KU football loses commitments from 2 Class of 2020 prospects

photo by: Journal-World illustration

University of Kansas football recruiting

A little more than a week before college football’s National Signing Day, Kansas lost commitments from a couple of potentially promising high school prospects in the Class of 2020.

Chris Jones, a 6-foot-4 defensive end from Pompano Beach, Fla., announced Monday night his plans to reopen his recruitment, a little more than five months after committing to the Jayhawks.

Then on Tuesday night, Ja’Cobee Bryant, a cornerback from Evergreen, Ala., backed out, as well.

“I am decommitting from Kansas and 100% open,” Jones wrote on Twitter.

A note Bryant tweeted out stated that he wanted to thank KU head coach Les Miles and the staff for recruiting him, and that he was decommitting.

Jones’ decision came after he was one of many prospects who visited KU this past weekend.

A three-star pass rusher according to Rivals, Jones, even before giving his nonbinding verbal pledge to KU back in August of 2019, had scholarship offers from Florida State, Nebraska, Maryland, Penn State, Central Florida and several other programs.

Bryant committed to KU back in June, this past summer. Rivals currently has him ranked as the 27th-best prospect in Alabama. Previously, Bryant also received scholarship offers from Kentucky, Memphis, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and several other programs.

For various reasons over the past several months, 12 Class of 2020 recruits severed ties with Kansas after initially committing to the Jayhawks.

With Jones out of the mix, KU’s class now has two players listed as defensive linemen. Three-star defensive end Caleb Taylor signed with KU in December and is enrolled for the spring semester as an early graduate from Staley High School, in Kansas City, Mo. Kenean Caldwell, a three-star defensive tackle from Louisiana, visited KU this past weekend, too, and can make his commitment official on Feb. 5, National Signing Day.

KU announced the signing of 19 high school seniors in December. With Jones decommitting, the Jayhawks’ now have 25 high school players — the maximum allowed in a year by the NCAA — in their 2020 class.

Four members of KU’s class are currently verbally committed but unsigned: Caldwell, three-star offensive lineman Jackson Satterwhite, two-star Topeka quarterback Da’Vonshai Harden Jr., and two-star O-lineman Bryce Cabeldue.

KU has yet to announce the signing of two-star receiver Kyler Pearson, but that should come once he has officially been accepted through KU’s student application process and cleared by the NCAA to participate, Pearson told the Journal-World.