njjayhawk (anonymous) says...

This news is very disappointing. Looks like the NU loss this year in Lincoln not only cost the Jayhawks the Big 12 North Division title, but a terific prospet as well.

November 22, 2008 at 5:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

springtxhawk (anonymous) says...

It really is.I don't rely on too much from the tao of Barry Switzer, but I always remembered this one...."It's ain't so much the X's and the O's but the Jimmy's and the Joe's"We had a healthy discussion earlier this year when I said VERY emphatically that we would not beat Texas. I caught a lot of grief.But, the bottom line is that their players are bigger, stronger, faster.So, if you take a knife to a gun fight.........We've made huge strides in football, but continuing to upgrade talent is ultimately the only way to win a Big 12 championship.Hopefully, we've got somebody better to fill those slots.Mark Mangino has changed the face of Kansas football and it has been a lot of fun, but man it slips away quickly if you cannot improve your talent every single year.

November 22, 2008 at 5:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

doolindalton (anonymous) says...

Not bad news at all. There is some outstanding talent instate, as in the State of Kansas, that Mangino hasn't even sniffed. Too much preoccupation with Texas anyway.

November 22, 2008 at 6:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

This makes absolutely NO sense. After watching the NU game, a defensive prospect should be salivating at the thought of how he might be able to come in and immediately help KU's struggling defense. Not to mention the fact that the kid plays a position where we lose all 3 starters!!! There's something else to his change of heart.

November 22, 2008 at 6:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KGphoto (anonymous) says...

No, I definitely think watching KU get spanked changed his mind. He probably wanted to go to Nebraska since he was young but they started tanking and KU started looking good. NU is obviously on their way back up. No big deal. Like he said it was a soft commit. If we wanted him that bad we should have made sure we beat NU.

November 22, 2008 at 7:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jhawkfan22 (anonymous) says...

Doo...I hate to say it, but there's a reason major college programs recruit Texas hard. Kansas may have a FEW instate kids that can compete at the Div I level (or whatever they're calling it these days.) but overall, the talent pool is much, much richer down there.This is definitely disappointing news, but Coach will get the right kids to come to KU and we'll be all right.

November 22, 2008 at 7:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

doolindalton (anonymous) says...

Jayhawkfan22That's the rumor, but so far unsubstantiated based upon the mixed bag of Texas kids KU has been able to recruit. Short of Todd Reesing, I'd rather see well coached Kansas kids play anyway (perhaps those who know how to tackle). There's a 6'3" 300 pound O-lineman in Topeka who is both strong and agile Mangino hasn't even sniffed.

November 22, 2008 at 9:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

HawkDigestCom (anonymous) says...

Not ever excited about de-commits, but Cloud switched to Houston, so that tells you something there. As I remember for Norman, this will now be his third school to commit to, so I could argue that maybe I would rather have somebody that does a little better job managing his recruiting.The de-commit that I really hated to see go was the super fast wideout giant from Arkansas.Anyway, we can steal back some positive momentum with the next two games and maybe secure a true three-star o-lineman. I'll be surprised if we can't find a good solid linebacker to fill Norman's spot in the class with the open competition all across that position starting this March.

November 22, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KirkwoodHawk (anonymous) says...

An article I read somewhere said the Norman talked about how his giflrend and child were going to be better taken care of at NU. If that is the case, then the game had nothing to do with his leaving KU. The fact that he was at the game as a guest of NU suggests he was on his way out before the game.

November 22, 2008 at 10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

stupidmichael (anonymous) says...

WTF?

November 22, 2008 at 10:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

63Jayhawk (anonymous) says...

I'm from Kansas and a Jayhawk, but a Kansas all star football team would have trouble competing with the best Texas high school teams--let alone an all star team from Texas. Football is a very serious sport in Texas.

November 22, 2008 at 10:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

fan408785 (anonymous) says...

Doolin,I'd rather have Kansas kids as well. Unfortunately, there aren't enough of them that are D1 talent to fill the roster every year. Hopefully we get the majority of them that can play but we still have to recruit Texas to fill the roster.

November 22, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

63Jayhawk (anonymous) says...

I agree with fan408785. We do need to recruit the best in Kansas, but there just are not as many top players in Kansas. There are many, many more top players in Texas. When Bob Devaney took Nebraska from a virtual doormat in the Big 8 to a powerhouse, he didn't do it with Nebraska players. He did it by recruiting all over the country.

November 22, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

DBK (anonymous) says...

I will tell you, I was AT that Nebraska game and, through a work connection, got to see some of the "behind the scenes" stuff, like the national championship trophy room and the lounge they've set up for the recruits, not to mention watching the game as part of their 34,234,885th consecutive home sellout. Like Chris Rock once said, I'm not saying that he should have decommitted, but I understand. :-)

November 22, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

The Texas schools have first pick of the best Texas players, and basically the same for OK. If we are going to rely on those two states for our recruiting, then we are likely to be a second tier team. Coach has done a good job of recruiting the best from KS, and there may be one elite lineman in-state that appears to have been unnoticed (my guess is it is actually no on both caliber and/or notice.), but it takes more than that to make a quality FB program. Until we're able to recruit the best from across the country, we have basically reached our ceiling.Rome wasn't built in a day, and it is a lot easier to remodel a run-down house (NU) than build one from scratch. Hopefully, everyone at KU (coaches and fans) is ready for the work of building a successful program.Rock Chalk

November 22, 2008 at 10:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Hawksboy88 (anonymous) says...

its not to disapointing we lost these recruits. Mangino goes down there gets the players big schools dont want and turns them into all americans Aqib Talib anyone? Todd Reesing anyone? no reason to be worried at all about this even though im sure it would have helped, no worries. Lets get them tigersRock Chalk Jayhawk

November 22, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

mandomax (anonymous) says...

Texans take their high school football seriously to a fault. I have a friend who used to play ball down there and quit after he found out how many players used steroids/similar enhancements, and how complicit the coaches were in supplying the drugs. Unfortunately, these kids think they have to drink the kool-aid to compete at Div I, and we (fans, coaches, ad agencies) encourage them by demanding Ws.

November 22, 2008 at 12:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

"When Bob Devaney took Nebraska from a virtual doormat in the Big 8 to a powerhouse, he didn't do it with Nebraska players. He did it by recruiting all over the country."Untrue. A big part of Nebraska's success was their in-state recruiting. And a big part of the reason that they started going downhill was because Callahan didn't respect the in-staters.Not saying that we shouldn't recruit Texas as there is a ton of great talent down there. But in-state kids do tend to care more about your team's success from day one. They will outwork the out-of-state kids because they care more about the program and drive the level of competition up for a spot on the field. Many of the players that went on to successful NFL careers out of the Nebraska program started out as underated walk-ons.Remember, we still have more kids on our roster from Kansas than from any other state, and it's a big part of the reason that we've seen so much improvement in the program as a whole. Getting slaughtered in the in-state recruiting by Bill Snyder was a big part of the reason that Allen didn't stand a chance when he was here.

November 22, 2008 at 12:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawkintx73 (anonymous) says...

thats ok. In basketball its happened. Those guys that transferred a couple years back. Can you say National Champs? We have a good recruiting staff for Kansas Football, not the best, but Mangino will get the reins tightened and we will start a new tradition. But with that said, this year was disappointing. We should not have lost to Nebraska. We would have beaten both Oklahoma and Texas if we had just half the defense we had a year ago. These guys are young but that can't be an excuse if you want to compete for the Big 12 title. Keep with those guys. D-backs, use Gordon and Talib in the NFL to get the best you can get. Linebackers,recruit 3star or higher recruits and then get them to work to improve. WRs, just keep doing what you are doing. Its working.

November 22, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

mvjayhawk (anonymous) says...

this story is worthless and old news. you're going to announce as a headline, a story that is two weeks old? (the Norman de commit.) I mean, give me a break. if you're going to do that, then have a link on the site, "get the latest in KU FB recruiting," and have it go straight to Rivals. that is, if you're seriously not going to pursue your own recruiting stories...and rely on others to do the actual work.

November 22, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kujayhawks12 (anonymous) says...

thought more success after orange bowl in recruiting but recruits only want to go to powerhouse schoolsgo figureif i was a highly touted football prospect i think it would be much better to play for an up and coming school suck as the jayhawks are back to back bowl seasons? i'm not dissapointed in this years proformance take a look at the schedule and then look at who is leavingku will finally have a legitimate shot at north title next year with chase daniels gone and no other north opponents stepping up

November 22, 2008 at 1:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

quigley (anonymous) says...

Nebraska got the opportunity they needed. Everyone at Nebraska new the kid had given us a verbal. After they kicked our butts, they probably said something like "I can't beleive you are going to go to Kansas, did you see the way we kicked their butts?" That proabably put him on the spot, embarrassed him, and they took advantage. Goes to show, don't get your butt kicked, recruits are always watching.

November 22, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

rolo2383 (anonymous) says...

Our recruiting has really picked up the last few years which means most of the talent on this team are underclassmen. This team will continue to improve. I mentioned on another board that I think we sweep the north division next year and win one from the south. I think we really bounce back next year. Players decommit almost every year and we steal kids from other schools. Just b/c we lost a couple of kids doesn't mean that they won't be replaced with a better player. I'm not worried about it.

November 22, 2008 at 5:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

rasta_meta (anonymous) says...

JBurtin, the quote about Bob Delaney and Nebraska IS true. Nebraska was able to use scholarships on out of state players and get Nebraska kids to walk-on. Nebraska had the best walk-on program in the country. This back before teams had all the limits they do today. Nebraska did a great job of developing these walk-ons into players that would eventually earn scholarships.Tom Osborne has gone on recored saying they had to recruit out of state more to compete with the teams from Florida back when they were losing every bowl game. So, he started recruiting speed from Florida, Texas, and California and developing walk-ons from Nebraska (unless they were 4 or 5 start recruits). This is how he won his National Championships.Perhaps you recall Jim Stiebel, who played for the Hawks the mid 90's. He played for Nebraska before that. He was a center. He gave us great insight to the Nebraska program.

November 22, 2008 at 7:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

rasta_meta (anonymous) says...

I wouldn't read too much into guys who de-commit. From my conversations with the staff, I am under the impression that Mangino will pull an offer from someone if they take another visit after committing because he believes it is not the type of kid he wants in his program. Therefore, they often tell the kids to take their time and be sure. I wouldn't be surprised if Mangino pulled the offer on some of these guys. This is exactly what happened with Norwood when he was the number 1 player in Kansas and committed to Kansas and then took a visit to K-state. Mangino said he no longer had a scholarship offer at Kansas.

November 22, 2008 at 7:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

BoulderHawk (anonymous) says...

Correction,In Texas , Football is a business.

November 23, 2008 at 1 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

mmlaughsatnerds (anonymous) says...

Yeah, Norman's been decommitted for 2 weeks and Cloud for 3-4 days...I was scared that KU had lost another 2 recruits. The way this story was run is just kind of dumb. Rivals and Scout are set up to follow recruiting...a newspaper staff is never going to match that. I know it must suck for the Journal to have to report news that fan sites beat them to, but that's what they should do (in a timely manner!). To run this story so much after the fact reeks of them trying to give Rivals as little credit and coverage as possible.I'm not sure what Dugan Arnett does, exactly. No one expects him to get the first "breaking news" that Norman or Cloud decommitted. But what he needs to do (after he logs onto Rivals or Scout) is call up Norman and Cloud (or at least their coaches) as soon as possible to attempt to get some depth to the headline.I've been following the Topeka Cap-Journal's KSU and KU beat writers the past couple of weeks. They're thorough, interesting and to the point. They add nice perspective by appearing to be insightful about the Big 12 conference and NCAA football in general. They don't spend time with silly blogs that aren't football related (I could care less about your first trip to Hooters, Dugan). I was especially impressed with Meek (KSU beat writer) calling up the weekly MWC teleconference and confronting Gary Patterson on the KSU coaching rumors. He got an angle and response that KC Star/Wichita Eagle purple homer "J-Mart" and Power Goob Fitzgerald weren't able to. I think that example and the tardiness of this story are great examples that the Cap-Journal and LJW are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to football coverage.

November 23, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Strikewso (anonymous) says...

Ok, what was this guy doing at Nebraska in the first place? Clearly his mind was made up before he went there, and I suspect Nebraska had a lot to do with that. Aren't schools supposed to stop contacting players after they verbally commit?

November 23, 2008 at 5:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

yates33333 (anonymous) says...

Comparing Texas football to Kansas football is like comparing a dime to a dollar. I played in Kansas and have watched Kansas and Texas football for many years. Some high school teams in Texas are better than the Kansas JuCos, even those loaded with hide outs from major schools.

November 24, 2008 at 6:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Rivethead (anonymous) says...

JBurtin:Kansas has 27 players on it's roster from Texas, the most of any state in the country. So your "Remember, we still have more kids on our roster from Kansas than from any other state, and it's a big part of the reason that we've seen so much improvement in the program as a whole." statement is false. As is your NU history.As for Norman, let's see if he actually ends up a NU. He's decommitted two times now. His word is not very good and I don't think he has the character to survive in the Mangino sawing wood lumber camp.As for the big OL kid in Topeka.....is he fast and athletic? The days of recruiting large bodies who can just fall forward are over. OL today have to be athletic, quick on their feet, and smart. Not just have a large body.

November 24, 2008 at 7:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Kirk (anonymous) says...

These recruits aren't real losses to us, because I don't believe we ever really "had" them.If we keep the Fighting Manginos attitude, if Mangino keeps talking up the little guy, the underdog, if we keep that attitude, we will bring the talent. We'll never have OU depth, but we can get some good guys in here. Guys want to play at a place with attitude.

November 24, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

I like the Switzer comment about Jimmy's and Joe's. I have said countless times that we have to recruit better talent. I will agree that it starts in-state. Last year we lost Arthur Brown, a linebacker ranked in the top 10 nationally to Miami.This year his brother, a running back ranked in the top 5 nationally is planning to follow him down to Miami. There are two kids ranked in the top 5 in the state that are Oklahoma commits. That means 3 of the top 5 players in Kansas are NOT going to be wearing crimson and blue next fall. The last 2 years, the #1 ranked prospect in the state decided NOT to don the KU colors. As a general rule, Kansas will only produce 12-15 legitimate D-1 prospects. To lose out on 3 of the top 5 is crippling to our recruiting efforts. Even if we got all of those kids, we would still need to get into Texas. Right now, we have only a handful of starters from Kansas. That means over the course of 4 or 5 recruiting classes, we were able to turn up a couple starting quality players per class. That is not enough. We need more talent, and there is more talent based on sheer volume in Texas and California and Florida.BTW, if you are referring to the OL from Washburn Rural, he's big, but not very fast. I haven't watched him enough against adequate competition to judge his quickness and technique (hard to judge a kid that size when he's facing a 220 pound DE - you won't see that in the Big XII). There's also a rumor floating around concerning his grades and test scores.

November 24, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

tdomine (anonymous) says...

I live in Texas and my son is the only 5-year-old in his kindergarten class. All the other boys are 6-7, because their folks "didn't feel as if their boy was ready to compete with the bigger kids." So it's engrained in the culture. Highland Park's football stadium is better than Washburn's, and Southlake's football culture (fans, bands, etc) put KU's to shame during our down years. Mangino needs to (and most likely will) keep recruiting Texas. Can't let the decisions of a few knuckle-heads shake your confidence. Yes, NU beat us this year, but I believe last year was a different story.

November 25, 2008 at 12:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kvskubball (anonymous) says...

When did we play Nebraska, in Lincoln - three weeks ago? Did I go to sleep and miss several weeks?

Should the story read, after we played Colorado in Boulder three weeks ago? Or did the Kittles play Neb in Lincoln three weeks ago?

The second paragraph makes no sense to me, or at least it doesn't seem to match up in my reality.

October 27, 2009 at 7:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )