Kansas University’s football program opened 2007 by landing a whopper recruit.

Jeremiah Hatch, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound center out of Dallas, committed to Kansas on Monday. Rated as the 14th-best center in the nation by Rivals.com, Hatch chose Kansas over offers from Arizona, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Texas A&M, TCU and Colorado State.

“My decision is final, and I am going to sign with KU,” Hatch told Rivals. “I decided to attend KU because of the relationships that I’ve built with (KU head) coach Mark Mangino and (assistant) coach Tim Beck.”

Hatch made an official visit to Kansas on Dec. 1 and followed it up with visits to Arizona and Texas Tech. He played high school football at Carter High in Dallas, a perennial power that finished 9-3 last year.

Among high school players, Hatch is among the top-rated KU commitments according to Rivals’ rankings, behind only Texas running back Carmon Boyd-Anderson and Free State athlete Ryan Murphy.

All high-school prospects not graduating early will sign their letters of intent Feb. 7.