photo by: Journal-World illustration

University of Kansas football recruiting

Wednesday’s national signing day may have been rather quiet for the Kansas football program, but the day that followed was anything but that.

Kansas on Thursday morning picked up an oral commitment from Class of 2024 quarterback Isaiah Marshall, the latest notable prospect from the Detroit area to pledge his services to the KU program.

“I know a lot of the players on the team who are from this area and that caught my attention,” Marshall told JayhawkSlant.com’s Jon Kirby while discussing his commitment.

A 3-star QB ranked as the No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals.com, Marshall announced his commitment on social media early Thursday morning. According to Kirby, he is the highest-rated QB to commit to KU since the Rivals.com database first started keeping track, dating back to 2002.

The 6-foot, 195-pound QB attends Southfield A&T High in Southfield, Michigan, just outside of Detroit and he made a couple of visits to KU during the 2022 season to check out the program. One came for a game and one came during one of KU’s junior days in December.

He told Kirby that the entire vibe around the program won him over and he paid particular tribute to linebackers coach Chris Simpson, who has been KU’s lead recruiter in the area. KU quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski, along with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and, of course, head coach Lance Leipold all played a part in landing a commitment from Marshall.

“Coach Simpson is a great guy,” Marshall told Kirby. “He knows my dad and my whole family, so that’s good. And Coach Simpson talked to me every week, so it was just nice getting comfortable with him. That was a good thing.”

Marshall currently has 18 offers from Division I programs, including some big ones like Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi and more.

“It feels good because I feel like I made the right decision,” Marshall told Kirby of picking Kansas. “I think their offense fits me. I think everything they do fits me. And their offense can put me in the best position. And I feel like the coaches are great. I feel like it’s just a good vibe out there.”

KU lands Juco safety

It took a day longer than expected, but safety Akili Hubbard, of Golden West College in California, officially signed a letter of intent with the Jayhawks on Thursday, one day after national signing day.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety committed to KU earlier this week after visiting last weekend.

He became the third new member of KU’s 2023 class, most of which signed in the early period in December and through the transfer portal. In all, the Jayhawks added 12 prep signees in December, 13 transfers in January and three more prospects this week.

While most of the attention now turns to the 2024 class, KU no doubt will continue to monitor the transfer portal in the event that more spots come open through current players entering the portal this spring.