Kansas 2012 Recruiting

Kansas Jayhawks 2012 ... Head Coach: Charlie Weis

Kansas Jayhawks

2011 Record: 2-10

Sep. 3 McNeese State W 42-24
Sep. 10 Northern Illinois W 45-42
Sep. 17 at Georgia Tech L 66-24
Sep. 24 OPEN DATE
Oct. 1 Texas Tech L 45-24
Oct. 8 at Oklahoma St L 70-28
Oct. 15 Oklahoma L 47-17
Oct. 22 Kansas State L 59-21
Oct. 29 at Texas W 43-0
Nov. 5 at Iowa State L 13-10
Nov. 12 Baylor L 31-30
Nov. 19 at Texas A&M L 61-7
Nov. 26 Missouri (in KC) L 24-10

2010 CFN Prediction: 5-7
2010 Record: 3-9

Sept. 4 North Dakota St L 6-3
Sept. 11 Georgia Tech W 28-25
Sept. 17 at So Miss L 31-16
Sept. 25 New Mexico St W 42-16
Oct. 2 at Baylor L 55-7
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 16 Kansas St L 59-7
Oct. 23 Texas A&M L 45-10
Oct. 30 at Iowa St L 28-16
Nov. 6 Colorado W 52-45
Nov. 13 at Nebraska L 20-3
Nov. 20 Oklahoma St L 48-14
Nov. 27 Missouri (in KC) L 35-7
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. LB Schyler Miles
6-2, 225, Scout.com 59th ranked, three-star middle linebacker.

2. OT Brian Beckmann
6-6, 310, Scout.com 63rd ranked, three-star offensive tackle.

3. TE Jordan Smith
6-5, 225, Scout.com 44th ranked, three-star tight end.

4. DT Tyler Holmes
6-3, 270, Scout.com 64th ranked, three-star defensive tackle.

5. RB Taylor Cox
5-11, 195, Scout.com two-star JUCO transfer. As a freshman Cox posted 1305 yards on 212 carries (5.8 YPC) and 14 touchdowns. He also added 148 yards and three touchdowns receiving.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... Firepower. The biggest recruit was new head coach Charlie Weis, but he doesn’t have the pieces in place to start firing away with the better Big 12 offenses. Weis has already improved the passing game for now and the near future with Dayne Crist transferring from Notre Dame and former No. 1 quarterback recruit Jake Heaps coming in from BYU. This year, though, he’ll be doing whatever he can to bring in a few JUCO targets and start to use the short time he’s had to work to bring in enough talent to salvage some sort of a class.

Team Concerns For 2012: Weis is starting to clean house with a few players being booted/leaving. 2012 isn’t looking like an improvement from 2011, and it might take at least two years to get the offense where it needs to be. Defensively, though, most of the key starters are back including linebacker Darius Willis in the middle to work around. Crist has to stay healthy on creaky knees, and the running game has to work from Day One.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: New head coach Charlie Weis will try to crank up his decided schematic advantage with Dayne Crist trying to pull a Russell Wilson as a free agent quarterback, and with BYU’s Jake Heaps coming in for next year – pushing Jordan Webb out and effectively off the team. Weis is cleaning house, giving the boot to ten players including one-time star running back recruit, Darrian Miller. James Sims will have to carry most of the load, while the attack will mostly focus around the passing game. Crist has a knee problem and isn’t going to move much, meaning the line that struggled so much last year has to be better in a hurry despite losing starting LT Jeff Spikes. The defense eight starters back including great-looking MLB Darius Willis, but there’s a long way to go to be halfway decent after finishing dead last in America in total defense and scoring D.

The 2011 Class Was Heavy On … Safeties. The Jayhawks need answers for the offense, and the hope will be for either Brock Berglund or Michael Cummings to be a playmaker at quarterback as soon as humanly possible. Running backs Darrian Miller and Anthony Pierson should add some flash to the backfield early on. In the big class, the emphasis was on the safeties with six brought in with JUCO transfer Tnde Bakare expected to start right away and Marquis Jackson and Alex Matlock big, dangerous prospects for down the road.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 65. That Class Was Heavy On ... The defensive line. Mark Mangino concentrated on the secondary last year, and Turner Gill, with little time to work, beefed up the defensive front with six prospects headed up by Jeremiah Edwards, a potentially dangerous interior pass rusher, and speedy end Jaqwaylin Arps. Both are from Texas. JUCO transfer Quinn Meachem will push hard for Todd Reesing's vacated starting quarterback job, while the running back tandem of Brandon Bourbon and James Sims might be too good to keep off the field.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 46. That Class Was Heavy On ... defensive backs. The Jayhawks went out to get better on defense, and it did with LB Huldon Tharp, three JUCO defensive ends, end Kevin Young, and tackle Randall Dent all coming in to form the foundation for the future of the defense, but it’s the secondary that got the most help with six prospects led by corner Prinz Kande, a speedy, big coverman, while the safeties are all terrific led by JUCO transfer Calvin Rubles and true freshmen Bradley McDougald and Darian Kelly.

Nov. 26 Missouri 24 … Kansas 10
CFN Analysis: COMING

(AP) KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- James Franklin rebounded from three early interceptions to toss two second-half touchdown passes, and Missouri rallied for a 24-10 victory over Kansas on Saturday in what could be the final edition of the 120-year-old Border War rivalry.

The Tigers (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) head to the SEC next season, and Kansas has said it has no intention of playing Missouri out of conference.

Missouri improved its bowl prospects by winning its third straight game to finish the regular season, doing so with coach Gary Pinkel back on the sideline. He was suspended for last week's come-from-behind win over Texas Tech following a drunken-driving arrest.

On the other sideline was Turner Gill, who may have coached his final game for Kansas (2-10, 0-9).

Gill is just 5-19 in two seasons in charge, and 10 straight losses to finish this season -- many in lopsided fashion -- may have sealed his fate. Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger has said he will decide soon about Gill, who has three years and $6 million left on his contract.

There was a meager crowd of 47,059 on hand at Arrowhead Stadium to see what could be the finale of a series that began in 1891, and is second in games played only to Wisconsin-Minnesota among major college football rivalries. Those who were left on a cold, dreary afternoon -- mostly clad in black and gold -- began chanting "SEC! SEC!" in the closing minutes.

Jordan Webb finished with 60 yards passing and two interceptions for the Jayhawks (2-10), who managed only 137 yards of total offense. James Sims carried 15 times for 35 yards.

Franklin was the Jayhawks' best player in the first half. The Missouri quarterback, who had gone four games without throwing an interception, was picked off by Tyler Patmon midway through the first quarter -- the first of three consecutive drives by the Tigers that ended in an interception.

On their ensuing series, Franklin was pressured by Toben Opurum and threw a wobbly pass that was intercepted by Greg Brown near the Missouri sideline. He returned it 20 yards to the Tigers 15, but the Jayhawks could manage only a field goal when three plays netted them minus-1 yard.

Franklin's third pick was the most costly.

Facing third-and-16 from the 47, the sophomore quarterback threw a pass that was undercut by Kansas safety Bradley McDougald. He started up the Missouri sideline, bobbing and weaving his way through traffic before sprinting the rest of the way for a 57-yard touchdown return.

The first pick-six for the Jayhawks since Sept. 19, 2009, made it 10-0.

The Tigers finally got something going on offense later in the second quarter, marching 59 yards in 5:12 -- largely on the ground -- before Trey Barrow kicked a 23-yard field goal.

The Jayhawks looked like a two-win team on their first possession of the second half, when three plays netted minus-2 yards. When they tried to punt it away, the snap nearly went over the head of Ron Doherty, giving Missouri the ball at the Kansas 14-yard line. It took Kendial Lawrence only three carries to tie the game at 10.

After the Jayhawks were forced to punt, the Tigers went 93 yards for a touchdown, the big plays a 22-yard completion to Jerrell Jackson, a 20-yard run by T.J. Moe and a 25-yard TD pass from Franklin to Wes Kemp in the back of the end zone. The pass was initially called incomplete, but the officials reviewed it and ruled that Kemp's feet came down inbounds.

Franklin hit Marcus Lucas for a 53-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Nov. 19 at Texas A&M 61 … Kansas 7
CFN Analysis: Darius Willis, the transfer from Buffalo, might have had his best game of the year with ten tackles and two tackles for loss. He should be one of the Big 12’s best linebackers next year. … Jordan Webb completed 19-of-27 passes, but he didn’t do anything to throw the ball deep and there were almost no yards after the catch. He has to do a better job of putting his throws in places where his receivers can do something with them. … The Jayhawks have been awful, but at least they were competitive over the last two weeks against Iowa State and in the overtime loss to Baylor. This game is known as a setback, and it’ll be a tough sell to keep the Turner Gill era going after eight straight losses as the worst team in the league by far. 

Nov. 12 Baylor 31 … at Kansas 30
CFN Analysis: The Jayhawks have been playing with the effort needed, but the results aren’t there. With the season a disaster and coming off a slew of blowouts, KU could’ve packed it in, but it showed up strong in losses to Iowa State and now Baylor. … This one is going to really sting. The ground game was running wild on the Bears, and with a big fourth quarter lead, everything should’ve worked out. The O line should’ve pounded away with Darrian Miller, who ran for 147 yards on 24 carries, and James Sims, who added 64 yards on 24 carries, but it couldn’t. And then the defense that was so tight collapsed. … The three turnovers were a problem for a team that can’t afford any mistakes. They didn’t need to give Baylor any breaks. … Against Texas A&M and Missouri, the offense has to get the ground game working again and has to keep the defense off the field. The firepower in the passing game isn’t there to keep pace with either team. 

Nov. 5 at Iowa State 13 … Kansas 10
CFN Analysis: Kansas came up with one of its best defensive performances of the season and it still got steamrolled. Iowa State rumbled for 251 rushing yards and controlled the game when it had to, and the Jayhawk offense didn’t have any answers after D.J. Beshears took off for a 22-yard scoring dash in the first. Jordan Webb wasn’t bad throwing the ball, but he didn’t make anything happen down the field and the short-to-midrange passes didn’t go anywhere. At least it wasn’t a blowout, and KU had its chance to turn things around late, but didn’t. A 30-point defeat might put Turner Gill on a red-hot seat, and now the team needs to come up with a miracle on both sides of the ball to avoid getting obliterated against Baylor, Texas A&M, and Missouri. 

Oct. 29 at Texas 43 … Kansas 0
CFN Analysis: A week after getting embarrassed by Kansas State, Kansas came out and dropped an even bigger clunker. The nation’s worst defense got steamrolled over, which was expected, but the offense was an embarrassment finishing with -2 yards on 20 carries and with Jordan Webb throwing for 48 yards with a pick. The Jayhawks came up with just one third down conversion, and had more penalties (4) than first downs (3), while hanging on to the ball for just under 16 minutes. Considering Iowa State obliterated Texas Tech, going to Ames isn’t going to be as easy as it might have looked a few weeks ago. For KU, just getting better in some way is a must. 

Oct. 22 Kansas State 59 … at Kansas 21
CFN Analysis: To be very, very fair to Turner Gill and Kansas, the last three games against OU, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State were against three teams that have yet to lose, but at some point the production has to start coming on defense. The Wildcats don’t throw all that well, but they were able to push the ball down the field on one of the nation’s worst secondaries, and the KU offense didn’t help the cause with sputtering early drives when the game started to get out of hand. There aren’t any big breaks this year in Big 12 play, and going forward, winning the turnover margin is a must – KU was -2 against KSU – and there was nothing from the running game, but until the D improves just a little bit, the season won’t improve at all. 

Oct. 15 Oklahoma 47 … at Kansas 17
CFN Analysis: Kansas showed up and gave a good effort in the first half, with the defense shockingly playing one of its best games of the year. The secondary hasn’t stopped anyone all year, but it did a decent job early on. The offense was just effective enough to make it a bit of a battle, mostly thanks to the interesting-looking 56-yard option play for a score from James Smith on a first quarter fourth and one, but that was about it for the fun. The Jayhawks didn’t have a chance, and now they have to try to make something positive out of their season against Kansas State next week. The offense has enough pop to potentially come up with a shocker at some point, but it’ll be sweetest it the losing streak could stop against the Wildcats. 

Oct. 8 at Oklahoma State 70 … Kansas 28
CFN Analysis: Kansas is going to have to take even more chances. It did this week, but the offense turned the ball over four times and the game quickly became a blowout. The defense might have been a disaster, but the offense didn’t go on any marches to take the heat off. Jordan Webb completed 25-of-36 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw two picks and didn’t lead the way to any scoring marches in the first half after a great initial drive. With Oklahoma up next, Webb needs to be prepared to hang at least 50 points on the board to have any chance of making it interesting. With the lack of a pass rush and the issues in the secondary, it could be another ugly outing. 

Oct. 1 Texas Tech 45 … at Kansas 34
CFN Analysis: Kansas had perfect offensive balance with 239 yards rushing and passing, but the four turnovers and the lack of stops once the Texas Tech passing game got going was the killer. On the plus side, the running game was more than fine, with James Sims coming up with another strong game and Brandon Bourbon taking off for a good scoring dash, but blowing a 20-0 lead at home is never acceptable. With a rested Oklahoma State up next, the passing game has to connect on more third down plays and the secondary that got torched against the Red Raiders has to do a better job of jamming the receivers off the line. 

Sept. 17 at Georgia Tech 66 … Kansas 24
CFN Analysis: It’s like Kansas forgot what is was supposed to do. The defense wasn’t awful in the first half, and the offense held serve, and then the linebackers were consistently out of position, there were too many missed tackles, and the run defense went bye-bye. Jordan Webb threw relatively well, but he couldn’t move the chains in the second half and he couldn’t do enough to keep the offense on the field once the Tech attack started to roll. He was fine on his short-range passes, but when the offense needed to hit home runs, they weren’t there. Up next is Texas Tech, and KU will have to get the offense up and rolling again, especially on the ground, to keep the Red Raider offense on the sideline. 

Sept. 10 at Kansas 45 … Northern Illinois 42
CFN Analysis: This was a much, much stronger win than it might appear; Northern Illinois might be the best team in the MAC by far. James Sims came up with a tremendous performance, rushing for 110 yards and two scores, while Jordan Webb was fantastic at keeping the chains moving and controlling the clock and the ball hitting third down pass after third down pass, and, of course, he was terrific coming through in the final seconds to pull off the win. The defense struggled, but again, NIU is fantastic and it’s going to put up big numbers against just about everyone. The KU linebacker did a tremendous job against the dangerous Huskie running game, keeping backs Jasmin Hopkins to just 47 yards and Jamal Womble to 11. There are a whole slew of problems, but 2-0 isn’t bad going into the Georgia Tech game. The O has to be ready to keep getting into shootouts.  

Sept. 3 at Kansas 42 … McNeese State 24
CFN Analysis: Considering the brutally ugly 6-3 loss to North Dakota State to start last season, blowing out McNeese State wasn’t necessarily a given. The secondary was lit up for 325 yards, but the ground game was fantastic with James Sims tearing off 104 yards as the Jayhawks went for 301 yards and three scores to control the game. Jordan Webb wasn’t needed to do much, but he was efficient and effective completing 7-of-10 passes for 146 yard and three scores, and he ran for 27 yards and a touchdown. This wasn’t exactly a dominant performance against a weak FCS team, but it was good enough. Now the real test begins against a Northern Illinois team that destroyed Army. 

The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Safeties. The Jayhawks need answers for the offense, and the hope will be for either Brock Berglund or Michael Cummings to be a playmaker at quarterback as soon as humanly possible. Running backs Darrian Miller and Anthony Pierson should add some flash to the backfield early on. In the big class, the emphasis was on the safeties with six brought in with JUCO transfer Tnde Bakare expected to start right away and Marquis Jackson and Alex Matlock big, dangerous prospects for down the road.

Five Kansas Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. QB Brock Berglund
6-3, 200, Scout.com’s 26th ranked quarterback. One of Berglund’s best attributes is his ability to lead the offense. He seems to make consistently smart decisions with the ball. He can deliver accurate passes, but may not have the biggest arm. He is also able to beat you with his feet when pulls the ball down to run. He is not a dual-threat per say, but he can get it done well enough with his legs that defenses will have to respect his rushing ability.

2. PK Alex Mueller
5-11, 180, Scout.com’s 6th ranked kicker.

3. RB Darrian Miller
5-11, 195, Scout.com’s 34th ranked running back.

4. QB Michael Cummings
6-0, 200, Scout.com’s 72nd ranked quarterback. Good sized quarterback and very athletic. Has a cannon for an arm and throws frozen darts, especially on the run. Deadly when he rolls out defenses can come up and stop the run and he will pass for yards, or if they drop back he will run for a first. Dangerous combination of run ability and passing ability. Needs to work on his passing in the pocket.

5. C Damon Martin
6-5, 265, Scout.com’s 24th ranked center. Martin does not have that huge frame or wingspan of a true left tackle type, but his versatility make him a hot prospect. He could play anywhere from right tackle to center on the next level. Martin has a strong initial punch and plays with fire. He takes pride in pancaking his man to the ground whenever the opportunity presents itself.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class
Dylan Admire OL 6-3 264 Fr. Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West HS
Tunde Bakare LB 5-11 215 Jr. Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park HS/Highland CC
Brock Berglund QB 6-4 205 Fr. Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian
Travis Bodenstein OL 6-5 295 Fr. Springdale, Ark./Shiloh Christian
Michael Cummings QB 6-0 196 Fr. Killeen, Texas/Killeen
Javonte Daniel DE 6-4 215 Fr. LaGrange, Ga./LaGrange
Phil Ford OL 6-6 342 Fr. Shawnee, Kan./Bishop Miege
Collin Garrett LB 6-1 205 Fr. Beaumont, Texas/West Brook
Ben Goodman DE 6-3 245 Fr. Beaumont, Texas/West Brook
Julius Green DE 6-7 270 Fr. Houston, Texas/Aldine
Ben Heeney LB 6-1 195 Fr. Hutchinson, Kan./Hutchinson
Jason Hensley LB 6-2 222 Fr. Alma, Ark./Alma
Marquis Jackson WR 6-0 205 Fr. Fort Worth, Texas/Arlington Heights
Jake Love LB 6-0 195 Fr. Tonkawa, Okla./Tonkawa
Luke Luhrsen OL 6-5 275 Fr. Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South
Damon Martin OL 6-5 265 Fr. Arlington, Texas/Arlington
Alex Matlock DB 6-2 190 Fr. Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville
Darrian Miller RB 5-10 181 Fr. Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs
Alex Mueller PK 5-10 155 Fr. Grapevine, Texas/Grapevine
Bryan Peters OL 6-5 305 Fr. La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada
Anthony Pierson RB 5-11 175 Fr. East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis
Michael Reynolds DE 6-4 220 Fr. Wichita, Kan./Kapauan Mt. Carmel
Chris Robinson DB 5-9 170 Fr. Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary
Adonis Saunders DB 5-11 185 Fr. Olathe, Kan./Olathe
JaCorey Shepherd WR 5-11 170 Fr. Mesquite, Texas/Mesquite Horn
Victor Simmons DB 6-1 185 Fr. Olathe, Kan./Olathe North
Dreamius Smith RB 6-0 205 Fr. Wichita, Kan./Wichita Heights