Apparently, the Kansas University football team’s aggressive recruiting tactics continue to pay dividends.

The Jayhawks secured another oral commitment Thursday when linebacker-safety Jake Schermer of Ozark, Mo., assured Kansas coach Mark Mangino and his staff that he would be at KU next year.

Kansas was the first school to offer to Schermer, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder who has run the 40-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds, a blazing time for someone of his size.

Schermer was being evaluated and scouted hard by several other programs, but gave the Jayhawks his word before anyone else made offers.

“Going to the KU game last weekend helped me out a lot,” Schermer told rivals.com of KU’s 31-28 victory over Kansas State. “It showed me how much the people get into football there.”

Jon Kirby of rivals.com lauded KU’s pursuit of Schermer and compared Schermer’s potential to that of current KU linebacker Kevin Kane, with one difference: Schermer has more speed, an uncoachable talent.

Kane, of course, has emerged as a solid cog in KU’s stout defense this year and doubles as the Jayhawks’ long snapper.

“Give Kansas credit,” Kirby said. “They saw a guy with a sub-4.5 40 time, and they said, ‘We’ll put 15-20 pounds on him and make him a speed guy.'”

Schermer is KU’s fifth known commitment for the 2005 season. Before Schermer, Ottawa High lineman Caleb Blakesley was the latest, giving Mangino his word in August after KU was the first to offer to him, as well.

The other three commitments are Newton lineman Adam Welty, Kansas City Washington defensive back Darrell Stucky and La Puente (Calif.) lineman Jose Rodriguez.

6Sports video: KU gets a break Chat wrap with coach Mangino

National signing day for football is in February.

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Mangino chat: Mangino took time Friday to answer questions regarding the quarterback situation, his team’s defensive efforts and the status of recruiting, among other topics, during an exclusive online chat on KUsports.com. If you missed the live chat, check out the full transcript at KUsports.com.