The Kansas University football staff continues to build on its Class of 2011 recruiting haul, this week adding a pair of offensive linemen, including junior college transfer Nick Johnson, who orally committed to KU late Friday night.

Johnson’s commitment came just hours after the Jayhawks learned that Bryan Peters, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound offensive tackle from La Mirada (Calif.) High, had picked Kansas.

Johnson, 6-3, 290, originally is from Waco, Texas, and currently attends Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. He red-shirted his first year at Navarro, helped the team to an 11-1 record last season and is scheduled to graduate in December. That will allow him to enroll at KU for the spring semester and be ready to join the Jayhawks for spring practices next March.

Coming out of high school, Johnson received interest from several notable schools, including Kansas, Oklahoma, LSU, TCU and Baylor. He took his SAT late that year, though, and therefore had to make the pit stop at Navarro. This time around, Johnson received offers from KU, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas and Southern Miss and still was receiving interest from Oklahoma, Kansas State and Baylor.

“(Kansas is) a good school and it has always been somewhere I wanted to go,” Johnson told Rivals.com. “I started watching them on TV back (in high school) and learned more about their program studying them online. I got a lot of letters from them. … I’m happy to be a Jayhawk and I will get a chance to play for a school I always wanted to.”

Johnson joins Peters and offensive lineman Travis Bodenstein, along with running back Dreamius Smith, quarterback Michael Cummings, linebacker Jake Love and defensive backs Alex Matlock, Chris Robinson and Victor Simmons on KU’s 2011 commitment list so far.

Last year’s class — this year’s incoming freshmen — featured 19 players. Assuming all of these guys stick with their commitments, KU coach Turner Gill already has landed nearly half of his second recruiting class at Kansas.

Jayhawks offer local lineman

Friday was a busy day for the KU coaching staff. In addition to landing two oral commitments, the Jayhawks sent out a scholarship offer to another player, this one a local prospect from nearby Bishop Miege High.

Phil Ford, 6-6, 342, officially added KU to his list of offering schools, something the offensive lineman had been looking forward to doing for quite some time. Ford has not been quiet about his interest in Kansas. He has made several visits to campus, attended a couple of camps and made reference to the Jayhawks multiple times on his Facebook page.

Ford’s other offer came from Minnesota a couple of weeks ago. The other school showing the most interest in Ford is Oklahoma. He has said that he’d like to make his decision before his senior season.