Hutchinson High senior Josh Smith, one of the most prolific running backs in Kansas during the past four years, has decided to play football at Kansas University, his coach, Randy Dreiling, told Rivals.com Wednesday night.

Smith, 5-foot-10, 215 pounds, leaves Hutch as the school’s all-time leader in yards (4,839) and touchdowns (87). During 2009, he ran for 1,935 yards and scored 34 TDs.

Despite his three-star rating, 4.5-second 40-yard dash speed and the fact that he starred at a school that has won six consecutive state championships, Smith drew little interest during the recruiting process. Navy was the only school to offer him a scholarship, and Wisconsin, where Smith visited last week, decided to go a different route.

Dreiling told Rivals that Smith had the potential to contribute on special teams right away and indicated that he would not be surprised to see the back factor into the Jayhawks’ offense quickly.

“He’ll contribute in so many ways it will be incredible,” Dreiling told the site.

Smith’s addition brought KU coach Turner Gill’s first recruiting class up to 19 players. Smith became the third running back in KU’s Class of 2010.