Come Saturday afternoon, Kansas State’s loss could very well be the Kansas University football team’s gain – at least as far as KU running back Jake Sharp is concerned.

Following a storied high school career in which he rushed for 63 touchdowns during his senior year at Central High in Salina, Sharp signed with Kansas largely because the Wildcats, under then-head coach Bill Snyder, didn’t show much interest in the 5-foot-10, 190-pound back.

“I really wasn’t looked at by the old regime,” said Sharp. “I guess when (current Kansas State coach Ron) Prince came in, they looked at me. But I was already half a year committed to KU, and I’m happy with where I came, and I think it’s worked out real well this fall.”

Sharp, who said he would have considered Kansas State had they shown interest early on, will look to continue his recent string of success Saturday, when Kansas hosts the rival Wildcats at 11:30 a.m. at Memorial Stadium.

After a slow start to the year, during which he was oftentimes passed over in favor of fellow backs Jocques Crawford and Angus Quigley, Sharp has rebounded to compile a team-high 466 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

Kansas coach Mark Mangino praised Sharp’s toughness on Wednesday evening, citing the sometimes-overlooked hard-nosed style with which he plays. And although he faced a steep challenge, geographically speaking, four years ago – Salina is closer to Manhattan and is traditionally considered Wildcat country – Mangino had no reservations in pursuing Sharp.

“We look at it as he’s a really good football player, he’s in the state of Kansas, and when there are really good high school players in the state of Kansas, we go after them strong and we go after them hard,” said Mangino.