Brandon Hollomon, the latest player to join the Kansas University football program, can flat-out play, according to his Pierce Community College teammate and fellow Kansas signee, Marquel Combs.

“Basically, he was a steal,” said Combs of Hollomon, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound cornerback from Pierce who officially joined the Jayhawks on Monday. “If he would’ve played another year of juco ball, he would’ve been one of the top recruits in the country.”

Instead, the Philadelphia native saw enough from KU during last weekend’s campus visit to forego his second season at Pierce and sign with the Jayhawks in time for the 2013 season. Hollomon signed and faxed his letter of intent to Lawrence on Monday and is expected to join the team this summer.

Hollomon will be a sophomore with the Jayhawks and have three years of eligibility remaining and four years to use them. The KU staff, led by tight ends coach Jeff Blasko, got in on Hollomon early and then pursued him with a passion. The fact that Pierce teammates Combs and Marcus Jenkins-Moore were out in California to keep Kansas on Hollomon’s mind helped tremendously.

“I kept bugging him about it,” Combs said. “But it went both ways.”

During his lone season at Pierce, Hollomon played in eight games and helped lead the Brahmas to a 9-2 record and the Patriotic Bowl title. He recorded 19 tackles, including 13 solo stops, and added seven pass break-ups.

Hollomon told JayhawkSlant.com that KU coaches Charlie Weis and Dave Campo liked the way he covered opposing wide receivers. Combs, who huddled up with Hollomon on the same defense, offered his opinion.

“He’s got nice hands, good speed to him and I think he can help us cover those spread offenses in the Big 12,” Combs said. “He’s really good. And I think I have a pretty good eye for talent.”

Hollomon becomes the fifth defensive back and 19th junior college player in the Jayhawks’ 2013 class.

As for Combs — a missing class prevented him from joining in KU’s spring drills — he’s counting down to the Pierce trio’s arrival in Lawrence.

“It was a little disappointing at first,” Combs said. “But even though I was one unit short, I knew it was just a matter of getting the job done and getting out there.”

In addition to working out six times a week — often getting after it with Hollomon and Jenkins-Moore — Combs said he was taking a few classes this semester, “to stay ahead of the game.”

With the April 13 spring game less than two weeks away, the Jayhawks continue to work through spring practices, with three slated sessions for this week, including a Saturday scrimmage.