Kansas University Football Recruiting

Any chance of signing-day drama for the Kansas football team was extinguished very early Wednesday morning.

By 9:30 a.m., the Jayhawks had officially announced the signings of each of their 17 expected high school recruits for the class of 2024.

“I think we hit our needs, of course, like everyone always talks about,” head coach Lance Leipold told reporters later on Wednesday. “But I think this is a special class in a lot of ways. Obviously we think it’s extremely talented. I think this group has gotten close already. We’ll have more midyear enrollees than we ever have had in our time.”

KU avoided any last-minute intrigue or unexpected flips — except, of course, for its own acquisition of three-star defensive end Greydon Grimes, the son of new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes.

“All but two (Grimes and lineman David Abajian, who flipped from Oregon State in October) committed, I think, before the fourth of July, and they all stayed committed,” Leipold said.

“And again I think that speaks about them and their word and their process, the job our assistant coaches have done in building those relationships, and then equally, the trajectory of this program, and the things that are happening that made these guys (stay committed) while a lot of people still tried to recruit them.”

Many of the 17 had other prestigious places they could have enrolled. For example, offensive lineman Harrison Utley stuck with KU despite getting an offer from his hometown Oklahoma Sooners. Deshawn “DJ” Warner, a defensive end from Arizona who is one of the top prizes of the class, initially picked KU over Texas and Washington — who are about to face off in the College Football Playoff — and also received offers from Michigan and Ohio State after his commitment to the Jayhawks.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Warner and fellow edge rusher Dakyus “Dak” Brinkley (6-foot-3, 220 pounds), who will enroll early, could form an exciting pass-rush tandem, and indeed Brinkley promised on X this morning that he and Warner will be the best duo that KU has seen, “Mark my words!”

“Those are the body types and length and speed and athleticism that we want to continue to recruit,” Leipold said.

Warner is also part of one of the key pipelines that fueled the development of the 2024 class, as co-defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson helped the Jayhawks sign two additional players from Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Arizona, in cornerback Dre Gibson and linebacker Jonathan “Jon Jon” Kamara — not to mention a fourth Arizonan in Horizon offensive lineman Carter Lavrusky.

Leipold called it “a great job by Jordan, and then the rest of the staff once those guys came here.”

“Those are three fine young men from one high school, not just players, but as you get to know them they all have different personalities in their own right, of course,” Leipold said, “but then they’re going to all bring something different to the table and it’s interesting that they’ll be at all three levels of the defense.”

KU also drew on its connections in Detroit, led by linebackers coach Chris Simpson, to get an apparent quarterback of the future in Isaiah Marshall (who Leipold said plays a bit like Jalon Daniels) and Marshall’s teammate at Southfield A&T, cornerback Jalen Todd.

Todd is one of a trio of corners in this class, along with Gibson and Illinois’ Austin Alexander. Leipold said that KU can find ways to use them all rather than creating a logjam at the position.

“Austin played a lot of safety this year for his team, Dre’s a pretty thick corner, he’s going to be a guy that I think could be dual-trained if you need to, very smart football player, I think they all are,” Leipold said. “So who knows.”

The rest of the class includes a pair of running backs, Red Martel and Harry Stewart III; a tight end, Carson Bruhn; another lineman in Kene Anene; linebacker Jacorey Stewart; and safety Damani Maxson. KU also signed transfer tight end DeShawn Hanika, though it has not yet officially inked its other two transfer commitments from Tuesday.

As KU touted on its social media accounts, the class of 2024 is the highest-rated signing class in program history as evaluated by 247Sports.

“I still think that at the University of Kansas, we can recruit, develop and retain good football players to win games,” Leipold said. “I hope I finish my career with that still being the belief.”

The 2024 signees

David Abajian, offensive lineman, 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, Chaminade College Prep, West Hills, California

Austin Alexander, cornerback, 6-foot, 170 pounds, Marian Catholic, Hazel Crest, Illinois

Kene Anene, offensive lineman, 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, East Ridge, Cottage Grove, Minnesota

Dakyus Brinkley, defensive end, 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Katy, Katy, Texas

Carson Bruhn, tight end, 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, Sioux Center, Sioux Center, Iowa

Dre Gibson, cornerback, 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, Desert Edge, Goodyear, Arizona

Greydon Grimes, defensive end, 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, China Spring, China Spring, Texas

Jon Jon Kamara, linebacker, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Desert Edge, Goodyear, Arizona

Carter Lavrusky, offensive lineman, 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, Horizon, Scottsdale, Arizona

Isaiah Marshall, quarterback, 6-foot, 205 pounds, Southfield A&T, Southfield, Michigan

Red Martel, running back, 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, Beggs, Beggs, Oklahoma

Damani Maxson, safety, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Clear Lake, Houston, Texas

Harry Stewart III, running back, 5-foot-9, 215 pounds, Centennial, Frisco, Texas

Jacorey Stewart, linebacker, 6-foot, 215 pounds, Milton, Alpharetta, Georgia

Jalen Todd, cornerback, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Southfield A&T, Southfield, Michigan

Harrison Utley, offensive lineman, 6-foot-4, 290 pounds, Norman North, Norman, Oklahoma