Despite its head coaching position being in limbo, KU picked up a surprise commitment from a junior-college defensive lineman on Tuesday.

According to JayhawkSlant.com, Ty McKinney, 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, of Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, committed to defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt during an in-home visit. McKinney was one of KU’s top targets and fills one of KU’s biggest needs. He chose the Jayhawks over offers from Arkansas State, Houston and UTEP and doesn’t appear to be concerned about KU’s future.

“(Coach Wyatt) was pretty excited when I told him,” McKinney told the website. “I really hope to play for him on the defensive line. I think I can come in there and help start building on the defensive line. We are going to build a foundation.”

DE Wilson switches commitment

Any time a school goes through a coaching change, there are always a few guys who decide to leave the program. That’s particularly true of incoming recruits, and KU already has seen some of that happen in the days since former head coach Turner Gill was fired.

Washington, D.C., defensive end De’Jon Wilson, a 6-3, 240-pound end from Woodson High recently switched his commitment from Kansas to Colorado. Wilson had committed to KU in August. He joins Florida cornerback Daniel Gray, 6-foot, 165, in bailing on the Jayhawks. Gray committed to KU in May but changed his commitment to Tennessee during the final weeks of the Jayhawks’ 2-10 season.

Their defections left the Jayhawks with six of the eight recruits they had secured commitments from in the Class of 2012. Several of them have said recently that they’ll wait and see who KU brings in before making a final decision. They include: Blue Valley West offensive lineman Brian Beckmann; Camden, Ark., athlete Derek Keaton; Hialeah, Fla., quarterback Bilal Marshall; Clarksville, Texas, cornerback H.B. Rosser; Garland, Texas, quarterback Seth Russell; and Waco, Texas, tight end Jordan Smith.