numbers in the upper classes for next year will necessitate signing some juco players. The other priority will be at defensive back, particularly a cover cornerback. This could also be an area address with at least one juco player with the graduation of two seniors this year leaving two sophomores and one freshman on the depth chart. All the rest of the positions could see just one or two players signed.
    There are at least two seniors already graduated and two scholarships vacated this fall potentially allowing mid-year enrollment for at least 4 juco players (possibly more) who could then participate in the spring drills.
9/21/99 - KU has received their third commitment and second from a defensive lineman. This highly rated player is from in-state and goes a long ways towards bolstering the defensive line for the future.
8/25/99 - The Big 12 Blitz page ran by Jeremy Crabtree (former KC Star reporter) is reporting two commitments from former HS recruits now in junior colleges.
6/1/99 - I have several names that are not confirmed KU recruits but are names that will probably be followed, especially the Kansas kids. I also included names from Texas schools which have several former players currently on the KU roster.

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