photo by: Journal-World illustration

University of Kansas football recruiting

Kansas football received a commitment from former Auburn defensive end Dylan Brooks on Monday. Brooks, who entered the transfer portal last month, recently wrapped up a visit with Lance Leipold and the Jayhawks’ program.

Seeking a new home, Brooks reopened his recruitment after his former position coach, Roc Bellantoni, took the defensive coordinator and linebackers coaching roles at Florida Atlantic. Passing up a chance to rejoin his coach at FAU, Brooks is set to arrive in Lawrence with three years of eligibility after redshirting at Auburn during the 2021 season.

Brooks, appearing in nine games with the Tigers last season, posted six total tackles, four solo tackles and a fumble recovery against Mississippi State. The Roanoke, Alabama, native will join six defensive ends currently on the KU roster: Tony Terry, Patrick Joyner Jr., Hayden Hatcher, Dean Miller, Davion Westmoreland and Cole Petrus.

KU defensive ends coach Taiwo Onatolu lost a key edge rusher when Second Team All-Big 12 selection Lonnie Phelps declared for the NFL Draft in January. Visiting over the weekend, Brooks told Jon Kirby of JayhawkSlant.com that Onatolu is “a person that I think will tell the truth and will push all his players.”

Recruited to Auburn from Handley High School, Brooks held held numerous Power 5 offers and even signed a letter of intent, briefly, to play at Tennessee out of high school. During his recruitment at Handley, Brooks was listed as a four-star prospect and the No. 78 overall recruit in 2021, according to On3 Industry Rankings.

In addition to Brooks, KU received another commitment from preferred walk-on Mikey Pauley. Pauley, originally recruited by the Jayhawks out of Blue Valley Northwest as part of the Class of 2022, will be moving closer to home after redshirting his freshman year at Nebraska.