photo by: Contributed

In these contributed photos, receiver Jaiden Bender (left) and tight end Jaden Hamm (right) compete for the Eudora football program. Both juniors have received interest from Division I programs, including Kansas, entering the 2021 season. Photos taken by Camden Ridinger of Eudora High School.

The recruitment process is picking up steam for two standout juniors on Eudora’s football team, one of whom has already received offers from a dozen programs.

Both players — Jaden Hamm and Jaiden Bender — have gotten offers from Kansas and K-State. And Hamm has collected ten more offers: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Penn State and TCU.

Hamm and Bender both seem poised to play at Division I programs next season, and they both said the offers motivated them to work even harder.

“It’s another drive point,” said Hamm, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound athlete who’s being recruited at multiple positions. “It gives me something else just to continue to work harder and make sure that I just keep doing my own thing, and make sure I’m not getting outworked.”

Bender, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound wide receiver, said “it certainly means a lot” that programs were noticing him in his sophomore year — KU made its offer in February, and K-State’s was in April.

“It definitely just, like, put a little more pep in my step to just work harder and harder each day,” Bender said.

Another Eudora player has already given his initial commitment to a Division I program: senior Silas Etter. He’s been rated a three-star athlete by Rivals, and he plans to continue his football career at K-State.

Here’s an update on where Hamm and Bender are in the recruiting process:

Hamm open to playing on either side of the ball

Hamm has made an impact on both offense and defense for Eudora, and different college teams see him in different positions depending on their needs. He’s being recruited as either a tight end or a defensive end.

Only one school — K-State — is giving him the option to play either position. Oklahoma State and Penn State are recruiting him solely as a defensive end, and all of the other programs want him solely as a tight end.

At this stage in the process, Hamm doesn’t have a preference.

“I just want to get on the field,” Hamm said. “But, no, it really doesn’t affect me a lot. I enjoy playing both sides, and I know it’s going to be about the same amount of work and the same amount of film study either way.”

Hamm’s recruitment started last December, when he posted his highlight reel from his sophomore year and both KU and K-State made their offers. This summer, he’s made visits to several campuses: Kansas, K-State, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Arkansas.

When the dead period is over, Hamm would like to check out Nebraska and Iowa State. He also hopes to see Oklahoma State again; he first toured the campus while competing in a basketball tournament, and he’d like to see it again when he’s not as busy.

When Hamm made an unofficial visit to KU in June, he said the new coaching staff made a good impression.

“They really surprised me and left a good impression on me,” Hamm said. “With a lot of the coaches just getting in town from Buffalo, I was very pleased and excited with what they had to offer.” He also speculated that the new coaches “will be the turnaround of the KU football program.”

Moving forward, Hamm hopes to have an idea of where he is committing by the end of his junior season.

Last fall, when the Cardinals went 3-7, Hamm made 61 total tackles, 22 of which were solo stops. He expects more wins and highlights in 2021.

“We’re preparing ourselves through film and all those workouts to hopefully have one of the best seasons of Eudora football history,” Hamm said.

Even without big numbers, Bender gets attention

Because of Eudora’s flexbone offense, Bender didn’t get many chances to shine during his sophomore season. He had six catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns last fall.

But college programs still came calling, and they aren’t likely to stop now.

“They can just see what I could be (doing) if we threw the ball more and how (much) better it would be,” Bender said.

Bender has a knack for making the most of the opportunities he does get. He averaged 25.8 yards per catch last year.

It’s also likely that programs have noticed his general athleticism. He’s a talented high jumper on the track and field team and qualified for the state meet in four events. Those skills translate directly to the football field — leaping up and snatching a ball or using his speed to make big plays.

photo by: Shane Jackson

Eudora sophomore Jaiden Bender leaps in the air in the boys high jump competition during the state track meet on Friday at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita on May 28, 2021.

There is still room for improvement. Bender is working on his route running, specifically getting in and out of his cuts. He’s also focusing on using his hands and not dropping passes.

Bender visited KU for the first time in June, touring the facilities and meeting with the coaches.

“It was a pretty good visit,” Bender said. “We talked to most of the coaches, walked around the facility, saw the players working out (and) went to the indoor facility.”

Bender would like to keep his recruitment open until his senior season, and he has big expectations for Eudora’s performance this fall. Like Hamm, Bender thinks Eudora can build off its 2020 season, when the team upset Piper for its first playoff win in five years.

“We’ve been dominating these past camps we are going to,” Bender said. “I feel like we have a really good chance at going to the (championship) this year.”