Report: Kansas football contacts Penn State linebacker

According to a report from ESPN’s Kipp Adams, the Kansas University football program has reached out to another Penn State football player about the possibility of him transferring to Kansas.

The report indicates that starting linebacker Khairi Fortt, a 6-foot-2, 234-pound junior from Stamford, Conn., has been contacted by 30 to 40 schools since the NCAA announced sanctions last Monday in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

KU was one of the eight schools named by Fortt’s father, Guy, who told Adams that those programs, along with several others, had told his son he had a scholarship if he wanted it.

During his Penn State career, the former ESPN150 recruit and U.S. Army All-American has recorded 49 tackles, including 33 and three sacks last season. He is expected to challenge for a first-string spot at middle linebacker this fall, but where remains unclear.

“He is torn,” Guy Fortt told ESPN. “But I think he is doing his due diligence and evaluating his options.”

Fortt’s father said his son would like to make a decision about his future sometime in the next few days.

“He has a lot of respect for (PSU coach) Bill O’Brien and his coaching staff,” Fortt’s father said. “But as of right now he really does not know what he is going to do. He is going to weigh his options this weekend and try to make a decision next week between Monday and Wednesday.”

Fortt is the second PSU player whose father confirmed that KU had reached out to his son. Earlier this week, Penn State defensive tackle Kyle Baublitz’s father said the Jayhawks had contacted his son, but Baublitz later announced that he would remain with the Nittany Lions.

As outlined in the punishment, players who elect to transfer from PSU to another school are eligible to play immediately and can receive a scholarship from their new school without the scholarship counting against that school’s limit.

Redskins add Briscoe

One day after reporting that former KU wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe was cut by Tampa Bay, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Friday that Briscoe had been claimed off waivers by Washington.

During his two seasons in Tampa, Briscoe appeared in 18 games and caught 41 passes for 480 yards and seven touchdowns. KU’s career leader in receiving yards (3,240) and touchdowns (31) enjoyed a breakout year in 2011, finishing with 387 yards and a team-high six TDs on 35 receptions in 16 games.

He joins a Redskins team that, earlier this offseason, added former Indianapolis wideout Pierre Garcon to a roster that includes veteran Santana Moss and 2011 third-round pick Leonard Hankerson.

Capital One Cup stats

Both the KU men and the KU women finished in the Top 25 of this year’s Capital One Cup standings, which annually rank the top athletic departments in college athletics.

Coincidentally, both programs finished with 36 points, earning the women a No. 21 ranking and the men No. 23. Florida, with 104 points, was the top men’s team during the past sports year and Stanford, with 152 points, topped the women’s rankings. Oklahoma State (47, 16th) and Texas (42, 19th) were the only Big 12 men’s programs to finish higher than KU and Baylor (60, 11th), Oklahoma (57, 13th), Texas (41, 18th) and Texas A&M (41, 18th) were the only Big 12 programs that finished higher than the KU women.