Kansas University Football Recruiting

The Kansas football coaching staff has secured the services of a player the world thought it had lost for good.

Offensive tackle David Abajian, a consensus three-star prospect in the class of 2024 from Chaminade College Prep in West Hills, California, announced Thursday evening that he has committed to KU.

The Jayhawks had long targeted the 6-foot-5, 280-pound lineman, but he had gone with Oregon State instead on July 4, only to decommit Sept. 27.

“I thought at the time it was just best for me to step away from my commitment there,” Abajian told Jon Kirby of JayhawkSlant.com. “And Kansas at the time was reaching out to me and letting me know that I still have a spot there and if I ever want to become a Jayhawk.”

Three weeks later, he went with KU. He chose the Jayhawks over schools such as Cal, Nebraska and Washington State.

Abajian had told Rivals’ Adam Gorney back in August that the collapse of the Pac-12 Conference didn’t change his decision to commit to Oregon State, but that he had been looking forward to playing Power Five football and that “It’s definitely not a good thing to hear that the Pac-12 is falling apart, not even for the athletes who play in the Pac-12, but for all the history of the Pac-12 that will never be the same.”

Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining members of the Pac-12, continue to face uncertain prospects in terms of the future conference affiliations available to them. Kansas remains firmly planted in the Big 12 Conference, which will officially expand to 16 members next year with the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.

Abajian told Kirby he let head coach Lance Leipold and offensive line coach Scott Fuchs know “this is like my 100% solid decision.”

KU’s 2024 class is now 16 players strong. Abajian joins fellow offensive linemen Kene Anene, Carter Lavrusky and Harrison Utley, who are all also three-stars. He is the first player from California in the class.

It hasn’t all been positive recruiting news of late for the Jayhawks, who missed out on top in-state linebacker Michael Boganowski on Thursday when he committed to outgoing conference foe Oklahoma. Defensive end commitment Deshawn Warner, meanwhile, has also received recent scholarship offers from Michigan and Ohio State, but hasn’t yet wavered from KU.