Kansas football recruiting

The Kansas football coaching staff continues to put the finishing touches on a sizable 2026 class, and on Sunday night it earned the commitment of defensive tackle Nakwaine Carter.

Carter, who announced his decision on social media, attends Southmoore High School in Moore, Oklahoma, and ranks as a three-star prospect. He stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 256 pounds and visited KU over the weekend prior to making his commitment.

Carter also held offers from schools such as Houston, which he was slated to visit next, as well as Iowa State, Kansas State, UCF, Utah and Washington State. KU was the fourth school to offer Carter back in September.

He is a multi-sport athlete who has also competed in high school wrestling.

Carter becomes the second defensive lineman expected to serve as a tackle in the 2026 class and the 18th commitment overall. The previous tackle, Landen Anderson, is a fellow Oklahoman who committed in late January; he has, however, received several additional offers from power-conference schools since then and has reportedly visited Arizona State and Oklahoma State in recent weeks.

Other defensive linemen in the class include ends Hunter Higgins, of Maize, and Draeden Punt, of Orange City, Iowa.

The defensive tackle position will be subject to higher turnover than usual following the 2025 season as Tommy Dunn Jr. and D.J. Withers, longtime fixtures of the group, are set to exhaust their eligibility, along with Kenean Caldwell and potentially Gage Keys, who is listed as a redshift senior.

Marcus Calvin and Blake Herold would be the main returnees for 2026, along with Josiah Hammond, who is currently about to begin his freshman season.

Carter follows tight end Kevin Sullivan as KU’s second commitment in the month of June, which has in recent years been an active time for the Jayhawks’ recruiting but looks to be much less eventful this year with so much of the class already in place.