Kansas football Signing Day thoughts, including what we learned about Lance Leipold’s new QB recruit – The Topeka Capital-Journal

LAWRENCE The early signing period for Kansas football represents the next step, not the final one, as the Jayhawks coaching staff puts together its 2022 recruiting class.

There are the additions Wednesday of eight prospects, sure. Those eight are Ethan Vasko (quarterback); James Livingston (offensive lineman);Joey Baker (offensive lineman);Kaleb Purdy (safety);Tevita Noa (tight end);Mason Ellis (safety);Kael Farkes (offensive lineman) and Grant Glasgow (placekicker), with Farkes and Glasgow set to join as walk-ons. But its not where head coach Lance Leipold and company will stop, especially considering there are transfers whose commitments are public.

However, it does provide a snapshot of where things stand at Kansas. Leipold is putting together his first full recruiting class with the program, after recently completing his first season in charge in Lawrence. And there are some takeaways that can be gleaned both from whos signed so far and whos expected to in time.

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This is an exciting day for young men and a chance for them to fulfill their dream, something theyve worked extremely hard for, said Leipold, who signed all high school prospects outside of one junior college talent in Noa. Its not a large signing class, here, but this class were very confident itll fit well into our program and, as we continue with younger players here that are on this list, to fit into our culture and help us in years to come.

Here are those takeaways:

Leipold said that it became apparent in the latter part of the 2021 season that neither redshirt senior Miles Kendrick nor freshman Conrad Hawley would return to the quarterback room for the 2022 season. Kendrick, who suffered a season-ending injury Nov. 6 against Kansas State, had played at times in a backup role and Hawley did not see the field at all. And with their departures, Leipold felt they needed to sign a quarterback in this class.

So, they went with a 247Sports Composite three-star prospect out of Virginia in Vasko. Vasko, who de-committed from Old Dominion before choosing Kansas, was someone Leipold and company had evaluated during their time at Buffalo. Vasko will add depth for the Jayhawks at a position that, as Leipold pointed to himself, had that depth tested when both Kendrick and redshirt junior Jason Bean suffered injuries in that game against the Wildcats.

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(Quarterbacks) Coach (Jim) Zebrowskis always liked (Vasko), stayed in contact with him, Leipold said. Tall, rangy, can run the ball as well but hes got a strong arm. Very mature young man thats a leader, and just the whole package that we thought that was going to fit into our system. And he was one that was going to, if we were going that route, that was … where Jim wanted to go from the start.

Its a move that also shows the confidence Leipold has in what Bean and Jalon Daniels, a sophomore in 2021, brought to the position this past season. They are the two front-runners to start in 2022.

There are more offensive linemen currently signed than any other position among those listed, with Livingston, Baker and Farkes. With someone like Buffalo transfer Nolan Gorczyca committed, not to mention the potential for other prospects to draw Kansas interest, that number only figures to grow. And with Livingston and Baker, are two 247Sports Composite three-star talents that Leipold certainly has reason to feel positively about.

Livingston, listed at 6-7 and 275 pounds, was someone Kansas was impressed with over the summer and grew more impressed with when offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was able to see him play in the fall. Leipold noted how well Livingston moved his feet for someone with his size, and was physical, too. Leipold thinks Livingston, who earned all-state recognition in Michigan, fits in with what the Jayhawks want to do with their inside and outside zone schemes.

Baker, listed at 6-4 and 250 pounds, is someone wholl come in from a Southlake Carroll program in Texas that went 14-1 this past season. Leipold indicated Baker playing through a season of that length will serve him well when it comes to the grind of a college football season. Leipold also highlighted the mentality Baker will have because he comes from a football family, including having a father who coached at both the college and NFL levels.

Ellis, a 247Sports Composite three-star athlete, is going to grayshirt. It meansthat he wont join the program until 2023. It means the 6-2 and 188-pound talent, who Kansas lists as a safety, wont factor into the Jayhawks potential success in 2022 the way others in his class may.

But theres a lot that makes sense for Ellis, with this decision. Leipold, whos excited to bring in a local talent like Ellis, explained that this was the best way to ensure Ellis into the program.

When we look at our holistic numbers, that gave us the best flexibility for (Ellis) and for our future as well, Leipold said. … I really admire his family and Mason, because as they continued to look at the situations we talked about, the good thing is that Mason entered high school … early. Hes 17 years old. He doesnt turn 18 until July. … For his development, it even made more sense.

When Leipold noticed the situation trending toward Emmett Jones leaving Kansas staff as Jones eventually would, for Texas Tech, Leipold thought of Terrence Samuel. Samuel is someone whos worked with Leipold in the past, and someone whose career in coaching overlapped as well with Kansas offensive line coach Scott Fuchs and general manager Rob Ianello. Earlier this month, Leipold officials brought Samuel on as the teams new wide receivers coach.

But while Samuel has a recruiting background thatll help the Jayhawks, especially considering the asset Jones was in the state of Texas, that didnt mean Samuel was able to be that guy when it came to bringing in the talent Kansas announced Wednesday. The timing of Jones departure and Samuels arrival didnt allow that.

Hes a Houston, Texas native, Leipold said of Samuel. Hes recruited the Dallas area as well, very familiar with that area, so hes going to help us in a lot of different ways in recruiting. (Defensive backs coach) Jordan Peterson, also a native of Texas, so … well be covered well down there. But, no, through part of those things (Samuel) was not. In some of those lag times before everything was signed and done, we were able to have Rob Ianello go on the road and recruit some in those areas. So, again, to have Robs experience in so many ways was beneficial to kind of pinch hit here in the month of December.

Leipold was clear that he appreciates the way Jones handled his time on the staff and his eventual exit. Leipold knew that Jones had a desire to potentially return to the state of Texas, and in conversations with the Jayhawks wide receivers talked about how family desires played a role in why Jones left. Leipold praised his athletic director, Travis Goff, and chancellor, Douglas Girod, for their efforts as Kansas attempted to retain Jones.

Leipold said that, where things stand right now with recruiting, the situation is still fluid. This recruiting cycle has been very different than what hes been used to experiencing in a number of ways, Leipold mentioning the coaching changes that have been occurring as well as the transfer portal. So, one could imagine, when it comes to what the size of the class will be he said that will be fluid as well.

There are, though, those five transfers whove recently committed publicly to joining the program and figure to be a part of this class. So, that adds to Kansas total. And as Leipold and his staff continue to look at the transfer portal, he said they could add a few more high school prospects.

Our main focus has to be that we make our football team better, better for the short term, better for the long term," Leipold said."And what do I mean by that? We have to create more situations of internal competition each and every day to get everybody to their highest potential and reach that. So, when we look at that and were looking at where were unbalanced we inherited a situation where were highly imbalanced in offensive, defensive scholarships. We have some positions that are highly over-scholarship-ed based on a breakdown, not peoples abilities. … And that causes depth problems at times. So, we want to get ourselves in the best position moving forward and we believe that we are well on our way to do that.

Leipold thinks the team has a chance to be at 85 scholarships in 2022. That reality depends on how much they want to use scholarships that otherwise would be allotted to the 2023 class, which hes cautious of doing in part because its through that class that the Jayhawks are building relationships locally. Leipold also considers players like Bean, junior linebacker Rich Miller and others who transferred to Kansas late and played in 2021 members of the 2022 class.

Jordan Guskey coversUniversity of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

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Kansas football Signing Day thoughts, including what we learned about Lance Leipold's new QB recruit - The Topeka Capital-Journal