It was bound to be a sweet day for Lawrence High senior Brandon McAnderson.

But signing a letter of intent to play football at Kansas University in front of family and friends made Wednesday that much better.

“It’s a good feeling,” McAnderson said. “We’ve all played together, and we’ve been there together. When you play high school sports, you’re part of a family.”

LHS seniors Bobby Brubaker, Chris Fulton, Derrick Newman, Kenny Poeverlein and Brian Seymour also signed letters of intent in front of about 115 people in the LHS cafeteria. To be with those five guys was fitting for McAnderson, who was one of 26 players to sign with KU Wednesday.

He’s the first Lion to sign with KU since 1994 graduate Jason Thoren, but he couldn’t have done it without those five seniors.

“Those kids up there are playing for one reason,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. “There’s no selfishness whatsoever. That’s how you win football games. It was a good year for us, and they were a big part of it.”

Brubaker will play at Hutchinson Community College, while Fulton, Newman and Poeverlein all will attend Butler County Community College in El Dorado. Brubaker (6-feet, 250 pounds), Newman (6-3, 265) and Poeverlein (6-3, 280) are offensive and defensive linemen, while Fulton (6-1, 180) gained 1,340 yards on 143 carries this season as a running back.

Seymour will attend Kansas as a preferred walk-on.

Lawrence High senior Brandon McAnderson received handshakes during a ceremony to sign a letter of intent with Kansas University. The ceremony was Wednesday afternoon at LHS.

“It’s going to be great to have Brian there,” McAnderson said. “He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. Hopefully, I’m not gonna be weight partners with him though, because he may make me look bad.”

Seymour (6-1, 175) missed four games during the Lions’ 8-3 season last year because of a strained anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. But his speed and defensive aggressiveness impressed the KU coaches — including head coach Mark Mangino, whose son, Tommy, played quarterback for LHS — to invite the running back/safety to next fall’s camp. He won’t be on scholarship, but will have a place on the team and could earn a scholarship before he graduates.

Plus, for a guy who was thinking about attending an Ivy League school and playing football, staying at home was a huge draw.

“That was a large part,” Seymour said. “Staying in Lawrence — I love Lawrence — and just the opportunity to be a D-One player was a huge deal.”

It’s no secret that McAnderson, a two-time All-Sunflower League selection at both running back and linebacker, would be a Division I player.

At 6-feet, 220 pounds, McAnderson proved to be more than most teams could handle, rushing for 1,789 yards on 236 carries last season, including 25 touchdowns. He accumulated 3,052 career yards, second most in school history.

And he was just as valuable on defense. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 6 player in Kansas, but Wedd said that was because he played so much at both positions.

“If he plays one way, he’s the No. 1 player in the state,” he said. “If he plays offense, he rushes for 2,000 yards easy. On defense, he’s as good as it gets.”

Mangino seemed to agree.

The coach, who attended most of the Lions’ games this season, saw McAnderson enough to know what kind of player the Jayhawks signed.

Lawrence High football coach Dirk Wedd addresses the crowd. Six Lions signed letters of intent Wednesday at LHS.

“At Lawrence High, they’re gonna run the ball. The defense knows they’re gonna run the ball, everyone in the stadium knows they’re gonna run the ball. They have 10 people in the box and he still broke tackles and made people miss and made plays,” Mangino said. “I thought Brandon McAnderson was a no-brainer for us.”

So what will happen to the family? Will the other guys come north someday?

“We’ll see,” McAnderson said. “I think we’ve got a good chance to get them all up here and playing.

“Except Kenny. He said he wants to be on the other side and hit me.”

Ahh, family.